It is time for another skincare miracle! Early in April, SOME BY MI launched a new product for the Miracle line, AHA-BHA-PHA 30 Days Miracle Serum Light. As per the Korean brand, Miracle Serum Light is a response to a popular customer request of a lighter serum. SOME BY Mi describes the AHA-BHA-PHA 30 Days Miracle Serum Light as a much lightweight serum that focuses on solving acne problems and moisturizing the skin without that oily feeling.
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Table of Contents
What makes the Miracle Serum Light special?
Apparently, this serum is a product of a popular request. Based on an SNS survey result, 96.4% of SOME BY MI customers responded “Yes” to the question “Do you want a Miracle Serum light version?” It appears that, despite loving the Miracle Serum, many users would love it even more if it has a lighter texture. This is especially true for those with oily skin who feels that the serum is a bit heavy on their skin. Hence, the birth of the Miracle Serum Light happened! Talk about customer service!
Miracle Serum versus Miracle Serum Light
The marketed feature of the Miracle Serum Light, and probably the most obvious one, is that it is a lighter version of the original. It has a watery texture and is quick-absorbing. It leaves a moisturizing feeling without the oiliness.
Another difference is the primary benefits that the serums are claiming as labeled in their bottles.
For the original Miracle Serum, the pitch is that it is for pore care, brightening, and hydrating. It also says that “AHA, BHA, and PHA work as effective exfoliator to leave skin clearer and more radiant than before.”
AHA-BHA-PHA 30 Days
Miracle Serum
As for the new Miracle Serum Light version, SOME BY MI is marketing it as calming, soothing, and skin relaxing. The bottle also indicates that “It is a serum with refreshing finish, containing Truecica™ that effectively soothes the irritated skin.”
AHA-BHA-PHA 30 Days
Miracle Serum Light
So, what makes the Miracle Serum Light “lighter” than the original?
Let’s talk about its formulation.
Higher concentration of star ingredients
The two SOME BY MI serums have basically the same star ingredients: Tea Tree, Centella asiatica, AHA, BHA, and PHA. However, they have different concentrations. The Miracle Serum Light has higher concentrations of Tea Tree at 730,000 ppm and Centella asiatica at 15% while the original serum has only 10,000 ppm Tea Tree and 14.5% Centella asiatica.
Fewer variety of skincare acids
The number of skincare acid components are significantly less in the lite version. It appears that it only has one representative per AHA, BHA, and PHA, namely citric acid, salicylic acid, and lactobionic acid. Meanwhile, the original formulation has a handful like citric acid, lactic acid, malic acid, glycolic acid, pyruvic acid, tartaric acid, and lactobionic acid.
Significantly less oil-based ingredients
SOME BY MI focused more on hydration in their Miracle Serum Light version. The original Miracle Serum has a long roster of oil extracts from different herbs and plants. The new Miracle Serum Light has an obviously shorter list of ingredients with peppermint oil as the only definite oil-based ingredient.
Fewer ingredients
The original Miracle Serum has a total of 62 ingredients listed. Meanwhile, the light version has only 40 individual ingredients as per SOME BY MI official website. Here are their ingredients side by side:
Targeted skin type and skin concerns
The Original Miracle Serum is best for dry, combination, acne-prone skin while the new Miracle Serum Light is recommended for oily, oily-dehydrated, acne-prone skin.
How are they similar?
Both serums claim to be free from 20 kinds of harsh chemicals and made with safe ingredients. Also, they both are dermatologically tested and are proven to be non-irritating.
You can read more about the Miracle Serum and Miracle Serum Light on their individual product pages.
My initial review of Miracle Serum Light by SOME BY MI
First, a little background about me…
I am in my early 30s, have combination skin (oily on the T-zone, dry to normal for the rest of the face), and am a regular victim of hormonal acne around my jawline and chin. I have been using the Miracle Toner for months now, and I am pleased with its results. It is not lifechanging, but I am still happy with how it greatly improved my skin. But I know that it is lacking that extra oomph. Nevertheless, it’s just a toner, so I don’t expect anything more than what it did to improve my skin.
When I was about to run out of my Miracle Toner, I hopped online to order a new one. Lo and behold, I found out that SOME BY MI is giving away free samples of this newly released Miracle Serum Light for any purchase of SOME BY MI products (except Spot Patch, cotton pad, pack brush, mask sheet, or miniature products) OR a Sample Press Kit per purchase of the Miracle Serum Light!
Added toner to cart, checked out, and went on with my life like nothing happened. LOL.
SOME BY MI
SOME BY MI
Honestly, I don’t have that much interest in trying out serums/ampoules. It would be great to jump on the bandwagon of the 10-step Korean skincare routine because it looks really promising. However, I’d rather keep my routine simple. But before you go on preaching on me, I have my reasons.
