Faded Brightening & Clearing Serum
Reviewed by SerumTruth Editorial · Updated July 2026
One of the broadest over-the-counter pigment formulas going, with three well-placed actives doing the work and a crowd of garnish underneath. The undisclosed levels are the catch, but for the appearance of dark spots and post-blemish marks it is a lot of serum for the money.
- Evidence21 / 30
Strength of the research behind the key actives
- Niacinamide: moderate evidence
- Tranexamic Acid: moderate evidence
- Alpha Arbutin: moderate evidence
- Score is the average of the key actives’ evidence grades.
- Potency19 / 25
Dosed at studied levels, not fairy-dusted
- Niacinamide: dosed at a studied level
- Tranexamic Acid: dosed at a studied level
- Alpha Arbutin: dosed at a studied level
- Kojic Acid: below the 1% line, treated as fairy-dusted
- Azelaic Acid: below the 1% line, treated as fairy-dusted
- Potency tracks how strongly the actives are dosed, led by the strongest, not how many there are.
- Delivery & stability14 / 20
Delivery tech + packaging that protects fragile actives
- Delivery: standard
- Packaging: opaque tube
- No fragile actives here, so packaging barely moves the score.
- Formulation4 / 10
Disclosure, active breadth, and ingredient generation
- 0 of 5 actives disclose a concentration
- 3 key actives (breadth credit caps at 3)
- Current-generation or synergistic: Tranexamic Acid, Alpha Arbutin
- Value13 / 15
What a month of use costs vs. the category
- About $14 per month to use
- $40 for 50 ml, used about twice a day (about 0.3 ml each time), so a bottle lasts about 2.8 months
- Band: $6/month or less earns full marks, $60/month or more hits the floor.
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What’s inside
| Active | Disclosed | Dose |
|---|---|---|
| Niacinamide | n/a | Studied |
| Tranexamic Acid | n/a | Studied |
| Alpha Arbutin | n/a | Studied |
| Kojic Acid | n/a | Below 1% line |
| Azelaic Acid | n/a | Below 1% line |
A deep brightening stack in an opaque tube: niacinamide, tranexamic acid and alpha arbutin sit high on the list, with kojic acid (as the more stable dipalmitate ester), azelaic acid, glutathione and licorice trailing lower as support. None of the percentages are disclosed, and the long tail of brighteners rides below the 1% line, so read the top three as the real doses.
How it’s delivered
Air- and light-sensitive actives (vitamin C, copper peptides) lose potency fast in the wrong packaging, so delivery and the bottle are scored, not just what’s on the label.
The actives, explained
Cosmetic information for general education, not medical advice. The SerumProof score reflects our reading of publicly available research and formulation disclosures. See how scoring works.