
SOQU Vitamin C illuminating Cream
Product summary
Based on the ingredients included, "SOQU - Vitamin C illuminating Cream" works well for moisturizing the skin. As we expect from a proper moisturizer, the formula includes a combo of effective humectants and emollients. These are the two different types of ingredients that are essential for improving the skin hydration and supporting a healthy skin barrier. Arginine, betaine, glycerin, hyaluronic acid and hydrolyzed collagen in this product (humectants) attract water molecules to the upper layer of the skin (the water comes from the outside air or from the deeper layers of the skin if the air is dry). Emollients in this formulation (ceramide np, hydrolyzed collagen, phytosterols, arginine and dimethicone) help to reduce the moisture loss from the skin. They also soften the skin surface and relieve the feeling of dryness and tightness.
Ingredient callouts
- Another benefit is that this moisturizer contain ceramides (ceramide np 0.25% - 0.50%). Ceramides are an important part of our natural skin barrier. The ceramides used in skincare are synthetic or come from plants. They help soften the skin and can help "fill the gaps" in the skin barrier, keeping the skin hydrated and resilient for longer.
Irritation risk
There are some common irritants in this product, including ingredients that do not have benefits for the skin. We assess the overall irritancy of this moisturizer to be high. For a detailed overview of all potential irritants: click here
You can see the detailed formula review with the breakdown of all actives in the product and the full ingredient list with estimated concentrations in the tables below.
Price
The product retails for 14.54$ in the United States.
For a detailed price comparison: click here.
Benefits
Promise: Moisturizing
What does the product description say?
Vitamin C illuminating Cream
This product can help improve hydration of the skin with the two types of ingredients.
The first type is called “humectants”:
these ingredients help attract water.
When humectants are on the surface of the skin, they “pull in” the moisture from the outside environment, or from
within deeper layers of the skin. The following ingredients in this product do the job:
arginine, betaine.
This product also contains ingredients called “occlusives”. They help reduce the speed with which our skin loses moisture to the outside environment. These ingredients also help soften the upper layer of the skin, so it feels less tight and nicer to the touch. The following ingredients in this product do the job: arginine, dimethicone.
The following ingredients in this product are especially good for supporting the skin barrier and helping with the hydration level: ceramide np
Ingredient | Effectiveness | Concentration | Irritancy |
---|---|---|---|
hydrolyzed collagen | HIGH | ||
hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid | HIGH | ||
hydrolyzed sodium hyaluronate | HIGH |
Other benefit: Anti-aging
This product contains ubiquinone. This ingredient help neutralize free radicals in skin. By doing so, they might be able to prevent early signs of aging (like fine lines and wrinkles), at least to some extent. These ingredients will not be able to "reverse" signs of aging.
Ingredient | Effectiveness | Concentration | Irritancy |
---|---|---|---|
hyaluronic acid | LOW | ||
ubiquinone | LOW | ||
butyrospermum parkii butter | LOW |
Other benefit: Anti-oxidation
This product contains antioxidants (ubiquinone) that can help neutralize free radicals in skin. By doing so, they can lessen the damage the skin gets from the UV light (sun).
Ingredient | Effectiveness | Concentration | Irritancy |
---|---|---|---|
ubiquinone | HIGH | ||
perilla ocymoides leaf extract | LOW | ||
camellia sinensis leaf extract | MEDIUM |
Honesty check
How honest is this product?
