Gold Plus Beauty Cream + Serum 23gm + 3ml

• The serum is the buffer: No acids in it at all, so it can go under the cream to soften how the three acids land.
• Alpha arbutin appears in both: The only active shared across the pack, which means the tone work continues on nights you skip the cream.
• A 3ml serum is a real trial size: Two weeks tells you whether the pairing suits you before you buy either at full size.
• Cheaper than buying the two separately: The pack exists to make the pairing the default rather than something you work out later.
• Two textures for two zones: The serum is thin enough for a whole face; the cream is targeted, for a T-zone or for marks.

The cream, in short: Three acids — glycolic, salicylic, azelaic — plus glutathione, alpha arbutin, kojic dipalmitate, ascorbyl glucoside, licorice and a peptide.

The serum, in short. Water, glycerin and propylene glycol carrying alpha arbutin, vitamin B3, vitamin E, hyaluronic acid, aloe and collagen. Nothing exfoliating.

Glycerin and propylene glycol: The serum’s first two ingredients after water. Both are humectants, which is precisely what skin needs before an acid goes on.

Aloe barbadensis: In the serum only. It is there for comfort, and comfort is the serum’s entire job inside this pack.

Methyl paraben: The serum carries one paraben where our Beauty Serum carries two. A small difference, but people who check labels do notice.

The cream is the strong half and the serum cannot cancel that out. Read the full cream page before you start, because the schedule there applies here too — twice weekly, nights only, sunscreen every morning.

Full ingredient list (INCI) — verbatim from the catalogue

BEAUTY CREAM — Glutathione, Alpha Arbutin, Kojic Dipalmitate, Niacinamide, Titanium Dioxide, Glycolic acid, Azelaic acid, Salicylic Acid, Ascorbyl glucoside, Licorice extracts, Acetyl hexapeptide-8, Fragrance. BEAUTY SERUM — Aqua, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Alpha Arbutin, Vitamin B3, Tocopheryl Acetate, Hyaluronic Acid, Aloe Barbadensis, Collagen, EDTA, Methyl Paraben, Triethanolamine.

1. Cleanse, then apply two or three drops of the serum across the whole face and neck.
2. Wait a minute for it to absorb. Applying the cream onto a wet serum layer spreads the acids further than you intended.
3. Cream on top, thinly, and only where you want the exfoliation.
4. Twice a week for the first fortnight. The serum can be used every night regardless.
5. Sunscreen every morning. That applies from the first night you use the cream, not from the first result.

What is the difference between serum and cream here?

Texture and job. The serum is water-based, thin, and built around humectants that hold water at the surface. The cream is the treatment half — three acids and a group of tone actives, in a base heavy enough to stay put overnight. Serums go on first, creams last.

Can I use just the serum?

Yes, and some people should. If your skin is sensitive, reactive, or already using an acid or retinol elsewhere, the serum alone is a reasonable routine. It has alpha arbutin, niacinamide and hyaluronic acid in it and nothing that exfoliates. The cream is the optional half, not the other way round.

Does the serum stop the cream working?

No. A humectant layer under an acid slows the delivery slightly, which is exactly the point — it buffers rather than blocks. If anything it makes the cream easier to keep using week after week, and with acids consistency beats intensity every single time.

Is this pack right for combination skin?

It is one of the few things in the range that genuinely is. Serum everywhere for the dry areas, cream only on the oily zone where the salicylic acid can get into pores. Most single products cannot serve both halves of a combination face; two products in sequence can.

How long does 3ml of serum last?

Around two weeks at two or three drops a night, which is deliberate. It is a trial size. If the pairing works, buy the serum at full size — the 23gm cream will still have plenty left, because a twice-weekly cream lasts far longer than a nightly serum.

Can I add my own moisturiser?

Yes, and on dry skin you should. Serum, cream, then moisturiser on top. Neither product in this box is a moisturiser: the serum holds water but does not seal it, and the cream is a treatment base. A plain moisturiser last makes the whole routine easier to tolerate.

Which order on the nights I skip the cream?

Serum, then your usual moisturiser. Nothing else changes. Skipping cream nights is not a compromise, it is how the schedule is supposed to work — three acids used twice a week will do more over three months than the same cream used nightly for three weeks and abandoned.

Is it a good gift?

It works as one, though the four-in-one pack is the better-presented option if that is the purpose. This pack is built for someone starting the routine rather than for unwrapping. If you are buying for yourself, this is the one.