Found: A $12 Retinol Body Lotion That Firms Skin Just As Well as Its Luxury Counterparts

Though most of us have entire regimens dedicated to caring for our faces, our bodies don’t seem to get the same sort of attention. A quick wash and (hopefully) a layer of lotion are typically all they’re ever treated to, despite the fact that 90 percent of our skin is located below our necks. Thankfully, giving your body a full routine of its own doesn’t require adding a zillion extra products—all you need is a $12 bottle of Gold Bond Age Renew Retinol Overnight Body & Face Lotion.

Gold Bond Age Renew Retinol Overnight Body & Face Lotion — $12.00

As someone who has no less than a dozen different body lotions, creams, and oils in her bathroom at any given time (many of which are capital “L” luxury), this has become the only product I reach for to finish off my p.m. shower. Like any good lotion, it hydrates the skin, but it goes above and beyond to deliver an entire anti-aging regimen in a single step. To do this, it combines two of the most-potent, skin-firming ingredients money can buy—retinol and peptides—with nourishing butters like shea and jojoba.

Retinol, which has become a buzzy ingredient in body care of late, works by stimulating cellular turnover to bring fresh, healthy cells to the surface of your skin to replace dead, dull ones. “Retinol body cream can help improve the evenness of the skin’s texture and soften the skin while also reducing the appearance of fine lines,” David Petrillo, a cosmetic chemist and founder of Perfect Image, a beauty and skin-care company, previously told Well+Good. In addition to smoothing out discoloration and texture, it’s also got powerful acne-fighting abilities, which makes it an A+ pick for anyone trying to get rid of rogue zits on their back, chest, and butt (#itme).

For their part, peptides work by ramping up your body’s natural production of collagen to diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, leaving skin plump and supple. “As we age, our body’s collagen starts to degrade and becomes less dense under our skin,” board-certified dermatologist Shirley Chi, MD, previously told Well+Good. “This process is worsened by sun exposure, as ultraviolet radiation from the sun causes collagen to break down faster. We can see the signs in fine lines and wrinkles on our skin, the puckering of skin around our elbows and knees, and the crepe-like texture of our arms, legs, and torsos. With regular use, collagen-stimulating body lotions can increase the level of collagen in your dermis and minimize fine lines and crepey skin.”

As someone who doesn’t love applying body lotion (it’s always so sticky and greasy!), what initially got me on board with this particular product was its texture. It’s got the heft of an occlusive balm (think: Vaseline) with the slip of a traditional lotion, and glides beautifully onto my skin. It’s thick, but not goopy, and melts so quickly into the skin that I sometimes have to remind myself that I’ve already applied. All’s to say: It feels a whole lot more luxe than its drugstore price tag implies, and delivers the type of results you’d expect from something triple the cost.

And in case the draw of $12 for a skin-firming body lotion wasn’t enough to convince you to add this stuff to your cart, it comes with the added bonus of being gentle enough to use on your face. Talk about bang for your buck! I have yet to try it on my own visage (I’m a prescription-grade girlie), but plenty of others have sung its praises on that front.

“I bought this and all it took was three days to firm and help diminish wrinkles. I will be 70 next month, [and] my 47-year-old daughter complimented me how firm and healthy my face looked. I have never gotten that from her before!” writes one reviewer. “I saw a definite difference in my skin within a week of using this! I tested this product on my face and the deep wrinkles I have in my neck. I thought the results were great after six days of use!” shares another. Hard to argue with that.