K-beauty meets nature! Meet Bellflower Idebenone Serum and Bellflower Heartleaf Houttuynia Treatment Serum

Some brands are popular on Instagram and blogs more than others like Glossier or if we talk about K-beauty, Klairs. Lately, I see a huge interest in a brand called Bellflower. During over 3 months I've tried 2 different Bellflower serums - Idebenone Brightening Serum and Heartleaf Houttuynia Treatment Serum, it's been quite a long time but finally I can share with you review of both serums and tell you bit more about brand but also Idebenone which still seems to be unknown ingredient even if lately it's more often used by companies in skincare products.

Do you need a serum?

Skincare brands are coming out with many new products that help us build the routine. I like to make my routine bit longer but I know that some of my friends are preferring minimalism in their skincare. There's no recipe for a perfect routine but knowledge about your skin and listening to it can help you pick the ideal routine that will work for you. The serum is a product which you can treat like a special, well-concentrated treatment. It can be brightening or moisturizing, it can treat acne or help with skin elasticity. You might need only one serum or mix couple in your routine. Usually, when I say that my routine contains more than one serum at the same time people are surprised - some serums are made to mix them. 

About Bellflower

Bellflower is a South Korean brand. The name of the brand can be translated from the flower language as sincerity or gratitude. Bellflower means Bellflower is focused on naturalism - it's a green brand with a clear mission - giving the best treatment to skin problems while removing artificial scents and colourants from the products. Consumers are being more aware of products, there's a huge group of people being allergic to artificial colourants and scents. The brand is quite new since it was released a couple of months ago. 

The product range of Bellflower

Since Bellflower is a new brand, the product range contains 5 different products. Bellflower Hibiscus Anti-aging Serum is a serum based on Hibiscus, Niacinamide and Adenosine. This serum will help you with wrinkles and pigmentation. Bellflower Azulene Daily Calming Serum is based on Guaiazulene -  thanks to this ingredient the serum's colour is blue. Bellflower Idebenone Brightening Serum is based on Idebenone, it is told to be brightening but it should work on wrinkles too. Bellflower Coconut Hydrating Serum is a serum based on Coconut Water and Sodium Hyaluronate and last but not least Bellflower Heartleaf Houttuynia Treatment Serum based on Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract and Rosemary Leaf Oil that should work the best for acne-prone skin. 

Bellflower Idebenone Brightening Serum 

Idebenone serum was the first one which I've tried, actually from all the serums I was offered to choose I've picked this one first because I've been reading a lot about Idebenone lately. Lots of brands are coming out with Idebenone treatments. You might find on the internet that Idebenone is a synthetic form of Coenzyme Q10. It's an organic compound that belongs to quinone "family", same as  Uniquinone - known as Coenzyme Q10 or Hydroquinone. You might be surprised if people call it synthetic analogue to Coenzyme Q10 then why synthetic substance can be organic? Organic in chemistry means that it contains carbon, it doesn't necessarily mean it's natural and that's why people find it really difficult to say which sunscreen is organic or inorganic  since when we use chemical and physical sunscreens terms then automatically we think about chemical and inorganic as the same while inorganic stands for Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide. But back to Idebenone, can analogue form of Coenzyme Q10 be better than Coenzyme Q10? Yes, it can, the main reason is molecular weight. Our skin is quite selective, if the molecular weight of the substance or ingredient is too big then the skin surface acts a bit like a club security - if you forgot about the dress code then club security might not let you in, it works similarly with the skin - if the molecular weight is too big, the skin won't let the substance in. Idebenone has a huge use in medicine, it's used in Alzheimer's disease treatment but it has a positive meaning to your skin as well. It's an antioxidant and even if we still don't know idebenone well, we already know that it improves wrinkles and fine lines but it's recommended to be used with sunscreen for better effects. Idebenone is hidden under the name Hydroxydecyl Ubiquinone. Even if Idebenone is the main star of this serum (600ppm), Bellflower made a composition of interesting ingredients like Niacinamide (2%), Propolis Extract, Adenosine (0,04%), Sodium Hyaluronate, Panthenol and Ascorbic Acid. 

Water, Xanthan gum, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Carbomer, Glycerin, Glycereth-26, Dipropylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Propolis Extract, Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Flower Extract, Rosa Damascena Flower Extract, Chrysanthemum Indicum Flower Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Flower Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Extract, Inula Britannica Flower Extract, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Glycosyl Trehalose, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Arginine, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Hydroxydecyl Ubiquinone, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Sterols, Adenosine, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tremella fuciformis (Mushroom) Extract, Panthenol, Acorus Calamus Root Extract, Perilla Ocymoides Leaf Extract, Ascorbic Acid, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Oil, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil, Foeniculum Vulgare (Fennel) Oil

