This new skincare series seems to check all the right boxes: it uses proven brightening ingredients in its formula, shows results in 14 days, and even has famous Korean actor Kim Soo Hyun (you’ve seen him in It’s Okay To Not Be Okay and My Love From The Star) endorsing it.
Curious what this celebrity-endorsed skincare series can do for you? Here’s everything you need about the newly launched Y.O.U Beauty Radiance Up! skincare series and how it’s able to brighten skin and fade dark spots.
About the Radiance Up! series
The Y.O.U Radiance Up! routine is easy to follow; there are only three products in the collection: a cleanser, serum, and moisturiser, which means you can work your way to brighter, spotless skin by spending less than 10 minutes every day!
Skin-brightening ingredients in the Radiance Up! series
SymWhite® 377
This is a trademarked ingredient that has been nicknamed “Hermes of the skin-brightening world”.
This botanical ingredient is a potent tyrosinase inhibitor that helps prevent the production of melanin, is rich in antioxidants, and even outperforms Kojic acid, which is seen as a gold standard in skin-brightening.
A cocktail of brightening ingredients
The ingredients include Niacinamide, Vitamin C, and Licorice Extract.
These ingredients brighten skin effectively and efficiently, while at the same time inhibit melanin production, and prevent melanin from transferring to the skin.
Our first impression of the Radiance Up! series
Step 1: Prep Up!
This is an important part of any brightening routine as it removes dead skin cells on the surface of the skin to reveal newer, brighter skin, while at the same time ensuring that the skin is well-prepped for whatever products you’ll apply later.
The first step of the Radiance Up! routine is the Pure CICA Essence, which is enriched with 89% Centella Asiatica Water and Lactobionic Acid (PHA) to gently exfoliate and brighten skin. Cica also helps in eliminating pigmentation and melanin.
The Pure CICA Essence has a refreshing texture that absorbs quickly into the skin. After application, the skin feels fresh and there isn’t any oily or sticky sensation. Instead, the skin feels hydrated and prepped for more skincare products to be applied later.
While some brightening essences tend to feel a little prickly on the skin or even leave a burning sensation sometimes, I find that this essence is soothing and calming on the skin. The brand says that the essence is suitable even for sensitive skin and I believe it is true; I have a bit of sensitivity at the area around my nose and lips and find that the essence doesn’t irritate these areas. But of course, if you have very sensitive skin, I’ll always recommend that you do a patch test first for any new product that you try, to make sure that it absolutely agrees with your skin.
As a bonus, I like that the bottle comes with a stopper to keep the essence fresh and to prevent any spillage if I were to pack this in my luggage for travelling.
Step 2: Brighten Up!
At the heart of this routine is the Antioxidant Serum, which helps protect skin from free radicals, a huge culprit of dull skin.
This serum contains a huge amount of SymWhite® 377 to offer powerful brightening results.
By blocking the production of melanin and preventing it from surfacing to the top of the skin, this essence is effective against UV-induced pigmentation, which is the most common type of dark spots on the skin.
Even on those who don’t suffer from obvious spots now, this serum helps prevent it from occurring and also promotes an even and brighter skin tone.
Besides this, it also has the ability to reduce glycation to eliminate the appearance of sallow skin.
For the uninitiated, glycation the process when collagen in the body is destroyed due to excessive sugar intake. This in turn leads to the formation of wrinkles, sagging skin, and more.
For me, the star of the entire series is definitely the Antioxidant Serum, a clear and lightweight liquid that feels nourishing on the skin. This is the product that offers the most potent amount of the key ingredients and I really looked forward to using it.
But what I was most surprised by is that it actually offers an instant brightening effect on the skin – besides delivering long-term benefits – cancelling away the dullness in my complexion after I applied it.
Step 3: Seal Up!
Finally, strengthen your skin and maintain its moisture level with a powerful moisturiser like the Y.O.U Beauty Deep Moisturizing Cream, so that the brightening results that you receive last on your skin.
This moisturiser is enriched with Ceramide 1-3-6 and Snow Mushroom Extract so that skin can retain moisture and its barrier is strengthened.
The Deep Moisturizing Cream has a gel-like texture and is deeply hydrating without weighing down on the skin.
I love how its lightweight texture feels refreshing on the skin, which is important for me, especially when the weather is hot and humid. At the same time, its ability to hydrate skin helps instantly eliminate the appearance of dryness and fine lines so that skin looks more radiant and youthful. I also like that this moisturiser doesn’t interfere with my makeup and acts as a good makeup base instead.
Overall experience
After using these products for five days, I’ve already started noticing that my skin feels more supple and less dry than before.
My overall complexion also appears brighter, with a more even skin tone, allowing my natural skin to shine through more – it’s no wonder these are Kim Soo Hyun’s favourite brightening products! I can’t wait to continue using the products so I can see even more positive results.
Y.O.U Beauty Radiance Up! series is available on Shopee and Lazada. You can also follow Y.O.U Beauty on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
This article is brought to you by Y.O.U Beauty.
