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?

Madecassoside, Allantoin and Asiaticoside. 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: Asiatic Acid, Madecassic Acid and Cholesterol.

Dr.G

RED BLEMISH Clear Soothing Active Essence 80ml

Name: Dr.G RED BLEMISH Clear Soothing Active Essence 80ml
Brand: Dr.G
SKU: 4947480354
Price: 32.5 USD
Availability: InStock

RED BLEMISH Clear Soothing Active Essence is Dr.G's essence (80ml), built around Niacinamide and Houttuynia Cordata Extract. It is used after toner and before moisturizer, as the routine's concentrated treatment step. This is sourced as the Korean-market formula rather than a US-shelf reformulation.

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$32.50

80 ml

$40.63 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 Madecassoside in one stepFilling the essence step with a Korean-market formulaAnyone who wants the Niacinamide essence sold on Korean shelves

One-time purchase

$32.50

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$29.25

In stock. Arrives in 3 to 7 business days

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How it works

The RED BLEMISH Clear Soothing Active Essence is a 80ml 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 Madecassoside, Allantoin and Asiaticoside, 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 Dr.G sells in Korea, Niacinamide and all.

Key benefits

Niacinamide, the active this essence is built around
Madecassoside, Allantoin, Asiaticoside and Asiatic Acid on the same list, actives
Madecassic Acid and Cholesterol further down the same list
Ceramide NP and Phytosphingosine further down the same list
Niacinamide named fifth on the manufacturer list printed on this page
Sourced for the Korean market, not a US-shelf reformulation of this essence

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

1 of 3

36 of 39 explained

Water(Aqua/Eau) 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.
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.
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.
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.
Houttuynia Cordata Extract plant extract: Houttuynia Cordata is heartleaf, and it is one of the two or three anchor plants of Korean calming skincare. Its extract carries quercitrin and other flavonoids and is used for the look of redness and blemish-prone skin.
Ectoin humectant: Ectoin is a small molecule that microbes in salt flats and hot springs make to survive extreme conditions. In skincare it holds water tightly around itself, which is why it appears in formulas aimed at reactive, easily dehydrated skin.
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.
Madecassoside active: Madecassoside is the centella triterpene most associated with the look of redness, and the one brands lead with in cica products. It is water soluble and stable, so it appears in essences as readily as in creams.
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.

24 more explained

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.
Allantoin active: Allantoin is a comfrey-derived compound used to condition skin and soften the outer layer so it feels smoother. It is one of the standard additions to a formula built for easily irritated skin.
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.
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.
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.
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride emollient: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride is the light fraction of coconut oil, with the heavy parts removed. It is the workhorse emollient of modern formulas: it softens skin, dissolves oil-soluble actives and absorbs without the greasy weight of a whole plant oil.
Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil emollient: Olive Fruit Oil is high in oleic acid and plant sterols. It is a rich emollient that suits dry skin and is heavy enough that blemish-prone skin often does not get on with it.
Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter emollient: Shea Butter is the fat pressed from the shea nut, rich in oleic and stearic acids and unsaponifiable plant sterols. It is a heavy emollient and partial occlusive, which is why it sits in balms and night creams rather than in essences.
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.
Squalane emollient: Squalane is the stable, saturated version of squalene, a lipid human skin already makes. It is a light emollient that absorbs quickly, does not oxidise, and is one of the few oils widely considered safe for blemish-prone skin. Most cosmetic squalane is now from sugarcane or olive rather than shark.
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.
Portulaca Oleracea Extract plant extract: Portulaca Oleracea is purslane. Its extract is unusually high in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants for a plant, and Korean formulas use it for the look of reddened, 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.
Citrus Junos Fruit Extract plant extract: Yuja fruit extract, the Korean citrus preserved as yuja tea. It carries vitamin C, fruit acids and flavonoids.
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.
Artemisia Annua Extract plant extract: Artemisia Annua is sweet wormwood, a mugwort relative. Its extract is used in Korean formulas for the look of reactive skin.
Aloe Ferox Leaf Extract plant extract: Cape aloe leaf extract, a different aloe species from aloe vera. It carries the same class of water-holding polysaccharides and is used as a hydrating extract.
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.
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.
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.
Phytosphingosine barrier lipid: Phytosphingosine is the backbone every ceramide is built on, and skin uses it in its own lipid layer. In a formula it works with ceramides and cholesterol and also keeps the product stable against microbes.
Asiaticoside active: Asiaticoside is one of the four active triterpenes isolated from centella and the most studied of them. Korean formulas name it separately when they want to show which fraction of the plant they standardised.
Asiatic Acid active: Asiatic Acid is the third of centella's four triterpenes and the aglycone form, meaning it has no attached sugar. It is oil soluble, so it turns up in cica creams and balms more than in watery layers.
Madecassic Acid active: Madecassic Acid is the fourth centella triterpene. A list that names all four is telling you the extract was standardised rather than simply pressed, which is the difference between a cica claim and a cica formula.

How to use

Apply it after your toner, while the face is still slightly damp, so a thin layer spreads without dragging.
Three or four drops cover the whole face; press it in with the flats of the fingers rather than rubbing.
Follow with a moisturizer within a minute so the thin layer has something holding it down.
Do not stack it under a second serum doing the same job, since more layers is not the same as more result.

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 itemDr.G RED BLEMISH Clear Soothing Active Essence 80ml$32.50
Seal the routine in as the last stepDr.G Red Blemish Clear Soothing Cream 50ml$27.50
The last step of the morning, over everything elseDr.G Green Mild Up Sun Plus SPF50+/PA++++ 50ml$30.00

Total for 3 items$90.00

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Dr.G RED BLEMISH Clear Soothing Active Essence 80ml

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Dr.G, Korean-market original

RED BLEMISH Clear Soothing Active Essence, 80ml, Dr.G's essence with Niacinamide and Houttuynia Cordata Extract.

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