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In today’s article, I’m sharing my honest Beauty of Joseon review. I tested the Relief Sun SPF 50, Ginseng Moist Sun Serum SPF 50, Matte Sun Stick, Dynasty Cream, Revive Serum and Eye Cream.
Beauty of Joseon is a Korean skincare line that draws on traditional Korean ingredients and caters to a largely Western fan base. If you’re here, it’s probably because you’re wondering why Beauty of Joseon is so popular. First, some basic facts about it – their sunscreen has 30% rice extract along with Niacinamide and extracts of pumpkin ferment, soybean ferment, ginseng root, kelp, rice ferment, coconut fruit and more. While Beauty of Joseon calls themselves a clean beauty line, note that this is not an all natural skincare line and they do include some synthetics. I finally got around to trying the Beauty of Joseon sunscreen (and serums) thanks to all the hype on social media and am sharing my thoughts about the ultra popular Korean skincare brand today.
Ginseng Moist Sun Serum SPF 50
The Ginseng Moist Sun Serum SPF 50 is super juicy but it feels a little bit thicker than the super light Relief Sun sunscreen. I thought it would have a thinner liquid like consistency but quite the opposite. It’s still light, but it has an emollient facet to it. I love that it has a generous 30% concentration of ginseng extract, which helps with anti-aging and wrinkle support, as well as 2% niacinamide to smooth and brighten skin.
It uses newer chemical UV filters to provide sun protection, which means it also doesn’t have any white cast. It absorbs immediately, sinks in well and feels weightless with no sensation of it sitting on top of your skin.
Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream
The Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream is a firm gel moisturizer that deeply hydrates without feeling rich or heavy. It’s great for people who want something light and absorbs easily but still moisturizes dry skin. It has nearly 30%rice bran water, 5% ginseng root water, squalane, and niacinamide and has a subtle sweet scent. This goes very well under makeup and works best as a daytime moisturizer for me. There’s a few synthetics in it, but if you love a hydrating gel moisturizer the Dynasty Cream feels amazing on skin. It’s more like a surge of hydration for skin and feels totally weightless. I’d recommend this for oily and dehydrated skin.
Relief Sun Rice Probiotics SPF 50
The Relief Sun SPF 50 is definitely a sunscreen for people who don’t like heavy or thick consistencies and white casts. It’s so lightweight yet watery that it feels like you’re simply applying moisture to the skin and nothing else. It’s probably the lightest sunscreen consistency I’ve come across that ISN’T a liquid sunscreen.
There’s no sensation of it “sitting on your skin” and it provides a dewy finish that eventually dries to a natural finish. Thanks to its lightweight formula it can be re-applied without looking or feeling heavy or greasy.
While I can appreciate and enjoy the beauty of Beauty of Joseon sunscreen, I’m actually part of the small minority of people who enjoys a rich sunscreen that feels like a substantial occlusive barrier and provides long-lasting moisturization.There is no added scent other than from the natural ingredients, which is super subtle. Another great thing about the product, as is common with many quality K-beauty products, is that it’s on the affordable side at only $18.
Funnily enough, Beauty of Joseon is not a popular brand in South Korea. But that’s not to say it isn’t a good line – it’s just that there’s so many popular big brands already in South Korea that many brands choose to market themselves in the US instead where K-beauty has become mainstream popular now. Which I’m not mad about, because that means easier access for me.
About the SPF
You may or may not have heard of the K-beauty sunscreen SPF scandal a while back when a number of Korean sunscreens made by popular brands like Krave Beauty were found to not provide the UV protection they claimed on the label.
Beauty of Joseon has made sure that their SPF is accurate by Independently testing in 2 different labs to confirm UVA and UVB protection. If you’re not in Europe or Korea, you may not recognize the UV filters that Beauty of Joseon uses as they are next-generation UV filters that aren’t available yet in the US.
