I wanted to try out this serum for a few reasons: i. Before I had only used Dr. Jart’s sheet masks, and I wanted to discover this brand more; ii. I wanted an anti-redness serum; iii. I wanted to try centella asiatica. So Dr. Jart’s Cicapair Serum seemed like a good fit. Before I get to the actual rant, a few words on the ‘cica’ lines. Over the past year or two, most of Korean brands have come up with ‘cica’ products. The suffix ‘cica’ derives from the French word ‘cicatrice’ meaning ‘a scar’ in English. French pharmacy brands have had ‘cica’ lines for years now, like La Roche-Posay Cicaplast or Bioderma Cicabio. Koreans are pretty new to this game. As with French products, the ‘cica’ lines distinguish themselves with simple ingredients aiming to help the healing process of the skin. Instead, Koreans, as always, load their products with various ingredients, which I do not find a necessarily good thing. If you want to repair your skin, you want a simple product not a cocktail of ingredients. Especially if they are essential oils and whatever else they can put. When you want to heal the skin you want to keep it simple, it’s not the right time for happy hour.

The Cicapair Serum contains the aforementioned centella asiatica known to be beneficial for the skin, as it calms and fights breakouts. When you approach Dr. Jart’s shelf in any Sephora, a shop assistant will jump in front of you to tell, with high confidence, about how great the ingredient is, and what it can do, as if s/he used it for years… Unfortunately, this serum does not contain much of it. There’s also glycerine, niacinamide on the top of the list, it appears quite promising despite the low percentage of centella asiatica. However, there are also heaps and heaps of essential oils, such as rosemary, lavender, and grapefruit oils. They are pretty high on the list like the lavender one, which is more than undesirable in a skin healing serum. Also, the rosemary oil is quite prominent, because whenever I open the bottle, I can smell rosemary as if someone was cutting it next to me. So if the serum is so bad, why did I get it? Oh well, me as always pushed by the hype of Korean beauty products and especially the hype around the amazing Dr. Jart’s products (first it was the Ceramidin now the Cicapair line). I was determined to buy this serum and hoped that it would help me with my redness; as it is one of the claims made by Dr. Jart — it is supposed to help with blemishes and redness.

I’ve been using this serum for two months now. I have gone through more than half of the bottle. I noticed that this serum is great for hydration, it makes the skin plump. However, it makes my facial redness worse. How did I figure it out? Simply, I’d stopped using the serum, and the redness became less prominent, plus I used the Eucerin Anti-Redness Moisturiser which helped to calm the irritation caused by Cicapair Serum. I tried using them both together, but it was pretty pointless. After a few days of a break, I’d given the serum its final shot. The redness flared up again to a level that I couldn’t recall the last time my neck looked so red. I cannot tell if it helps with breakouts, I haven’t been breaking out lately, but even if it does, the serum can’t help much on its own.

I don’t know anything about the Cicapair cream, but ingredient-wise it seems similar. I wish that the serum was better formulated, for me, it can’t even serve as a hydrating serum. The amount of various plant extracts and oils just makes it too irritating for my skin. I cannot recommend it to anyone. However, if someone wants to give it a shot then go ahead, but for me, it’s a no-no. People with sensitive skin or someone seeking a serum to aid the healing process of skin should not go near this product. Don’t fall for the hype and do justice for your skin; get yourself something gentler and more suitable.

Even though this serum was a flop, I will try something different with centella asiatica for sure. Perhaps a simple centella asiatica ampoule because I want to see what it can do on its own. However, my budget for Dr. Jart’s products is closed for now.

INCI: Aqua, Glycerin, Propanediol, Butylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Dimethicone, 1,2-Hexanediol, Dimethicone/Vinyl, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Carbomer, Tromethamine, Artemisa Princeps Leaf Extract, Hydroxyacetophenone, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Cyclopentasiloxane, Glyceryl Polyacrylate, Cyclohexasiloxane, Ethylhexylglycerin, Lecithin, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Octyldodecanol, Adenosine, Disodium Edta, Theobroma Cacao Etract, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract, Dextrin, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Amber Powder, Polyglutamic Acid, Solanum Melongena Fruit Extract, Citrus Grandis Peel Oil, Limonen, Curcuma Longa Root Extract, Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Linalool, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Moringa Pterygosperma Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus Seed Pil, Madecassoside, Anathemis Nobilis Flower Oil, Aniba Rosodora Wood Oil, Cetella Asiatica Leaf Water, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Asiatic Acid, Asiaticoside, Alcohol, Madecassic Acid, Centella Asiatica leaf cell culture extract, PEG-8, Caprylyl Glycol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Extract, PPG-1PEG-9 Lauryl Glycol Ether, Achillea Millefolium Extract., Arnica Montana FLower Extract, Artemisia Absinthium Extract, Gentiana Lutea Root Extract, Hedera Helix Leaf/Stem Extract, Sodium Glycerophosphate, Phytic Acid, Cetella Asiatica Extract, Selaginella Lepidophylla Extract, Potassium Magnesium Aspartate, Citric Acid, Sodium Polyacrylate, Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Gluconate, Magnesium Gluconate, Sodium Benzoate, Xanthan Gum, Polysorbate 20 (sephora.fr)

The serum retails for about €30, and it’s available in many countries.