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Product Comparison

Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of COSRX Propolis Light Ampoule versus Skinfood Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Essence .

Last updated on July 18, 2023. Published on April 16, 2021

Overview

What they are

These products are both reef safe . They have a total of 7 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain hyaluronic acid

Suited For

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

Free From

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

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

Ampoule South Korean Brand South Korea
Essence South Korean Brand South Korea

Ampoule

Ampoules are created to target one area of concern. They are usually highly concentrated with active or beneficial ingredients.

Essence

Essences are used to prep skin for further treatment and may provide extra skin benefits. They are usually used before serum and moisturizers. Essences are thought to have originated in either Japan or Korea and is an essential step in K-Beauty.

Price

Shop

Buy Propolis Light Ampoule

Starts at $15.39
Shop

Buy Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Essence

Starts at $22.99

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
6.5
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
4.5

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Benefits

Hydrating (2)
Redness Reducing
Reduces Irritation
Acne Fighting
Brightening

Benefits

Hydrating
Redness Reducing
Acne Fighting
Brightening
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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: Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Liked

Propolis Extract is also known as bee glue. It is a resinous mixture created from beeswax, bee saliva, and parts of trees.

Propolis Extract has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, and antioxidant properties. Studies show propolis helps fight against bacteria, viruses, and fungi. This may help with reducing acne and accelerate wound healing.

The flavonoids found in propolis extract are potent antioxidants. Antioxidants may help with reducing the signs of aging.

A study from 2020 found propolis to help reverse skin damage from UV.

Bees use propolis as a sealant to close any gaps in their hives.

speeding up new healthy cell growth.

Learn more about Propolis Extract

COSRX Propolis Light Ampoule contains this as ingredient number 1.

Skinfood Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Essence contains this as ingredient number 1.

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.

COSRX Propolis Light Ampoule contains this as ingredient number 2.

Skinfood Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Essence contains this as ingredient number 4.

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

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Learn more about Glycerin

COSRX Propolis Light Ampoule contains this as ingredient number 3.

Skinfood Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Essence contains this as ingredient number 7.

4
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

COSRX Propolis Light Ampoule contains this as ingredient number 7.

Skinfood Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Essence contains this as ingredient number 11.

5
What it does: Emulsion Stabilising, Stabilising
Community Rating: Mixed

Hydroxyethylcellulose is used to improve the texture of products. It is created from a chemical reaction involving ethylene oxide and alkali-cellulose. Cellulose is a sugar found in plant cell walls and help give plants structure.

Hydroxyethylcellulose helps stabilize products by preventing ingredients from separating. It can also help thicken the texture of a product.

This ingredient can also be found in pill medicines to help our bodies digest other ingredients.

Learn more about Hydroxyethylcellulose

COSRX Propolis Light Ampoule contains this as ingredient number 8.

Skinfood Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Essence contains this as ingredient number 12.

6
What it does: Emulsion Stabilising, Gel Forming
Community Rating: Disliked

Carbomer is a polymer of acrylic acid. Its main role is to create gel consistency within products.

Carbomer is commonly found in many types of cosmetics products. It is found to be safe in concentrations up to 15%. However, a high amount of carbomer can cause pilling or balling up of products. Most products contain 1% of less of carbomer.

COSRX Propolis Light Ampoule contains this as ingredient number 9.

Skinfood Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Essence contains this as ingredient number 14.

7
What it does: Masking, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Mixed

Arginine is an amino acid that is important for human development. Your body uses is it to produce hair keratin and skin collagen.

As a cosmetic ingredient, Arginine has antioxidant properties and can also help repair damaged skin. This ingredient is derived either synthetically or from animals.

Arginine isn't fungal acne safe when used in the presence of other lipids (fats, fatty acids, oils, esters, etc). Oils and fats occur naturally within the skin, so take caution when using Arginine if you're prone to fungal acne.

Learn more about Arginine

COSRX Propolis Light Ampoule contains this as ingredient number 11.

Skinfood Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Essence contains this as ingredient number 15.

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

45% are loved or liked
36% have mixed ratings
9% are disliked or very disliked
9% have no rating yet
60% are loved or liked
20% have mixed ratings
20% 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.

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Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

COSRX Propolis Light Ampoule 11 ingredients

4.5 /5
from 13 ratings
Absorbs Well (3) Hydrating (2) No Scent (2) Works Well (2) Light (1)
Nikeena's avatar

Nikeena

8 months ago · Combination Skin
Review

Helps to soothe redness, acne, and acne scars.

blackbarbie's avatar

blackbarbie

7 months ago · Unsure Skin
Review

Smoothed my skin healed my skin barrier

Skinfood Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Essence 15 ingredients

3.3 /5
from 4 ratings
Absorbs Well (2) Broke Me Out (1) Expensive (1) Hydrating (1) No Scent (1) Works Well (1)
Butter's avatar

Butter

5 months ago · Sensitive Skin
Review

Another holygrail product! My skin type has changed recently and I'm a lot more acne-prone than I used to be but I still have issues with...

Another holygrail product! My skin type has changed recently and I'm a lot more acne-prone than I used to be but I still have issues with dryness/dry patches this product helps to treat both. Quite often as I've found things that treat acne, dry out my skin and things that treat dryness break me out. This product is one of few that does neither. With 63% propolis extract, 10% honey extract, and 10% royal jelly extract to help hydrate the skin. Both propolis and honey extract have anti-bacterial properties with help to treat acne. The only downside is it's a little expensive so I made sure to get the Black Fridays deals! 😅

mimi83077's avatar

mimi83077

3 months ago · Combination Skin
Review

I was very excited to try this product. While it was very hydrating it left a waxy film and ended up causing fungal acne on my cheeks.

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