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.

Is this the Korean-market essence or a US version?

The Korean-market one, Niacinamide and all. We match this essence to its Korean barcode before it reaches the shelf, which is the check that tells you which market release you are holding.

What else is on the list besides Niacinamide?

Adenosine, Tocopherol and Ceramide NP. 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: Cholesterol, Beta-Glucan and Laminaria Japonica Extract.

Celimax

Oil Control Capsule Essence 30ml

Name: Celimax Oil Control Capsule Essence 30ml
Brand: Celimax
SKU: 5174041603
Price: 42.5 USD
Availability: InStock

Oil Control Capsule Essence pairs Niacinamide with Houttuynia Cordata (heartleaf) Extract and Beta-Glucan, a silky essence built for oily, blemish-prone skin that looks dull or uneven between active steps.

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$42.50

30 ml

$141.67 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 Adenosine in one stepFilling the essence step with a Korean-market formulaAnyone who wants the Niacinamide essence sold on Korean shelves

One-time purchase

$42.50

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How it works

The Oil Control Capsule Essence is a 30ml essence, used after toner and before serum, morning and evening, on damp skin. The active it is built around is Niacinamide, named fifth on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Adenosine, Tocopherol and Ceramide NP, 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. This is the Original Korean Formula, the essence Celimax sells in Korea, Niacinamide and all.

Key benefits

Niacinamide, the active this essence is built around
Adenosine on the same list, an active
Tocopherol on the same list, an antioxidant
Ceramide NP and Cholesterol on the same list, barrier lipids
Beta-Glucan and Laminaria Japonica Extract further down the same list
Centella Asiatica Extract and Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Flower Extract further down the same list

How to use

Smooth two to three drops over cleansed and toned skin morning and evening, patting gently until absorbed before the next step.

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36 of 41 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.
Propanediol humectant: Propanediol is a plant-derived glycol used in place of propylene glycol. It hydrates, carries actives into solution, and gives a lighter, less sticky slip than glycerin at the same strength.
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.
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.
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer thickener: This is the thickener behind most gel-cream textures. It builds a soft, bouncy gel that collapses to a light fluid as it is rubbed in.
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer thickener: This is a carbomer relative with fatty side chains, so it thickens and stabilises an emulsion at the same time. It gives a light gel-cream body rather than a heavy one.
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.
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.
Behenyl Alcohol fatty alcohol: Behenyl Alcohol is a long-chain fatty alcohol used to thicken and stabilise a cream. It gives a richer, more velvety body than cetyl alcohol.
Stearyl Alcohol fatty alcohol: Stearyl Alcohol is a solid fatty alcohol used to thicken and stabilise creams. Like the other fatty alcohols it is an emollient, not a solvent.

24 more explained

Cetearyl Alcohol fatty alcohol: Cetearyl Alcohol is a waxy solid, not the drying kind of alcohol. It is a blend of cetyl and stearyl alcohols used to thicken a cream and keep oil and water from separating, and it softens skin as it does so.
Laminaria Japonica Extract plant extract: Laminaria Japonica is kombu kelp. Its extract carries alginates, minerals and iodine, and it is used as a hydrating, mineral-rich ingredient.
4-Terpineol fragrance component: A terpene alcohol, and the main constituent of tea tree oil. On a label it is an aromatic plant constituent rather than a functional ingredient.
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.
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.
Cetyl Alcohol fatty alcohol: Cetyl Alcohol is a waxy fatty alcohol from coconut or palm, unrelated to drying ethanol. It thickens creams, stabilises the emulsion and leaves skin feeling softer.
Adenosine active: Adenosine is a nucleoside that Korea's own cosmetic authority recognises as a wrinkle-care functional ingredient, which is why it appears on so many Korean lists at a low level. It is used for the look of fine lines and is stable and well tolerated.
Sorbitan Isostearate emulsifier: Sorbitan Isostearate is a mild emulsifier that holds water into oil, the direction a cleansing balm or an oil-based cream needs.
Polysorbate 60 emulsifier: Polysorbate 60 is a water-loving emulsifier used with a fatty co-emulsifier to build stable lotions and creams.
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.
Beta-Glucan polysaccharide: Beta-Glucan is a polysaccharide from oats or yeast. It holds a large amount of water, forms a soothing film, and is one of the ingredients formulators reach for in products aimed at reactive skin.
Palmitic Acid fatty acid: Palmitic Acid is a saturated fatty acid present in skin's own lipids. It thickens a formula, stabilises the emulsion and softens skin.
Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Flower Extract plant extract: Evening Primrose Flower Extract is used as a conditioning plant extract. The seed oil of the same plant is the better known part, and it is a different ingredient.
Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract plant extract: Ulmus Davidiana is Japanese elm, whose inner bark yields a naturally slippery mucilage. Korean formulas use the root extract for that cushioned feel and for the look of reactive skin.
Pinus Densiflora Leaf Extract plant extract: Pinus Densiflora is Korean red pine, a plant with a long history in Korean traditional use. The needle extract is used as an antioxidant plant extract.
Pueraria Lobata Root Extract plant extract: Pueraria Lobata is kudzu. Its root extract carries isoflavones, plant compounds structurally similar to oestrogen, and Korean formulas use it for the look of thinning, less resilient skin.
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.
Stearic Acid fatty acid: Stearic Acid is a saturated fatty acid from plant fats, and one of the three lipid classes skin's own barrier is built from. In a formula it thickens, stabilises the emulsion and can be turned into a soap-style cleanser by adding a base.
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid 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.
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.
Cholesterol barrier lipid: Cholesterol is the third of the three lipids the outer layer of skin is built from, with ceramides and fatty acids. Formulas that carry all three are following the ratio skin itself holds.
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.
Red Iron Oxide colorant: Iron Oxides are mineral pigments in red, yellow and black, and the three are blended to make every skin-tone shade in a tinted product. They are inert and sit on the surface.
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.

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

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 itemCelimax Oil Control Capsule Essence 30ml$42.50
Cleanse first, so the next step meets bare skincelimax Derma Nature Fresh Blackhead Jojoba Cleansing Oil 150ml$27.50
An as-needed step, in place of the prep layercelimax JI WOO GAE Heartleaf BHA Peeling Pad 50P$22.50

Total for 3 items$92.50

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celimax Oil Control Capsule Essence 30ml

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Celimax, Korean-market original

Shop Oil Control Capsule Essence 30ml (30ml), the authentic Korean-market essence from Celimax formulated with Niacinamide, sourced for the Korean market rather than a US-shelf reformulation.

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 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