PRODUCT REVIEW: COSRX TRIPLE C LIGHTNING LIQUID – ONE OF THE BEST VITAMIN C SERUMS FROM K-BEAUTY
COSRX | TRIPLE C LIGHTNING LIQUID
This review was originally part of my blog article titled, A Complete K-Beauty Routine with the Best Facial Skincare from Purito, Cosrx, Missha & More! You can catch the full piece here.
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Back when I was working at Kiehl’s in the 2000’s, there were very few, if any, Vitamin C serums on the market. When we introduced Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate with 10% Vitamin C, it was considered breakthrough. There really was nothing else like it.
In fact, I recall internal conversations about whether Kiehl’s users would be alarmed by a warming sensation — something that’s common with both Vitamin C and Niacinamide. Even today, with an amped up version of the original that contains 12.5% Vitamin C, the warning I wrote all those years ago is still part of the product messaging: “You may experience a feeling of warmth as the formula is absorbed by your skin.”
The Vitamin C in the Kiehl’s formula was suspended in a silicone base to preserve the efficacy of the notoriously unstable antioxidant vitamin.
Since then, numerous Vitamin C products are formulated that way, including one of my new faves — the Beauty Stat Universal C Skin Refiner which I reviewed in my blog article on my top Vitamin C picks of 2019 here.
So while Vitamin C suspensions are more stable, they’re also harder to use. When a Vitamin C is formulated with water, it’s important to get it right.
And I think COSRX did with their Triple C Lightning Liquid. First, it’s not actually formulated with water at all. The first ingredient is Aronia Melanocarpa Fruit Extract, or Black Chokeberry — a relatively new entrant to skin care with intriguing benefits for skin.
A quick google search of it returned this:
Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) fruits are among the richest sources of polyphenols and anthocyanins in plant kingdom and suitable raw material for production of functional foods. The popularity of chokeberries is not only due to their nutritional value but also to the constantly emerging evidence for their health-promoting effects.
The current study presents detailed information about the content and composition of sugars, organic acids, and polyphenols in 23 aronia samples…Organic acids were represented by substantial amounts of quinic acid, malic acid, and ascorbic acid.
So, in addition to the pure form of Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) at a 20% level, the Chokeberry Extract also contains a significant amount of the power brightener — and comprises 72% of the formula.
As I mentioned earlier, a brightening staple of K-beauty formulas is Licorice Root Extract, which is included the COSRX Triple C. I am hard-pressed to find a third Vitamin C compound as the name clearly implies.
No matter, Triple C is quite an intriguing option. Dare I say the texture feels lighter than water? It’s reminiscent of the Paula’s Choice C15 Super Booster, which until now, was the lightest Vitamin C treatment I’ve tried. The PC option is $49, while Triple C Lightning Liquid is just $27.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the Triple C Lightning Liquid for $27 here.
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The Ingredient List of the COSRX Triple C Lightning Liquid:
aox, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) 
aox|sb|buff, Butylene Glycol h|solv|vc 0 1, Sodium Lactate buff|h, Licorice Root Extract so|sb, 1,2- Hexanediol solv, Pullulan, Sodium Hyaluronate sii|h 0 0, Cassia Obtusifolia Seed Extract, Allantoin so 0 0
