We’re putting this hanbang inspired K-Beauty staple to the test!
You’d be hard pressed to find a Korean beauty lover that isn’t familiar with hanbang inspired Korean skin care line, Beauty of Joseon. By tapping into traditional ingredients, like ginseng, rice, and Korean plum, the perfectly curated and chic brand has cemented themselves as a pillar of effective, classic skin care.
Where Beauty of Joseon truly shines is with their serums. Each unique serum is specifically formulated with traditionally efficacious ingredients to tackle a specific skin concern, running from brightness to skin barrier repair.
The Korean brand does skin care so well that their Revive Serum currently ranks as my #1 skin care product. The thicker formulation is packed with ginseng, snail mucin, licorice root water, and mushroom which all work together to expertly plump up my fine lines and wrinkles. Did I mention the line’s packaging is so minimally chic that it elevates the look of my bathroom counter?
Recently, with the onset of dryer, colder weather, my skin began to look a bit lackluster and decided to produce dry patches on my cheeks and alongside my nose. This dullness and dehydration, triggered by a perfect storm of stress and seasonal transition, prompted me to seek out a treatment focused on brightening, hydration, and providing a touch of radiance. These new skin concerns lead me to another formulation from Beauty of Joseon’s serum line.
Enter an additional cult favorite from Beauty of Joseon: their Glow Serum.
Beauty of Joseon’s Glow Serum stays true to the brand’s hanbang promises, utilizing the power of plant and flower extracts. However, this product, which touts promises of “glowing, radiant skin,” also features powerhouse ingredients like propolis and niacinamide, to further brighten, calm, and nourish.
Tired of flakey dry patches and uninspired (re:dull) looking skin, I opened up my web browser, dropped the product into my virtual cart, and patiently waited for it to be delivered to my doorstep.
A Closer Look at Beauty of Joseon’s Glow Serum
Originally created to help calm acne-prone skin, the Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum has since racked up some serious praise from skin types across the board proclaiming the serum to be the K-Beauty secret to honey skin.
It’s medley of propolis, a powerful antiseptic and anti-inflammatory, niacinamide, skin care’s top brightening and reviving hero, and antioxidant rich turmeric, work together to calm flare ups, brighten, revive, hydrate, promote cell turnover, and protect from damage. This formula contains no added fragrances, no alcohol, parabens, or sulfates, minimizing any possible irritants and allergic reactions.
By tapping into promising and studied ingredients that are not yet common in Western beauty, like propolis and turmeric, this Glow Serum allows those using it to dive straight into the happenings and trends of beauty and skin care in Korea.
The Glow Serum sounds great, it is a 2021 Soko Glam Best of K-Beauty Award Winner® after all, so let’s put it to the test on my dry, stressed skin.
Does the Glow Serum Live Up to Its Promises?
By the time the Glow Serum landed on my doorstep, my combination skin had devolved into a full on state of stress induced breakouts and dry patches. This “honey skin” serum had its work cut out for it.
I decided to incorporate the Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum into my nighttime routine, to keep it separate from the hydrating niacinamide packed Then I Met You The Giving Essence that I enjoy using during my morning skin care regimen. Layering niacinamide products can cause irritation and pilling, so it’s best not to stack your routine back-to-back with products that contain the brightening ingredient.
Every night I prefaced my application of Beauty of Joseon’s Glow Serum with good light’s gentle Cosmic Dew Water Cleanser and I’m From’s Rice Toner (can you tell I was trying to force moisture back into my skin?).
Then I’d apply the hydrating and repairing Glow Serum. Much like the brand’s Revive Serum, this formula is thicker in consistency, and has a gold tint that makes it look and feel that much more luxurious. Due to its viscosity, the thick formulation takes a bit longer to fully sink into the skin.
Immediately after application, the serum made my skin look more plump and glowy. This “instant” effect is probably the result of the Glow Serum’s thicker formulation delivering hydration through glycerin, a humectant, that works to help the skin hold on to moisture.
Now, let’s talk about the serum’s long term effects.
After four weeks of consistent night time application, not only did I see a dramatic decrease in the dry patches that plagued my cheeks and nose, my skin seemed more balanced and bright.
The Glow Serum got to work on my oily t-zone and my dehydrated cheeks. The formulation’s niacinamide truly shone in it’s brightening and sebum reduction efforts. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation from zits of days past were now almost undetectable and the slick (ew, I know) t-zone I once sported was now glowing, not oily.
I can assume the propolis and glycerin worked as a tag-team to double down on the seasonal redness and dryness that ran rampant on the sides of my nose and cheeks, as they’re no longer there.
The verdict? I’ll be sure to keep this on my beauty counter all fall and winter long.
Beauty of Joseon’s tradition of reaching into the past to inspire the future of skin care is truly inspiring, and, well, effective! This product, alongside it’s sister serum, Beauty of Joseon’s Revive Serum, now have permanent spots in my skin care routine that will probably extend way passed fall and winter.
+Which serum do you use to help combat dryness? Drop your recommendations below!
