✨ This serum banks on key ingredients of 5% niacinamide, plant-derived squalane, and hippophae rhamnoides (sea buckthorn) fruit extract to reduce pigmentation and even out skintone while smoothing and moisturizing the skin. It also claims to boost moisture retention. ✨ This is a translucent watery gel, with an herby scent — not for the scentsitive but not a dealbreaker for me. It spreads easily, absorbs fast, and doesn’t pill when layered with other products. ✨ I like that this is 5% niacinamide as my skin has shown sensitivity to 10% niacinamide — I’ve gotten a nasty niacin flush from the cult fave niacinamide serum, and I also disliked the way it pilled when used with other products in my routine. This #axisy serum is gentle enough to use daily, even in the same routine as my actives. ✨ I’ve been using this all month in my night routine and I can say this works well in conjunction with my chemical exfoliators and retinol — PIH I’ve acquired while in quarantine are fading fast and my skintone is remarkably even despite the time I spend pottering around the garden in the sun. ✨ Also, this has squalane, one of my all-time hero ingredients, and even right after application I can already feel how moist and plump my skin is, and the effect carries over until the next time I reach for this serum. My moisture barrier has also remained intact, despite the fact that I’m using a BHA toner on top of my actives. ✨ I think this would work well across all skin types but I’d especially recommend this to people sensitive to high concentrations of niacinamide (me) ✨I have to mention the packaging: it’s a tube with a built in pump, which makes it easy and hygienic to dispense.

It has a gel-cream formula that dries to a smooth powdery finish. It's powdery because of the azelaic acid granules after all it is a suspension formula. I use this product alone in the AM routine and i don't layer it with any other active just moisturizer and sunscreen. I don't experience pilling with that method. I alternate the use of my actives per day and per routine instead of layering everything on top of each other in a single routine. So far here is my progress in the pictures below

One more niacinamide product to try from a bunch out there. 🧴 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 60% propolis extract (which, interestingly, is an ingredient collected by bees from tree buds to seal and varnish honeycomb) to address visibly large pores and inflamed skin; 2% niacinamide to keep the skin moist and to help control sebum secretion; and I did not expect it also has is 0.5% BHA, a very mild exfoliant to help clean pores. ▫️𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦 & 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. Out of the bottle from the dropper the consistency is pretty thick it bubbles up as you dispense it. No detectable scent which is one less risk of irritating the skin. 🙋🏽 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. Got hold of this first Beauty of Joseon product I tried out of heeding attractive user reviews. I wanted to address skin dullness. Applying it leaves the skin moist to slightly sticky as it dries up. In the duration of my usage, it did not irritate me. 💲 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞. I time my skincare purchases during sale events so I was able to get this Korean product for ₱425 = $8 on Shopee, originally $17.

Active Ingredient:.025%Tretinoin This is alcohol free, fragrance free and free from any oils. This is the all around gold standard of aging. It fixes cells at their level and makes them behave in a normal healthy way. It is also an effective anti acne treatment. It helps me with my skin hyperpigmentation. Use caution and apply just a pea size. Follow up with a good moisturizer. I have seen marked results since using for two months.