Two Retinal Creams Compared by Formula Companions: Avène’s Vitamin E Callout or Abib’s PDRN Blend?

Quick answer: Avène highlights a named vitamin E companion; Abib pairs retinal with PDRN, Volufiline and peptides.

• Choose Avène RetrinAL 0.1 Intensive Cream for its 0.1% retinaldehyde and Pre-Tocopheryl, which the maker identifies as vitamin E.
• Choose Abib PDRN Volume fill-it Booster crème for its disclosed PDRN, Volufiline, retinal and peptide blend.
• These formula disclosures establish named companions and cosmetic positioning; they do not establish a difference in how the finished creams are tolerated.

Avène’s ingredient information calls Pre-Tocopheryl photostable vitamin E and describes its antioxidant role. Abib instead foregrounds PDRN and Volufiline alongside retinal and peptides in a targeted booster cream.

How to tell retinal from retinol on a label

Look for Retinal or retinaldehyde in the ingredient information when you want a retinal product. A product that names retinol is a retinol product, even if it also features peptides, vitamin E or other companion ingredients.

The Dermalogica guide to retinoids describes a conversion sequence in skin: retinol converts to retinaldehyde, then to retinoic acid. For the products here, the naming is easy to verify: Avène calls its key ingredient retinaldehyde while listing Retinal in its ingredient declaration; Abib lists Retinal.

CeraVe calls the vitamin A ingredient in its Skin Renewing Day Cream encapsulated retinol. CeraVe’s Resurfacing Retinol Serum also identifies encapsulated retinol, and RoC’s Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream names retinol.

A 2022 review of topical retinoid evidence describes retinol as the most studied retinoid in cosmetics and retinaldehyde as a promising ingredient. It also characterizes comparisons with tretinoin as limited. Its sole retinaldehyde comparison included a 0.05% retinaldehyde cream, a 0.05% tretinoin cream and a vehicle for people with photodamaged skin; researchers assessed wrinkle and roughness features. Neither cream in this guide was part of that comparison. Use the label to identify the active, then compare these products by the ingredients and application areas their makers disclose.

The same review says retinol studies have tested concentrations from 0.075% to 0.5%, with some reporting significant improvements and others not confirming positive results. Those findings concern retinol formulations, but they show why ingredient identity, concentration and product claims are separate details to compare rather than an automatic ranking.

Abib: a targeted retinal cream with PDRN and Volufiline

Abib’s PDRN Volume fill-it Booster crème product page names PDRN, Volufiline, retinal and peptides as its featured formula combination. The company identifies PDRN as salmon DNA and lists it at 15,000 ppm; it lists Volufiline at 10,000 ppm. It positions the cream for the appearance of forehead lines, smile lines, the under-eye area, neck wrinkles and nasolabial folds, and describes the Volufiline pairing as visibly plumping hollow-looking areas.

Abib also positions retinal and peptides as helping improve the look of fine lines, skin texture and elasticity. This adds texture and elasticity to the product’s stated cosmetic focus on line appearance and hollow areas, while PDRN and Volufiline remain its two featured numeric callouts.

The full ingredient declaration gives more detail than the product’s short ingredient headline. Abib’s ingredient declaration begins with water, glycerin, octyldodecanol, caprylyl methicone and caprylic/capric triglyceride. It also lists niacinamide, Sodium DNA, panthenol, squalane, macadamia seed oil, mango seed butter, ceramide NP and cholesterol, with retinal appearing later in the list. The declaration also includes caffeine, phytosphingosine, hydrogenated lecithin, allantoin and adenosine, giving formula shoppers additional label details alongside Abib’s four highlighted ingredients.

Cosmetic peptides are a broad ingredient group, and the word alone does not identify one shared role. A 2025 PubMed review of cosmetic peptides identified 102 commercially available peptides and found varying levels of evidence for their proposed effects in in-vitro and ex-vivo studies, which examine materials in a lab or outside a living body. A separate PubMed overview of peptides in skin care surveys cosmetic uses and delivery approaches. The review groups claimed roles from collagen and hyaluronic-acid signaling to pigmentation, skin-microbiome maintenance, antioxidant activity, cellular defense, immunomodulation, enzyme activity and mineral carriage. Abib’s product description names peptides as a group, while Avène’s ingredient declaration names Oleoyl Dipeptide-15 and Oleoyl Tetrapeptide-31.