Firstly, I really am not sure how my skin would react. I have allergies on some things and even medications, so I am not that confident in trying out new products. I mean, I don’t consider my skin perfect, but I don’t see it as troubled enough to add another product to my routine that would potentially ruin its mediocracy.
Second, I find serums as too expensive for me. When you run a household budget, you would rather choose to buy your kid new clothes and food than splurging on skincare products.
Lastly, because of my busy schedule, I am keeping my skincare routine to the bare minimum with only the basics: cleanser, toner, moisturizer, and sunscreen. When you’re married and a mom of a very active toddler, who got the time (did I mention budget?) for a meticulous routine, right?
Hmm… but would this Miracle Serum Light change my mind? Let’s find out!
Expectations
SOME BY MI highlighted three main skin concerns that the Miracle Serum Light will address:
- Calm angry skin problems
- Remove sebum and dead skin cells
- Even and clear skin tone
I don’t actually have “angry” skin, but as mentioned, I do get my monthly dose of hormonal acne. After I started using the Miracle Toner, those zits are a bit contained to one or two and do not flare up that much, unlike before. Because of the said calming properties, I’m expecting this serum to further reduce the redness when these unwanted guests arrive.
Because I have an oily T-zone, I do have some problem with sebum on my forehead and nose. Although the toner managed to somehow control oil production it, I still get a few whiteheads and some visible blackheads on the nose. Maybe this serum would totally clear out those imperfections? I hope so.
The one thing that I wanted more from my toner was to get rid of my acne scars. However, it only lightened it, and there are still some visible dark spots here and there. With this, serum, I am hoping that these will be fully gone.
It’s here!
Fast forward to when my package arrived: I was genuinely more excited about these samples than my actual purchase! The samples come in two 6 ml / 0.2 fl. oz. plastic bottles (two because, as per SOME BY MI, they wanted the customers to actually feel its effects). I expected it to be small, but these are just too cute!
Since the sample bottles are too small for elaborate text, you can’t really get a solid amount of information from the bottle itself. All it has at the back were a few details, mostly in Hangul. These are the product name, a short description (roughly translated that it is for whitening and wrinkle improvement dual functionality), the manufacturing details, country of origin, website address, and the period-after-opening (PAO) symbol of 12 months. I do wish they inserted some flyers or something with the samples because I’d love to get more in-depth with this new serum. Nevertheless, it is a good thing they had something online.
Does the Miracle Serum Light have a fragrance?
As for the fragrance, the Miracle Serum Light has a mild scent of peppermint. It smells pretty much the same as the Miracle Toner but scaled down to a minimum. In fact, the scent does not bother me at all, and I actually like it. It has that refreshing effect, adding to the calming factor that the brand is marketing it by.
SOME BY MI claims that they do not use artificial fragrance in their products. This minty scent is probably from the peppermint oil listed in the ingredients.
How can you describe its texture?
One of the main complaints that I’ve read about the original Miracle Serum is its texture, mainly mixing the contents before application. Since it is a serum that has lots of oil-based ingredients that do not mix with other water-based ones, some users are having a difficult time shaking and incorporating all the ingredients prior to use.
The Miracle Serum Light has none of that shaking struggle since it has very little amount of oil. Looking from outside the bottle, you could see very well that it is watery. It does have that slight viscosity at room temperature, but it almost immediately started running down my hands after getting a few drops.
It was so runny that it didn’t give me enough time to snap a decent photo for size comparison!
Upon application, I instantly felt the cooling effect even though I used it at room temperature. The serum is easy to apply and indeed fast-absorbing. I applied the serum to my whole face but added another layer to my troubled areas.
After application, I waited a few minutes before I put on my moisturizer. It was not only after an hour when I remembered to check how my skin was doing. I ran my fingers on my T-zone. At first, I thought it was greasy, but upon inspection, it was not. I checked my entire face, it was soft and felt hydrated. However, my face did get a bit oily when I woke up the next morning, specifically on my T-zone (more on this later).
How to use the new Miracle Serum Light
How much product do you need?
Unlike the full bottle with a pump, these little cutie samples have screw on caps. Hence, I would not really know exactly how many pumps it would need to get full face coverage. But, a dime or penny sized drop is more than enough to cover my entire face.
How should you apply the serum?
After cleansing and toning, dispense enough product to cover the whole face. Lightly pat for faster absorption. For an added cooling effect, I stored mine in the fridge.
For better results, they recommend using it daily—day and night. However, I opted to use it only in my nighttime routine.
SOME BY MI recommends using it with other products of the Miracle Line for better results. I use it with the Miracle Toner.
If you want to go elaborate on your routine, you might want to try the other products in the Miracle collection, too. They even have a body cleanser that targets acne around the back and chest area.