Promise | Can it deliver? |
---|---|
Moisturizing |
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Potential irritants

Ingredient | Irritancy | Skin Benefit |
---|---|---|
citrus grandis fruit extract | ||
perilla ocymoides leaf extract | ||
parfum |
User reviews (0)
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WIMJ similarity score | 61% | 61% | 60% | 60% | 58% | 58% | 58% | 58% | 57% | 57% | |
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Ingredients & concentrations
- ceramide np
- panthenol
- betaine
- butyrospermum parkii butter
- camellia sinensis leaf extract
- cyclopentasiloxane
- dimethicone
- glycerin
- hyaluronic acid
- hydrolyzed collagen
- hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid
- hydrolyzed sodium hyaluronate
- phytosterols
- sodium hyaluronate
- sodium hyaluronate crosspolymer
- sodium pca
- sodium polyacrylate
- squalane
- trehalose
- allantoin
- ubiquinone
- arginine
- +18 more
Ingredient | Estimated concentration |
---|---|
45% - 55% | |
Plain old water | |
5.7% - 7% | |
Helps dissolve other ingredients in a formulation | |
4% - 4.9% | |
One of the best moisturizing ingredients. Naturally present in skin. It attracts water to the upper layer of the skin working as a humectant | |
2.8% - 3.5% | |
Helps to dissolve other ingredients in a formulation. Slows down the rate of product drying | |
2.3% - 2.9% | |
A silicone that helps improve the product texture and spreadability. Can absorb oil creating a short-term mattifying effect on the skin | |
1.9% - 2.3% | |
Helps oil and water mix together | |
1.6% - 1.9% | |
Helps oil and water mix together | |
1.5% - 1.8% | |
A non-drying alcohol. Works as an emollient. Helps water and oil mix together and creates a nice product texture | |
1.2% - 1.4% | |
Helps water and oil mix together | |
1% - 1.2% | |
An emollient that softens the skin and forms a protective layer on its surface. Helps water and oil mix together | |
0.7% - 1% | |
Increases thickness of a product. Texture enhancer for oil-in-water emulsions | |
0.55% - 0.85% | |
One of the best moisturizing ingredients. Attracts water into the upper layer of the skin | |
0.5% - 0.75% | |
One of the best moisturizing ingredients. Attracts water into the upper layer of the skin. Naturally present in skin. Typically has large molecule size unless advertised otherwise on the product label. Helps support skin's barrier function and may help to reduce inflammation | |
0.45% - 0.65% | |
Attracts water into the upper layer of the skin | |
0.4% - 0.6% | |
One of the best moisturizing ingredients. Attracts water into the upper layer of the skin. A version of it is naturally present in skin | |
0.4% - 0.6% | |
Attracts water into the upper layer of the skin | |
0.45% - 0.7% | |
A silicone that helps to reduce water loss from the surface of the skin. Can temporarily "fill in" lines and wrinkles, absorb oil, and create a nice product finish | |
0.3% - 0.6% | |
A preservative | |
TBC | |
The ingredient is not recognized | |
0.3% - 0.55% | |
Coenzyme Q10. It helps neutralize free radicals in skin, improves skin hydration and might be helpful agains fine lines and wrinkles. It can be an allergen | |
0.3% - 0.55% | |
Enhances the product texture and makes it more spreadable. Helps reduce water loss from the outer layer of skin. Extands the shelf life by preventing bacteria growth | |
0.3% - 0.55% | |
A typically plant-derived compound that is supposed mimic human collagen. Cannot penetrate the skin barrier so is not particularly useful in skincare products beyond attracting water to the upper layer of the skin | |
0.25% - 0.45% | |
0.25% - 0.5% | |
0.3% - 0.5% | |
Used mostly for creating emulsions - helping oil and water mix together. Helps soften the upper layer of the skin | |
0.3% - 0.5% | |
An emollient that helps soften the skin but is not effective for restoring its barrier function. Might be helpful to calm down inflammation | |
0.3% - 0.55% | |
Lipids that work as an emollient and can be helpful in repairing skin barrier function | |
0.25% - 0.45% | |
Used to create a nice product texture and help delivery of other ingredients. Might be somewhat helpful in attracting water to the upper layer of the skin | |
0.2% - 0.35% | |
0.2% - 0.4% | |
0.25% - 0.45% | |
A plant extract that might help neutralize free radicals in skin but solid research is lacking. Contains a number of volatile compounds and could be irritating | |
0.3% - 0.55% | |
An oil naturally present in skin. Works as an emollient to soften the skin and form a protective layer on its surface without a greasy feeling. | |
0.3% - 0.5% | |
