Glow Recipe Strawberry BHA Pore-Smooth Blur Drops for skin with dark spots
Bha Beta Hydroxy Acid
Strawberry Extract- Salicylic Acid
Sodium Hyaluronate
Leuconostoc Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Average
- HighNormal Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for skin with dark spots; other serums fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with dark spots: hyperpigmentation, sun spots, and uneven skin tone. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Suitable for normal skin, this product offers moderate pore-smoothing benefits due to salicylic acid and willow bark extract, which gently exfoliate and decongest the pores.
- Saccharide isomerate and sodium hyaluronate provide essential hydration, though the formula lacks targeted ingredients to address your primary concern of pigmentation.
- The product is safe for your normal skin, with no risks of irritation from harsh ingredients.
How to apply
- Apply this serum as part of your PM routine starting 3x/week and build up to daily use if your skin likes it.
- Place the serum after cleansing and toning, but before your moisturizer.
- Gently press 2-3 drops of the serum into your skin and wait a minute for it to absorb.
- Apply the serum on dry skin to help fade pigmentation effectively.
- Avoid the eye area and always use SPF 30+ during the day.
People Say
★4.4Overall rating based on 1.9k+ reviewsBased on a very large amount of data, this product is frequently praised for its ability to control oil and create a smooth base for makeup, with users appreciating its lightweight, silicone-free feel. Some users with dry skin find it lacks sufficient hydration, and a moderate number of reviews mention that the pore-blurring effect is subtle.
Highlights
Controls oil Often Mentioned
- “effectively does its job in terms of prolonging makeup and controlling oiliness throughout the day”
- “kept shine under control the entire day”
- “effective in softly mattifying the skin while avoiding a dry or flat look”
- “absorbs excess oil for a mattifying blur effect”
Smooth makeup Often Mentioned
- “applies without causing pilling”
- “makeup remains fresh all day with its use”
- “no peeling no flaking... when I was applying the foundation”
- “looks so beautiful under foundation and throughout the day”
Lightweight feel Sometimes Noted
- “does not feel heavy”
- “silicone-free formulation is not like your typical mattifying primer”
- “doesn't feel suffocating which some dimethicone rich primers tend to feel”
- “thin consistency that dries down pretty quickly”
Lacks hydration Sometimes Noted
- “formulation is not hydrating enough”
- “definitely needs to be topped with a moisturizer for some hydration”
- “almost seems too drying for the rest of the year”
- “dries down so much that it makes foundation harder to apply over it”
Subtle pore blurring Sometimes Noted
- “didn't notice a pore-blurring effect”
- “pore-blurring effect is quite subtle for me”
- “blurring effect is a bit too subtle for me to call it a primer”
- “hardly makes any difference in the look of texture/pores in the short term”
Tricky packaging Rarely Noted
- “good-sized dob of it squirted out... ended up on my wall”
- “somewhat tricky to control how much comes out”
- “find myself squeezing more product out 2-3 additional times”
- “flimsy plastic top”
Sources: lovi.care, glowrecipe.com, sephora.sg, walmart.ca, beauty-detective.com, thehappysloths.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does Strawberry BHA Pore-Smooth Blur Drops work for skin with dark spots?
Glow Recipe Strawberry BHA Pore-Smooth Blur Drops works moderately well for skin with dark spots, smoothing pores with salicylic acid while keeping skin hydrated, though it lacks targeted brightening ingredients. To better address dark spots, this skin type needs a treatment with effective antioxidants, soothing agents, and brightening ingredients like niacinamide.
The Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2025Lasers in Medical Science, 2025
Which ingredients make this serum a good fit for skin with dark spots?
This serum works for skin with dark spots because it contains salicylic acid and willow bark extract to gently smooth and clear the pores, while sodium hyaluronate and saccharide isomerate add essential hydration. However, it lacks targeted ingredients for dark spots, so a product for this skin needs effective antioxidants and soothing ingredients like niacinamide and propolis to properly address pigmentation.
The Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2025Lasers in Medical Science, 2025
What does Bha do for skin with dark spots?
BHA helps improve dark spots left behind by breakouts and keeps skin smooth and clear. It removes dead surface skin cells and works well on different skin tones, though mild irritation may occasionally happen.
What does Strawberry Extract do for skin with dark spots?
Strawberry Extract helps brighten dark spots and evens out skin tone because it is rich in natural vitamin C and gentle acids. It may also protect your skin from daily damage while keeping it feeling fresh and smooth.
Where does it go in a skincare routine for skin with dark spots?
This treatment goes in the evening routine after cleansing and before moisturizing, as Lovi routines place treatments at night for extra safety around sun exposure. While it gently smooths pores, a product for dark spots of this type needs targeted brightening ingredients like vitamin C or niacinamide.
