What is AC Clean Up Facial Fluid 180ml?

It is a watery lightweight fluid from ETUDE, made for oily and breakout prone skin that wants a lighter, less congested feeling routine. It goes at the end of your routine, after your serum, in place of or underneath a heavier moisturiser. The result you can judge yourself is whether congested areas look calmer and feel less bumpy over a few weeks.

Where does AC Clean Up Facial Fluid 180ml go in my routine?

It goes at the end of your routine, after your serum, in place of or underneath a heavier moisturiser. In practice: After your serum, smooth a thin layer over the face and neck as your final leave-on step, morning and night. Applying it out of that order is the usual reason a step seems to do nothing.

Is AC Clean Up Facial Fluid 180ml right for my skin type?

It is aimed at oily and breakout prone skin that wants a lighter, less congested feeling routine. The skin types we would put first are oily skin, combination skin and blemish prone skin. Breakout prone skin still needs moisture, and cutting every moisturising step out of the routine is the most common own goal in this category.

Is a fluid enough on its own if my skin is dry?

On dry skin it usually is not, and the fix is a second layer rather than more of this one. Use it as your light hydrating step and put a cream over the areas that feel tight. On oily and combination skin it is often enough by itself, which is the whole reason the format exists.

Is this AC Clean Up Facial Fluid 180ml the authentic Korean-market formula?

Yes. We stock the ETUDE Korean-market formula rather than a version reformulated for US shelves. The bottle you open is the 180ml one sold on Korean shelves, with Korean-primary packaging and an intact barcode you can check yourself.

ETUDE

AC Clean Up Facial Fluid 180ml

Name: ETUDE AC Clean Up Facial Fluid 180ml
Brand: ETUDE
SKU: 4812192819
Price: 17.5 USD
Availability: InStock

ETUDE AC Clean Up Facial Fluid 180ml is a watery lightweight fluid for oily and breakout prone skin, used as your last light layer.

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$17.50

180 ml

$9.72 per 100 ml

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

Suited to: Oily skinCombination skinBlemish prone skin

Helps with: Care for blemish prone areasA less congested feeling surfaceEveryday shine control

One-time purchase

$17.50

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How it works

A fluid is the lightest kind of moisturising step there is, thinner than a milky lotion and much thinner than a cream. A small amount covers the whole face, and there is very little left on the surface once it has settled. Congested areas look calmer under a routine that is light, low in oil and consistent, which is most of what a blemish focused step is doing. A gel moisturiser is the closest alternative, and a fluid is thinner again. The result you can judge yourself is whether congested areas look calmer and feel less bumpy over a few weeks.

Key benefits

ETUDE Korean-market facial fluid, 180 ml
A lightweight moisturizing step, used after toner and before a heavier cream if needed
Ships with its Korean barcode and batch code intact, not swapped for an export label

How to use

Use it after your toner and serum, when the earlier steps have settled.
Smooth a thin layer over the face and neck, going lighter over any area that is already oily.
Give it a minute to settle before makeup or your next step so nothing rolls up.
Do not use twice the amount to make it feel richer, since a fluid layered on itself still will not behave like a cream.

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33 of 33 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.
Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Water plant extract: Tea Tree Leaf Water is the distillate, used in place of plain water as a base. It carries a trace of the plant's aroma and none of the essential oil's strength.
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.
Dicaprylyl Carbonate emollient: Dicaprylyl Carbonate is a light, fast-spreading emollient with a notably dry finish. It is chosen where a formula has to spread thin without leaving a heavy film.
Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate emulsifier: Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate is a sugar-derived emulsifier known for a light, non-soapy feel. It builds gel-creams that do not read as rich.
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.
Cyclomethicone silicone: Cyclomethicone is a ring-shaped volatile silicone. It gives a light, fast-spreading feel and evaporates rather than staying on skin.
Glyceryl Stearate emulsifier: Glyceryl Stearate is glycerin joined to stearic acid, and one of the most used emulsifiers in skincare. It holds oil and water together and thickens the result, and it softens skin at the same time.
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.
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.
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.

21 more explained

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.
Triethylhexanoin emollient: Triethylhexanoin is a light ester emollient that softens skin and disperses pigment. It absorbs cleanly and is often used to thin a heavy oil phase.
Diphenyl Dimethicone silicone: Diphenyl Dimethicone is a glossy silicone used to add shine and a smooth film, particularly in lip and highlighting textures.
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.
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.
Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer thickener: This is a pre-neutralised polymer thickener that gels on contact with water and stabilises an emulsion without heat.
Polyisobutene film former: Polyisobutene is a synthetic polymer that forms a flexible, water-resistant film. It gives gloss and holds a formula in place, which is why it appears in lip products and long-wear textures.
Polyglyceryl-10 Myristate emulsifier: Polyglyceryl-10 Myristate is a mild sugar-derived emulsifier used to keep oil dispersed in a watery formula.
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.
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.
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.
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside surfactant: Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside is a sugar-derived cleansing surfactant. It foams modestly and is mild enough for low-pH cleansers built for reactive skin.
Sorbitan Oleate emulsifier: Sorbitan Oleate is an emulsifier for water-in-oil formulas. It keeps a rich cream or a cleansing oil from separating.
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.
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.
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.
Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract plant extract: Witch hazel extract, the classic astringent plant. Its tannins bind to surface proteins, which is the tightening feel a toner built on it gives.
Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract plant extract: Willow Bark Extract carries salicin, the plant compound salicylic acid is related to. The two are not interchangeable: willow bark is a mild clarifying extract, not a BHA exfoliant at the levels used in cosmetics.
Gaultheria Procumbens (Wintergreen) Leaf Extract plant extract: Wintergreen leaf extract. The plant naturally carries methyl salicylate, which is where its sharp minty scent comes from.
Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil fragrance component: Tea Tree Leaf Oil is an essential oil from an Australian shrub, carrying terpinen-4-ol. Korean formulas use it in products aimed at blemish-prone skin; it is potent, aromatic, and one of the essential oils most likely to bother reactive skin.
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.

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

Worth knowing

Patch test on a small area first if your skin reacts easily to new products.
See a clinician about persistent or painful breakouts rather than expecting a cosmetic product to stand in for medical care.

Complete the routine

This itemETUDE AC Clean Up Facial Fluid 180ml$17.50
Prep after cleansing, before the treatment stepETUDE HOUSE Wonder Pore Freshner 500ml$32.50
Seal the routine in as the last stepETUDE Soonjung 2x Barrier Intensive Cream 60ml$22.50

Total for 3 items$72.50

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ETUDE AC Clean Up Facial Fluid 180ml

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ETUDE, Korean-market original

A watery lightweight fluid for oily and breakout prone skin. We stock the authentic ETUDE Korean-market formula in 180ml.

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