These are the UV filters Beauty of Joseon uses:
Uvinul A Plus-complete UVA protection
Uvinul T 150– complete UVB protection
Tinosorb M– reflectsandabsorbs UVAandUVB rays. Does not get absorbed into the skin and can cause a white cast like zinc oxide does
IscotrizinolorUvasorb HEB– UVB protection and some UVA protection
Ingredients
Water, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract (30%), Dibutyl Adipate, Propanediol, Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Ethylhexyl Triazone, Niacinamide, Methylene Bis-benzotriazolyl Tetramethylbutylphenol, Coco-caprylate/Caprate, Caprylyl Methicone, Diethylhexyl Butamido Triazone, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Germ Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Lactobacillus/Pumpkin Ferment Extract, Bacillus/Soybean Ferment Extract, Saccharum Officinarum (Sugarcane) Extract, Macrocystis Pyrifera (Kelp) Extract, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Monascus/Rice Ferment, Pentylene Glycol, Behenyl Alcohol, Poly C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Decyl Glucoside, Tromethamine, Carbomer, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, 1,2-Hexanediol,Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Ethylhexylglycerin, Adenosine, Xanthan Gum, Tocopherol, Lactobacillus/Rice Ferment, Aspergillus Ferment, Saccharomyces/Rice Ferment Filtrate
Beauty of Joseon Revive Serum: Ginseng + Snail Mucin
The Beauty of Joseon serum is on the thicker consistency side for me but is extremely hydrating and gives your skin an immediate dewy glow. It begins with a generous base of 63% ginseng water to quickly provide moisture deep into the skin along with 3% Snail mucin for protecting damaged skin and improving skin elasticity.
You’ll also find other hydration-focused and skin-improving actives included like Niacinamide, both Sodium Hyaluronate and hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Mushroom Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract and more. Other than a couple synthetics I’d like to see excluded, it’s otherwise formulated pretty clean. I’d recommend the Beauty of Joseon serum for dry skin in need of intense hydration.
Ingredients: Panax Ginseng Root Water, Water, Butylene Glycol, Snail Secretion Filtrate, Dipropylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Propanediol, Trehalose, Carbomer, Tromethamine, Xanthan Gum, Centella Asiatica Extract, Ganoderma Lucidum (Mushroom) Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Malt Extract, Sodium Polyacrylate, Adenosine, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Disodium EDTA, Phellinus Linteus Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Forsythia Suspensa Fruit Extract, Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate
Beauty of Joseon Revive Eye Serum
The Beauty of Joseon eye serum is a ginseng and retinal-focused silky serum with a yellow hue. It contains 10% ginseng extract and 2% retinal liposome to help improve wrinkles around the eyes and can be used for the entire face – the affordable price tag takes away the guilt of doing so too. Interestingly, there’s also cocoa extract, cholesterol, hydrogenated lecithin, niacinamide, and ceramides.
I generally prefer either eye serums and eye oils/balms so I’m more inclined to use this product over an eye cream. Overall, decent product with an interesting formula but I would not, nor would I ever, claim an eye product is a miracle worker. But, if you enjoy Korean skincare formulations and are on a budget, this is good value for money.
Ingredients: Water, panax ginseng root extract, glycerin, dipropylene glycol, caprylic/caprictriglyceride, 1,2-hexanediol, pentaerythrityl tetraethylhexanoate, niacinamide, butyleneglycol dicaprylate/dicaprate, cetearyl alcohol, sorbitan olivate, cetearyl olivate,butylene glycol, hydrogenated lecithin, tromethamine, carbomer, glyceryl stearate,macadamia ternifolia seed oil, adenosine, theobroma cacao (cocoa) extract, dextrin,cholesterol, polyglyceryl-10 oleate, retinal, brassica campestris (rapeseed) sterols,phytosteryl/behenyl/octyldodecyl lauroyl glutamate, silica, sodium hyaluronate,tocopherol, aluminum/magnesium hydroxide stearate, potassium cetyl phosphate,pentaerythrityl tetra-di-t-butyl hydroxyhydrocinnamate, ceramide np, palmitoyltripeptide-5, disodium edta, ethylhexylglycerin
For global shipping, shop Beauty of Joseon here
Check out: 10 Best Clean-ish Korean Sunscreens
Andrea
Andrea is a clean beauty expert from Los Angeles, California with 10 years of experience in natural skincare and organic living. She writes for Organic Beauty Lover using her expertise to guide readers in choosing the best clean products. Andrea graduated from the University of Southern California in 2012 and has worked at multiple skincare companies, big and small. Connect with her @organicbeautylover.
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