What is K-Secret Seoul 1988 Eye Cream for?

It is an eye cream in K-Secret's Korean-market lineup, built around Niacinamide (8th of 48 ingredients). AM and/or PM, as the last step before sunscreen or overnight. Pat a small amount around the orbital bone with the ring finger, avoiding direct contact with the eye. What ships is the same Korean-market formula and packaging K-Secret sells at home, not a US-reformulated version.

Where does this go in a routine, and how do I use it?

AM and/or PM, as the last step before sunscreen or overnight. Pat a small amount around the orbital bone with the ring finger, avoiding direct contact with the eye. It takes the last step, before sunscreen of a Korean-style layering routine. Give it a minute to settle before adding the next product on top.

Does Seoul 1988 Eye Cream contain Niacinamide?

Yes, Niacinamide is listed 8th of 48 ingredients on the panel, an early, prominent position. It is a tone- and texture-focused brightening active in this formula, working alongside the other ingredients on the panel.

Is this the authentic Korean-market version, not a US retail reformulation?

Yes. What we ship is K-Secret's Korean-market formula and packaging, sourced for the Korean market rather than a US-facing reformulation. The intact Korean barcode and batch code on the box are part of that proof.

Who is this product best suited for?

Normal, Combination, Dull or uneven-tone skin and Dry skin types are the best fit, based on the actives on its ingredient panel. Patch test first, as with any new addition to a routine.

K-Secret

Seoul 1988 Eye Cream

Name: K-Secret Seoul 1988 Eye Cream
Brand: K-Secret
SKU: Shopify-8809695240577
Price: 17.64 USD
Availability: InStock

K-Secret Seoul 1988 Eye Cream is an eye cream (30 ml) formulated with Niacinamide, a tone- and texture-focused brightening active.

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$17.64

30 ml

$58.80 per 100 ml

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

Suited to: NormalCombinationDull or uneven-tone skinDry

Helps with: Skin looking for a tone- and texture-focused brightening activeSkin looking for a skin-conditioning ingredientSkin looking for a skin-conditioning renewal activeSkin looking for a water-binding humectant

In stock. Arrives in 3 to 7 business days

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How it works

K-Secret Seoul 1988 Eye Cream is an eye cream sold in K-Secret's Korean-market packaging and format. Niacinamide is listed 8th of 48 ingredients, an early, prominent position on the list, carrying this formula's brightening and tone-evening work. Adenosine is listed 23rd of 48 ingredients, a supporting position further down the list, adding the conditioning, moisture-supporting quality this formula relies on. Retinal is listed 26th of 48 ingredients, a supporting position further down the list, carrying this formula's skin-conditioning, renewal-adjacent work. Sodium Hyaluronate and Ascorbic Acid are also present on the list, in a supporting amount alongside the ingredients above. It takes the last step, before sunscreen of a Korean-style layering routine, used am and/or pm, as the last step before sunscreen or overnight.

Key benefits

What it is: a 30ml eye cream from K-Secret, for the eye care step.
On the ingredient list: Glycerin, Niacinamide, Butylene Glycol, confirmed on this product's own manufacturer list rather than assumed from the category.
Fits into the routine: is formulated for the thinner skin around the eyes.
Original Korean Formula: the version sold on Korean shelves, not a US reformulation.

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

1 of 5

47 of 47 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate emollient: An ester of butylene glycol with coconut-derived fatty acids. It spreads thin and dry rather than greasy, and it dissolves oil-soluble ingredients that will not go into water.
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.
Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate emollient: Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate is a light ester emollient that gives a dry, silky finish and disperses pigment evenly.
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.
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.
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.

35 more explained

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lactobacillus/Panax Ginseng Root Ferment Filtrate ferment: Ginseng root fermented with lactobacillus and strained. Fermentation cuts the large ginsenosides into smaller forms, which is why Korean brands ferment ginseng so often.
Lactobacillus/Rice Ferment ferment: Rice fermented with lactobacillus, the same bacteria behind kimchi and makgeolli. Fermentation breaks the rice starch into smaller sugars and amino acids that hold water.
Lactobacillus/Soybean Ferment Extract ferment: This is soybean fermented by lactobacillus. The fermentation breaks soy proteins into smaller pieces, which is what makes the extract easier for a formula to carry.
Saccharomyces/Coix Lacryma-Jobi Ma-Yuen Seed Ferment Filtrate ferment: Job's tears, the yulmu of Korean grain tea, fermented with yeast and strained. It supplies sugars and amino acids and is used as a conditioning ferment.
Saccharomyces/Potato Extract Ferment Filtrate ferment: Potato extract fermented with yeast and strained. It supplies sugars and amino acids and is used as a conditioning ferment.
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.
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.
Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate antioxidant: This is a stabiliser that keeps the oils and fragrance in a formula from oxidising. Its job is the shelf life of the product rather than any effect on skin.
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.
3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid antioxidant: 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid is a stable vitamin C derivative that skin converts to ascorbic acid. It survives in a formula far better than pure vitamin C and works at a gentler pH, so it suits skin that finds the pure acid uncomfortable.
Bakuchiol active: Bakuchiol is a compound from the babchi seed, used as a plant-derived alternative to retinol. It is oil soluble, stable in daylight and does not carry retinol's acclimatisation period, which is why sensitive-skin formulas choose it.
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.
SH-Oligopeptide-2 peptide: sh-Oligopeptide-2 is a second fermentation-produced peptide, used alongside sh-oligopeptide-1 for the look of firmness.
SH-Polypeptide-1 peptide: sh-Polypeptide-1 is a longer fermentation-produced peptide. It is used in formulas built around the look of resilience and recovery.

How to use

Use the Seoul 1988 Eye Cream after serum and before moisturizer, morning and evening.
Apply a small amount on your finger and lightly tap the cream around the eye area.
Serum first, this second, moisturizer over the top and out to the edges of the eye area.
Twice a day. Do not apply it right up to the lash line; the product travels on its own as the day goes on.

Worth knowing

Patch test on the inner arm 24 hours before adding this to your face or scalp, as with any new product.
Introduce it gradually alongside the rest of your routine rather than adding several new actives at once.

Complete the routine

This itemK-Secret Seoul 1988 Eye Cream$17.64
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$87.63

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K-Secret Seoul 1988 Eye Cream

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K-Secret, Korean-market original