A great moisturising ingredient that softens the skin and reduces water loss from its upper layer. It also can be helpful in protecting skin from free radicals | |
0.25% - 0.5% | |
A type of lipid similar to ceramides naturally present in skin. Helps to soften the upper layer of the skin and supports the skin barrier function to keep it hydrated. Can help to prevent inflammation in skin | |
0.25% - 0.5% | |
Acts as a solvent for other ingredients. Speeds up the absorption of other ingredients into the skin | |
0.3% - 0.55% | |
Traditionally used to treat sunburns, dermatitis and inflammation, but evidence for its effectiveness is lacking. The extract can contain humectants that help attract water into the skin | |
0.25% - 0.4% | |
0.25% - 0.5% | |
Helps soften the upper layer of the skin, dissolve other ingredients and create a thicker product consistency | |
0.3% - 0.5% | |
Used to create a gel-like product texture, as well as to stabilize emulsions | |
0.25% - 0.45% | |
Helps oil and water mix together | |
0.25% - 0.45% | |
Dissolves other ingredients. It does not have additional skin benefits compared to plain water | |
0.25% - 0.45% | |
Naturally present in skin and helps to attract water to its upper layer | |
0.25% - 0.45% | |
0.25% - 0.4% | |
0.25% - 0.45% | |
A fermentation product created by bacteria Lactobacillus out of soybean. The fermented product helps to attract water to the upper layer of the skin and has anti-bacterial properties. It might be helpful in calming down inflammation and could be helpful in evening out skin tone, but studies are lacking | |
0.25% - 0.45% | |
Bean extract that in theory might help to reduce hyperpigmentation, but evidence of effectiveness in skin are missing | |
0.25% - 0.45% | |
0.25% - 0.45% | |
Licorice root extract. Might be helpful in reducing hyperpigmentation | |
0.25% - 0.45% | |
Can contain potent anti-oxidant compounds (abbreviated ECG, GCG, EGC, and EGCG) that might help protect the skin from free radicals. Can help calm down inflammation and has some anti-bacterial properties. Unfortunately, these antioxidants are unstable and lose their effectiveness very quickly in products. The concentration of the antioxidant compounds in the extract also tends to be low to be effective in topical formulation | |
0.25% - 0.45% | |
A more stable but less bio-available form of vitamin E compared to Tocopherol. Might help moisturize and protect the skin from free radicals, but mostly used in low concentrations to stabilize other ingredients. | |
0.2% - 0.4% | |
Used to increase effectiveness of preservatives | |
0.2% - 0.4% | |
Helps attract water to the upper layer of the skin and improves the product texture | |
0.2% - 0.35% | |
Helps attract water to the upper layer of the skin and can help improve skin barrier function | |
0.15% - 0.25% | |
Helps calm down inflammation in skin and can help reduce itching. Helps to repair the skin barrier and keep skin hydrated | |
0.15% - 0.3% | |
A sugar that attracts water to the upper layer of the skin | |
0.15% - 0.25% | |
An amino acid that is naturally present in skin and helps keep it hydrated. When used together with AHAs, it can reduce their irritating effect on the skin | |
0.15% - 0.3% | |
Used to create a thicker product consistency | |
0.05% - 0.15% | |
Stabilizes the product formulation | |
0.1% - 0.15% | |
An aromatic blend of unspecified and possibly irritating ingredients | |
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Sources
- Glycerol and the skin: holistic approach to its origin and functions
- Hyaluronic acid: A key molecule in skin aging
- Hyaluronan (Hyaluronic Acid): a natural moisturizer for skin care
- Efficacy of a New Topical Nano-hyaluronic Acid in Humans
- Physiochemical properties and application of hyaluronic acid: a systematic review
- Dimethicone as a protective ingredient in topical medications
- Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Dimethicone Copolyol
- The influence of alkane chain length on the skin irritation potential of 1,2-alkanediols
- Ethnomedicinal, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Investigations of Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt.
- Skin hydration is significantly increased by a cream formulated to mimic the skin’s own natural moisturizing systems
- Topically Applied Ceramides Interact with the Stratum Corneum Lipid Matrix in Compromised Ex Vivo Skin
- Safety Assessment of Isoparaffins as Used in Cosmetics
- Inhibitory effects of mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) seed and sprout extracts on melanogenesis
- Skin moisturizing effects of panthenol-based formulations
- Safety Assessment of Panthenol, Pantothenic Acid, and Derivatives as Used in Cosmetics