How do I use this serum?

Apply a few drops to clean skin after toner or essence and before moisturizer, morning and/or night, pressing it in rather than rubbing.

Can I use this with other serums?

Yes, layering thinnest to thickest texture is the usual rule; introduce one new serum at a time so you can tell what your skin is responding to.

K-Secret

SEOUL 1988 BOOSTING SERUM : COLLAGEN COMPLEX 7 + RED GINSENG 30ml

Name: K-Secret SEOUL 1988 BOOSTING SERUM : COLLAGEN COMPLEX 7 + RED GINSENG 30ml
Brand: K-Secret
SKU: 12669556535
Price: 50.0 USD
Availability: InStock

SEOUL 1988 BOOSTING SERUM : COLLAGEN COMPLEX 7 + RED GINSENG is a serum from K-Secret. It suits normal, combination, dry and oily skin. Comes in a 30ml size.

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$50.00

30 ml

$166.67 per 100 ml

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

Suited to: NormalCombinationDryOily

Helps with: A targeted treatment stepLayering under a daily moisturizer

One-time purchase

$50.00

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$45.00

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Key benefits

What it is: a 30ml serum from K-Secret, for the serum 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: delivers a targeted dose of its lead ingredients to the areas that need it most.
Original Korean Formula: the version sold on Korean shelves, not a US reformulation.

Key actives

3Butylene Glycola solvent and humectant used to help carry the other ingredients

Third on this product's own ingredient list of 45 ingredients, a solvent and humectant used to help carry the other ingredients.

All products with Butylene Glycol

5Glycerinthe workhorse humectant in most Korean formulas, holding water at the skin's surface

Position 5 of 45 on this product's own ingredient list, the workhorse humectant in most Korean formulas, holding water at the skin's surface.

All products with Glycerin

8Niacinamidea vitamin B3 derivative widely used in Korean formulas for tone and texture

Position 9 of 45 on this product's own ingredient list, a vitamin B3 derivative widely used in Korean formulas for tone and texture.

All products with Niacinamide

11Hydrolyzed Collagena broken-down collagen fragment used as a humectant-adjacent conditioning ingredient

Position 12 of 45 on this product's own ingredient list, a broken-down collagen fragment used as a humectant-adjacent conditioning ingredient.

All products with Hydrolyzed Collagen

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

3Butylene Glycol8Niacinamide11Hydrolyzed Collagen

3Butylene Glycol
8Niacinamide
11Hydrolyzed Collagen

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

44 of 44 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.
Collagen Water protein: Collagen Water is a collagen solution used in place of plain water as a formula base. It hydrates and leaves a conditioned feel; the collagen molecule itself stays on the surface.
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.
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.
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.
Glycereth-26 humectant: Glycereth-26 is a modified glycerin that hydrates with far less stickiness than glycerin itself. It is a common way to load water into a formula that has to stay light.
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.
Atelocollagen protein: Atelocollagen is collagen with the ends of the molecule removed, the parts most likely to provoke a reaction. It is used as a conditioning, water-holding protein.
Desamido Collagen protein: Desamido Collagen is collagen chemically altered so it dissolves more readily in water. Like every collagen on a label it is far too large to enter skin, and it works as a humectant and a smoothing film.
Hydrolyzed Collagen protein: Hydrolyzed Collagen is collagen broken into fragments small enough to dissolve in water. It cannot become collagen in skin; what it does is hold water at the surface and leave a smooth, conditioned film.
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.

32 more explained

Panax Ginseng Root Extract plant extract: Ginseng Root Extract is the signature ingredient of Korean traditional skincare, carrying ginsenosides. It is used for the look of tired, dull skin, and brands often ferment it to break the ginsenosides into smaller forms.
Coptis Japonica Root Extract plant extract: Coptis Japonica is a traditional East Asian medicinal root, bright yellow from its berberine content. In skincare its extract is used for the look of congested, oily skin.
Soluble Collagen protein: Soluble Collagen is collagen kept in its intact triple-helix form and dissolved rather than cut up. It sits on the surface as a water-holding film.
Collagen protein: Collagen is the structural protein that makes up most of the dermis. Applied on top it is far too large to enter skin, so in a formula it works as a humectant and a smoothing film former.
Collagen Amino Acids amino acid: Collagen Amino Acids are collagen broken all the way down to its individual amino acids. At that size they act as humectants, the same job skin's own amino acids do.
Procollagen protein: Procollagen is the precursor molecule cells build before it is trimmed into collagen. Applied on top it behaves like the other collagens on a label: a large protein that holds water at the surface.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cetearyl Olivate emulsifier: Cetearyl Olivate is the water-loving half of the olive-derived emulsifier pair. With sorbitan olivate it builds emulsions whose lipid profile is close to skin's own.
Sorbitan Olivate emulsifier: Sorbitan Olivate is an olive-derived emulsifier, the oil-loving half of the pair sold as Olivem. It holds oil into water and leaves a light, non-waxy feel.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cyanocobalamin vitamin: Cyanocobalamin is vitamin B12, and it is a deep pink-red, which is why a formula carrying it often has a colour nobody added on purpose. It is used as a conditioning vitamin.
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.
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.
Ethyl Hexanediol humectant: Ethyl Hexanediol is a glycol that hydrates and makes a formula less hospitable to microbes, the same double role 1,2-hexanediol plays.
Cellulose absorbent: Cellulose is plant fibre. In a formula it thickens, absorbs oil and, in a sheet mask, is often the fabric itself.
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.
Polyglutamic Acid humectant: Polyglutamic Acid comes from fermented soy and holds several times more water than hyaluronic acid for its weight. It forms a light film on the surface, so it is often layered with hyaluronic rather than replacing it.
Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate emulsifier: Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate is a sugar-derived emulsifier and solubiliser, mild enough to be a standard choice in Korean essences. It dissolves small amounts of oil into water without any tightening feel.
Glutathione antioxidant: Glutathione is a small peptide the body uses as one of its main antioxidants. In skincare it is used as an antioxidant and for the look of dullness; it is unstable in water, so formulas that carry it are usually built around protecting it.
Hydrolyzed Elastin protein: Hydrolyzed Elastin is fragments of elastin, the protein that gives skin its snap back. Like collagen it cannot rebuild the real thing from the outside; it holds water and leaves a smooth film.
sh-Oligopeptide-1 peptide: sh-Oligopeptide-1 is a peptide made by yeast fermentation rather than synthesis, which is what the sh prefix records. It is used for the look of firmness and skin recovery after irritation.
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.
Xanthan Gum thickener: Xanthan Gum is a polysaccharide made by fermenting sugar. It thickens a watery formula into a gel and holds the whole thing in suspension so nothing separates. Too much of it and a serum turns stringy, which is why it appears in fractions 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.

How it works

This 30ml serum handles the serum step: it delivers a targeted dose of its lead ingredients to the areas that need it most. Butylene Glycol is the third ingredient on this product's own manufacturer list of 45, a solvent and humectant used to help carry the other ingredients, which is why the formula reads as more than a generic serum rather than a name-only claim. Used AM and PM, after essence and before moisturizer, it sits in that position of a Korean-style routine, not as a stand-alone product.

How to use

Apply a few drops to clean skin after toner or essence and before moisturizer, morning and/or night, pressing it in rather than rubbing.

Worth knowing

Introduce a new serum on its own for a week before adding other treatment steps.

Complete the routine

This itemK-Secret SEOUL 1988 BOOSTING SERUM : COLLAGEN COMPLEX 7 + RED GINSENG 30ml$50.00
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$119.99

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