Beauty of Joseon
Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide
Beauty of Joseon's propolis serum, 30 ml, for congested looking pores and uneven tone. Propolis extract leads the list ahead of water, and the serum goes on after toner, morning and evening, before your moisturizer.
No reviews yet30ml
$56.63 per 100 ml
- Korean-market formula
- Ships from California or direct from Korea
- Korean barcode and batch code intact
- Suited to
- NormalCombinationDryOily
- Helps with
- A concentrated brightening stepLayering under moisturizerAM or PM use
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- 30-day returns
- Free US shipping on orders of $100 or more
- Tracked delivery to your door
How it works
Dull, congested-looking skin usually needs two different answers at once, tone and texture, and this serum runs both from the top of the list. Propolis extract is entry one, ahead of even water. Niacinamide follows close behind at entry six, early enough to carry real weight, and betaine salicylate, a gentle oil-soluble BHA salt, sits further down for pore refinement without a separate exfoliating step. Centella asiatica and tea tree extract close out the pore argument. Press it in before moisturizer, morning or night.
Key benefits
- Propolis extract, entry one, ahead of water: the base of the formula, not an add-in
- Niacinamide at entry six, early enough to carry real weight
- Betaine salicylate for mild pore refinement without a separate BHA step
- Centella asiatica extract and tea tree extract back up the pore-clearing argument
- No alcohol denat, SD alcohol or ethanol on the list
- 30 ml: this brand also sells a 60 ml bottle if you go through a pump a day
Inside the formula
Inside the formula
Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide
What is propolis extract doing at the top of this serum's ingredient list?
Propolis extract is the first ingredient, ahead of even water, which makes it the structural base of the serum rather than a marketing add-in. Propolis is a resin bees produce to seal and disinfect the hive, and Korean formulators reach for it on skin that looks dull or uneven.
Where does niacinamide sit relative to the propolis?
Niacinamide is sixth on the ingredient list, close behind the propolis and water block, which is early enough to be doing real work rather than sitting near the bottom of the list as a checkbox ingredient. It backs the same tone-evening argument the propolis extract starts.
Does this serum have a BHA in it?
Betaine salicylate, a gentle oil-soluble BHA salt, appears on the list at a low, stated amount. It is dosed for mild pore refinement rather than the stronger exfoliation a full-strength BHA gives, and centella asiatica extract sits nearby to keep the formula from reading harsh.
Is this the 30 ml or 60 ml bottle?
This listing is the 30 ml bottle, the smaller of the two sizes Beauty of Joseon sells this serum in. It is a reasonable way to try the propolis and niacinamide pairing before committing to the larger 60 ml size.
How can I confirm this is the authentic Korean-market Beauty of Joseon formula, not a US reformulation?
Beauty of Joseon verifies its products by sourcing chain rather than a scan, because the brand has retired its own QR verification and is phasing out its authenticity seal. Your unit arrives with its Korean-market barcode and batch code intact, not swapped for an export label, and we publish exactly where we buy. That intact packaging is the record the brand itself points to now that its earlier scan-based check is gone.
Not on the ingredient list below: fragrance or parfum, denatured or SD alcohol, essential oils, silicones, parabens, sulfate surfactants, mineral oil or petrolatum and added color.
Full INCI (30): Propolis Extract, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Water, Niacinamide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Lotus Corniculatus Seed Extract, Calophyllum Inophyllum Seed Oil, Betaine Salicylate, Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Tromethamine, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Dextrin, Pentylene Glycol, Octanediol, Tocopherol, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer
Ingredient list read from www.oliveyoung.co.kr on 19 August 2026.
29 of 30 explained
- Propolis Extract plant extract
- Propolis is the resin bees collect from tree buds and use to seal the hive. It is rich in flavonoids, carries a warm amber colour and scent, and is used for the look of dull, stressed skin. It is a bee product, so it is worth knowing about if you react to those.
- Dipropylene Glycol humectant
- Dipropylene Glycol is a glycol used as a solvent and a light humectant. Its main job is keeping the rest of the formula dissolved and the texture fluid rather than adding hydration of its own.
