How do I start with this?

Slowly, adding nights only while there is no flaking or stinging. Put a moisturizer over the top for the first month. Most people who give up on this category went nightly from day one and stopped within a week.

Where does it go in my routine?

At night, after your other serums and before or under your moisturizer. Never in the morning, since light breaks this family of ingredients down. Keep the rest of that evening simple, with no exfoliating step in the same sitting, and go easy the following night.

Why is the bottle so small?

Because the dose is a few drops and the step is used a few nights a week, so a small bottle lasts a long time. A larger one would sit open for months, and this kind of formula does better used within a reasonable window than kept for a year.

Do I need sunscreen with it?

Yes, every single morning. This kind of routine assumes that last layer is going on, and freshly turned over surface skin is more sensitive to light. If daily sunscreen is not something you will commit to, a gentler daily serum is the better choice than starting here.

Is this the Korean-market formula?

Yes. This is the Original Korean Formula 15ml bottle, the same one sold on Korean shelves.

K-Secret

SEOUL 1988 ADVANCED SHOT : RETINAL LIPOSOME 12% + BLACK RICE 15ml

Name: K-Secret SEOUL 1988 ADVANCED SHOT : RETINAL LIPOSOME 12% + BLACK RICE 15ml
Brand: K-Secret
SKU: 12669557463
Price: 47.5 USD
Availability: InStock

A 15ml retinal serum in a small bottle, for anyone who wants the strongest step in a routine kept short and used at night.

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$47.50

15 ml

$31.67 per 10 ml

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

Suited to: Normal skinCombination skinOily skin

Helps with: The look of fine linesRough looking textureAn evening only routine

One-time purchase

$47.50

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Key benefits

What it is: a 15ml retinal serum from K-Secret, for the evening treatment step.
On the ingredient list: Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Niacinamide, confirmed on this product's own manufacturer list rather than assumed from the category.
Fits into the routine: after toner, before moisturizer, PM only.
Original Korean Formula: the version sold on Korean shelves, not a US reformulation.

Key actives

6Niacinamide

High on this list, and a sensible partner here since it works on tone while the main ingredient works on texture.

All products with Niacinamide

7Butyrospermum

The shea butter on this list, giving a few drops enough body to spread across the face without running off it.

12Panthenol

A comfort humectant on this list, included so the first weeks of a demanding night routine feel less tight than they otherwise would.

All products with Panthenol

18Cholesterol

A barrier lipid on this list, an unusual and deliberate inclusion in a formula whose main ingredient is known for dryness in the early weeks.

All products with Cholesterol

25Retinal

The reason the bottle exists, carried in a liposome so the first fortnight of a strong night step is easier to get through.

All products with Retinal

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

6Niacinamide12Panthenol18Cholesterol25Retinal

6Niacinamide
12Panthenol
18Cholesterol
25Retinal

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 4

41 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil emollient: Macadamia Seed Oil is unusually high in palmitoleic acid, a fatty acid that human sebum also contains, which is why it absorbs faster than most nut oils. It is a cushioning emollient for dry 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.
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.
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.

