Glow Recipe Review

I stayed away from Glow Recipe for a long while because I thought the fun pretty packaging meant their products wouldn’t be effective enough for my 45+ year-old skin. But I have now tried every single Glow Recipe product that is currently on the market and can safely say I was wrong! As with any skincare brand, there are hits and misses. But there are several Glow Recipe products that work so well for my sensitive skin, they’ve become permanent fixtures in my skincare routine.

Glow Recipe is a K-beauty-inspired brand that formulates natural, gentle, effective skincare that gives results along with a lovely sensorial experience. Their products are lush and infused with thoughtful ingredients that have helped the brand form a cult following.

About the Brand

Glow Recipe was founded in 2017 by Christine Chang and Sarah Lee who noticed a lot of global brands were looking to Korea for the latest advancements in skincare. Having grown up in Korea, they made it their mission to share the latest South Korean skincare innovations, K-beauty trends, and the best ingredients to incorporate into your skincare routine.

Since its inception, the brand continues to champion inclusivity, individuality, and sustainability. Glow Recipe products are made from effective ingredients, are great for your skin, and help you achieve clinically-proven results. Plus, they make skincare fun!

Scents

Because of the colorful, vibrant packaging and fruit extracts and enzymes, I made the same assumption many others do before actually trying Glow Recipe – that their products were heavily scented. It turns out most Glow Recipe products are mildly scented while some have no scent at all.

Glow Recipe puts the minimum amount of ingredients they can to mask the off-putting scent of ingredients and actives that would make the products smell unpleasant otherwise. And they never use more the 0.5% of naturally derived fragrances or fragrances made from edible ingredients in their skincare formula. There’s nothing artificial thrown in the mix.

The Formulas

When creating products, Glow Recipe is committed to creating gentle yet effective formulas. They use high quality ingredients including antioxidant-rich fruit extracts and clinically proven actives.

They also provide full ingredients lists for complete transparency and all products are clean, vegan, and Leaping Bunny certified cruelty free. On the Glow recipe website, each product page not only includes the full ingredient list, they also share the purpose of the actives included in each product.

My Skin Type

Before I talk about my favorite products from Glow Recipe, I wanted to talk more about my skin type (and age) to make it easier for you to determine if a product might work for you.

I turn 49 this August and have sensitive skin with rosacea. My skin type is oily/combination that’s normal around the perimeter and can be dry in that area on occasion. But I get shine/oil breakthrough in the center of my face.

My Favorite Glow Recipe Products

Avocado Ceramide Moisture Barrier Cleanser

This is a product that I always keep on hand and rotate in and out of my routine. It’s a great skin-balancing, soothing cleanser that is great for all skin types. It’s very gentle and is packed with ceramides, colloidal oatmeal, avocado oil, and hyaluronic acid. It does a really great job hydrating and supporting the skin barrier. It has a very faint scent that my sensitive skin (and others with dry/sensitive skin) tolerates well. The consistency of this cleanser is really nice, too. It has a liquid creamy texture that transforms into a nice, luxurious lather.

If you are prone to redness or have dry skin, this is a great cleanser to try! As I mentioned before, I have combination skin and love it.

Cloudberry Bright Essence Toner

This has become a quick favorite for me after it launched and is a staple in my routine. It is a concentrated, multitasking essence, toner, and serum booster all-in-one product that is made for all skin types. It has a watery gel consistency that you pat on after you cleanse. It absorbs quickly as you pat it in and is hydrating yet lightweight. The scent is mild and not overwhelming, and it dissipates after it’s applied.

The fermented cloudberry concentrate is what gives maximum absorption of the product into the skin. This helps make any products you apply after it that much more effective.

This essence/toner also has vitamin C and E, which help brighten and even your skin tone while targeting hyperpigmentation and hydration. Co-enzyme Q10 is also found in the formula which helps strengthen your skin.

Pomegranate Peptide Firming Serum

This is another staple product that I absolutely love. I have gone through a few bottles now and have incorporated it into both my morning and evening skincare routines.

If you’re not familiar with peptides, they help stimulate your body to build collagen and elastin that we lose as we age. They’re great for all ages of any skin type, and can be used day and night. Plus, they play well with other actives in your routine.

This peptide serum from Glow Recipe is formulated with polypeptides including copper peptides. These help rebuild and repair damaged skin while supporting collagen and elastic to help the skin look more lifted and increase firmness. It is also formulated with hyaluronic acid to provide ultimate hydration.

