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Product Comparison

Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide versus COSRX The Vitamin C 13 Serum .

Last updated on October 22, 2023. Published on February 25, 2023

Overview

What they are

These products are both cruelty-free and reef safe serums. They have a total of 9 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and Vitamin E

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for fighting acne, dry skin, brightening skin, sensitive skin and dark spots

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, parabens, silicones or sulfates

What's Inside

They both contain oils

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that need an update? Let us know.

Serum South Korean Brand South Korea
Serum South Korean Brand South Korea

Serum

Serums are highly concentrated with ingredients to provide skin with benefits. They should be used after cleansing and before moisturizing.

Serum

Serums are highly concentrated with ingredients to provide skin with benefits. They should be used after cleansing and before moisturizing.

Price

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and view relevant ingredients.
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free
ph level
6.3
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Notable Ingredients

BHA
Vitamin E
Niacinamide
Hyaluronic Acid

Benefits

Hydrating
Good For Oily Skin (3)
Redness Reducing (2)
Reduces Irritation
Reduces Large Pores (2)
Dark Spots
Acne Fighting (2)
Brightening (3)

Concerns

Rosacea

Notable Ingredients

Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Niacinamide
Hyaluronic Acid

Benefits

Hydrating (2)
Redness Reducing (2)
Reduces Irritation (2)
Skin Texture
Anti-Aging (3)
Dark Spots
Scar Healing (4)
Acne Fighting
Brightening (3)

Concerns

Irritating
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Ingredients Side-by-side

Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.

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Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

1
What it does: Masking, Solvent
Community Rating: Disliked

Dipropylene Glycol is a synthetically created stabilizer and solvent. It is a part of the glycol class in the alcohol family.

Dipropylene Glycol helps dissolve and evenly distribute ingredients. It also helps decrease viscosity and thin out texture.

As a masking agent, Dipropylene Glycol can be used to cover the smell of other ingredients. However, it does not have a scent.

Studies show Dipropylene Glycol is considered safe to use in skincare.

Learn more about Dipropylene Glycol

Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide contains this as ingredient number 2.

COSRX The Vitamin C 13 Serum contains this as ingredient number 4.

2
What it does: Humectant, Masking, Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Community Rating: Mixed

Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:

  • It is a solvent, meaning that it helps to dissolve other ingredients. This also enhances the absorption of the product into one's skin.
  • It is a humectant, which means that it helps attract moisture into the skin.
  • It helps improve product application.

Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient. It is unlikely to irritate skin, and works well with pretty much all other ingredients.

Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide contains this as ingredient number 4.

COSRX The Vitamin C 13 Serum contains this as ingredient number 3.

3
What it does: Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. Talk about multi-purpose! If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water

Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide contains this as ingredient number 5.

COSRX The Vitamin C 13 Serum contains this as ingredient number 1.

4
What it does: Smoothing
Community Rating: Loved

Niacinamide has emerged as an all-star ingredient due to its many benefits.

It is known to treat acne by reducing inflammation. It also helps fade dark-spots and strengthen the skin by promoting the growth of the ceramide barrier.

Other benefits include smoothing wrinkles and minimizing redness.

The cherry on top? Niacinamide can also help build keratin, a protein that keeps skin firm.

When incorporating niacinamide into your routine, look out for concentration amounts. Typically, 5% niacinamide provides benefits such as fading dark spots. However, if you have sensitive skin, it is better to begin with a smaller concentration.

Niacinamide can be mixed with other ingredients to boost benefits. For instance, it has shown to be effective when used with copper, folic acid, and zinc to treat acne.

Learn more about Niacinamide

Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide contains this as ingredient number 6.

COSRX The Vitamin C 13 Serum contains this as ingredient number 23.

5
What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Loved

Sodium Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid's salt form. It is commonly derived from the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid.

Like hyaluronic acid, it is great at holding water and acts as a humectant. This makes it a great skin hydrating ingredient.

Sodium Hyaluronate is naturally occurring in our bodies and is mostly found in eye fluid and joints.

These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:

Learn more about Sodium Hyaluronate

Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide contains this as ingredient number 10.

COSRX The Vitamin C 13 Serum contains this as ingredient number 10.

