COSRX Pure Vitamin C 23% Serum

I’ve only used this product for a few days, but I can already tell a difference, which is crazy. As soon as I put it on, it gave me an instant glow—not oily, greasy mess kind of glow, but the healthy, plump kind of glow. As someone who had beautiful skin during pregnancy, but is now struggling with uneven and dull skin tone postpartum, this made me extremely happy. Anyway, here are my initial thoughts:

Formulation:
•this contains a high ascorbic acid percentage. I’ve never been sensitive to ascorbic acid, so my skin does well with the high concentration. However, if you have more sensitive skin, consider starting with their other vitamin c serum that has a lower percentage of vitamin c.
•there is no ferulic acid present, which is generally used to stabilize ascorbic acid. Without this, I’m afraid the product won’t last terribly long without oxidizing, so keep this in mind. The instructions do say to refrigerate after opening, which may help slow down oxidation.

Texture:
The texture of this serum reminds me of a bi-fácil product where there is an oil layer and water layer that need a little shake to incorporate. Don’t let the oiliness scare you though, it does sink in to the skin well and doesn’t feel heavy on the skin. I haven’t had any issues with pilling when I’ve applied other products and makeup on top.

Smell:
As many reviewers have mentioned, it does have a particular smell to it. To me, it reminds me of tuna, which is quite unpleasant. However, it does dissipitate quickly. I just hold my breath while I apply it to my face XD I don’t smell it at all throughout the day.

La piel lo absorbe rápidamente y queda muy suave

 I’ve only used it once.
That being said, it burns a tiny bit on a raw spot I have on my face and my face turned bright red! Otherwise it’s OK. My redness faded quickly. It does smell like tuna. However the scent quickly dissipates. Very quickly. Especially if you put something over it, which you should. I dont like how it “dries” very sticky. Even after 5 mins my hand was still sticky. I applied snail mucin on top (as shown in my video) and it definitely lessened the sticky. Now it’s soaked in a few hours, it feels nice.
I notice a lot of reviews talk about the bottle only being half filled. It says in the little leaflet that is on purpose because of the ingredients used. When you open it there is a pressure release hiss. Like a soda bottle (as shown in my video) That is why there is lots of space in the bottle. If they filled it to the top that thing would burst from the pressure. And definitely spurt everywhere upon opening. I’m happy they didn’t fill all the way up. I feel like this is going to be a good addition to my Cosrx family of product!

The bottle hissed, popped, and fizzed like carbonation when I just opened it. The smell is like a combination of bad meat & canned tuna! I came on here immediately to see if anyone else reported the smell and I was relieved to see a bunch of customers did, because I assumed mine was expired or something. I’m not sure if I can hang with this odor honestly. I think it’s weird that it smells so pungent and awful. 🤢 If I can hang on, I’ll return to give it an updated review based on how my skin responds, but straight up- if this smells where others can smell it on me, it will be a NO for me. I wanted to give it 1 star based on the smell 🤣 but I’m waiting to see if the product seems to work on my dark spots and gives me a healthy glow.

Très bien

This stuff is amazing! Not too greasy, non drying, doesn’t sting, no redness, not too heavy, doesn’t smell weird, no overwhelming fragrance, no pointless filler inside the product. It comes in a dark bottle so light can’t oxidize it, but temperature can mess it up, so store it in your fridge after opening, not in your bathroom. Make sure the lid is tightly sealed after every use! Also, this WILL make your face feel a little sticky, I recommend wearing this during the day where you’re out and about. Wearing this at night will make everything stick to your face and it might come off on your pillow case (if you must use at night, use a towel) Since this gives you a fairly sticky base, it’s still great to use under your makeup, your foundation will stick and make it easier to apply several layers for maximum coverage. This’ll give you that glowey radiant look without making you look like a glazed donut. If you are using this to help fade acne scars, hyper pigmentation, dark spots, etc, give it time, you might need to wait just over three months to see results (especially if you have brown skin) because scars take a LONG time to heal and make sure you wear sun protection! I recommend the vit E sunscreen from the same company.