Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water: a Guru Score of 68%

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored

~Nay

"I repurchased the Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water and I open it up and I can instantly smell it was not as the original one was. It smelled very very off like it was stored in a hot storage container for a year and it was definitely gone bad."

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"If you look at two Brands like the Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water I think I got this last bottle for 12 bucks"

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"The Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water is a really nice light toner essence you can use like a toner or an essence. It's got ginseng, niacinamide, cacao, and ginseng ferment in it. I've actually repurchased it now, I believe this is my second, maybe third bottle."

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"This is my second bottle, the Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water. It's 16 bucks at YesStyle. I picked up my most recent bottle at TJ Maxx and it is not the same. It somehow oxidized or something, it's old stock or there's something else going on with it because it didn't remind me of the original version. But otherwise it's really nice, fragrance-free, alcohol-free. It's a watery, non-sticky toner. It's got ginseng, which is really great for anti-aging for your skin, several different types of ginseng actually, as well as panthenol, a soothing ingredient, allantoin, a soothing ingredient, and cocoa extract, which is really great for anti-aging and protecting your skin from oxidants. I wouldn't repurchase this one from TJ Maxx. I went to use it the first time and I'm like, something's off. It's like almost musty. I don't know what happened."

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"I repurchased the Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water and I open it up and I can instantly smell it was not as the original one was. It smelled very very off like it was stored in a hot storage container for a year and it was definitely gone bad."

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"This is my repurchase of the Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water which is 14 bucks. In here we've got ginseng, we got a couple different types of ginseng actually, we've got panthenol, we've got allantoin. It's great for soothing, hydrating. Ginseng is a great antioxidant, anti-aging ingredient for your skin. So really lovely product overall. Although I will say, I picked up one from TJ Maxx and it has a little bit of a different scent than the original one. The expiration date on it is not expired, but the scent is off to this one, so I haven't dug into it more. Something's noticeably off with this one, so I'm going to repick this one up from YesStyle instead."

C

CYoung

94k subs

~Nay

"This is a watery toner with a ginseng scent. Why did they put the ginseng scent in it? I use it every single day. For somebody like me who doesn't like a strong scent, it's a bit irritating. I don't need it."

All 3 takes from CYoung

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"This is a watery toner with a ginseng scent. Why did they put the ginseng scent in it? I use it every single day. For somebody like me who doesn't like a strong scent, it's a bit irritating. I don't need it."

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"The ginseng toner feels like a normal toner, really lightweight and it absorbs well, not sticky, so people with oily or combo skin will like it more, especially if you put it on a cotton pad and use it like a second cleanse. But the scent is just too strong for me. You're putting this on right after cleansing, almost on bare skin, so I think it's too much. I don't think this scent would be popular in Korea among people in their twenties and thirties, it feels more made for women in their fifties and sixties. It's just not for me."

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"This has way too much scent, Korean cosmetics took a lot of the scent out after three years of everyone wearing masks during covid, so this feels out of date. The texture is really lightweight and not even that long lasting when it comes to moisturizing, so if you're a teenager or have oily skin it's probably okay, but if not, I'd pass on it."

Dr. Vanita Rattan

1.23M subs

~Yay

"This boosts skin hydration, diminishes rough texture, and helps fade uneven skin tone. The smell is quite strong from this particular ingredient. The second ingredient is butylene glycol, followed by glycerin, another humectant, and the fifth ingredient is niacinamide to strengthen the skin barrier. This product doesn't have any other actives but it does what it says it will: renourish the skin. For me, this is one I'm happy for you to use. This one's Dr V approved."

A

AliceintheRabbitHole

59k subs

~Mixed

"I love Beauty of Joseon dearly, but their Ginseng Essence Water is too good an example for this conversation. I liked this product, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, I thought it was a nice hydrating product, but I didn't think it did much for fighting hyperpigmentation."

Nipun Kapur

408k subs

~Yay

"Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Toner, they're very very good reviews in six weeks."

Kelly Driscoll

90k subs

~Yay

"This is so good. [...] You could use this like an essence in your skincare routine or you could use this like a hydrating toner or like a hybrid combo product. [...] It really does cover what both of those products would do. [...] It has the hydration like a regular toner, but it also has those actives and those benefits that you might expect from an essence, but it's not in a full-on serum or ampule like texture. This is definitely something that I would reach for right now for cooler temperatures with my combo skin."

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All 2 takes from Kelly Driscoll

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"The Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water does bring out a really beautiful glow to the skin. It actually helps to increase the circulation in our skin and that's what really gets that really glowy healthy look. It's also a strong antioxidant. There's a lot of really good skin nutrition in here, a lot of micronutrients in ginseng that just support healthy skin. If you want your skin to look really good and really bright, if you want to work on well aging, it's not just about brightness to your skin but it's about health. I really feel like ginseng and all those micronutrients and all those antioxidants protect the skin and then boost that skin health and that's what really makes your skin and your complexion come alive. They have married the ginseng with 2% of niacinamide and I think this is a match made in heaven because while ginseng kind of brings out that lit from within glow, niacinamide will work on the hyperpigmentation. They're using 2% and that's a really good clinical amount for brightening the skin but it's also a good amount for helping to support your skin's moisture barrier."

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"This is so good. [...] You could use this like an essence in your skincare routine or you could use this like a hydrating toner or like a hybrid combo product. [...] It really does cover what both of those products would do. [...] It has the hydration like a regular toner, but it also has those actives and those benefits that you might expect from an essence, but it's not in a full-on serum or ampule like texture. This is definitely something that I would reach for right now for cooler temperatures with my combo skin."

Lab Muffin Beauty Science

861k subs

~Yay

"It's really handy when your skin is really dehydrated and your regular moisturiser isn't quite doing enough, so instead of trying to find a whole new moisturizer you can just add another hydrating product underneath and together they can hydrate enough. I found this super useful for applying to my skin right after cleansing, it stops my skin from drying out if I wait a bit too long before my other steps. This is super hydrating, it's got a lot of glycerin, it's also got hyaluronic acid, and it leaves a kind of plump hydrated feeling on my skin that is just shy of being tacky, and that is such a hard balance to get in a product like that, maximum plumpness but just not sticky. Although I can't guarantee that it will hit that spot for everyone else, it depends on how humid your environment is and your skin, but it does hit that spot for me. There is no extra oil in this either, so again just less stuff on your face. There are a lot of different types of ginseng extracts in this which have lots of antioxidants as well as niacinamide, so this is a really good way of adding niacinamide and antioxidants and ginseng to your routine without adding much weight or stickiness. The lack of oil is also awesome for when you need something in summer to just hydrate and soothe your skin but you can't handle any extra oil on your face. I use this as my hot weather moisturizing product at night a lot and just skip moisturizer. It is fragrance free and to me it smells like nothing."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Niacinamide

Niacinamide has evidence behind it for redness, uneven tone and supporting the skin barrier, and it is usually well tolerated even by skin that reacts to most things.

Source: DermNet

Humectants and emollients

Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

Source: DermNet

Frequently asked.

What is Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water?

A lightweight hydrating toner essence with ginseng, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and antioxidant plant extracts, designed to boost skin hydration and glow without added oils or fragrance.

Is Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water worth it?

The gurus are split. 4 of the 7 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 2 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 68%.

What is Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water's Guru Score?

Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Essence Water holds a Guru Score of 68%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 7 expert reviewers we have collected.