This brightening serum smells like rotten eggs, but if you can get past this, it’s worth it (2024)

One of my biggest insecurities is the many scars I have on my legs. I’ve accumulated more than a dozen throughout the years and have seen them slowly darken over time. When I was younger, I wanted to “fix” them and tried prescription bleach cream to lighten my marks. However, since it required near-perfect consistency when it came to application, I never saw any results and ended up ditching that treatment route forever.

Recently, I was casually scrolling online and saw people raving about the Topicals Faded Serum and how it helped lighten their acne scars and dark spots. I decided to give it a shot and quickly got in touch with the brand to see if they could send over samples, in the hopes I could achieve the same results as what I was seeing on social media.

Below, I share more about my experience using this serum and whether it actually works.

SKIP AHEAD What is the Topicals Faded Serum? | How I tried Topicals Faded Serum | My experience with Topicals Faded Serum | Why trust NBC Select?

Topicals Faded Serum

Topicals Faded Serum

$

38.00

$

38.00

$38.00

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This cream-like serum, which is suitable for daily use, aims to treat melasma and minimize the appearance of uneven skin tones, hyperpigmentation and scarring. Formulated for sensitive and acne-prone skin, it has ingredients that brighten the skin (kojic acid, melatonin and azelaic acid) and niacinamide to help with hyperpigmentation, oil production and reducing the size of pores.

This serum’s available in two sizes: a mini 15 mL version for $18 (similar in size to a tube of lip gloss) and 50 mL version for $38.

I used the mini version of Topicals Faded Serum as a spot treatment for two months on a cluster of year-old scars on my left thigh. For context, I scar easily; my scars always develop into dark brown spots on my medium-tan complexion. I can’t resist picking at my skin so my blemishes, ingrown hairs or mosquito bites turn into lasting scars.

When I first received the serum from the brand, I didn’t immediately apply it to my discolored spots. Instead, I conducted a patch test on my hand — something the brand doesn’t necessarily recommend, but as a skin care reporter with reactive, sensitive skin, who frequently tries a lot of products, I went ahead and did it anyway to make sure I didn’t have any negative reactions to it.

By the following day, my hand felt and looked fine, so I followed the instructions for how to apply it for the most effective results. Topicals recommends using it at night after your cleanser, toner, and serums, and before a moisturizer, and to not use it in conjunction with other products that have alpha hydroxy acids, beta hydroxy acids and retinols in their formula to avoid possible irritation.

I also enlisted two of my colleagues — NBC Select associate SEO reporter Ashley Morris and NBC Select commerce editor Lindsay Schneider — to test out the serum as well. Both Morris and Schneider received courtesy samples of the mini size from the brand. Morris used it on her month-old acne scars, while Schneider used it on a brand new scar that developed on her arm.

Schneider started off using it two to three times a week, while Morris began using it once a day from the beginning. They both continuously increased how often applied it, with Schneider working her way up slowly and Morris applying it twice a day. “I expected my skin to feel a bit irritated or tingly because I’d increased the usage, but my skin took to it really well, and I didn’t experience any issues,” says Morris. “By the end of my third week, my scars were much more faded, with zero active irritation or redness. The color has decreased quite a bit, and they also look smaller than in the past few weeks.”

After two months of consistent use, we all found success using the Topicals Faded Serum. By week three, when I began using it every other night, I started seeing slight results, but nothing major. By the time I used it daily, I was seeing more consistent improvements on my old scars. Below, I outline some key things I learned during testing that I think are important to keep in mind before trying this out for yourself.

As mentioned above, I’ve been skeptical about scar brightening creams because I haven’t seen success in the past. But with the Topical’s Faded Serum, I can genuinely say that I saw a difference in the scars that have accumulated in a large cluster on the outside of my left leg. The scars were the result of picked mosquito bites, leg hairs and bumps. Originally these marks had a deep brown, maroon-ish center with a paler dark color surrounding them — it was something I considered a very noticeable and prominent spot that I used to try and cover up with long shorts and other clothing. Now, after consistently using the serum for eight weeks, this cluster of dark spots are lighter in color and appear way less noticeable. They’re now only a few shades darker than my natural skin tone. Did it completely remove any remnants of my scars? No. But it did fulfill its goal of lightening their appearance.

