Review: O Hui Prime Advancer Ampoule Serum

O Hui is a prestigious skincare brand in Korea, which is sold in department stores and which clearly targets a clientele over 30 years old, with money, let’s put it like that!

Typically, it’s a brand that is not well known outside Asia because its users don’t talk about it much on social media accessible in English. But I assure you that this is not some obscure brand. In Korea, I noticed that the brand’s booths in department stores were always crowded!

Well, as usual, I decided to try this O Hui product because Odile Monod put it back on my radar after I heard her say she liked it a lot in a YouTube live! That being said, I still struggled to find info about it in English, and I actually gave up at some point and spent some time searching in Korean with Google Translate instead 😂😂😂

But considering the price (it’s clearly a luxury serum!), I really wanted to know a bit more about this serum before ordering it…

And thanks to a super interesting discount on the Jolse website, I finally placed an order at the end of August and started using it in early September.

So now I can give you my thoughts on this premium serum from the skincare brand O Hui, the Prime Advancer Ampoule Serum!

Skincare Review: Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum EX I only mentioned it as a passing comment in my article about the Sulwhasoo flagship store last spring. Yes I definitely took my time to do a review of the famous Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum EX. Read more

The skincare brand O Hui, presentation:

The Korean cosmetics giant LG (yes, the same company that makes your fridge and TV) is behind the prestigious skincare brand O Hui. This giant industrial group has in its portfolio very prestigious skincare brands such as The History of Whoo, Su:m 37 or the very popular Belif that I talked about just a little while ago! LG founded O Hui in 1997.

When I started talking on my Instagram account about luxury cosmetics using the principles of traditional Asian medicine, many of you were interested and asked me to talk about Korean luxury beauty brands, which are less known in the West. O Hui is certainly one of the most popular in this category in Korea!

The use of herbs and plants to heal is indeed an ancestral practice in Korea, where there are many traditional hanbang doctors (the name of this medicine).

There is also a whole hanbang cosmetic industry in Korea, and the brand O Hui is part of it, even if it also emphasizes the use of modern scientific methods for the design of its products.

In Seoul, the O Hui brand can be found mainly in high-end department stores, such as Hyundai or Lotte for example. Its current face is the beautiful and very popular K-Drama actress Kim Taeri. Having a star of this magnitude representing the brand is clearly a sign of prestige in Korea!

The brand’s slogan is “A difference in beauty sensed by the skin.” In very very short, the concept of the O Hui brand is to use science to improve and protect the proper functionality of the skin.

The brand is known for using stem cell technology, which primarily addresses the needs of sensitive skin, the most common skin type in Korea. So the O Hui products are known for being very effective but gentle, which is not always an easy balance to achieve!

Add to that a lot of hydration for the famous Korean glow, and you have an idea of the strengths of the brand O Hui 😉

As the brand is high-end, all these high-tech formulas are presented in very elegant packaging but they’re still quite functional as well, which is a plus!

In short, it’s definitely a brand that I want to know more about!

O Hui Prime Advancer Ampoule Serum, product presentation:

The famous “green ampoule serum”, as it’s nicknamed in Korea, is also supposed to be one of the favorite serums of Korean flight attendants, whose skin is often weakened by the very dry air in the cabin and tired by the constant time zone changes.

It’s an anti-aging serum, very antioxidant, which boosts the skin’s hydration but also helps stimulate its repair function by making it stronger, with a more robust skin barrier.

In short, a concentrate of everything I’m looking for right now!

It’s suitable for all skin types, even combination to oily skin, but it’s primarily for people who want to address the signs of aging on their skin.

Since this is a luxurious product (with the price tag that goes with it), you can expect a very pleasant user experience, with a prestigious packaging, and a definite sensorial formula!

In this formula, there is a combination of natural ingredients, which are often derived from fermentation and other synthetic ingredients very focused on anti-aging. The main ones:
– betulin: extracted from myrtle leaves, it strengthens the skin, reduces inflammation and it also has healing properties,
– soothing panthenol,
– soybean ferment extract (Lactobacillus): brightening, antioxidant, soothing, repairing,
– moisturizing glycerin,
– saccharomyces, which are soothing ferments that improve the radiance of the complexion,
– a complex of different plants based on sorbitol and trehalose (the Phyto Vital Complex): a complex based on humectant ingredients that help the skin retain moisture in the skin,

Anti-aging active ingredients to preserve the skin’s tonicity:
– gallotannin, a component of Sumac powder, anti-aging,
– phloretin, which comes from the apple: antioxidant, brightening,
– Alpha Lipoic Acid/Thioctic Acid, which reduces inflammation and the pore size,
– and anti-aging arginine and adenosine.

Attention, for sensitive skin, the formula also contains essential oils and alcohol. That being said, on me, this serum was pretty soothing!

O Hui Prime Advancer Ampoule Serum, my experience:

When I started using this O Hui Prime Advancer Ampoule Serum, it was the beginning of September, and usually at this time of year, if I haven’t been lucky enough to escape from Dubai on vacation during summer, my skin is pretty exhausted.

So clearly a serum that allows me to rebuild a solid skin barrier and gain more radiance, while having a moisturizing and anti-aging effect, I’m going to be interested!

When I received it, I found the bottle really beautiful, very luxurious, certainly not super modern but still, it looks great! But I was really surprised when I realized that the bottle was made of plastic. Yes, it’s a very good quality plastic, but at this price, it seems to me that glass was the better choice! It was a little disappointing, I can’t hide it…

That being said, this bottle remains very practical to use with its pump and I must say that the design is still pretty.

Oh well, what counts is what’s inside, isn’t it? 😉

It’s definitely a very pleasant product to use: the texture is melting and silky, it has a fresh and lovely smell; it’s definitely sensorial!

As for the results, after about 6 weeks of use, I find that my skin has clearly recovered: better hydrated, with more radiance, it’s also well plumped! And it’s also soothed, for sure.

In short, I would say that it’s a good product in general, which delivers on its promises.

Now, considering its price, I must admit that I was expecting a little bit better… When a serum is sold between $75 and $115, you really expect an impressive effect on your skin. I mean, at least, that’s what I expect!

And clearly, I like this product but can I have a similar effect from other less expensive products? Yes, I think so. I’m actually planning to test other products in the same style in the next few months, which are less expensive, so keep an eye out for my future reviews of more reasonably priced Korean hanbang cosmetics!

Would I repurchase it, then? Yes, maybe occasionally, but I won’t be in a hurry, and clearly, I’d wait for a nice discount! 😉

In conclusion:

I’m glad I satisfied my curiosity by trying this popular product, but I must admit that I’m not completely convinced!

I think I will still continue to explore what this brand has to offer. Their stem cell products are very intriguing, especially! But maybe I’ll wait until I go back to Korea to see the products in person and try to request samples? At this price, it’s probably better 😉

The O Hui Prime Advancer Ampoule Serum retails between $75 and $115 depending on the retailers, for 50ml.