Niacinamide is another ingredient which is quite visible in this product. I feel like almost every Bellflower serum besides  Heartleaf Houttuynia Treatment Serum contains Niacinamide and Adenosine. Niacinamide, also known as Vitamin B3 is a powerful ingredient. Just like with LOTR - one ring to rule them all, here we've got one ingredient to fight with them all. Wrinkles? Checked! Moisture? Checked! Brightening and whitening? Double checked! Niacinamide can have many uses in skincare, every skin type likes it - even if sensitive skin should be careful with mixing niacinamide and vitamin C. Next ingredient that caught my eye is Propolis Extract, which is more like a folk remedy, it works well for acne-prone skin, how is it working in this combination? We will go to this soon. Adenosine is as popular in Bellflower products as Niacinamide. It's one of my favourite ingredients because it speeds up the healing process but seeing it in such low concentration kinda makes my heart cry since is not as effective as it could be. 

Bellflower didn't forget about moisturizing so Idebenone serum is not only full of active ingredients but also emollients and moisturizer such as Sodium Hyaluronate aka Natural Moisturizing Treatment or Panthenol, also known as Provitamin B5. I was kinda surprised to see Ascorbic Acid in this formula. My skin is not a fan of Niacinamide + Vitamin C  mix and Ascorbic Acid is nothing else than Vitamin C, thanks to the low concentration of both ingredients I had no problems with skin redness - flushing. Vitamin C is an antioxidant with powerful brightening properties. In general, I can't say anything bad about ingredients, just remember to patch test the product since the formula is full of natural extracts and oils, especially when one of the ingredients is called Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil then patch test is a must. My skin didn't have any bad reactions, I fell in love with the texture - it's a lightweight formula, it feels a bit like oil but it's not sticky so you don't have to be worried. The bottle contains 50 ml of serum. Unfortunately, even if I didn't see anything bad, I also didn't see anything super about this serum. I had high expectations. My acne didn't get any worse but I also didn't see any change in my skin, maybe if I had more wrinkles who know, it works better on wrinkles than it works on pigmentation and dull skin. 

Bellflower Heartleaf Houttuynia Treatment Serum

Knowing that Idebenone serum isn't spectacular, I've decided to try the 2nd serum - Heartleaf Houttuynia Treatment Serum. The reviews about this serum on the internet are way better. Heartleaf Houttuynia Treatment Serum formula is not that complicated like Idebenone Serum. 12 ingredients only? 

Water, Butylene Glycol, Houttuynia Cordata Extract(4.4%), Alcohol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, C12-14 Pareth-12, Allantoin, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil, Disodium EDTA, Centella Asiatica Extract

The main star here is Houttuynia Cordata Extract (4.4% - 44,000ppm), the concentration might seem to be small but I feel like scent and colour of this serum comes from Houttuynia Cordata Extract and Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil. Houttuynia Cordata Extract is an ingredient which some people with acne-prone skin loves while for me, my experience was not bad but still all hail Centella! Houttuynia Cordata is a plant, which is widely used in Traditional Chinese and Japanese Medicine, it's also known as Heart Leaf or Chinese lizard tail. Funny fact about Houttuynia - it's also called Fish Wort, Fish Leaf, etc because it's an edible plant and it usually leaves the fishy aftertaste. I eat fish a lot but I hate the fishy taste of low-quality matcha (yep, I'm a tea & fish snob) so I don't think I would enjoy it, I'll stay with enjoying Houttuynia magic in skincare. Houttuynia is an antioxidant with anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Sounds nice, especially if you pair it with Centella Asiatica Extract. Centella is my favourite skincare ingredient because it helped me a lot with acne and wound healing, it might be not as effective in wound healing as FGF but you can't underestimate Centella since it does a great job and each skin type should love it. I use it every time my skin gets irritated just like Ginkgo Biloba and Allantoin - actually, you can find here Allantoin as well. 

The formula itself is quite liquid, not as much as essence but it's not a thick formula. It's lightweight and delicate, the scent isn't very heavy. I feel like it does help my skin. My acne increased a bit, even during the period my acne wasn't as heavy as my backne (so maybe that's an idea - to use it on my back as well). Every time I apply the serum my skin feels hydrated and I feel like my routine without it wouldn't be the same, especially now when I usually skip some steps to get some rest.

Where to buy Bellflower products?

Bellflower has its website where you can purchase each serum. Each bottle of serum contains 50ml of the formula. The prices are between $20 to $28, Coconut Hydrating Serum is the cheapest one - it costs $20. Idebenone, Azulene and Hibiscus serums cost $24 each while Houttuynia serum is the most expensive one - it costs $28. I recommend you trying Houttuynia and Azulene serums, I plan to try Azulene serum in future since I after the reviews I've heard Azulene and Houttuynia serums are two, the most interesting Bellflower products. 

Have you ever tried any Bellflower product?

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*** This post was made in collaboration with Bellflower even though it still shows my personal opinion on the topic and product**