- Glycerin humectant
- Glycerin is the most used humectant in skincare. It draws water into the outer layer of skin and holds it there, and it is one of the very few ingredients whose hydrating effect is settled science rather than marketing. Higher amounts feel tacky, which is why it is usually blended.
- Butylene Glycol humectant
- Butylene Glycol is a small glycol that does two jobs at once: it holds water in the top layer of skin and it dissolves plant extracts and actives that plain water cannot. It also thins a formula, which is why watery Korean essences lean on it.
- Water solvent
- Water is the base almost every serum, toner and cream is built on. It dissolves the water-loving ingredients and sets how light the finished texture feels. On an INCI list it is usually first, which only means it is the largest single ingredient by weight.
- Niacinamide active
- Niacinamide is vitamin B3, and it is the most studied active in Korean formulation. It is used at roughly 2 to 5 percent for the look of uneven tone and visible pores, and it is water soluble, stable and comfortable beside almost every other active, which is why it turns up in so many lists.
- 1,2-Hexanediol humectant
- 1,2-Hexanediol is a glycol used for two reasons: it holds water like glycerin, and it makes a formula harder for microbes to live in, so less traditional preservative is needed. Korean formulas use it heavily for that second reason.
- Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract plant extract
- Melia Azadirachta is neem. Its leaf and flower extracts are long-standing Ayurvedic ingredients, and Korean formulas use them in products aimed at the look of congested, blemish-prone skin.
- Sodium Hyaluronate humectant
- Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt of hyaluronic acid, and it is what most products labelled hyaluronic actually contain. The salt dissolves more readily and the molecule is smaller, so it sits in the outer layer of skin rather than only on top of it.
- Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract plant extract
- Turmeric Root Extract carries curcuminoids, well studied plant antioxidants. It is used for the look of dullness and uneven tone, and it tints a formula faintly yellow.
- Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract plant extract
- Ocimum Sanctum is holy basil, or tulsi. Its leaf extract carries plant antioxidants and is used in formulas built for the look of stressed, reactive skin.
- Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract plant extract
- Cocoa Extract carries polyphenols and a little caffeine. It is used as an antioxidant plant extract and gives a faint warm tint.
17 more explained
- Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Extract plant extract
- Tea Tree Leaf Extract is the water-based extract rather than the essential oil, so it is far milder and much less aromatic. It is used in formulas for blemish-prone skin.
- Centella Asiatica Extract plant extract
- Centella Asiatica is the plant behind the whole cica category, sold as gotu kola or Madagascar centella. Its extract is the anchor of Korean formulas built for easily reddened skin, and its work is done by four triterpenes: asiaticoside, madecassoside, asiatic acid and madecassic acid.
- Corallina Officinalis Extract plant extract
- Corallina Officinalis is coral seaweed, which holds calcium and magnesium in its structure. Its extract is used as a mineral-rich conditioning ingredient.
- Lotus Corniculatus Seed Extract plant extract
- Bird's-foot trefoil seed extract, a legume extract. It is used as a conditioning plant extract and is unrelated to the water lotus.
- Calophyllum Inophyllum Seed Oil emollient
- Tamanu oil, pressed from the nut of a Pacific tree. It is a thick, dark green oil used for the look of marked, uneven skin.
- Betaine Salicylate exfoliant
- Betaine Salicylate is a gentler salicylic derivative. Korean formulas use it at around 2 to 4 percent, which is roughly comparable to a low-strength salicylic acid, and it is easier on the skin barrier.
- Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate thickener
- Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate is a polymer thickener that holds a gel stable even with a lot of salt or acid in the formula.
- Tromethamine pH adjuster
- Tromethamine neutralises acidic thickeners such as carbomer so they gel, and holds a formula near skin-friendly pH. It is used at a fraction of a percent.
- Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate emulsifier
- Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate is a sugar-derived emulsifier and solubiliser, mild enough to be a standard choice in Korean essences. It dissolves small amounts of oil into water without any tightening feel.
- Caprylyl Glycol preservative booster
- Caprylyl Glycol is a glycol that conditions skin and, more importantly, strengthens a preservative system so less of the traditional preservative is needed. It appears in most modern formulas built without parabens.
