I Tried 8 Essences to Find the Best for My Combination Skin

Sunday Riley’s Pink Drink was the first essence I tested. I’m a big Sunday Riley fan — Good Genes and CEO vitamin C are two of my staples — so I was excited to see how its essence would do. On top of moisturizing, it’s supposed to resurface and firm skin with peptides, ceramides, and vitamin extracts. The first thing I noticed was how watery the essence is; the spray format really magnified this, too. After spritzing it onto my face, I patted the excess product in with my hands to help absorption. It sank in fast, but I did notice a slight stickiness to my skin that lingered even after applying my other serums and moisturizer. That was something I could look past if the results were worth it. After three days (both morning and night) of testing, though, I didn’t notice much of a difference. My skin was slightly more hydrated when I applied it, but that was the extent of the results.

I’ve heard about NAD+, mainly fromcelebritieswho’ve mentionedthe buzzy new ingredient, but I’ve never tried it out for myself. This essence from Numbuzin says it’s supposed to help with wrinkles, plumpness, and overall glowier skin using ingredients like NAD+, peptides, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide. The consistency was much thicker than the Sunday Riley and the thickest of all the essences I tested. It’s closest to a gel moisturizer and has a sticky texture to it. After applying it, it left a filminess on my skin that didn’t mix well with the rest of my skincare. I noticed slight pilling and overall oiliness. I think it could work if your skin is on the drier side, but for me, it wasn’t a match.

Aestura’s another brand I was familiar with; I’ve used its Atobarrier 365 Cream in the winter to help with dryness. This essence is made with ceramides, fatty acids, squalene, glycerin, and vitamin E — all ingredients meant to strengthen andmoisturize the skin barrier. Aestura’s consistency was right in the middle of the Sunday Riley and Numbuzin essences. It had the thickness of a serum but without the tackiness that the numbuzin had. It absorbed very quickly — my guess is under a minute or two — and I didn’t have any issues with pilling or layering other products on top. My skin was overall more hydrated when I used this, but my T-zone was still pretty greasy. While I did enjoy this essence, I think it’s one I’d reserve for the winter months.

Beauty of Joseon’s been on my radar for a while since it’s a well known K-beauty brand. This was one of the two essences I tested from the company. When I first unboxed it, I noticed it looked like the liquid was separated with a milky layer at the bottom and a clear watery layer at the top. I learned that the milky layer was rice extract and you need to shake the bottle before using it. Even with thicker rice extract, the essence is very lightweight, almost waterlike. It absorbed almost instantly into my skin and layered well with my other skin-care products. This was the first essence where I noticed a difference with my oiliness. It seemed to actually help with my T-zone without stripping away moisture. I was definitely pleased with this one, but the other BoJ essence managed to impress me even more.

Mara’s essence is chock-full of hydrating ingredients like pearl powder, peptides, and beta glucan. It’s slightly thicker than BoJ’s Rice Milk but still very lightweight and absorbed quickly into my skin. It left my skin feeling smoother instantly after applying it, which helped with the rest of my skin-care routine and makeup application. I also noticed my skin was slightly brighter after using it and very glowy. (My best guess is that this is from the pearl powder.) I’ve found myself reaching for this before going out and when I want a dewier makeup look. It’s a nice lightweight base to start with that helps boost that natural-looking glow.

Superegg’s Pure Transparency Essence is on the pricier side, but it claims to do more than hydrate. It’s said to also reduce the appearance of large pores and soothe and firm skin, and smooth skin texture. It’s about as lightweight as the rice-milk essence, and a little goes a long way. Just two drops of it was enough for my entire face, and it sank in instantly. Like the Mara essence, this smoothed out my skin right after application, helping with the rest of my skin-care and makeup application. My skin wasn’t nearly as glowy and bright from using this, but I did notice a slight tightening in my skin. After four days of testing, my skin did look smoother and more hydrated. My one qualm was that my T-zone was still oily, which is where the two winning essences come in.

I’ve seen Mixsoon’s Mung Bean essence thrown around on K-beauty sub-Reddit as a vegan version of CosRX’s viral snail-mucin essence, so I was excited to try it. It’s said to hydrate, gently exfoliate, smooth out texture, and help with excess oil — lots of claims to hold up to. It’s about the same consistency as the Mara Peptide glaze and also absorbed extremely fast. Like the Mara essence, my skin was instantly smoother after application, but I noticed it was slightly tighter too. It had the same effect as if I’d just used a satisfying exfoliating mask, which made applying the rest of my skin care and makeup seamless. After four days of testing, I noticed the texture on my forehead slightly smoother and my T-zone less oily, and overall my skin felt nice and moisturized. I can firmly say it lived up to the hype I read online.

This Beauty of Joseon essence is a step above the rice-milk essence. It does all the things the rice milk does — hydrates and controls oil — plus, it exfoliates. It’s made with mostly moisturizing ginseng water, as well as niacinamide for smoothing skin texture, and a small amount of BHA for gentle exfoliation. That extra exfoliation really made it stand out. Like the Mixsoon essence, this made my face look brighter and tighter without any negative effects like overly drying or any skin irritation. Even after a day out in the sun for a couple hours, I was able to use this and it helped calm down the slight sunburn I had. Because of that, I can see this becoming a staple in my routine year-round.