In late 2017, Alicia, our founder and licensed esthetician, started talking about glass skin, skin that is so clear and poreless, it looks as translucent as glass. If that sounds impossible, it’s not — glass skin, simply put, is healthy skin, and healthy skin is well-nourished, balanced, hydrated skin.
That sounds so simple, doesn’t it? But what do we mean by "well-nourished, balanced, hydrated skin," and, more importantly, how can you get skin so healthy it looks like glass?
The Korean skincare routine, in particular, is well-equipped to help you get that coveted glass skin because everything about the Korean skincare routine is about nourishing, balancing, and hydrating skin and locking all that moisture and all those nutrients in. Even cleansing, which Koreans consider the first step in a routine, not a pre-step, needs to hydrate and balance skin while removing makeup and impurities, which is why Koreans — and we at Peach & Lily — use the double cleansing technique and take particular care to select cleansers with low pH levels.
Unfortunately, that’s one way of saying that there is no shortcut to glass skin. The key to achieving glass skin is patience as well as commitment to a routine that focuses on hydrating skin from its deepest layers and delivering skin the fatty acids, vitamins, and other nutrients it needs to thrive. There’s no miracle product that will turn skin into glass skin overnight … or is there?
When glass skin started trending in late 2017, you started asking us, “I live a really busy life; is there an easy way for me to get glass skin?” We'd already been working on our own super serum since 2015, wanting to create a product that would help achieve healthy skin. When skin is healthy, it looks like glass, so, after much tweaking and testing and retesting, when we'd perfected the formula, we decided to name it the Glass Skin Refining Serum and launched it earlier this year.
We formulated our Glass Skin Refining Serum with several key ingredients:
1. Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid is a humectant, which means that it pulls and helps retain moisture. Naturally produced in our bodies, hyaluronic acid is suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin. Hyaluronic acid is also something of a hero ingredient, able to hold onto moisture that’s a thousand times its weight!
The thing with hyaluronic acid, though, is that it’s a large molecule, which makes it hard for it to penetrate skin — and an ingredient like hyaluronic acid needs to be able to reach the deepest layer of skin for it to be truly effective at hydrating. That’s why we chopped the hyaluronic acid in our Glass Skin Refining Serum into short-, medium-, and long-chain molecules; broken down into smaller pieces, hyaluronic acid is better able to sink into skin and reach all the layers, truly hydrating and holding onto moisture from deep within.
2. Madecassoside
If glass skin means healthy skin, that also means skin that isn’t irritated or inflamed or suffering from redness. Enter madecassoside, one of four components in the superpower ingredient, centella asiatica extract (aka cica). It’s said that tigers roll around in cica when injured because of cica’s amazing healing properties, which come from madecassoside.
Those healing qualities are why we specifically included madecassoside in our Glass Skin Refining Serum — to help soothe irritated skin. Madecassoside also helps revitalize weakened skin barriers, which, in turn, helps protect skin and prevent moisture loss, and it works particularly well with vitamin C.
3. Antioxidants
Our skin goes through a lot just by us being out in the world; things like pollution and extreme temperatures can have negative effects by creating free radicals in our skin that wreak havoc and can lead to premature aging, inflammation, and other skin damage. We packed our Glass Skin Refining Serum with antioxidants that help fight free radical damage and protect your natural skin barrier, so your skin can be healthier.
4. Niacinamide
Speaking of antioxidants, niacinamide is another of those hero ingredients because it’s a potent antioxidant and, even better, is suitable for all skin types, even sensitive types. Popular even with those with sensitive skin, niacinamide is great for layering onto your skin in multiple products, and it’s also a great team player, uniquely compatible with pretty much every other ingredient out there.
Niacinamide works with natural substances in your skin, too, and helps renew and restore your natural skin barrier. That, in turn, helps keep your skin hydrated because a healthy skin barrier prevents moisture loss, and it also helps prevent breakouts. Niacinamide is also known as a brightening agent, and all that together meant that we had to have niacinamide in our Glass Skin Refining Serum.
For the super skincare-savvy out there, we included 2% niacinamide in our formula, which is within the 2-5% range clinically proven to have an effect on skin. A higher percentage doesn't always mean a product is stronger, though, and we specifically included 2% because our Wild Dew Treatment Essence and Matcha Pudding Antioxidant Cream also each contain 2% niacinamide — and we know many of you like to combine all three!
5. Peptides
Peptides are made up of amino acids, which make up proteins, and, depending on how they are formed, they create different specific proteins. There are literally hundreds of peptides, and, generally, in skin, they help maintain firmness, plumping up skin and reducing visible signs of aging. We developed our own proprietary blend of peptides that help stimulate collagen production in skin, maintain elasticity, and fill in those pesky fine lines, so your skin can have that smooth, glassy appearance.
6. Peach Extract
It’s important to remember that your skin is an organ, which means it’s a living thing, and, like all living things, it needs to be fed well. Peach extract is full of beneficial vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids that nourish skin, delivering moisture and antioxidative goodness that protect, hydrate, and support skin. Further, peach extract also actually works with your skin to help reduce signs of aging by encouraging your skin to repair itself and protect against further damage.
Peach extract is also high in vitamin C, which, as we learned above, is a great partner ingredient for madecassoside. You know we’re going to make sure to maximize all these beneficial ingredients, so your skin can get that clear, glassy radiance!
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These are a handful of the beneficial ingredients we’ve packed into our Glass Skin Refining Serum to provide your skin the multi-dimensional support it needs to get glassy. While we love this product for all its beautiful, amazing ingredients, we think the true beauty of it is that it is a simple, easy way to get healthy skin, aka glass skin — and that’s not just our opinion! You’ve been leaving glowing reviews since we launched the Glass Skin Refining Serum in June!
I've been using this serum for about a week and have already seen great results. My pores are less noticeable and my dry skin is now able to retain moisture. It seems like this serum also helps my skin absorb other products. —Sarah K., Verified Buyer
What is this sorcery!? This serum hydrated like crazy and leaves my skin plumper, smoother, and and just perfectified. I use in combination with the Jeju essence and matcha cream. New HG. —Jennifer, Verified Buyer
This does everything it says it will- so much that I've switched from a serum I'd been using for 3 years to this one. I have very thin, sensitive combo skin with large pores and redness, so I appreciate how lightweight this serum is. I thought my skin was doing pretty well from sticking to a skincare regimen, but then after two days of using this serum my skin was glowing! I can't believe the skin I wake up to in the morning after using this, no redness and my pores are much less visible. I also started getting compliments on my skin?? Anyhow, this is worth every penny, if you have super sensitive skin I think you'll enjoy this product. —Caroline, Verified Buyer
We’re so thrilled that you love the Glass Skin Refining Serum as much as we do. We wanted to create something that would help you easily achieve healthy skin, so we couldn’t be happier that this serum is helping you get that radiant glass skin!
As always, cheers to radiance!
