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Beauty of Joseon

Red Bean Water Gel.

Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel
Moisturizers

About this product

A lightweight oil-free gel moisturizer formulated with red bean extract, peptides, and amino acids to provide hydration and skin soothing.

Full ingredients

Guru Score

65%

Mixed

4 experts · Moderate agreement
4Gurus
2Yay
0Mixed
2Nay

What they liked

  • Gel texture absorbs quickly without heaviness
  • Works well for oily and sensitive skin
  • Affordable price

What they flagged

  • Overstated claims versus actual ingredients

What the gurus are saying

Quick hydration without heaviness stands out for oily skin, with the gel controlling excess oil while leaving skin glowy. Red bean extract provides soothing antioxidant benefits and a natural candy-like scent (from the ingredient itself, not fragrance). However, one perspective rated it 5/10, flagging that ingredient claims overreach the formula's actual benefits, though it's gentle for sensitive skin.
Synthesized from 4 expert reviews · most recent take June 2026

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
~Yay
"The Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel is my pick for oily skin. It's 12 bucks, [...] fragrance and alcohol-free, though I will say it has a scent. It smells a little bit like jelly beans. I assume that's from the red bean in here because they actually use red bean extract which is actually a great antioxidant ingredient, great for protecting skin from free radical damage and things like that. The scent doesn't have any fragrance ingredients per se, but it has a scent from that and it's actually it fades pretty quickly. [...] In addition to that red bean extract, we have vitamin E, cysteine, and the argireline peptide which is another Botox in a bottle peptide for fine lines and wrinkles, especially like expression lines around the eyes and mouth. [...] It's also got over 10 different amino acids, which are great for barrier repairing, plumping the skin up, and all of that. It's got a wonderful gel texture to it, which is what I love about it. The gel texture just applies so nicely. I'm actually using it today underneath my sunscreen and foundation. Really nice product, not too oily. Love the gel texture to it."
All 4 takes from No BS Beauty
Beauty of Joseon 🆕 Pore Firming Serum with Red Bean PDRN & Peptide First Impressions Try Out Review
"This has no scent at all that I'm noticing. This feels really nice. Got a really nice watery serum. Feels nice over skin. I probably used one entire pipette full. And feels super nice and lightweight and hydrating. I could see if you had oilier skin how you'd like this. I've got pretty dry skin, but it feels really nice. So, my dry spots I just put a little bit of extra drop on there, and it feels nice. I think my skin looks nice. It doesn't look greasy or shiny or anything like that, but it feels really nice. It's a little bit tacky because it's drying down, which is fine."
Best Water Creams & Gel Cream Face Moisturizers for All Skin Types - Fragrance Free!
"This one's 17 bucks and it's got quite the gel texture. [...] Really nice product, a little bit goes a long way. So we've got that red bean extract, we've got beta glucan, we've got sunflower seed oil, we've also got several amino acids and several peptides. For my opinion, great for dry, oily, sensitive, and acne-prone skin. I think this is one that works well for most skin types. Not a lot of these are, I can say that for, but this one in my opinion pretty good for all skin types. Really nice, and I really do like that candy smell."
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"This one has almost a candy smell to it from the red bean, so it's not like a scent from fragrance or essential oils. It's a wonderful gel texture geared towards normal to oily skin types, or it works great for drier skin types in the summer or more humid weather. I really love this, and I just love when something smells good but it's actually a good smelling ingredient. In this one we've got red bean extract which is a good skin soothing and antioxidant, licorice root, beta glucan, sunflower seed oil, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate which is a promising vitamin C derivative, several amino acids, and then also a ton of peptides in here as well. It's a wonderful product, great for oily skin. I love the texture of it, love the slight scent of it as well."
K-Beauty Moisturizers Favorites - There's One for Everyone
"The Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel is my pick for oily skin. It's 12 bucks, [...] fragrance and alcohol-free, though I will say it has a scent. It smells a little bit like jelly beans. I assume that's from the red bean in here because they actually use red bean extract which is actually a great antioxidant ingredient, great for protecting skin from free radical damage and things like that. The scent doesn't have any fragrance ingredients per se, but it has a scent from that and it's actually it fades pretty quickly. [...] In addition to that red bean extract, we have vitamin E, cysteine, and the argireline peptide which is another Botox in a bottle peptide for fine lines and wrinkles, especially like expression lines around the eyes and mouth. [...] It's also got over 10 different amino acids, which are great for barrier repairing, plumping the skin up, and all of that. It's got a wonderful gel texture to it, which is what I love about it. The gel texture just applies so nicely. I'm actually using it today underneath my sunscreen and foundation. Really nice product, not too oily. Love the gel texture to it."