The texture of this serum is liquidy and silky, and it feels so good when you apply it to your skin. The scent is very mild and my sensitive skin really loves it!

Strawberry Smooth BHA + AHA Salicylic Acid Serum

Designed to be a lightweight and powerful clarifying serum, this serum does it all thanks to its powerful yet gentle formula. It soothes, helps with breakouts, keeps your skin hydrated, and helps even your skin tone. It’s formulated with a 10% clarity acid complex, which is a special blend of 2% salicylic acid, 1% mandelic acid blend that includes the AHA and BHA, strawberry, azelaic acid (which is great for redness and rosacea), and succinic acid. It also includes some really soothing hydrating ingredients!

The texture is nice and light, it blends well into the skin, and it has a fresh scent. This is great to use alternate with a retinoid to keep your skin exfoliated, hydrated, calm, clear, smoother, brighter – everything good that it could possibly be!

Guava Vitamin C Dark Spot Serum

My skin is extremely picky when it comes to vitamin C because a lot of them cause my rosacea to flare up. This one from Glow Recipe is one that works well for my skin. Plus it actually smells good.

The formula includes five forms of vitamins C:

Ferulic Acid & Vitamin E – Help boost the effects of vitamin C
Tranexamic Acid – Helps reduce the look of dark spots and redness over time
Guava Extract & Guava Seed Oil – Vitamin C rich antioxidants that help protect against free radical damage

The formula includes a stable encapsulated vitamin C to minimize irritation and make it gentle. It also has a 12 month shelf life, which is incredible! Many vitamin C serums have a hot dog scent but that’s not the case with this one. It smells light and pleasant

It has a lightweight serum/lotion texture that sinks into your skin and it doesn’t pill under makeup. This is one of those vitamin C serums that I always have on hand and am always rotating back into my routine.

Avocado Ceramide Recovery Serum

This product isn’t for everyone but if you are targeting specific skin issues, it could be worth adding into your skincare routine.

This serum is very lightweight and sinks into your skin beautifully. I reach for it when my rosacea flares up or if my skin is feeling irritated. Since it is a serum and has a lightweight consistency, it sandwiches between skincare products really well.

Because of the avocado formula, it does a nice job of calming my skin without feeling heavy. Plus, it also helps repair my skin barrier so stays more hydrated and resilient.

This serum can be used daily or can be used on a case-by-case basis to help with redness and soothe your skin.

Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Hue Drops

The Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Hue Drops are an extension of the original Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops Serum. They’re both designed as hybrid products that can be used before your moisturizer or as a primer before you apply your makeup.

The Hue Drops are formulated with niacinamide (vitamin B3) which helps to reduce the look of pores, dullness, and hyperpigmentation. The watermelon helps hydrate and deliver essential vitamins and amino acids. Compared to the original serum, the Hue Drops include centella asiatica, which is an antioxidant that softens and calms the skin, helping to reduce the appearance of redness (great for those with sensitive skin and rosacea!). They also give you a subtle, bronze-y glow.

The product has a sweet scent that smells delicious, without being overwhelming, and it’s great for all skin types.

Plum Plump Hyaluronic Cream

I love using this nourishing cream in my evening routine! If you have normal to dry skin, you might even like it for both daytime and nighttime. It was designed to visibly balance unpredictable skin and give a natural looking glow.

It’s formulated with polyglutamic acid, a hydrating peptide that boosts the efficacy of hyaluronic acid and locks in moisture. It also has plum and ice willow herb, which helps brightens and highlights while visibly balancing skin. Whenever I use this lightweight cream, I wake up with hydrated, plump, bouncy, healthy-looking skin.

Plum Plump Hyaluronic Cream is slightly thicker than a gel cream consistency, but it isn’t heavy at all! It has a light scent that’s pleasant and not overwhelming. Plus it’s refillable!

Watermelon Glow AHA Night Treatment

This powerful, yet gentle night treatment gives great results without irritation. It has a 2.5% pH balanced AHA complex that is supposed to be as effective as using a 10% glycolic acid, while maintaining the skin barrier.

The Watermelon Glow AHA Night Treatment is formulated with seven weights of hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and quinoa peptide to gently brighten and minimize discoloration while visibly firming and brightening. You apply a thin layer as an overnight mask after you’ve applied all of your other skincare products, including moisturizer.

Many AHA products can trigger my rosacea to flare up, but this treatment does not! It’s effective yet gentle and is designed for all skin types to gently exfoliate, hydrate, and brighten and has a mild scent.

Review of All Glow Recipe Products

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Glow Recipe Review