It's no secret that I love Korean skincare. I love the innovation and interesting ingredients. I'm always on the hunt for my next K Beauty product I want to test. While searching one day I found this brand su:m37. I was intrigued and their Secret Essence has been on my wishlist for a while. I finally splurged and grabbed it off of Amazon a few months back. I've been using it on and off for a few months and I love it.
su:m37 was designed to rival SKII and Sulwhasoo. The word sum means breathe in Korean. Interesting. They have their own dedicated fermentation research facility to manufacture their products. Also very interesting & you can read about it HERE on their site. They have a whole range of products but their star product is the Secret Essence. That was what I wanted to start with first. The Secret Essence is comprised of over 80 plant extracts that are fermented and aged for 365 days at 37 degrees. Sounds like a good wine no?
The bottle is a tapered frosted glass with a red jeweled cap. This is an essence product so it's for use after cleansing. I apply it after a liquid toner or sometimes just by itself. It has a light plant like scent, no strong florals, fragrances or essential oils. It just smells fresh and clean like a plant toner should. I love love love that this doesn't smell like feet like SKII. I desperately wanted to love SKII but cannot stand the smell at all. Which is why I'm so happy I found this one. This is a hydrating essence, not too slippery just a hydrating liquid style. This sinks in beautifully and it's not heavy at all. Splash a bit out of the bottle and apply for happy skin.
Does this work? Yes. After using for a number of weeks I noticed my skin looked healthier and more radiant. It gave me that nice happy glow. I'll take it. It's actually reasonably priced around $55 depending on where you get it from. There are Korean sites that ship to the US, or Amazon does as well. This essence ferments a ton of plant extracts with lactobacillus a probiotic bacteria that is great for skin. I will warn you the ingredient list below is extremely long and can be intimidating. This product used to be called the Secret Programming Essence if you heard of that one. Then it was reformulated into this Secret Essence. I really want to try other items from su:m37 as I loved this essence. I can see this being around in my cabinet for a long time.
Ingredients
Water, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycereth-26, Spiraea Ulmaria Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Methyl Gluceth-20, Ferulic Acid, Lactobacillus/Pear Juice Ferment Filtrate, Saccharomyces/Barley Seed Ferment Filtrate, Lactobacillus/Wasabia Japonica Root Ferment Filtrate, Lactobacillus/Water Hyacinth Ferment, Lactobacillus/Ginseng Root Ferment Filtrate, Lactobacillus/Soybean Ferment Extract, Lactobacillus/Rye Flour Ferment, Monascus/Rice Ferment, Saccharomyces/Potato Extract Ferment Filtrate, Saccharomyces/Xylinum/Black Tea Ferment, Saccharomyces/Grape Ferment Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Diospyros Kaki Fruit Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Actinidia Polygama Fruit Extract, Cassia Obtusifolia Seed Extract, Ipomoea Batatas Root Extract, Trichosanthes Kirilowii Root Extract, Lycium Chinense Fruit Extract, Citrus Unshiu Peel Extract, Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Panicum Miliaceum (Millet) Seed Extract, Glechoma Hederacea Extract, Platycodon Grandiflorum Root Extract, Acer Palmatum Leaf Extract, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Root Extract, Codonopsis Lanceolata Root Extract, Camellia Japonica Leaf Extract, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract, Melissa Officinalis Extract, Lippia Citriodora Leaf Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Allium Sativum (Garlic) Bulb Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Chaenomeles Sinensis Fruit Extract, Raphanus Sativus (Radish) Root Exract, Ficus Carica (Fig) Fruit Extract, Musa Sapientum (Banana) Fruit Extract, Ocimum Basilicum (Basil) Leaf Extract, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Leaf Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Prunus Persica (Peach) Fruit Extract, Beta Vulgaris (Beet) Root Extract, Eriobotrya Japonica Leaf Extract, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Morus Bombycis Leaf Extract, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Fruit Extract, Zingiber Officinale (ginger) Root Extract, Taraxacum Officinale (Dandelion) Leaf Extract, Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Leaf Extract, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract, Equisetum Arvense Extract, Citrullus Lanatus (Watermelon) Fruit Extract, Brassica Rapa (Turnip) Leaf Extract, Spinacia Oleracea (Spinach) Leaf Extract, Artemisia Princeps Leaf Extract, Brassica Oleracea Capitata (Cabbage) Leaf Extract, Allium Cepa (Onion) Bulb Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Sasa Veitchii Leaf Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Root Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Plantago Major Seed Extract. Hemerocallis Fulva Flower, Citrus Junos Fruit Extract, Akebia Quinata Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Nut Extract, Crataegus Cuneata Fruit Extract, Grifola Frondosa Fruiting Body Extract, Prunus Salicina Fruit Extract, Perilla Frutescens Leaf Extract, Geranium Robertianum Extract, Anemarrhena Asphodeloides Root Extract, Rehannia Chinensis Root Extract, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Extract, Undaria Pinnatifida Extract, Acorus Calamus Root Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Phaseolus Angularis Seed Extract, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Corthellus Shiitake (Mushroom) Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Extract, Schizonepeta Tenuifolia Extract, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Flower Extract, Cichorium Intybus (Chicory) Root Extract, Vanilla Tahitensis Fruit Extract, Poloxamer 234, Betaine, Glycosphingolipids, Phospholipids, Niacinamide, Sodium Hyaluronate, Ceramide NP, Polyquaternium-51, Lauryl Dimethicone/Polyglycerin-3 Crosspolymer, Cholesterol, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Cetearyl Alcohol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, PEG/PPG-17/6 Copolymer, Tromethamine, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Anthemis Nobillis Flower Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil