Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum : Propolis + Niacinamide

Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum

Propolis brings a soothing, slightly antibacterial character that suits blemish-prone skin; niacinamide handles tone, oil and the look of pores. Together they make this the most broadly useful serum in the Beauty of Joseon line, and the one that suits the widest range of skin types. The texture is slightly tacky on application — that is the propolis — and settles within a minute or two.

Best for

Dullness combined with breakouts, where most brightening serums are too harsh and most calming serums do too little.

How to use Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum

Apply to clean skin before moisturiser, morning and night.

Worth knowing

Avoid if you have a known bee product allergy.

What is in it

Niacinamide

The appeal of niacinamide is how little it asks of your skin. It is stable, it does not need a low pH to work, and it does not make skin sun-sensitive. What it does is steady: firmer barrier function, less visible oil through the day, and a slow fade on post-blemish marks. Very high concentrations can feel warm on reactive skin, which is why most well-judged formulas sit between two and ten percent rather than chasing a bigger number. Background reading on niacinamide if you want the chemistry behind it.

Propolis

Propolis is the resin honeybees use to seal and sterilise the hive, and it carries antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity into skincare along with a distinctive sticky richness. It suits dehydrated skin and skin dealing with low-grade breakouts at the same time. One genuine caution: anyone allergic to bee products should avoid it entirely, and patch testing is sensible even without a known allergy.

What to use it with

Seal this in with a moisturiser and apply it to skin that is still damp from a toner — both steps make a measurable difference to how much of the serum stays where you put it. From the rest of our range, APLB AHA BHA PHA Centella Facial Cream and I’m From Rice Toner are sensible companions, and both are stocked with the same cash-on-delivery terms.

Where it fits in your routine

A serum goes on after cleansing and toning, while skin is still slightly damp, and before anything heavier. That order matters more than people expect — the thinnest, most concentrated layer needs direct contact with skin, not a film of moisturiser in the way. Give it thirty seconds to absorb, then seal it in with a cream. If you are using more than one serum, the lighter one goes first.

Before you start

Propolis is a bee product. Anyone with a known bee or honey allergy should avoid it, and a patch test behind the ear is sensible even without one.

Common questions

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