Description
The MEDICUBE Glutathione Glow Serum is the renewed, smaller version of a product MEDICUBE used to sell as the AGE-R Glutathione Glow Serum. The bottle is 30 g / 1.05 oz, the label reads Glutathione Liposome 5% and Niacinamide 5%, and the formula is not the same as the one it replaced. This page explains what changed, what those two label figures actually mean, and where every headline ingredient sits on a 41-ingredient list.
Table of contents
Use this table of contents to jump through the Glutathione Glow Serum guide.
- The Glutathione Glow Serum you receive is the renewed formula
- The 5% on the Glutathione Glow Serum label is not 5% glutathione
- The niacinamide claim does hold up
- Glutathione Glow Serum: all 41 ingredient positions, counted
- What changed between the old and new Glutathione Glow Serum
- What glutathione does topically — the honest version
- What the Glutathione Glow Serum feels like
- Who the Glutathione Glow Serum suits
- Who should skip the Glutathione Glow Serum
- How to use the Glutathione Glow Serum
- Layering the Glutathione Glow Serum
- The peptides and collagen at the bottom
The Glutathione Glow Serum you receive is the renewed formula
MEDICUBE publishes a renewal notice for this product: new package, new ingredient list, new size. The old version was a 50 ml black AGE-R bottle. The current one — the one we stock — is the 30 g amber bottle with the yellow carton. If you have used the older AGE-R serum, do not assume the Glutathione Glow Serum in your hand is the same thing. It is not.
The 5% on the Glutathione Glow Serum label is not 5% glutathione
This is the single most important thing on this page. The carton says Glutathione Liposome 5%. The ingredient list declares Glutathione at 1,009.9 ppm. That is roughly 0.10% of the finished product.
Those two figures are not in conflict. The 5% refers to a liposome dispersion — an encapsulated raw material of which glutathione is one component and the carrier system is the rest. The 1,009.9 ppm is the glutathione itself. MEDICUBE is being unusually transparent by printing the ppm figure at all; most brands do not. But if you bought this thinking you were getting 5% glutathione, you were not, and no honest seller should let you believe otherwise.
The niacinamide claim does hold up
The other label figure is Niacinamide 5%, and niacinamide sits 7th of 41 on the ingredient list. A 5% inclusion at 7th place on a 41-ingredient deck is entirely consistent. Niacinamide is the ingredient in this bottle with the strongest evidence behind it, and at 5% it is at the concentration most of the published work uses. If you are buying the Glutathione Glow Serum for a reason, that is the reason.
Glutathione Glow Serum: all 41 ingredient positions, counted
- Water — 1st. Glycerin — 2nd.
- Vinyl dimethicone — 6th. A silicone; this is where the slip comes from.
- Niacinamide — 7th of 41. The 5% on the label.
- Flavor — 16th. Fragrance is present.
- Glutathione — 19th, declared at 1,009.9 ppm.
- Adenosine — 27th. Korean functional anti-wrinkle ingredient.
- Limonene — 31st. A declared fragrance allergen.
- Thioctic acid — 33rd. Also called alpha-lipoic acid.
- Ceramide NP — 35th.
- Acetyl dipeptide-1 cetyl ester, palmitoyl tripeptide-5, acetyl hexapeptide-1 — 38th to 40th.
- Soluble collagen — 41st and last.
What changed between the old and new Glutathione Glow Serum
The old AGE-R version declared glutathione at 500 ppm; the renewed Glutathione Glow Serum declares 1,009.9 ppm, so there is roughly twice as much. But the old formula also carried bifida ferment lysate, panthenol, squalane, beta-glucan, tocopherol and six forms of hyaluronic acid. The renewed formula contains no hyaluronic acid at all. It is more silicone-led and less humectant-led. Whether that is an upgrade depends entirely on what you wanted from it.
What glutathione does topically — the honest version
Glutathione is the body’s main intracellular antioxidant, and there is real interest in its effect on pigmentation. Most of that evidence comes from oral and intravenous studies, not from leave-on cosmetics. Topically, glutathione is an unstable molecule that oxidises readily, which is exactly why formulators encapsulate it in liposomes. The published topical evidence is thin, and the concentrations used in the few studies vary widely.
We are not going to tell you the Glutathione Glow Serum will lighten your skin. It is not a bleaching product, it is not a whitening treatment, and any seller promising a number of shades is making it up.
What the Glutathione Glow Serum feels like
Vinyl dimethicone at 6th, phenyl trimethicone at 14th and dimethiconol at 15th make this a silicone-forward serum. It spreads easily, sits smoothly under makeup and gives an immediate soft-focus finish. It is not a hydrating serum in the humectant sense — with no hyaluronic acid and glycerin as the only significant humectant, you will want a moisturiser over it, especially on dry skin.
