Where does this essence go in my routine?

After toner and before serum, morning and evening, on damp skin. Anything thinner than an essence goes on before it, and anything richer goes on after. If you are adding it to a routine you already like, give it a week on its own first, so what you see is the Niacinamide and not three changes at once.

What else is on the list besides Niacinamide?

Ceramide NP, Centella Asiatica Extract and Ficus Carica (Fig) Fruit Extract. The order they are printed in on this essence's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Niacinamide sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract and Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract.

BRTC

Hydra Daily Essence 40ml

Name: BRTC Hydra Daily Essence 40ml
Brand: BRTC
SKU: 7618673659
Price: 37.5 USD
Availability: InStock

Blue lotus flower water is second on this 40 ml essence's list, with niacinamide seventh and centella, fig, neem and dill extracts behind it. A light layer patted in after toner.

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$37.50

40 ml

$93.75 per 100 ml

Korean-market formula
Ships from California or direct from Korea
Korean barcode and batch code intact

Suited to: Dry skinCompromised barrierDehydrated skinSensitive skin

Helps with: Shoppers looking for Niacinamide in an essenceRoutines that want Niacinamide and Ceramide NP in one stepFilling the essence step with a Korean-market formula

One-time purchase

$37.50

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$33.75

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Key benefits

Niacinamide, the active this essence is built around
Ceramide NP on the same list, a barrier lipid
Centella Asiatica Extract, Ficus Carica (Fig) Fruit Extract and Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract on the same list, plant extracts
Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract and Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract further down the same list
Aloe Barbadensis Flower Extract and Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract further down the same list
Niacinamide named seventh on the manufacturer list printed on this page

Key actives

7Niacinamideactive

Niacinamide is vitamin B3, and it is the most studied active in Korean formulation. On this essence's own ingredient list it is named seventh.

All products with Niacinamide

9Centella Asiatica Extractplant 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. It is named ninth on this essence's list, alongside Niacinamide.

All products with Centella Asiatica Extract

10Ficus Carica (Fig) Fruit Extractplant extract

Fig Fruit Extract carries fruit sugars, mild acids and a protein-digesting enzyme. It is used as a hydrating extract with a light smoothing effect. It is named tenth on this essence's list, alongside Niacinamide.

All products with Ficus Carica (Fig) Fruit Extract

11Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extractplant 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. It is named eleventh on this essence's list, alongside Niacinamide.

All products with Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract

30Ceramide NPbarrier lipid

Ceramide NP is the most used cosmetic ceramide, the same class of lipid that makes up roughly half the mortar between cells in the outer layer of skin. Added to a cream it slots into that structure, which is why ceramide formulas feel less leaky rather than merely greasy. It is named thirtieth on this essence's list, alongside Niacinamide.

All products with Ceramide NP

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

7Niacinamide10Ficus Carica30Ceramide NP

7Niacinamide
10Ficus Carica
30Ceramide NP

Where each key active sits on the declared ingredient list, by entry number. Position is proportion: the further forward, the larger its share.

1 of 5

38 of 43 explained

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.
Methylpropanediol humectant: Methylpropanediol is a small glycol used to hydrate and to help water-soluble actives penetrate the outer layer of skin more evenly. It leaves almost no tack, which suits watery textures.
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.
Polyglycerin-3 humectant: Polyglycerin-3 is a short chain of glycerin units used as a gentler, less sticky humectant. It also helps oils and water stay blended.
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.
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.
Diethoxyethyl Succinate solvent: Diethoxyethyl Succinate is a solvent that helps water-resistant actives spread and sink in evenly. It also leaves a light, silky feel.
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.
Ficus Carica (fig) Fruit Extract plant extract: Fig Fruit Extract carries fruit sugars, mild acids and a protein-digesting enzyme. It is used as a hydrating extract with a light smoothing effect.
Melia Azadirachta Leaf 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.
Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract plant extract: Coccinia Indica is ivy gourd. Its fruit extract is used as a conditioning, hydrating plant extract in Korean formulas.
Solanum Melongena (eggplant) Fruit Extract plant extract: Eggplant Fruit Extract carries nasunin, the antioxidant pigment in aubergine skin. It is used as an antioxidant plant extract.