6
What it does: Buffering, Masking
Community Rating: Liked

Tromethamine is an aliphatic compound. An aliphatic compound is an organic compound with open-chained carbon atoms. It is synthetically created. Tromethamine is used to balance pH and improve texture.

As an emulsifier, Tromethamine prevents oil and water ingredients from separating. This helps stabilize the product and elongate a product's shelf life. Tromethamine also makes a product thicker.

Tromethamine helps balance the pH level of a product. Normal pH level of skin is slightly acidic (~4.75-5.5). The acidity of our skin is maintained by our glands and skin biome. Being slightly acidic allows our skin to create an "acid mantle". This acid mantle is a thin barrier that protects our skin from bacteria and contaminants.

Oral Tromethanmine is an anti-inflammatory drug but plays the role of masking, adding fragrance, and/or balancing pH in skincare.

1,3-Propanediol, 2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)-

Learn more about Tromethamine

Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide contains this as ingredient number 21.

COSRX The Vitamin C 13 Serum contains this as ingredient number 5.

7
What it does: Absorbent
Community Rating: Liked

Dextrin is used to thicken a product and helps bind ingredients together. It is created from starch and glycogen.

As an emulsifier, dextrin prevents ingredients from separating. This helps elongate a product's shelf life.

Studies show coating UV filters with dextrin prevents these ingredients from being absorbed. This helps UV ingredients last longer on the skin.

Learn more about Dextrin

Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide contains this as ingredient number 25.

COSRX The Vitamin C 13 Serum contains this as ingredient number 17.

8
What it does: Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Community Rating: Mixed

Pentylene glycol is typically used within a product to thicken it. It also adds a smooth, soft, and moisturizing feel to the product. It is naturally found in plants such as sugar beets.

The hydrophilic trait of Pentylene Glycol makes it a humectant. As a humectant, Pentylene Glycol helps draw moisture from the air to your skin. This can help keep your skin hydrated.

This property also makes Pentylene Glycol a great texture enhancer. It can help thicken or emulsify a product. Emulsifiers help stabilize a product. It does this by preventing certain ingredients from separating.

Pentylene Glycol also acts as a mild preservative and helps to keep a product microbe-free.

Some people may experience mild eye and skin irritation from Pentylene Glycol. We always recommend speaking with a professional about using this ingredient in your routine.

Pentylene Glycol has a low molecular weight and is part of the 1,2-glycol family.

Learn more about Pentylene Glycol

Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide contains this as ingredient number 26.

COSRX The Vitamin C 13 Serum contains this as ingredient number 24.

9
What it does: Antioxidant, Masking, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Liked

Tocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.

Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skin’s lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.

Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.

You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.

There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.

Learn more about Tocopherol

Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide contains this as ingredient number 28.

COSRX The Vitamin C 13 Serum contains this as ingredient number 20.

Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these two products.

60% are loved or liked
17% have mixed ratings
13% are disliked or very disliked
10% have no rating yet
71% are loved or liked
13% have mixed ratings
17% are disliked or very disliked
0% have no rating yet

Usage

Here's some more info on how this product is used by our community.

When to use

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Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide 30 ingredients

3.2 /5
from 24 ratings
Hydrating (3) Sticky (3) Heavy (2) Drying (1) Great Value (1) Absorbs Well (1)
tabby_274's avatar

tabby_274

1 year ago · Combination Skin
Review

not for me
i like the consistency but that’s about it. really tried to like this product as i went through two bottles of it. everytime i used this...

not for me
i like the consistency but that’s about it. really tried to like this product as i went through two bottles of it. everytime i used this product it would leave a shiny film on my skin that would pill under makeup and/or moisturizer no matter what i did. i suspect it also caused closed comedones from product buildup. after i ceased use the pilling and cc’s went away. didn’t improve my skin in any way.

TarteEcole_113's avatar

TarteEcole_113

1 year ago · Sensitive Skin
Review

Glow yes acne no
Well it's my first time trying niacinamide and I don't like it (new red spots appeared) , or maybe I am allergic to propolis idkn...

Glow yes acne no
Well it's my first time trying niacinamide and I don't like it (new red spots appeared) , or maybe I am allergic to propolis idkn tbh, but it does give glow

COSRX The Vitamin C 13 Serum 24 ingredients

The Vitamin C 13 Serum hasn't been rated yet.
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