Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum: what the formula offers
Updated September 8, 2026
Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum is worth considering if you want a single serum with propolis and niacinamide, and you have room for an optional step. If a serum you already like serves the same purpose, there is little reason to add another bottle just for its name. Start with the job you want it to do: make your routine more comfortable, replace a product, or address a specific visible concern.
This is a desk-researched review of Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide, using current product information and published ingredient research. We haven't tested its wear, absorption or results on skin.
What is in Glow Serum?
Beauty of Joseon's current US storefront lists 60% propolis extract, 2% niacinamide and 0.5% BHA. Its ingredient list identifies that BHA as betaine salicylate and also includes glycerin and sodium hyaluronate. These details belong to Glow Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide; check the full name on the bottle. See the official formula and directions.
The practical point is that this is already a combination serum. Buying it means choosing the whole formula, including its exfoliating ingredient, rather than adding propolis alone. If you want a serum with no exfoliant, that distinction matters more than the word “glow.”
A prominent extract percentage also isn't a score you can use to rank different bottles. Without matching information about the extracts and finished formulas, a larger number doesn't establish a better result. Our propolis guide explains why the specific material matters.
For this review, the current official US listing takes precedence over ingredient lists in older articles. Different online lists do not, by themselves, tell you when or whether a product was reformulated. Compare the packaging of the bottle you're buying with the current brand information if an ingredient matters to you.
Is 2% niacinamide enough to be useful?
It isn't a meaningless concentration. A published study tested a moisturizer containing 2% niacinamide in separate Japanese and US groups. Some measures of facial oil improved, but the findings differed between the groups: the US study found lower surface sebum levels without a significant reduction in sebum excretion rate. That is a more limited result than saying niacinamide simply stops oil production. Read the study abstract.
The study did not test Beauty of Joseon Glow Serum. It offers a reason to take this concentration seriously, not a promise about this bottle or a reason to expect the study's timeline on your own skin.
For shoppers comparing percentages, the useful question is whether the finished product meets a need. A 10% label doesn't automatically make another serum the better purchase; a 2% label doesn't make this one an automatic match for sensitive skin. The niacinamide guide goes further into concentration and formula differences.
Check what you own before adding it
Lay out the products you actually use, including moisturizer. Read their ingredient lists and give each one a plain-language job. “I like how my skin feels after this” is a useful answer. “It has an ingredient I keep hearing about” is less helpful when deciding whether to buy another version.
You already use a niacinamide serum
Think about replacement before addition. If the existing serum feels comfortable and you are happy with it, Glow Serum needs another reason to earn space: a preferred texture, a simpler routine, or a product you want to try when the current bottle runs out.
If you dislike the serum you have, write down the actual problem. Is it unpleasant to apply? Does it leave too much residue? Are you asking it to do something you haven't seen happen? Those are different reasons to change products. Switching to a lower headline percentage won't answer all three.
Your moisturizer already contains niacinamide
That doesn't tell you its concentration or prove it performs like a serum. It does tell you the ingredient is already present in your routine. Before adding Glow Serum, identify what is missing in practice.
If your moisturizer leaves your skin comfortable and you like the finish, another niacinamide step may simply be unnecessary spending. If you want an additional serum, choose it for a specific benefit or experience you want to evaluate, rather than treating the ingredient's presence in two bottles as an achievement.
You already use a propolis ampoule or hydrating serum
Ask which bottle you would keep if you could only use one. You don't have to finish a shelf of similar products in the same routine. A fair comparison can wait until you need a replacement.
Here is a useful buying rule: if you cannot name what Glow Serum would replace or what your routine is missing, wait. This is a way to judge value, not a claim that all propolis or hydrating serums are interchangeable.
You already use an exfoliant
Remember the betaine salicylate when reading the whole routine. The brand's BHA percentage is not a salicylic-acid percentage, and it doesn't establish equivalent performance to a separate acid treatment. Don't use the label to calculate a replacement for an acne treatment.
For a clear introduction, avoid starting Glow Serum and a new exfoliant together. Keep other optional changes on hold so that a change in comfort is easier to trace. If your current routine already feels like too much, adding another serum is not the first decision to make.
Glow Serum and Glow Deep are different choices
Glow Deep Serum: Rice + Alpha-Arbutin has a different ingredient list and a different emphasis. Its current official page positions it around uneven-looking tone and dark spots; the list includes rice bran water, alpha-arbutin and niacinamide. Glow Deep is therefore not automatically a way to avoid niacinamide. Check Glow Deep's own product page.
Treat the two names as separate shopping decisions, rather than assuming “Deep” means a stronger version of Glow Serum. Nor does having different featured ingredients establish a reason to buy both.
If your interest is mainly uneven-looking tone, compare the products against that goal before choosing. If you are drawn to propolis, evaluate Glow Serum on its own merits. Neither name tells you which texture you will prefer or how your skin will respond.
What reviews can tell you about the finish
The brand describes a substantial, honey-like texture that absorbs without stickiness. That is its description, not our wear-test result. Beauty of Joseon's texture FAQ is a starting point for deciding whether that type of serum appeals to you.
A review is more useful when it tells you what was applied before and after the serum, how much was used, and how long the person used it. A quick comment about “glow” may describe the finish immediately after application. It doesn't establish a lasting change in visible marks, oiliness or skin texture.
Look for the detail that matches your own decision. Someone who enjoys a noticeable layer may judge it differently from someone who wants skincare to disappear under makeup. This review doesn't assign a customer-consensus score, and it cannot settle pilling or makeup compatibility without a wear test.
Introduce it without rebuilding your routine
The brand directs users to apply two or three drops to the face and neck and gently pat them in. It allows daytime or nighttime use and specifies sunscreen during the day. Follow the current product directions.
Before facial use, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends trying a new skincare product on a small area twice daily for seven to ten days. This is a longer observation period than the brand's suggested 24-hour check. A home trial is not a diagnosis or a guarantee against later reactions. Read the AAD's testing instructions.
A simple evening example is cleansing, Glow Serum, then your usual moisturizer. An existing toner needn't become another purchase for this experiment. Keep the rest of your routine familiar while you decide whether the serum earns its place.
Judge it against the reason you bought it. Does the routine feel comfortable? Do you enjoy applying it? Does it replace something? If you're judging visible changes, make comparisons in similar lighting instead of comparing a freshly applied finish with bare skin from memory.
When to pass
Avoid this serum if you have a known propolis allergy. Propolis can cause allergic contact reactions; being bee-derived doesn't make it reaction-proof. DermNet explains propolis contact allergy.
If a new product causes a rash, itching or swelling, wash it off and stop using it. Get help from a dermatologist for a severe reaction or one whose cause you cannot identify. Don't keep applying it because a review called the formula soothing. See the AAD's guidance on reactions.
You can also pass for a simpler reason: your routine already works. Glow Serum makes the most sense when its combination fits a clear gap or replaces an optional product you no longer enjoy. Before buying, finish this sentence: “I want this serum because my current routine is missing ___.” If the answer is still unclear, the bottle can wait.
How to use azelaic acid: apply after toner on dry skin, start once or twice a week and finish with SPF. Compare Anua, Medicube and Centellian24 10% serums.
Calming Serum suits dry, redness-prone skin: green tea, mugwort, 5% panthenol, no niacinamide or BHA. Glow Serum suits oil and pores. $13.33 vs $12.99.