The evidence setting helps explain the limits of the broad peptide label. Laboratory or tissue-sample findings can explore potential ingredient activity, while product pages describe appearance claims for finished creams containing retinal and other companions. A shopper can compare Abib’s broad peptide claim with Avène’s named peptides without treating the category name as proof of one particular visible result.

Abib is the lower-priced pick for shoppers focused on the PDRN and Volufiline pairing in a targeted booster format. Its official U.S. product page listed the 30 mL tube at $23.80 on October 2, 2026.

Avène: a retinaldehyde cream with an explicit vitamin E callout

Avène’s RetrinAL 0.1 Intensive Cream page identifies its key retinoid as 0.1% retinaldehyde. The same product page calls Pre-Tocopheryl photostable vitamin E and attributes antioxidant protection against free radicals to it. Its ingredient declaration lists Tocopheryl Glucoside and Tocopherol, as well as two named peptides, Oleoyl Dipeptide-15 and Oleoyl Tetrapeptide-31.

Avène’s key-ingredient panel also calls out RELASTIDE®, a pro-elastin peptide that the company says helps skin appear plumper, firmer and more radiant.

Avène fits shoppers who want a cream that explicitly identifies its vitamin E companion and lists retinaldehyde at 0.1%. Its key-ingredient list also includes hyaluronic acid, which the maker describes as moisturizing, and niacinamide, which it says supports skin-barrier function.

Avène directs users to apply its cream to the face, neck and décolleté in the evening, and recommends daily sun protection while using it. That broad application area contrasts with Abib’s spot-treatment positioning around particular areas where lines or hollow-looking skin are a concern.

Avène describes RetrinAL as a lightweight cream intended to visibly reduce the look of deep wrinkles and furrows while smoothing and renewing the appearance of skin. That broader cosmetic positioning complements its face, neck and décolleté directions.

Which formula profile fits your priorities?

Choose Avène if the explicit vitamin E callout, 0.1% retinaldehyde label and broad evening application are the details you value most. Choose Abib if PDRN and Volufiline are central to your ingredient priorities and you prefer the targeted spot-treatment format.

The displayed prices differ by $55.20, with Avène at about 3.3 times Abib’s listed price on the same check date. This is a shelf-price comparison, which makes the price gap easy to see before you compare sizes or shop for promotions.

The listed package amounts are close: Abib provides 30 mL, while Avène lists 1.01 U.S. fluid ounces, about 30 mL. The displayed price difference therefore compares similarly sized packages, which gives the $55.20 gap more context than price alone.

Product-page headlines and full ingredient declarations use different types of names. Abib presents PDRN as salmon DNA in its product highlights and lists Sodium DNA in the full ingredient declaration. Avène highlights Pre-Tocopheryl and identifies Tocopheryl Glucoside and Tocopherol in its ingredients.

FAQ

Does Abib PDRN Volume fill-it Booster crème contain vitamin E?

The product page highlights PDRN, Volufiline, retinal and peptides; its featured-companion list does not call out vitamin E.

Is Avène RetrinAL 0.1 Intensive Cream a retinol product?

No. Avène identifies its key retinoid as 0.1% retinaldehyde and lists Retinal in the ingredient declaration.

Which product names its peptide ingredients?

Avène names two peptides in its ingredient declaration. It lists Oleoyl Dipeptide-15 and Oleoyl Tetrapeptide-31; Abib’s product description names peptides as a group.

When does Avène direct shoppers to use its cream?

In the evening. Avène specifies the face, neck and décolleté, and recommends daily sun protection during use.

Do the ingredient pairings show which cream will be better tolerated?

No. The product pages identify each formula’s ingredients and cosmetic positioning, rather than comparing how shoppers experience the finished creams.