They also have product sets in smaller sizes if you want to do some trial first.
AHA-BHA-PHA 30 Days
Miracle Tea Tree Clear Spot Oil
AHA-BHA-PHA 14 Days
Super Miracle Spot All Kill Cream
SOME BY MI formulated these to work well together, so there is little concern in that aspect. But, of course, using the whole product line is not necessary for it to work. You can use it in combination with other products that your skin likes best. But be mindful of the ingredients that might not mix well (e.g. AHA/BHA and Vitamin C).
Verdict
Is the Miracle Serum Light effective?
Given that I don’t have “angry” skin, I can’t really fully comment on its calming properties. But, I can confirm that it does have that relaxing effect. Giving your face a good massage along with it would be a perfect touch.
Fortunately, I also did not experience any breakouts or purging after using the serum. For what it’s worth, I was in a middle of a hormonal acne wave when I first used it. The next day, they were healed. By “healed” I mean I can still feel a bump over where the acne was but it was not hurting anymore.
As for the sebum removal and control claim, I am still on the fence on this one. I purposively stopped using nose strips weeks before I used the serum (since I am also testing the Miracle Toner). I wanted to see how effective these products are in terms of clearing out pores. Honestly, I am not sure if it is doing its job in removing blackheads because I still see some on my nose. However, I don’t see it getting worse in number either. It would either mean that it does unclog pores and remove blackheads and the ones I am seeing are new ones OR it does not remove blackheads but keeps your pores from getting one.
Prior to my use of the Miracle Toner, I usually wake up in the morning with a greasy, icky face. Thankfully, the toner managed to control my usually overreacting sebaceous glands. However, adding in the Miracle Serum Light, I noticed that my face is a little greasier in the morning than when I use the toner alone. The greasy face disappointed me a little bit since I expected that the serum will control my sebum production like the toner. I’m not particularly sure if the serum is reacting to my moisturizer, but I’m not planning on changing products anytime soon.
After a few more use, I further reduced the frequency to every other night and concentrate on applying it on the troubled areas. I figured that the greasy face might be a sign of over exfoliation or that my skin is still adapting to the product. It is not surprising since it is my first time using a serum, so I should have slowly incorporated it into my routine first.
Regardless, I do notice some other positive changes with using the serum in my first week, albeit not too prominent.
I don’t notice any dry areas on my face, especially around my jawline that usually have dead skin due to pimple scarring. I also have significantly lesser whiteheads on my forehead and cheeks than before. If I do feel some hardened sebum or dirt, it seems to rarely go down deep into the pores as it falls of quite easily when I ran my fingers over it. So, it is safe to say that these two Miracles are doing their job in those aspect. Although, I am not sure which one of them did what since I am using them together.
After a few more use, I honestly think that I looked a few years younger after using this serum. I usually have some fine lines under my eyes and a relatively prominent crow’s feet. Now, these fine lines seemed to fade a bit, and I don’t notice these that much anymore. While the crow’s feet are still there, these seemed to be a little bit smaller than before.
Among the many claims, I was really looking forward to getting an even skin tone and totally fading my pimple marks. After using the Miracle Serum Light for the first time, I immediately noticed that my face is brighter and more supple than usual. My face feels more hydrated and softer than before.
Also, I get regular hormonal acne, so pimple marks are never gone (Exhibit A: a newly emerged pimple marked in yellow). Although these marks do not seem to fully disappear, I do notice that these go lighter faster after healing as emphasized in the photo below. I really wish this serum would do the trick in totally clearing out my skin in a few weeks time.
Is the Miracle Serum Light worth the price?
The new Miracle Serum Light by SOME BY MI is now available in Style Korean. It is currently at a 24% discounted price of $13 (retail price: $17) for a 50ml bottle. Looking at the price, it is relatively affordable than many of the other serums in the market. It also offers to solve a wide range of skin problems for a short time. And, given the success of the original formula, I think it is worth a shot, especially if you have oily, oily-acne-prone skin.
Did it change my mind about serums?
As of now, to be fair, it really is too early to tell. I am only a week and a few days in, but looking at the results, this serum looks promising. When it comes to brightening, anti-wrinkle, and hydration, I can agree that it is doing a good job so plus points for those. It did calm down my hormonal acne, but I cannot assure it would do the same for severe acne or angry skin. With continued use, I am still hoping that it would still work on sebum control, removing blackheads, and clearing out dark spots and pimple marks.
Note: I am in no way sponsored by SOME BY MI (I wish! LOL). These are just my honest first impressions of the Miracle Serum Light. Skincare products don’t usually work the same way for everyone. Some get better results than others while some might not like it at all. So, if you think these can help you reach your skincare goals, I suggest that you should test it out, too.
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