Essence.

"I am so, so happy with the Melano CC Essence. I bought this probably a year ago, and ascorbic acid serums are notoriously unstable, and yet this product has stayed crystal clear, as clear as the day I opened it, which I think comes down to the packaging keeping the air out. I've heard this is only 5% ascorbic acid, which is lower than the levels usually studied for results like collagen production, around 15%, but ascorbic acid can be a tricky ingredient to stabilize so I still think this is a very good option. It also has some licorice in the formula. It does contain fragrance so I know it won't be for everyone, but overall I do think it's a great option."

"This is a vitamin C product with ascorbic acid. The main thing that is super cool about this is actually the packaging—the packaging is this really clever airtight dispenser that limits oxidation really effectively. Oxygen just cannot get into this thing. You actually have to squeeze this really hard for just like one drop to come out. I have a tube that I opened around probably January 2021 and now more than two years later, if you squeeze it the stuff that comes out is still completely colorless. This is marketed as an anti-acne product in Japan and has a bunch of ingredients like potassium glycerate, which is the active ingredient in licorice—it's anti-inflammatory—as well as isopropyl methylphenol, which is antibacterial. It has a delivery system that helps the ingredients go deeper. It has a really different texture from a lot of vitamin C products—it's got this sort of really thick draggy oil-like texture, but it does sink in pretty quick. I found this really non-irritating and it has a really light scent. On my skin it worked really well to even out skin tone. I think this is just a really cool and unique product. It is fantastic for people who don't use vitamin C that much and you need something that will last like a decade. So that is going into the holy grails."