Kelly Driscoll

Some Background

I think it’s pretty well established that I love chemical exfoliation. This love was discovered many years ago when I was searching for a way to clear up my clogged pores. I actually have been referred to as “the clogged pore girl” by someone who was helped by my YouTube video extolling the virtues of chemical exfoliation for those nasty little clogs.

But as we know, there can always be too much of a good thing.

Over doing it when it comes to acids can spell disaster for your skin. Your skin doesn’t like to be forced or rushed into anything, and the stubborn binch will get you back if you don’t listen to her.

I keep my exfoliation game pretty consistent. I use a gentle vitamin C serum in the morning (currently TMYS Iconic Brightening Serum) and my azelaic acid 8% prescription from Curology at night. I stay away from any other forms of BHA and very occasionally I will do a mask with AHA in it.

Being in this skincare game though, I am always testing new products. And I only have one face to test them out on, so sometimes things can go awry.

Recently, I was sent an anti-aging firming serum that I was excited to use. However, I somehow overlooked or didn’t make the connection that there was lactic acid in the serum. Like a lot of it. It’s actually the second ingredient listed, and as we know, the first 5 or so ingredients listed are the ones that make up the biggest percentage of the formula.

So what does all this backstory have to do with Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream?

Everything.

After having used so much chemical exfoliation for about two weeks, the damage was done. My skin was irritated, sensitive, breaking out and low-key burning all the time.

So I knew I had to overhaul my routine and focus in on moisture barrier repair and strengthening.

If you haven’t heard, your moisture barrier is everything. Want to decrease the signs of aging, comfort dry skin, control dehydrated skin, lessen your oil production or protect yourself from acne? You need to be focusing on your moisture barrier, my friend!

A strong moisture barrier function is the root of great skin and mine was in a totally weakened state.

So I decided it was time to add in moisture barrier loving ingredients to get my skin back on track.

Enter Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream (one million minutes later).

The Review

This is an old favorite of my dehydrated skin. I have probably gone through about 5 or 6 jars of this stuff already. So I am not going to spend a lot of time telling you why this a great cream for dehydrated skin (which it is), or that it will continue to pull hydration to your skin all day long (it will), or that it will plump your skin into chok-chok goodness (oh boy, it will!).

What I want to focus this review on is its claims to protect and strengthen your moisture barrier.

Beauty of Joseon is the brand of your traditional K-drama loving dreams! This stuff looks like it came straight off the set of Jewel in the Palace (or any traditional K-Drama of your choice!).

And traditional is what Beauty of Joseon is all about. Beauty of Joseon uses traditional Korean ingredients, often referred to as hanbang, in their formulas. The story of their name comes from a beauty bible known as the Kyuhab Chongseo that was used by Royal Court women in the Joseon period. The characters on the jar mean beautiful, clean woman. This cream includes traditional hanbang ingredients like ginseng, honey, orchid, radish leaf and rice bran.

But that’s not what makes this cream most exciting to me (although I do love all that hanbang goodness, and so does my face). No, what makes this cream truly exciting is its moisture barrier loving ingredients.

Moisture Barrier Loving Ingredients

Niacinamide. This is well known in the skincare community for its ability to brighten the skin. But did you know that it also can stimulate the natural production of ceramides in your skin? Yep, ceramides, those moisture barrier repairing and strengthening little gems of moisture. And this cream is chock full of niacinamide, it’s listed as the fourth ingredient!

This cream also features Human Oligopeptide-1 or EGF. EGF has been proven to repair the epidermis and provide moisture. We also have hyaluronic acid in this cream which provides moisture and hydration deep into the skin and also contains cholesterol and fatty acids to help replenish the lipid layer. If all that wasn’t enough, we also have stand-alone ceramide 3 in this cream.

In case you weren’t convinced of its excellent ingredients list, let me also mention the other moisturizers present in this formula: sunflower seed oil, centella, sea buckthorn oil, shea butter, calendula flower and safflower seed.

So this stuff has all the skin comforting, moisturizing and soothing ingredients my poor irritated skin needed.

Texture and Smell

This stuff has a weird texture. Weird AF. This is a very thick, white cream that is sticky and extremely stringy. This has the texture of a thick glue. It’s pretty odd for a facial cream. But the weirdest thing about it is that it melts down into the skin extremely well and and feels very lightweight.

The scent is very pretty. Now, the ingredients scream hanbang but the scent doesn’t! This is a light, floral and slightly herbally smell that is extremely pleasant and not heavy at all.

This cream plays very well underneath makeup and sunscreen, thanks to its ability to sink into the skin immediately with no stickiness or wait time.

The Results

I’ve been using this cream day and night as the final step in my skincare routine and have been impressed with its ability to immediately sooth my burning skin.

The first night I used this cream my skin had been feeling very uncomfortable, tight and burning. I couldn’t wait to put this cream on. When I did, it felt like a warm and cozy hug from an old friend when you are having a bad day. Seriously, this stuff was so comforting to my skin, enveloping it with cooling moisture.

By the fourth time I used this cream my skin was no longer low-key burning during the day. My skin started to feel a bit more comfortable and less sensitized.

This cream has really worked a miracle to calm and soothe my skin in such a short amount of time. The damage done to my moisture barrier is becoming a distant memory and I feel this cream is playing an important part in my routine to work on strengthening my moisture barrier.

Price and Where to Purchase

This cream is priced between $17 and $22, which is an excellent deal for such high quality ingredients. I have often seen this cream go on promotion on Amazon* for even less, and it’s my preferred retailer for this holy grail favorite.

Just a word of warning for those who do purchase: the jar will look like it’s about 75% full. Don’t panic, you didn’t get a used or tampered with jar, this is how the cream is packed and it’s totally normal.

The Take Away

So I have learned yet another important lesson in skincare about the importance of my moisture barrier and I will continue to include moisture barrier strengthening ingredients in my routine to feed my fickle friend.

After all, I only have one face.

 

*indicates use of affiliate link that pays a small commission to help run this blog.