Retinols: Body Merry 2.5%?

After my not so fun incident with Tazorac, I have been kind of scared off.

Retinols, I grouped in the same group as Tret-face scares, and though I know at my age I really should be wary and utilizing them (pro-action not reaction), I'd been too scared off to really do my research. Afterall, it really seemed to be a Western beauty sort of ordeal, and you can see how much more influence I am taking from Asian Beauty.

That being said, my friend brought down her skincare, and she uses a retinol moisturizer and retinol eye cream. The Algenist sample I got seemed to make my lines worse around the eyes, so I've refrained from doing anything more with eye creams. However, the concept that it would be combined with a moisturizer has got me intrigued. She uses an American brand of Body Merry, and it's a 2.5% mix, which seems quite high since Paula's Choice serums are for advanced acid users is "clinical" at 1%.

The ingredients seem pretty harmless enough:

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice (Organic Aloe), Aqua (Deionized Water), Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil (Organic Sunflower Oil), Isopropyl Palmitate, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Cassia Angustifolia Seed Extract (botanical hyaluronic acid), Stearic Acid, Glycerin (Kosher, Vegetable), Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil (Organic Jojoba Oil), Butyrospermum Parkii Butter (Shea Butter), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Panthenol (Vitamin B5), Retinol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (Organic Green Tea), Propolis Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract (Organic Gotu Kola), Equisetum Arvense Extract (Horsetail), Geranium Maculatum Extract (Wild Geranium), Taraxacum Officinale Extract (Organic Dandelion), Xanthan Gum, Polysorbate 20, Pentylene Glycol, Alcohol, Lecithin, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin

However, though some reddit research, it was suggested that their base may come from this no-name lab that sells it through wholesale, Rainshadow Labs. This is their ingredient list:

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice (Organic Aloe), Aqua (Deionized Water), Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil (Organic Sunflower Oil), Isopropyl Palmitate, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Cassia Angustifolia Seed Extract (botanical hyaluronic acid), Stearic Acid, Glycerin (Kosher, Vegetable), Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil (Organic Jojoba Oil), Butyrospermum Parkii Butter (Shea Butter), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Panthenol (Vitamin B5), Retinol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (Organic Green Tea), Propolis Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract (Organic Gotu Kola), Equisetum Arvense Extract (Horsetail), Geranium Maculatum Extract (Wild Geranium), Taraxacum Officinale Extract (Organic Dandelion), Xanthan Gum, Polysorbate 20, Pentylene Glycol, Alcohol, Lecithin, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin. **updated February 15th, 2017

So wait, what's the difference?!?!?

Either I get Body Merry's cute labels and air-tight packaging at 20.99 for 3.4 ounce (100 ml), or I can get the 2 ounces (60 ml) for $3.95 in a sample amber bottle and see if I like it enough to buy the cute 100 ml version for 20 bucks or the 36 ounce bottle (1064 ml)..... for thirty bucks.