Seventy pads sit pre-soaked in a screw-top tub, and COSRX means them to stand in for whatever toner you would otherwise reach for. The direction printed on the carton is short: wipe one across face and neck after cleansing, once or twice daily, then leave the essence where it lands.

What the tub prints first is Propolis Extract. Read down the other sixteen entries and plain water never turns up, so the bee resin extract is carrying the liquid phase by itself. That is uncommon for a pad. Under the product name COSRX sets its own bracketed sub-title, pr(o)polis and BHA, and both of those halves are genuinely declared.

Fifth and sixth are Cetearyl Olivate and Sorbitan Olivate, a pairing drawn from olive oil that acts as an emulsifier. It has work to do here, because the final two entries are oils and something has to hold them evenly through the essence. The acid half of the sub-title, Betaine Salicylate, comes eighth of the seventeen.

Those closing entries repay a look before you commit. Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil and Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil round off the seventeen, so unscented would be the wrong word for this pad. COSRX prints a caution of its own as well: an aspirin allergy and betaine salicylate sit poorly together. Try a small area first.