Klairs
If a vitamin C serum, a gentle toner or a calming cream brought you here, this page covers what Klairs puts on its labels, what those numbers mean, and what we send.
About
Klairs — styled Dear, Klairs — is a Korean skincare brand that says it develops products for everyday use, always gentle, even for sensitive skin. Its lines are named for the job: Freshly Juiced Vitamin, Supple Preparation, Midnight Blue, Rich Moist Soothing, Gentle Black and Blue EGF. Rich Moist Soothing runs to both a cream and a serum, and the Freshly Juiced Vitamin E Mask sits in the vitamin line alongside the drop. Its vegan claim is registered: the Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop with the Korea Agency of Vegan Certification and Services, four other products with The Vegan Society. That certification covers the ingredients: no animal-derived material, verified by an outside body.
Klairs is unusually specific about its formulas. The Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop is given as 5% pure vitamin C — ascorbic acid, not a derivative — at pH 3.8, and positioned as beginner-friendly. The Gentle Black Fresh Cleansing Oil is described as 85% plant oils — sunflower, grape seed, jojoba, black currant. The Supple Preparation Unscented Toner is called fragrance-free and essential-oil free, built on beta-glucan, centella and licorice root. And the Midnight Blue Calming Cream takes its colour from guaiazulene, not a dye.
Three are worth unpacking: what 5% at pH 3.8 buys you, what 85% plant oils means, and why fragrance-free may matter most here.
Worth it?
Start with the vitamin drop. L-ascorbic acid has the most evidence behind it and the worst stability: it needs an acidic formula to work, and pH 3.8 sits inside that window. Five percent is a real dose at the low end of a range running to about twenty. Beginner-friendly is accurate, not marketing. The serum below is the gentler start, led by niacinamide at 10% with a stable C derivative at 1%; the 20% ampoule is what you graduate to.
Eighty-five percent plant oils means the formula is oil-led rather than mineral-oil-led, a real formulating choice. What decides how it feels afterwards is the emulsifier, and whether you emulsify. The cleansing oil below is unusually watery; work it with water until milky.
Fragrance-free is the quiet claim, and for reactive skin it can matter most. Guaiazulene is real chamomile chemistry, and it is also what gives the cream its blue colour. The toner below is fragrance-free, the calming cream free of artificial fragrance.
We don't carry Klairs itself. For each of these jobs, though, we send an alternative we rate highly — the five picks below.
Recommended
Yuja Pore Refresh Cleansing Oil
Umbraphil$244.3 (7)
For the cleansing oil job, an unusually watery one — closer to water than a balm. LHA and niacinamide handle sebum, blackheads and waterproof makeup, with jojoba seed oil, grape seed oil and squalane keeping it from stripping. Massage over a dry face, then emulsify with water before rinsing.
Alcohol-Free Nature Mucin Essence Toner
VEGREEN$13.994.3 (18)
For the toner job, and a fragrance-free one. Wild yam root extract is the first ingredient, ahead of water, with five forms of hyaluronic acid, panthenol, arginine and centella leaf water. Viscous rather than watery. Cotton pad or palms, patted in.
Vita C Brightening Serum
Keenoniks$21.44.5 (538)
The gentler option, to start with if strong vitamin C hasn't suited you. Niacinamide sits at 10% and ethyl ascorbyl ether at 1%, with glutathione, vitamin E, bakuchiol and several forms of hyaluronic acid alongside. Vitamin capsules melt as you pat them in. Apply after toner.
Intensive Vitamin C 20% Ampoule
VEGREEN$294.0 (63)
The high-concentration option, formulated the way L-ascorbic acid should be: water-free, so it stays stable in the bottle. Ascorbic acid at 14% and a derivative at 6% are both listed, over green tea, centella and bisabolol. Fragrance-free. One or two drops after toner.
AC Clear Magic Cica Cream
The Plant Base$23.9
For the calming cream job. Centella leaf water at 55% replaces most of the plain water a cream is normally built on, and the finish is closer to an ointment than a rich balm. Free of artificial fragrance and colorants. Aimed at oily and breakout-prone skin.
How to use
For Klairs' Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop: after cleansing and toner, three or four drops patted in — the brand suggests starting a few times a week if vitamin C is new. For the Supple Preparation Unscented Toner: pat onto a dry face with warm palms, repeating on dry areas. For the Gentle Black Fresh Cleansing Oil: massage a pea-sized amount over a dry face for a minute, roll with water until it emulsifies, rinse, then a foaming cleanser. The picks above follow that order: cleansing oil, toner, vitamin C, cream.
The box
Five full-size Korean products, matched to your skin, every month.
Questions
Which form of vitamin C should I look for?
L-ascorbic acid has the strongest evidence and the worst stability. Derivatives are steadier but less studied, and sit well alongside niacinamide.
Is a higher percentage always better?
No. The useful range runs roughly five to twenty percent; benefit flattens near the top while irritation keeps climbing.
Why does vitamin C turn yellow or brown?
It has oxidised. Water, air and light all degrade ascorbic acid. A darkened serum has lost potency.
Does vitamin C need a low pH?
L-ascorbic acid does — around 3.5 to 3.8, which is why those serums can sting. Derivatives do not.
Do I have to emulsify a cleansing oil?
Yes. Add water and massage until milky, then rinse. Skipping that leaves the greasy film.
Full-size Korean beauty, curated for your skin, delivered every month.
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