~Yay
"It is the Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel Moisturizer. Why I love this so much is because true water gel is it melts into your skin."
Top Pick: moisturizer for oily textured skin
All 12 takes from Nipun Kapur
SKINCARE LIVE!
"One of my absolute favorites is the Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel."
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"In the summer of 2024, I was hyper obsessed with the Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel Moisturizer"
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"You can use Beauty of Joseon Water Gel"
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"The Red Bean Water Gel moisturizer is marketed as something that is for all skin types but just remember skin extensively dry flaky dry dehydrated then this is not going to work for you but for everyone else this is a fabulous moisturizer it is anti-aging it's hydrating it is all of those good things plus it is fragrance free."
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"You can use Beauty of Joseon any water gel moisturizer but hydrate your underarms"
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"This is the Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel, a recent purchase. [...] This is such a beautiful hydrating formula. It is like putting hyaluronic acid on your face in a gel form. It quickly absorbs even if your skin barrier is broken, and if you are an oily skin person, you don't have to worry because you feel it's heavy or it's going to irritate you further. Get this on Amazon. It is so affordable. I think I got this [...] on a Prime Day deal and this was like $ [...] 35 to $40, extremely affordable. I absolutely love this product, and I know all of you guys who have oily skin with a moisturizer, you want to use a moisturizer but you're worried about it feeling heavy. This is the best of 2023."
Best Summer Oil-Free Moisturizers | Nipun Kapur
"It is the Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel Moisturizer. Why I love this so much is because true water gel is it melts into your skin."
10 hour long flight skincare routine + my travel skincare & makeu essentials | Nipun Kapur
"This is the Red Bean Water Gel which has almost expanded now but it's literally very little left"
Top 5 Moisturizers for Large Open Pores & Textured Skin | Nipun Kapur
"The Red Bean Water Gel is my number one recommendation for oily textured bumpy skin blackheads open pores all of that [...] because it's an oil-free formula that gives your skin the nourishment it needs but at the same time gives it an ingredient that actively controls excess oil. It seeps into your skin within seconds and leaves you with the most amazing hydrated glowy finish."
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"This is also really amazing"
Translated from the guru's original language.
Luxury Creams Duped! | Nipun Kapur
"It is truly fantastic"
SKINCARE LIVE! | Nipun Kapur
"For oily skin one of my absolute favorites is the Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel"
~Nay
"You will see some benefit with fine lines but this really is best for sensitive skin. You're not really going to see any drastic improvement though. I'd give this particular product a five out of ten. It is safe, it's fine for sensitive skin, but they gave you so many claims and actually didn't really match up to be honest with the ingredients in the particular product."
~Nay
"The Red Bean Water Gel is kind of interesting, I haven't seen other brands make this kind of gel, it's basically like an aloe gel. If you have dry or mature skin, this gel isn't for you. It feels really cooling when you put it on, but once it evaporates it dries your skin out more. If you have a device to help it absorb you might be able to use it, but other than that, it was a waste of my money."

What the evidence says.

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

Vitamin C

Topical vitamin C is an antioxidant with reasonable evidence for dullness and uneven tone. It breaks down in light and air, so how a product is formulated and packaged matters as much as the percentage on the front.

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

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it is often in a formula to keep the other ingredients stable rather than as the active itself. It pairs well with vitamin C, though on its own the evidence for visible change is limited.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Frequently asked.

What is Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel?

A lightweight oil-free gel moisturizer formulated with red bean extract, peptides, and amino acids to provide hydration and skin soothing.

Is Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel worth it?

The gurus are split. 2 of the 4 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 2 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 65%.

What is Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel's Guru Score?

Beauty of Joseon Red Bean Water Gel holds a Guru Score of 65%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 4 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.

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