MEDICUBE PDRN Pink Collagen Bubble Serum

What is this product?

medicube's PDRN Pink Collagen Bubble Serum earns the PDRN in its name, with sodium DNA at position 21 of 44, but the collagen half is three separate entries with no amount on any of them, and topical collagen sits on skin rather than rebuilding it. The bigger thing to know before buying: it contains retinol, at position 27, which most obstetric guidance says to avoid in pregnancy, and medicube does not disclose how much. Anise and lemongrass oils are also on the label.

What makes it different?

Retinol and a full seven-form hyaluronate set in one bubble serum is an unusual combination, and it is the retinol that changes who should use this: pregnancy guidance puts topical retinoids on the avoid list, and no amount is published here. Two essential oils, anise fruit and seed oil and lemongrass leaf oil, sit at positions 23 and 24, which matters if fragrance-sensitive skin is the reason you are shopping. medicube does not publish a pH, a concentration or a container form for it, and it comes as a 95ml bundle with a jelly brush.

What is in it?

The full ingredient list as the brand publishes it, in the printed order. Each name links to what we know about that ingredient.

This brand publishes its ingredient list in Korean only. Names below are the matching INCI names from the Korean Cosmetic Association ingredient dictionary.

Key ingredient

• Water
• Niacinamide
• Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil
• Glycerin
• Hydrogenated Poly(C6-14 Olefin)
• C12-14 Alketh-12
• 1,2-Hexanediol
• Propanediol
• Isododecane
• Ethylhexyl Palmitate
• Cetyl Ethylhexanoate
• Ethylhexylglycerin
• Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer
• Triethyl Citrate
• Adenosine
• Tocopherol
• Disodium EDTA
• Cyanocobalamin
• Collagen
• Betula Alba Bark/Leaf Extract
• Sodium DNA
• Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil
• Illicium Verum (Anise) Fruit/Seed Oil
• Cymbopogon Citratus Leaf Oil
• Collagen Extract
• Xanthan Gum
• Retinol
• Panthenol
• Hydrolyzed Collagen
• Butylene Glycol
• Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
• Ceramide NP
• Hydrogenated Lecithin
• Sodium Hyaluronate
• Hyaluronic Acid
• Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer
• Serine
• Milk Protein Extract
• Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate
• Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid
• Glutamic Acid
• Aspartic Acid
• Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate
• Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate

Ingredients with no mark are ones we found nothing notable about, and when marks overlap on one ingredient we show the caution first.

We could not place these in the list above: Illicium Verum (Anise) Fruit/Seed Oil, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus (Lemongrass) Leaf Oil, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Retinol

Did the ad claims hold up?

We checked 2 lines this product advertises against the ingredient list and public documents. None of them hold up on their own. They are partly right at best.

Claims translated from Korean, originals preserved.

Each line is quoted as the brand published it, and each one was read on its own against the ingredient list and the documents the brand publishes.

How we read these lines