I’m From Ginseng Serum – Review

This post will be reviewing the I’m From Ginseng Serum.

While I love my toners and essences for my dry, dehydrated skin, I also have a special place in my heart for hydrating serums. Over the years, I’ve learnt that my skin likes different hydration levels depending on the season.

While there is no such thing as too much hydration, sometimes my skin loves to breathe through lightweight serums. This is why I’m always looking for hydrating serums to add to my stash. Imagine my excitement when IHerb had a 20% sale. I finally got my hands on the I’m From serums, which have been on my wishlist forever.

I’m From is what I like to consider one of the mid-range Korean Skincare brands. Aside from being a lot more expensive than your typical Korean Skincare product, they also use a very high percentage of quality natural ingredients, making their products stand out from the crowd. I’ve used a few of them, and the quality speaks for itself. It is, quite frankly, unmatched. While I try to have reasonable expectations, I’ve found that they are generally just effective for hydration and barrier support.

So far, I’ve used five of the I’m products, including:

• Honey Mask
• Fig Essence
• Rice Toner
• Mugwort Essence
• and finally, the Ginseng Serum.
• I also have the Honey Serum, which I’ll use during winter.

I’m halfway through the I’m Ginseng Serum, and I thought I should share my thoughts before I exhaust it.

First Impressions of the I’m From Ginseng Serum

According to Stylevana:

I’m From is an ingredient-conscious brand that values the beauty of nature. Not only does the K Beauty label source all its ingredients straight from nature, but it also scouts all over South Korea to discover and curate the finest quality skincare ingredients for the most effective formula. I’m From’s range of Korean skincare products cater to different skin types and skin conditions with a rich and diverse ingredient arsenal, featuring natural ingredients such as Rice, Honey, Mugwort, Ginseng, Volcanic Ash, Vitamin Tree, and Fig. 

Ingredient List & Fragrance

My favourite thing about this serum is the absence of Niacinamide which seems to be in every Korean Skincare product lately. I generally do not mind the occasional 2-4% Niacinamide in most products, but I’m currently using another essence with 5% Niacinamide. So, I appreciate the intentional omission.

Niacinamide aside, let’s find out what other ingredients make this serum tick:

• 7.98% Panax Ginseng Root Extract
• Green Tea
• Glycerin
• Panax Ginseng Root Oil
• Licorice Root Extract
• Hyaluronic Acid
• Adenosine

If you’re familiar with Korean Skincare, you would know that Ginseng is one of their primary anti-ageing ingredients. I honestly have little faith in anything outside Retinoids for anti-ageing. But it is nice to know the benefits of plant extracts.

Asides from the Ginseng and a bunch of other plant extracts, the ingredient list is as basic as they come. It’s nothing different from any other solid barrier repair serum. The only difference is the high percentage of concentrated ginseng extract. I’m not sure you can tell the difference between other Ginseng products.

As always, it is alcohol, essential oil and fragrance-free.

Packaging, Texture & Consistency

This serum is packaged in a 30ml glass dropper bottle. It has a lightweight watery texture that is slightly viscous. It won’t cure your dehydrated skin, but it is hydrating enough for all skin types. So, if you have dry to dehydrated skin like me, you’re better off using it as a supplementary product with a hydrating toner and/or essence. Despite having a brown herbal colour, it smells and feels like nothing on the skin.

Besides that, it is non-sticky and instantly absorbed into the skin upon application. It is nice but nothing special. Also, I’ve found that one full dropper is enough for your entire face, which I love. There’s nothing worse than droppers that are not able to dispense enough product. It just ruins the whole experience, even if the product is excellent.

Price & Availability

This serum retails for £27/$30 for 30ml. After using a few products from this brand, I honestly can’t justify spending that much on a serum which is why I either get a travel size or buy it on sale. The products are not worth the price tag. So, make sure you shop around for deals before committing. Stylevana currently has it for less than £20, which is a steal.

Review of the I’m From Ginseng Serum

So, I use this serum twice daily for my morning and nighttime routines. It has no active ingredients, so it is safe to use with Retinoids and Exfoliants. I layer it over my Cosrx Snail Mucin before any treatment serum afterwards.

Performance

After using half of the bottle, I can honestly say there’s nothing extraordinary about this serum. The plant extracts are great for nourishment and supporting a healthy skin barrier, but that’s about it. I’m not sure there’s any research to back up the effectiveness of the long-term use of Ginseng like there is for Retinoids. So, it is definitely a no for me on the anti-ageing front.

For hydration, it is not that hydrating enough for my dry, dehydrated skin, but I can see people with oily to combination skin enjoying this serum. Plus, it is pretty pricey for a 30ml barrier repair product if you’re not getting it on sale.

It goes without saying that I won’t be repurchasing this serum again. I’ve used many more memorable serums in the past, and this is, quite frankly, forgettable.

In Summary

Similar to my experience with the I’m From Rice Toner and the Mugwort Essence, the Ginseng Serum also falls into the category of products from the brand I didn’t like.

As I said earlier, if you have oily to combination skin and are looking for a hydrating and barrier repair serum without Niacinamide, you should try this.