- Ethylhexylglycerin preservative booster
- Ethylhexylglycerin softens skin and boosts a preservative system, which is why it is nearly always sitting beside phenoxyethanol or 1,2-hexanediol. It also cuts down the odour bacteria produce, so it turns up in deodorising products.
- Dextrin thickener
- Dextrin is a starch fragment used to thicken and to give a formula a light, powdery finish. It is also a common carrier for powdered extracts.
- Pentylene Glycol humectant
- Pentylene Glycol hydrates and, like the other longer-chain glycols, makes a formula less hospitable to microbes so the preservative system can be lighter. It also improves how evenly a product spreads.
- Octanediol preservative booster
- A glycol that hydrates and, like the other longer-chain glycols, makes a formula less hospitable to microbes so the preservative system can be lighter.
- Tocopherol antioxidant
- Tocopherol is vitamin E. It is an oil-soluble antioxidant that protects the oils in a formula from going rancid and works on skin as an emollient, and it is regularly paired with vitamin C because each keeps the other going for longer.
- Xanthan Gum thickener
- Xanthan Gum is a polysaccharide made by fermenting sugar. It thickens a watery formula into a gel and holds the whole thing in suspension so nothing separates. Too much of it and a serum turns stringy, which is why it appears in fractions of a percent.
- Carbomer thickener
- Carbomer is a synthetic polymer that only gels once a base neutralises it, which is why arginine or tromethamine sits nearby on the list. It gives the clear, non-stringy gel texture a xanthan formula cannot reach.
- Market
- Korean market, the version sold in Korea
- EAN (barcode)
- 8809657114960
- Made in
- Republic of Korea
- Volume
- 30ml
- Category
- Serum & Ampoule / Brightening/Pore Serum
- Actives
- Betaine Salicylate, Centella Asiatica, Niacinamide, Propolis, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tea Tree
- Ships from
- California or Korea
Orders ship from California or direct from Korea with tracked delivery to your door, and both routes carry the same Korean-market release. Shipping is free on orders of $100 or more. Returns are accepted for 30 days, by mail.
We split shipments free, so one out-of-stock item never holds up the rest of your order.
Where this unit came from
- 1Seoul
Bought as Korean-market stock - 2Barcode
Listed against the Korean barcode on its box - 3California or Korea
Ships to you from either, as the same Korean-market release
We stock the version of a formula that is sold in Korea, not the release a brand prepares for another market under the same name. The barcode in the specification above is the Korean-market one and it is printed on the box you receive.
Every unit keeps its original barcode and batch code intact, so the unit in your hands can be checked against the brand’s own records.
Every order ships from California or direct from Korea, and returns run for 30 days.
Every claim on this page traces to the unit in the box, the barcode, the batch code and the price you can read for yourself.
How to use
- Use it after toner, morning and evening, before the moisturizer you finish with.
- One or two pumps, pressed over the face with the flats of your hands.
- It feels tacky for a moment, so give it that moment before the next layer goes on.
- Do not dab it on one patch of skin only; a serum is a whole face step.
Worth knowing
- Patch-test on a small area first if you are new to this formula or to the brand.
- Propolis Extract and this formula's other named actives are new to your skin the first time you use it, so introduce it a few times a week before moving to daily use if your skin runs sensitive.
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Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide
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Beauty of Joseon, Korean-market original
Glow serum, 30 ml, with Propolis Extract and Niacinamide on the ingredient list.
Verify your unit when it arrives
Verify your unit when it arrives
Korean-market stock with the original barcode and batch code intact, exactly as it left Korea.
For Beauty of Joseon, verification is by sourcing chain. Your unit arrives with its Korean-market barcode and batch code intact, and we publish where we buy. The brand has retired its QR scan and is phasing out its authenticity seal, so the box itself is the record.
Source: Beauty of Joseon help centre
On the unit itself
- The Korean-market barcode, unaltered from the retail package.
- The manufacturer’s batch code, exactly as the maker printed it.
정품Genuine article, Korean-market stock
What professionals say
What professionals say
What skin-care professionals say about skin care, quoted from the medical sources linked beside each.
Your skin barrier is basically your outer layer of the skin.
Melissa Piliang, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic Pretty much every step of a Korean skin care routine is going to have some component of hydration.
Alok Vij, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic
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