Can I use this serum with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this treatment with retinol, but apply this product first and let it absorb before putting on your retinol. Using both together is unlikely to cause harsh irritation since this formula is gentle on normal skin.
How often should I use it?
Start using this treatment once a week in your evening routine, and carefully increase the frequency if your skin tolerates it well and you see good results. Skin with dark spots needs targeted brighteners like vitamin C, niacinamide, or alpha arbutin to effectively fade discoloration.
Can this serum clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for skin with dark spots?
This product is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts on your skin, as it contains gentle exfoliating ingredients like salicylic acid and willow bark extract to keep pores clear. However, it may not adequately target dark spots, meaning this skin type needs extra brightening ingredients like vitamin C or niacinamide for better results.
Is it fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no drying alcohol and contains fragrance (parfum).
What the research says
A botanical face cleanser with hops and willow bark extract continuously reduced skin sebum levels without reactive seborrhea after treatment in 21 healthy volunteers compared to a sodium laureth sulfate cleanser, with neither cleanser causing skin irritation.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2019A novel moisturizer containing saccharide isomerate accelerates skin barrier recovery, improves hydration, reduces erythema, and alleviates discomfort compared to a control moisturizer following intense pulsed light treatment in subjects with skin aging.
The Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2025A combination cream of stimu-tex AS and saccharide isomerate reduced erythema, increased skin capacitance, and reduced transepidermal water loss compared to placebo in 20 subjects after fractional CO2 laser procedure without causing serious adverse events.
Lasers in Medical Science, 2025Formulations containing saccharide isomerate significantly improved transepidermal water loss, sebum secretion, and scalp flaking compared to a placebo formulation in an adult Chinese population affected by dandruff scalp.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2023Cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen achieved a higher cure rate (39%) than salicylic acid (24%) and a wait-and-see approach (16%) for cutaneous warts at 13 weeks in primary care patients.
CMAJ, 2010A moisturizer containing licochalcone A, 1,2-decanediol, L-carnitine, and salicylic acid significantly reduced noninflammatory, inflammatory, and total acne lesion counts compared to a vehicle control in Thai patients during a 12-week maintenance phase.
BioMed Research International, 2020Treatment with 2% supramolecular salicylic acid hydrogel resulted in a regression and markedly improvement rate of 51.01% compared to 43.10% for Adapaline gel in patients with mild to moderate facial acne vulgaris, showing no significant difference in efficacy.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Fragaria vesca extract-based hydrogel exhibited antioxidant efficacy, cutaneous compatibility, acceptability, and stability suitable for topical application.
Antioxidants, 2020Supercritical CO2 extract from strawberry seeds at concentrations up to 2% successfully provides moisturizing and skin-softening effects in mild cleansing compositions without significantly affecting their stability, cleansing, or foaming properties.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2015Treatment with strawberry seed extract and tiliroside increased stratum corneum total ceramide content and specific ceramide species in human epidermal equivalents by enhancing the expression of ceramide-related enzymes.
PloS One, 2018Topical application of 0.1% hyaluronic acid formulations of different molecular weights led to significant improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, with low-molecular-weight formulations also significantly reducing wrinkle depth in seventy-six female subjects compared to a vehicle control.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2011Topical application of hyaluronic acid in conjunction with free gingival graft significantly reduced donor site postoperative pain until day 7 compared to normal saline, with no significant differences in graft dimensions or patient satisfaction.
Clinical Oral Investigations, 2022Treatment with a hyaluronic acid-containing mouth rinse or topical gel led to significant lesion reduction, pain relief, and normalization of lesion color in adult patients with minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis, with the gel formulation showing an earlier healing onset at 3 days.
BMC Oral Health, 2019
Why other serums fit skin with dark spots better
Niacinamide significantly decreased hyperpigmentation and increased skin lightness compared with vehicle alone after 4 weeks of use in women by inhibiting melanosome transfer.
The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Treatment with 14% ferulic acid and 12% l-ascorbic acid significantly reduced pigmentation and erythema while improving hydration and elasticity in 20 women with photoaged skin, with neither acid proving definitively more effective overall though ascorbic acid showed slightly greater skin lightening.
Dermatologic Therapy, 2022
Ingredients
Water, Tapioca Starch, Isopentyldiol, Nylon-12, C9-12 Alkane, Distarch Phosphate, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Vp Copolymer, Saccharide Isomerate, Strawberry Leaf Extract, Salicylic Acid, Willow Bark Extract, Strawberry Fruit Extract, Leuconostoc Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Bisabolol, Coco-Caprylate Caprate, Triheptanoin, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Propanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Polyglyceryl-10 Dioleate, Dilinoleic Acid Butanediol Copolymer, Polyglyceryl-10 Dipalmitate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Castor Ipdi Copolymer Oil, Citric Acid, Parfum
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
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Victoria Derkova, MS
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