Centellian24
CENTELLIAN24 Madeca Vitamin 15+ Glowing Serum 30ml
Niacinamide second. Ethyl ascorbic acid third.
Two well-established brightening actives, both near the top of a fifty-nine ingredient list.
Light, quick, a little tacky.
What this serum does
A 30 ml serum with Niacinamide at position two and 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid at three, carrying four forms of vitamin C, two of vitamin E, and single entries for B5, B6, A and rutin.
Counting them ourselves
Here is every entry on this label that is a vitamin, a provitamin or a vitamin derivative, with its position:
Position · Ingredient, and which vitamin it is
- 2
- Niacinamide — vitamin B3
- 3
- 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid — vitamin C, water-stable derivative
- 6
- Ascorbyl Glucoside — vitamin C, sugar-bound
- 20
- Panthenol — provitamin B5
- 25
- Glucosylrutin — rutin, a flavonoid once called vitamin P
- 40
- Beta-Carotene — provitamin A
- 41
- Tocopheryl Acetate — vitamin E, ester form
- 42
- Tocopherol — vitamin E, free form
- 48
- Pyridoxine HCl — vitamin B6
- 58
- Ascorbic Acid — vitamin C, pure form
Ten. Add Carrot Root Extract (29) and Carrot Seed Oil (36), which carry carotenoids, and you reach twelve. Fifteen is presumably counted some other way — perhaps including extracts that contain vitamins without declaring them. We cannot verify that from a label, so we are reporting what we can count.
What matters more than the total is that positions two, three and six are all vitamins. Three of the first six ingredients. That is where the concentration is, and it is unusual.
Position five is alcohol
Alcohol Denat is the fifth ingredient. That is high — above the glycols, above every active except the three at the top.
There is a reason for it. Getting four forms of vitamin C to stay dissolved and stable in one aqueous formula is difficult, and denatured alcohol is a solvent that does it while also making the serum absorb almost instantly. The finish is dry and fast, and the alcohol is why.
But it is a real amount, not a trace. If alcohol dries you out or stings, this is the serum to skip, and the position on the label is how you would have known.
Two more acids, further down
Gluconolactone (46) is a PHA and Salicylic Acid (49) is a BHA. Neither is on the front of the bottle. Both are deep in a fifty-nine-entry list, so the amounts are small — but a vitamin serum containing two exfoliating acids plus alcohol is a formula with a real irritation budget, and it is worth knowing before you layer a retinoid on top of it.
Key ingredients
Ingredient · What it is, and what it is used for
- 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.
- 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
- Vitamin C with an ethyl group at the third carbon. Stable in water, and converts back to ascorbic acid on skin. Third on this list.
- Ascorbyl Glucoside
- Vitamin C bound to glucose. Stable in the bottle; an enzyme releases it on skin.
- Ascorbic Acid
- Pure vitamin C. The most studied form and the least stable one — which is why the rest of a list like this is built to protect it.
- Glutathione
- Tripeptide of glutamate, cysteine and glycine. An antioxidant the body makes for itself; in a jar it is protecting the rest of the formula as much as your skin.
- Glucosylrutin
- Glucose-bound rutin, a flavonoid from buckwheat. More water-soluble than rutin itself.
- Beta-Carotene
- Provitamin A, and an orange pigment. Some of the colour of this serum comes from here.
- Ectoin
- Osmolyte produced by bacteria living in salt lakes. Holds a shell of water around itself; uncommon and costly.
- Totarol
- Diterpene from the New Zealand totara tree. A natural antimicrobial; rare on a cosmetic label. Last on this list.
- Adenosine
- Purine nucleoside. One of the few ingredients Korea approves a wrinkle-care claim for.
- Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate
- Hyaluronate given a positive charge so it sticks to skin instead of rinsing away.
- Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
- Licorice root derivative. Used to calm the look of redness.
How the formula works together
Vitamin C only stays in its working form in an acidic formula, and Tromethamine (14) plus Arginine (33) are what hold that pH. Tocopherol and Tocopheryl Acetate at 41 and 42 are both antioxidants and both stabilisers — vitamin E extends what vitamin C can do, in the formula as well as on skin.
The oil phase is small and light: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Isononyl Isononanoate, canola, carrot seed and sunflower oils. Succinoglycan and guar gum give the slip; Castor Oil/IPDI Copolymer forms a film so the serum sets rather than staying wet.
Three centella triterpenes — Asiaticoside, Madecassic Acid and Asiatic Acid — sit at 31, 32 and 34 as the calming counterweight, with Allantoin, Beta-Glucan, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate and Ceramide NP. Eight hyaluronates run from 26 to 57.
Who it is for
Worth checking before you buy: We count ten vitamin entries on this label rather than the fifteen the name suggests, and alcohol denat is fifth.
Labelled for all skin types, morning and evening. In practice this suits skin that tolerates actives well: alcohol at five, two acids, and vitamin C at a real dose. Oily skin will like the dry finish. Reactive or dry skin should look elsewhere. Sunscreen is mandatory with this one.
How to use it
- After toner, apply an even layer to the face.
- Pat gently until it absorbs — it sets fast.
- Start once daily at night and build up before adding a morning application.
- Always finish with sunscreen during the day.
Details
- Size
- 30 ml
- Made in
- Korea
- Vitamins we can count
- 10 declared entries, plus 2 carrot ingredients carrying carotenoids
- Contains
- Alcohol Denat at position 5; a PHA and a BHA
- Ingredients
- 59, published in full below
Full ingredient list
Water, Niacinamide, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Butylene Glycol, Alcohol Denat, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Glycereth-26, Pentylene Glycol, Propanediol, Glycerin, Methylpropanediol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Isononyl Isononanoate, Tromethamine, Carbomer, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Succinoglycan, 1,2-Hexanediol, Cyamopsis Tetragonoloba (Guar) Gum, Panthenol, Dipropylene Glycol, Castor Oil/Ipdi Copolymer, Ethylhexylglycerin, Allantoin, Glucosylrutin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Adenosine, Disodium Edta, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Root Extract, Canola Oil, Asiaticoside, Madecassic Acid, Arginine, Asiatic Acid, Beta-Glucan, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil, Amodimethicone, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Beta-Carotene, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol, Ceramide NP, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Ectoin, Gluconolactone, Glutathione, Pyridoxine Hcl, Salicylic Acid, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate, Candida Bombicola/Glucose/Methyl Rapeseedate Ferment, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Hyaluronic Acid, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Potassium Hyaluronate, Ascorbic Acid, Totarol
In label order, unedited.
Ships from Korea.