Who the Glutathione Glow Serum suits
Normal, combination and oily skin looking for a niacinamide step with a smooth finish. It works well as a makeup base because of the silicone content. If uneven tone and post-blemish marks are your concern, the niacinamide is doing the real work and the glutathione is a bonus you should not pay a premium for.
Who should skip the Glutathione Glow Serum
Skip it if you avoid silicones. Skip it if you avoid fragrance — Flavor sits 16th and limonene 31st, so this is not a fragrance-free product. Skip it if you specifically want a hydrating serum, because there is no hyaluronic acid in this formula. And skip it if you are expecting a whitening result, because that is not what it is.
How to use the Glutathione Glow Serum
An honest caveat first: MEDICUBE’s published usage copy on this product still describes the previous AGE-R version and its Booster-H device, not the renewed 30 g bottle. We are not going to pass off device instructions as directions for a product that ships without a device.
General practice for a serum of this type: after cleansing and toning, dispense two to three drops, spread across the face and press in with your palms. Follow with moisturiser. In the morning, finish with sunscreen. Once or twice daily both work.
Layering the Glutathione Glow Serum
Niacinamide plays well with almost everything, so this layers cleanly under moisturiser and over toner. Because it is silicone-forward, put it after any watery essence and before any cream. If you use an exfoliating acid or a retinoid, apply those on their own nights rather than stacking them with this in the same routine — not because of a specific incompatibility, but because fewer actives at once means fewer reactions to diagnose.
The peptides and collagen at the bottom
Three peptides and soluble collagen occupy the last four positions of 41. They are present. They are present in very small amounts. Peptides can be active at low percentages, so that is not a criticism, but nobody should buy the Glutathione Glow Serum as a peptide product. Buy it for the niacinamide.
Thioctic acid at 33rd of 41
Thioctic acid is alpha-lipoic acid, an antioxidant that is both water- and oil-soluble. At 33rd of 41 it is a small inclusion. It supports the antioxidant story alongside the glutathione rather than driving anything on its own.
Fragrance and preservatives in the Glutathione Glow Serum
Fragrance is declared as Flavor at 16th, with limonene separately declared at 31st because it is a listed allergen. Preservation is handled by 1,2-hexanediol at 8th and ethylhexylglycerin at 20th — no parabens, no phenoxyethanol. If you have reacted to fragranced skincare before, patch test the Glutathione Glow Serum before committing to it.
How to patch test the Glutathione Glow Serum
Put a small amount on the inside of your forearm once a day for three days and leave it on. Look for redness, itching, bumps or persistent stinging. If nothing happens, try a patch near the jaw for two more days before going full face.
Size of the Glutathione Glow Serum and how long it lasts
30 g / 1.05 oz with a dropper. Two to three drops per use puts a bottle at roughly two months of daily use, or double that if you use it only in the evening. Some listings describe it as 30 ml; the label itself states 30 g.
Using it in Bangladesh weather
The silicone finish is an advantage in Dhaka humidity — it does not feel tacky and it holds up under makeup better than a heavy humectant serum. The trade-off is the missing hyaluronic acid, so in the drier December-to-February months put a proper moisturiser over the top rather than treating this as your hydration step.
Storing the Glutathione Glow Serum
Keep the Glutathione Glow Serum capped, upright, out of direct sunlight and away from heat. Antioxidants do not like light and warmth. Use within twelve months of opening.
Why the sunscreen matters here
Every ingredient in this bottle aimed at uneven tone works against a process that sunlight drives. Using a tone-focused serum without daily sunscreen is emptying a bucket with the tap running. This is not a disclaimer — it is the single biggest factor in whether you see any change at all.
What we will not claim
No shade numbers. No whitening. No before-and-after percentages lifted from the brand’s legacy study slides, which were run on the previous formula paired with a device we do not sell. What we will give you is the ingredient list, the positions, the two label figures and what they actually mean.
Why brands encapsulate glutathione
Glutathione is a tripeptide with a free thiol group, and that thiol is what makes it both useful as an antioxidant and fragile in a bottle. Exposed to air, light and water over time it oxidises to its disulphide form, which is not the form anyone is buying it for. Liposomal encapsulation wraps the molecule in a lipid shell that slows that process and, in principle, helps it survive contact with skin. It is a sensible formulation answer to a real problem. It is also why a raw-material percentage and an active percentage are two different numbers, and why reading a carton without reading the ingredient list will mislead you.
