Korres skincare was born out of a Greek homeopathic pharmacy nearly 20 years ago. Since Korres has been around for nearly 20 years, the brand has been able to spend time developing their own niche that makes them unique in the skincare industry. The brand’s philosophy is based on homeopathic principles, but also places an emphasis on research. Many Korres skincare products include medicinal herbs, greek flora, and natural actives while also avoiding a number of ingredients including mineral oil, petrolatum, paraffin wax, silicones, parabens, propylene glycol, ethanolamines, and PEGs. In this Korres review, we’re diving into the brand to give you a better idea of their philosophy and formulas, so you can decide whether this brand is worth trying out for yourself.
The top 5 Korres skincare products
Over the years, Korres has expanded tremendously, and today, offers a pretty large selection of skincare, bodycare, fragrance, and bath products to suit all different tastes, skin types, and specific skin concerns. Some of their most popular skincare products are from the Korres Wild Rose collection. Below we’ll take a closer look at the top 5 Korres skincare products.
Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial
The Korres Wild Rose Sleeping Facial is perhaps the brand’s most popular product. It is an overnight facial in a jar that is said to address uneven skin tone while improving the look of skin texture for a brighter, more luminous complexion in as little as one night.
Korres Wild Rose Vitamin C Brightening 24-Hour Moisturiser
Korres Wild Rose Vitamin C Brightening 24-Hour Moisturiser has a lightweight water texture that absorbs quickly into the skin. It is claimed to provide immediate hydration, improve the appearance of fine lines, and even out the skin tone to reveal smoother and younger-looking skin.
Korres Wild Rose Vitamin C Active Brightening Oil
Another popular Korres skincare product from the Wild Rose collection is the Vitamin C Active Brightening Oil. This facial oil combines the nourishment and moisture found in botanical plant oils with the active ingredients found in traditional serums to create a unique hybrid product. This product includes a blend of oils that include rose hip seed oil, sunflower seed oil, apricot kernel oil, and more. These oils nourish and protect the skin while a vitamin C derivative targets signs of aging, hyperpigmentation, and sun damage.
Greek Yoghurt Cleanser
Korres Greek Yoghurt Cleanser is a foaming cleanser that is said to gently cleanse while nourishing and reducing redness. The formula also easily removes makeup and impurities without irritation. This cleanser is soap-free, which means it does not contain a highly alkaline detergent. Rather, it contains several types of surfactants. Greek yogurt is claimed to be a key ingredient in this Korres cleanser, and while yogurt powder is an ingredient, it’s near the end of the ingredient list right before the preservative, meaning you’re most likely not getting enough to make a noticeable difference.
Greek Yoghurt Probiotic SuperDose Face Mask
The Korres Greek Yoghurt Probiotic SuperDose Face Mask is said to rehydrate, reduce redness, and rebalance skin’s natural protective layer in just one use. Unlike the Greek Yoghurt Cleanser, this Korres Mask actually does contain a decent amount of greek yogurt in the formula.
Korres skincare key ingredients
One of the key Korres skincare ingredients in denatured alcohol. Yes, you read that right. Alcohol is an ingredient that this brand uses in very high concentrations in several of their products, including the Korres Wild Rose Sleeping Facial, Wild Rose Vitamin C Moisturizer, and more. The problem with this type of alcohol is that, at first, it seems like it’s benefitting the skin. It gives products a quick-drying finish, immediately degreases the skin, and imparts a weightless feel.
The major problem with using high concentrations of denatured alcohol is that this ingredient is well known to cause skin dryness, irritation, and even disruption of the skin barrier over time. In fact, alcohol can dry out the skin so much that the skin will produce more oil over time to compensate for the dryness. This can lead to clogged pores and breakouts. We will still discuss the key ingredients in these products below, but keep in mind you’re getting more alcohol than key ingredients in most of the Korres skincare products.
The key ingredient found in the Korres Wild Rose collections is “wild rose oil”, which simply refers to rosehip oil. Rosehip oil contains provitamin A, mostly as beta carotene. Beta carotene has the ability to increase cell turnover and promote regeneration in the outer layers of the skin. Rosehip oil also contains all-trans retinoic acid (a vitamin A acid) that stimulates cellular regeneration and collagen production within the skin.
Another key ingredient you’ll find in several Korres skincare products is greek yogurt. The purpose of using greek yogurt is to supply the skin with probiotics in order to help balance the skin’s microbiome. The microbiome is a population of many types of bacteria (over 10,000 different species) that are both good and bad. When there’s more bad bacteria than good, skin conditions like acne, sensitive skin, and bumpy, uneven skin texture can develop. Thus, keeping the microbiome balanced is critical in maintaining healthy skin.
A final key ingredient we’d like to highlight is ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate, a stable vitamin C derivative. While ascorbic acid is the most active form of vitamin C, it is difficult to include in formulations and has a very short shelf life. Once vitamin C oxidizes, the product is essentially useless, which can unfortunately mean that quite a bit of product is wasted. This is why formulators occasionally turn to vitamin C derivatives like ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate. Once absorbed into the skin, ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate is converted to ascorbic acid and provides many of the same benefits, such as helping to reduce signs of aging, brightening the complexion, and fading dark spots.
Where is Korres skincare sold?
Korres skincare products are sold on the brand’s website, as well as third party online retailers such as Sephora, HSN, Amazon, Dermstore, and more.
Is Korres cruelty free?
Korres is cruelty free. The brand’s animal testing policy states, “We are strictly against animal testing, and do not test any ingredients or products on animals, nor do we hire outside companies to do so for us at any stage in production. All our tests are performed in the lab either in vitro (using synthetic skin cells) or on human volunteers under the surveillance of a dermatologist or specialty doctor, i.e. an ophthalmologist. We do not sell to any countries that require animal testing, and we follow the European Union’s strict legislation that bans animal testing on finished cosmetic products and their ingredients.”
Korres skincare reviews
Korres reviews are actually very positive, with most products receiving multiple four and five star ratings. Positive Korres reviews comment on the effectiveness of these products and also how they smell very pleasant. Then again, there are a handful of negative Korres reviews from customers who found the fragrance in these products to be overwhelming. Some customers even experienced allergic reactions and breakouts when using these products. But overall, Korres continues to be an extremely well reviewed brand.
On the Derm Reviews, one user mentioned: “Any chance Korres will develop a matching LOTION to follow their 1 liter OLIVE Shower Gel? The viscosity of the creams/butters are such that they are hard to apply without “overstretching” the skin and are too thick to apply quickly. Some of us just need a lotion after bath/shower. Thank you for considering.”
Em Original review: Jun 06, 2021.
Any chance Korres will develop a matching LOTION to follow their 1 liter OLIVE Shower Gel? The viscosity of the creams/butters are such that they are hard to apply without “overstretching” the skin and are too thick to apply quickly. Some of us just need a lotion after bath/shower. Thank you for considering.