Beauty of Joseon
Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water 150ml
Ginseng water first. Plain water seventh.
Almost nothing is built that way, because building it that way costs more.
Slippery, and slow to sink.
What this essence water does
A 150 ml watery essence built on Panax ginseng root water, with Niacinamide at position five and four further ginseng-derived ingredients below.
Read the first seven positions
Ingredient lists are ordered by amount. On almost every toner and essence you will ever pick up, position one is Water. Here it is position seven, behind ginseng root water, three glycols, niacinamide and a preservative booster.
That single fact tells you more than any marketing sentence could: the liquid base of this product is a ginseng distillate, not water with ginseng added to it. It is the reason this costs what it does.
Five ginseng entries, and they are not the same thing
Ginseng appears five separate times, in five different preparations.
Panax Ginseng Root Water (1) is the steam distillate — the aromatic water fraction. Panax Ginseng Callus Culture Extract (15) is cultured plant cells grown in a bioreactor rather than harvested root, which is how a brand gets ginseng compounds without waiting six years for a root. Panax Ginseng Root Extract (19) is the conventional solvent extract. Panax Ginseng Berry Extract (20) is the fruit, which has a different ginsenoside profile from the root and is the part traditionally considered scarcer. Lactobacillus/Panax Ginseng Root Ferment Filtrate (21) is the root put through bacterial fermentation — a process used because it converts the large ginsenosides into smaller ones.
Five preparations is a formulator covering the plant from several angles, not a label padded with one ingredient written five ways.
Two ingredients Korean regulators recognise by name
Niacinamide at five and Adenosine at fourteen are both on the short list of actives Korea's regulator approves for specific functional claims — niacinamide for tone, adenosine for the look of wrinkles. A Korean brand putting both in one product is making a deliberate regulatory choice, not a decorative one.
Niacinamide at position five, above the gelling agent, is a meaningful amount.
Key ingredients
Ingredient · What it is, and what it is used for
- Panax Ginseng Root Water
- Aqueous distillate of ginseng root. The base of this formula — first on the list, ahead of water.
- Panax Ginseng Callus Culture Extract
- Cultured ginseng plant cells grown in a bioreactor rather than harvested from soil.
- Panax Ginseng Root Extract
- Conventional solvent extract of ginseng root.
- Panax Ginseng Berry Extract
- Extract of the ginseng fruit, which carries a different ginsenoside profile from the root.
- Lactobacillus/Panax Ginseng Root Ferment Filtrate
- Ginseng root fermented with Lactobacillus, then filtered. Fermentation converts the larger ginsenosides into smaller ones.
- Niacinamide
- Vitamin B3. Studied for evening out the look of tone, for the look of pores, and for breakout-prone skin — which is why it turns up in so much of this catalogue.
- Adenosine
- Purine nucleoside. One of the few ingredients Korea approves a wrinkle-care claim for.
- Panthenol
- Provitamin B5. Used to calm irritation, and pulls water into the surface and holds it there.
- Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
- Licorice root derivative. Used to calm the look of redness.
- Allantoin
- Heterocyclic diureide. Used to calm irritation.
- Glyceryl Glucoside
- Glycerin bound to glucose. Used to pull in water and hold it; a natural osmolyte.
- Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Extract
- Extract of cocoa.
How the formula works together
There is no oil phase, no emulsifier and no silicone. This is a purely aqueous formula: a ginseng distillate base, three glycols and glyceryl glucoside holding water, Xanthan Gum giving it the slight slip that makes an essence feel different from a toner, and Sodium Hyaluronate near the end.
The calming set is Panthenol, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate and Allantoin at eleven to thirteen. The active set is Niacinamide and Adenosine. The ginseng set is spread from one to twenty-one.
Twenty-four ingredients, no fragrance and no essential oil on the list. Also no alcohol, which is worth saying about a ginseng product — traditional ginseng preparations are often alcohol extractions, and this one is not.
Who it is for
Labelled for all skin types. Light enough to layer several times, and free of fragrance, alcohol and oil — which makes it usable on skin that is currently reacting to things. If you want a single essence to build a routine on, this is a reasonable one.
How to use it
- After cleansing, apply to a cotton pad and sweep gently over the face.
- Or pour a little into your palms and press it in — it absorbs faster that way, and wastes less.
- Layer two or three times on dry days rather than applying one heavy pass.
- Follow with serum and moisturiser while skin is still damp.
Details
- Size
- 150 ml
- Made in
- Korea
- Base
- Panax ginseng root water — water is the 7th ingredient
- Skin type
- All skin types
- Ingredients
- 24, published in full below
Full ingredient list
Panax Ginseng Root Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Propanediol, Niacinamide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Water, Hydroxyacetophenone, Glyceryl Glucoside, Xanthan Gum, Panthenol, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Allantoin, Adenosine, Panax Ginseng Callus Culture Extract, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Extract, Dextrin, Glucose, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Panax Ginseng Berry Extract, Lactobacillus/Panax Ginseng Root Ferment Filtrate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA
In label order. Our source prints this list in capitals with one misspelling; we have set it in normal case and corrected that spelling. Nothing has been added, removed or reordered.
Ships from Korea.
