My review of K-Beauty brand Beauty of Joseon’s Glow Deep Serum

I’m going through cold and boring Melbourne winter in lockdown. My skin seems to be reflecting my personality at the moment: dry and dull. So, I turned to Beauty of Joseon’s Glow Deep Serum with 2% Arbutin to inject some radiance into my life. Did it work? Read on to find out!

I’m sorry, I like skincare products that work fast.

I know, I know. Good skin requires patience, consistency, routine, and more patience. But this is not me. I am an impatient person. I eat my food while it’s still too hot and burn my tongue every time. I sometimes drink out of my water bottle so fast it ends up pouring on my face. And when I try new skincare, I look in the mirror straight away as if to say, are you transforming my skin yet? ARE YOU CHANGING MY LIFE YET?!

The problem with this approach (as I’ve found out many times) is that strong, transformative skincare products are usually harsher on sensitive skin like mine. The tortoise wins the race when it comes to skincare: slow and steady does it! A lot of K-Beauty brands embrace this philosophy, with one of them being Beauty of Joseon.

About the brand

Beauty of Joseon is what happens when traditional Korean medicine (also known as Hanbang) meets clean skincare. It’s inspired by women of the Joseon Dynasty, the royal ruling family of Korea for over 500 years until 1910. Joseon women famously shunned ostentatious beauty routines in favour of disciplined skincare using natural ingredients. They pretty much personified the “skin first, makeup second” movement before anyone else. Beauty of Joseon captures this approach with elegant, holistic and effective formulas, that place your skin’s health first.

Beauty of Joseon’s Glow Deep Serum ingredients

The Glow Deep Serum uses 68.6% rice bran water to clarify and 2% Arbutin to effectively combat Hyperpigmentation.  Along with soothing panthenol and Coptis Japonica root, the lightweight formula is absorbed quickly into the skin with the aim of evening out your skin tone without irritation.

What exactly is Arbutin? It’s basically a derivative of hydroquinone, which used to be the gold standard ingredient to treat hyperpigmentation and melasma. However, some forms of hydroquinone used in skincare can make Hyperpigmentation worse, particularly on darker skin. Arbutin meanwhile, delivers the benefits of hydroquinone, without the side effects. It’s safer, gentler, and has been shown to be as effective at treating dark spots.

Where it fit in my routine

After double cleansing in the morning, I apply this serum while my skin is still slightly damp from 2 layers of hydrating toner. I wait for a few minutes until it’s mostly absorbed, before continuing on with my moisturizer and sunscreen. Essentially, I use it in place of a vitamin C serum. My skin is loving it. There is no stinging or discomfort to speak of. Instead, it feels incredibly soothing. This is sort of the hallmark of all Beauty of Joseon serums – they seem to vibe with every skin type.

Texture and application      

Beauty of Joseon’s Glow Deep Serum feels like the Glow Serum almost exactly. It’s a thick, gel-like serum, that spreads really well across the skin. Without using a toner, it absorbs pretty fast but after applying a few layers of toner (my signature move these days, to offset my dry-ass skin), it has a tendency to sit on top for a little while. Which I guess, is probably to be expected given how viscous my toner is. There’s no detectable scent, and it feels slightly sticky on application. Nothing too uncomfortable, and indeed it goes pretty quickly. The dropper makes it easy to apply – just put a dropper full on your forehead or cheeks, and use your fingers to pat it in. Afterwards, my skin feels super hydrated and looks quite dewy. It’s a pretty glowy finish, I must say. It doesn’t pill under my moisturizer or sunscreen either. Given given we’re in lockdown, I’m yet to test its performance under makeup.

Results and final verdict

When I first started using Beauty of Joseon’s Glow Deep Serum (see YouTube vid here), I had some Hyperpigmentation from a mixture of sun damage and past acne on one of my cheekbones. A week later, it was still there, and I was like – argh! This serum does nothing except hydrate my skin wonderfully! So, I guess I’ll keep using it! Hah. That’s just me being impatient as usual.

Today, it’s been just over two weeks of consistent use of Glow Deep Serum. When I looked in the mirror this morning, I realized the brown spots on my cheekbone were BARELY there. I had to study my skin in natural light to see them. Whoa. Overall, my skin tone was a lot more even and consistent. Mind you, I’d only been using it once a day in the mornings. I’d hazard a guess that using it twice daily would produce even better results. I guess Beauty of Joseon’s Glow Deep does work! In short, it’s a solid replacement for a vitamin C serum, if your skin find’s vitamin C a bit too irritating.

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Find the Glow Deep Serum from Beauty of Joseon online in Australia at Kanvas Beauty

You can shop the serum and other fabulous Beauty of Joseon products right here on Kanvas Beauty.

We ship Australia-wide, including all the major cities (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin, Adelaide and Canberra). Enjoy free standard shipping with any purchase over $50, and free express shipping with any order over $99. If you’re new to Kanvas Beauty, take an additional $20 off your first order with us (use code WELCOME20 at checkout).

Happy shopping! If you have further questions on Beauty of Joseon or any of our other brands, drop us a line on chat or on email: hello@kanvasbeauty.com.au.

Have you tried any Beauty of Joseon products? What do you think? Leave a review and tell us all the gory details!