29 more explained

Vinyl Dimethicone silicone: Vinyl Dimethicone is a silicone used as a building block of the crosspolymer gels that give a formula its soft, blurring feel.
Polyglyceryl-2 Stearate emulsifier: Polyglyceryl-2 Stearate is a plant-derived emulsifier used to stabilise creams with a light finish.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Polyglyceryl-10 Oleate emulsifier: Polyglyceryl-10 Oleate is a mild sugar-derived emulsifier and solubiliser used where a formula must stay clear.
Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer thickener: This is a synthetic thickener that gels quickly and holds an emulsion stable across a wide pH range. It gives a light, non-tacky body.
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.
Brassica Campestris (Rapeseed) Sterols emollient: Phytosterols are plant sterols, structurally close to the cholesterol in skin's own lipid layer. They soften skin and help the oil phase of a formula hold together.
Phytosteryl/Behenyl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate barrier lipid: An amino-acid-based lipid built on plant sterols. It structures the oil phase of a cream and echoes the lipid mix that already sits between skin cells.
Retinal active: Retinal is retinaldehyde, a vitamin A derivative one chemical step closer to retinoic acid than retinol is. It is yellow-orange and unstable in light, so products carrying it are usually opaque.
Silica absorbent: Silica is finely milled mineral, essentially very pure sand. It absorbs oil, stops powders clumping and soft-focuses the look of pores and fine lines.
Aluminum/Magnesium Hydroxide Stearate dispersant: A mineral soap used to suspend powders and thicken an oil phase, which is what stops pigment settling to the bottom of a bottle.
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.
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.
Potassium Cetyl Phosphate emulsifier: Potassium Cetyl Phosphate is an emulsifier prized for keeping powdered ingredients evenly suspended, which is why tinted and mineral-powder textures use it.
Hydrolyzed Sponge active: Hydrolyzed Sponge is processed freshwater sponge, which carries fine silica spicules. In a formula it works as a mild physical exfoliant.
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.
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.
Cynanchum Atratum Extract plant extract: Cynanchum Atratum is a root used in Korean traditional practice. Its extract is used as a conditioning plant extract in formulas for reactive skin.
Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract plant extract: Rice Extract is the anchor of the Korean rice-skincare category. It carries starches, amino acids and ferulic acid, and it is used for the look of dullness and for a soft, blurred finish.
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.
Arctium Lappa Root Extract plant extract: Burdock root extract, the ueong eaten in Korea. It carries inulin and polyphenols and is used as a conditioning extract.
Cnidium Officinale Root Extract plant extract: Cheongung, a traditional Korean medicinal root from the carrot family. Its extract is used as a conditioning plant extract.
Dioscorea Japonica Root Extract plant extract: Dioscorea Japonica is Japanese wild yam, whose root is naturally slippery with mucilage. Its extract hydrates and leaves a cushioned feel.
Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract plant extract: Paeonia Suffruticosa is tree peony, a long-standing East Asian medicinal plant. Its root extract carries paeoniflorin and is used for the look of reddened skin.
Rehmannia Chinensis Root Extract plant extract: Rehmannia root extract, one of the most used roots in East Asian herbal practice. It carries catalpol and sugars, so it also brings a little water holding character.

How it works

The small bottle is not a shortcoming, it is the shape of the category: a strong night step is used in small doses over weeks, so a large bottle would outlive its own usefulness. Delivering the active in a liposome carrier is a formulation choice aimed at how the first fortnight feels rather than at speed. It is a night only step, because this family of ingredients is broken down by light and the routine that goes with it assumes sunscreen the next morning. That is the difference from a gentler daily serum, which can be used twice a day from the start but works more gradually. What you can judge is whether fine texture reads softer in the same light after two or three months.

How to use

Apply a few drops at night after your other serums, avoiding the eye area and the corners of the mouth.
Follow with a moisturizer over the top, since a cream on top makes the first weeks considerably easier.
Do not use it in the morning or alongside an exfoliating product, since light breaks this family down and stacking causes flushing.

Worth knowing

Wear sunscreen every morning while using it, since this kind of routine assumes that last layer is going on.
Build up slowly rather than starting nightly, which is where most people give up.
Stop for a week if the skin starts flaking or stinging, then restart at a lower frequency.

Complete the routine

This itemK-Secret SEOUL 1988 ADVANCED SHOT : RETINAL LIPOSOME 12% + BLACK RICE 15ml$47.50
Seal the routine in as the last stepK-SECRET SEOUL 1988 Cream : Snail Mucin 93% + Rice 100ml$50.00
From the same Korean-market lineK-Secret Advanced Regenerating Eye Gel Patches$19.99

Total for 3 items$117.49

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K-SECRET SEOUL 1988 ADVANCED SHOT : RETINAL LIPOSOME 12% + BLACK RICE 15ml

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K-Secret, Korean-market original

A 15ml retinal night serum, stocked in the Original Korean Formula.

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.

Vitamin A has a molecular structure that's tiny enough to get into the lower layers of your skin, where it finds and boosts collagen and elastin, which is a protein that strengthens your skin's flexibility.
Wilma Bergfeld, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic
Pantothenol is a common ingredient in skin care and hair products I recommend, particularly for people who are prone to dryness.
Taylor Bullock, MDDermatology resident, 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