26 more explained

Aloe Barbadensis Flower Extract plant extract: Aloe Flower Extract comes from the flower rather than the leaf gel. It is used as a conditioning plant extract.
Chamomilla Recutita (matricaria) Flower/Leaf Extract plant extract: German chamomile, taken from flower and leaf together. It carries bisabolol and the blue azulenes and is used for the look of reactive, reddened skin.
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.
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.
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.
Malachite Extract mineral: Malachite is a green copper carbonate mineral. Its extract is used in a formula as a source of trace copper.
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.
Hydrogenated Lecithin emulsifier: Hydrogenated Lecithin is lecithin with its unsaturated bonds filled in, which makes it far more stable. It emulsifies and is the standard shell for the liposomes that carry actives into the outer layer of skin.
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.
Panthenol humectant: Panthenol is pro-vitamin B5: skin converts it to pantothenic acid. It is a humectant that holds water and leaves skin feeling soft and less tight, and it is one of the ingredients formulators reach for when a formula also contains something harsh.
Polyquaternium-51 film former: Polyquaternium-51 is a polymer, sometimes sold as Lipidure, built on the same phosphorylcholine structure as a cell membrane. It holds water in a film on the surface and gives a distinctive soft, dry finish.
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.
Disodium EDTA chelator: EDTA is a chelator: it locks up trace metal ions from water and packaging that would otherwise turn a formula cloudy, off-colour or rancid. It does nothing to skin and appears at a fraction of a percent.
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.
Ceramide Np barrier lipid: Ceramide NP is the most used cosmetic ceramide, the same class of lipid that makes up roughly half the mortar between cells in the outer layer of skin. Added to a cream it slots into that structure, which is why ceramide formulas feel less leaky rather than merely greasy.
Dimethylsilanol Hyaluronate humectant: Dimethylsilanol Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid joined to a silicon-based group. It hydrates and leaves a smoother, silkier finish than hyaluronic acid alone.
Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate humectant: Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid is hyaluronic acid cut into much shorter fragments. The smaller the fragment, the further into the outer layer it can settle, which is why serums stack several sizes together instead of using one.
Potassium Hyaluronate humectant: Potassium Hyaluronate is another salt of hyaluronic acid, used for the same reason as the sodium form: it dissolves easily and holds a large amount of water in the outer layer of skin.
Hyaluronic Acid humectant: Hyaluronic Acid is a sugar chain the body already makes, and one gram of it can hold several litres of water. In a formula it is a humectant that pulls water to the surface of skin and holds it in a film, which is what makes skin look plumper while it is there.
Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer humectant: Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer is hyaluronic acid linked into a mesh. It holds water in a soft gel on the surface rather than sinking in, and it releases that water slowly through the day.
Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate humectant: Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate carries a positive charge, and skin carries a slight negative one, so it is attracted to the surface and stays through rinsing. It is the hyaluronic used where a formula gets washed off.
Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate humectant: Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid modified to be part oil-loving, so it clings to skin instead of rinsing away. Formulators call it the one that stays put.
Glycine amino acid: Glycine is the smallest amino acid and one of the free amino acids skin holds to keep water in the outer layer. In a formula it is a humectant and a mild buffer.
Glutamic Acid amino acid: Glutamic Acid is an amino acid used as a humectant and a mild pH adjuster. It is one of the components of skin's natural moisturising factor.
Arginine amino acid: Arginine is an amino acid that does two jobs here: it holds water in the outer layer of skin, and it neutralises acidic gelling agents, which is why it often stands in for a synthetic pH adjuster.
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.

How it works

The Hydra Daily Essence is a 40ml essence, used after toner and before serum, morning and evening, on damp skin. The active it is built around is Niacinamide, named seventh on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Ceramide NP, Centella Asiatica Extract and Ficus Carica (Fig) Fruit Extract, so the active is not the only thing on it worth naming. How much of the Niacinamide stays on the skin, and for how long, is decided by the essence format rather than by the list alone. BRTC sells this Niacinamide essence in Korea, and this is that version.

How to use

Apply a pump or two of Hydra Daily Essence 40ml onto cleansed, toned skin, pat it in, then seal with moisturizer.

Worth knowing

Patch test this essence on a small area and wait a day before using it more widely, especially with Niacinamide on the list.
Introduce this essence on its own for the first week, so anything your skin does is traceable to the Niacinamide rather than to three changes at once.

Complete the routine

This itemBRTC Hydra Daily Essence 40ml$37.50
From the same Korean-market lineBRTC Jasmine Water BB Cream 60g (SPF 30/PA++)$50.00
Seal the routine in as the last stepBRTC Time 8 Lift Toning Collagen Cream 80ml$47.50

Total for 3 items$135.00

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BRTC Hydra Daily Essence 40ml

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BRTC, Korean-market original

The Original Korean Formula essence from BRTC, 40ml formulated with Niacinamide and Ceramide NP, shipped from California or direct from Korea.

Verify your unit when it arrives

Korean-market stock with the original barcode and batch code intact, exactly as it left Korea.

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 skin-care professionals say about the key actives in this formula, quoted from the medical sources linked beside each.

Ceramides are part fatty acid and part amino acid and are able to be the grout that keeps the building blocks of the skin together and functioning as a barrier between the inside and outside world.
Amy Kassouf, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic
Centella can make your skin appear more hydrated, plumper and healthier.
Samantha Stein, PA-CDermatology physician assistant, Cleveland Clinic

1 more professional perspective

Niacinamide helps reduce the appearance of pores in a few ways. By strengthening the skin barrier and improving elasticity, pores appear less noticeable and more even.
Ashlyn YankeAesthetician, Cleveland Clinic