Niacinamide at 5%: what it is actually good for
Niacinamide is one of the few cosmetic ingredients with a substantial body of published work behind it. At around 5% it is studied for the appearance of uneven tone, for sebum, for barrier support and for the look of enlarged pores. It is well tolerated by most people, though a minority find higher percentages flushing or irritating. If you are new to it, start every other day for a week.
Realistic timelines
Nothing in this bottle works overnight. Tone-related ingredients are measured in weeks, not days — eight to twelve weeks of consistent use with daily sunscreen is a fair window before you judge it. Texture and finish, on the other hand, you will notice the first time you apply it, because that is the silicones, not the actives. Do not confuse the immediate cosmetic effect with the slow one.
Reading a ppm figure
Parts per million is a fraction with a million on the bottom. 1,009.9 ppm means 1,009.9 parts in a million, which is 0.10099% — call it a tenth of a percent. It is worth learning the conversion, because ppm is the unit brands reach for when a percentage would look small. Nothing dishonest about it, but you should be able to translate it in your head.
What comes in the box
One 30 g amber glass bottle with a rubber-bulb dropper, in the printed yellow carton. Nothing else is included, and no device is included.
Silicones, and the argument about them
Silicones get a lot of noise online. The substance of it: they are large, inert molecules that sit on the surface, fill in micro-texture and slow water loss. They do not penetrate, they do not feed bacteria, and there is no good evidence they cause acne in most people. What is true is that they build up a film, so if you use them daily you want a cleanser that actually removes them — a proper first cleanse rather than a rinse. A minority of people genuinely dislike the feel or find the film congesting on very oily skin. If that is you, this is not your serum, and that is a preference rather than a safety issue.
A simple evening routine
Cleanse, tone if you use one, two to three drops of this pressed in, then moisturiser. That is the whole thing. In the morning: cleanse, this serum, moisturiser, sunscreen. If you are also using an exfoliant or a retinoid, give those their own evenings and keep this one as the simple night. People get better results from three well-chosen steps used consistently than from eight steps used erratically.
Pairing it with the rest of your shelf
This sits comfortably under any cream and over any watery essence. It is a good partner for a barrier cream, because the missing humectants are exactly what a decent moisturiser supplies. It is a poor partner for a second silicone-heavy primer, because you will end up with more film than you want.
Honest summary
A well-textured niacinamide serum with a genuinely transparent glutathione declaration and a fragrance profile that will not suit everyone. Its strength is the 5% niacinamide at 7th place. Its weaknesses are the absence of hyaluronic acid, the fragrance, and a headline ingredient present at about a tenth of a percent. Buy the Glutathione Glow Serum if you want the niacinamide and the finish. Do not buy it expecting the glutathione to transform your skin tone.
Authenticity
This Glutathione Glow Serum is authentic MEDICUBE stock, in the current renewed 30 g packaging. Photography on this page is MEDICUBE’s own official imagery for the renewed version. We have deliberately left out the brand’s older gallery images, because they show the discontinued 50 ml AGE-R bottle and would misrepresent what you receive.
Related MEDICUBE products we stock
If tone is the target, compare this with the MEDICUBE TXA Niacinamide 15% Serum 30ml and the MEDICUBE Kojic Acid Turmeric Serum. For the hydration this formula does not provide, pair it with the MEDICUBE Hyaluronic Multi Peptide PDRN Serum 30ml or the MEDICUBE Hyaluronic Capsule Cream 55g. MEDICUBE’s own listing for this line is on its official product page, and general background on vitamin B3, the vitamin niacinamide is a form of, is published by the National Library of Medicine.
Delivery across Bangladesh
Frequently asked questions
Is this 5% glutathione? No. The label’s 5% refers to a glutathione liposome raw material. The ingredient list declares glutathione at 1,009.9 ppm, about 0.10%.
Will the Glutathione Glow Serum whiten my skin? No. It is not a whitening or bleaching product and we will not sell it as one.
Is this the same as the AGE-R Glutathione Glow Serum? No. That was the 50 ml version with a different formula and 500 ppm glutathione. This is the renewed 30 g version.
Does the Glutathione Glow Serum contain hyaluronic acid? No. The old formula did; this one does not.
Is the Glutathione Glow Serum fragrance-free? No. Flavor is 16th and limonene is 31st.
Do I need the Booster-H device? No. The device copy on MEDICUBE’s page relates to the previous version. This serum is used with your hands.
Can I use the Glutathione Glow Serum morning and night? Yes. Sunscreen in the morning is essential if tone is your goal.
What is the shelf life? Use within twelve months of opening, stored away from heat and light.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.