My colleagues had a similar experience. “At the end of this process, my scars have almost totally faded,” says Morris, who used the serum to brighten acne scars on her face. “I think they would’ve faded fully if I hadn’t gone on vacation,” she says. “I spent a lot of time in the sun and may have missed a sunscreen reapplication or two. However, despite that, the results are great and I’ll definitely be continuing to use Faded and see if my scars fade entirely.”

As a courtesy, the brand sent us the mini size of this serum. I was worried that it would be too small and I would run out of it before I could see results, but after using it 32 times over the course of two months, I still had plenty left in the tube. This is a huge plus for me — when skin care products are on the more expensive side, I want to make sure I’m getting my money’s worth or in this case, because I received the product as a sample, I want to ensure it’s worth readers’ money.

The serum’s smell is the biggest drawback for all three of us while testing. One of the ingredients in the formula is glutathione, which helps improve discoloration but has a sulfur-like smell, according to the brand. If you’re unfamiliar with the smell of sulfur, its closest comparison would be strong rotten eggs, in my experience.

“When I was applying a little as a spot treatment, it didn’t smell, but once I started rubbing it in, it really began to smell like rotten eggs,” says Schneider. “I immediately wanted to hold my breath.” . I also experienced the same thing. I didn’t notice the scent immediately after dispensing the cream, but after gently working it into my skin, I could smell that egg-like scent.

If you’re sensitive to smells and find this to be a deal breaker, I found a few other options you can consider when treating acne scars. Differin Acne Treatment Gel ($14.49) is a popular potent over-the-counter topical gel that can help improve scarring and hyperpigmentation, and it’s fragrance-free. Dr. Idriss Major Fade Hyper Serum ($68) is another fragrance-free formula that targets discoloration and brightens the skin, however it’s much more expensive.

Unlike other serums I’ve tried, which typically come in a pump bottle with a hard plastic or glass exterior, this one comes in a recyclable aluminum tube. “I liked that the packaging was the type that shrunk as the product was used up — it helped me know when I was starting to run low,” says Morris.

However, it’s also prone to punctures. During these two months, I went back and forth between New York City and Washington D.C., so I would toss this in my bag and realize that one knick in the tube had serum oozing from all directions. In Schneider’s experience, the tube would dispense too much at once, so it was hard to control how much would come out. She predominantly used it as a spot treatment, so she didn’t require a lot of product in the first place. While these drawbacks didn’t impact the serum’s effectiveness, it is something I wish I had known before using it — especially if you plan on traveling.

In order for it to work, you need to be consistent. You’ll want to start off using it once a week and work your way up to daily use. In four weeks of using the serum, you should start seeing improvements in your skin’s tone and appearance, according to the brand. It was definitely something I had to remember to do, and only forgot to apply it a handful of times. While I did see results, I believe not skipping those few days would have led to better results since I did see more improvement when I consistently did it every day.

Even after using this, you may want to continue using the Faded Serum as a preventative measure and to continue maintaining the new appearance of scars, according to Topicals. Since it’s the summertime and my legs are exposed when wearing shorts and bathing suits, I was nervous about my scars darkening as I tanned so I continued using the serum (along with applying my SPF) to prevent them from regressing.

If you’re only looking to brighten up scars — not completely erase them from the surface of your skin, then yes, I think this serum is a great option to try. At $18, the mini tube isn’t a huge financial investment and it lasts quite a while.

If your dark spots and scars are fairly new, I found that applying this serum soon after they develop is the best and most effective way to treat them. Older scars, like the ones on my leg, only lightened a bit with this serum, but I was still impressed by the fact there was any noticeable difference since I’ve used different products on it for years, with no results. I can confidently say that I’m a little less insecure about my scars and will continue on in my journey to lighten them.

At NBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.

• Brooke Jeffy is a board-certified dermatologist and founder of youth skin care brand BTWN in Scottsdale, Arizona.
• Miriam Hanson is a board-certified dermatologist at Westlake Dermatology in Texas.

I’m an associate reporter for NBC Select covering skin care and hair care, including recent stories on the best eye creams and the best foot creams. For this story, two of my colleagues and I tried the Topicals Faded Serum, which the brand sent us. We paid particular attention to the serum’s effectiveness at improving dark spots, its packaging as well as its smell, while also comparing it to our experience with other brightening treatments and other options on the market now.

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