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Marn Clearing Serum

A water-light serum of mandelic and azelaic acids, the two exfoliants that congested skin tolerates when glycolic is a step too far.

Size30 ml Price$64
Congested, oily or breakout-prone skin that reacts to harsher acids.
Marn Clearing Serum, photographed as a still life

Marn pairs mandelic acid, the gentlest of the alpha-hydroxy acids because of its larger molecule, with azelaic acid, which calms the redness that comes with congestion and fades the marks a breakout leaves behind.

It is buffered to a pH of 3.8, low enough to exfoliate and high enough not to burn. Niacinamide sits underneath to steady oil production over the weeks. There is no alcohol and no added fragrance, so the formula stays quiet on reactive skin.

Use it at night, a pipette across a clean face, and give it a fortnight before you judge it.

The formula, in full.

5 ingredients. Each named, sourced and explained. The percentages add to one hundred.

  • 8% Mandelic acid Mandelic Acid
    Derived from bitter almond
    A large-molecule AHA that exfoliates slowly, so reactive skin tolerates it.
  • 4% Azelaic acid Azelaic Acid
    From grains; ours is fermented
    Calms redness and fades post-breakout marks.
  • 4% Niacinamide Niacinamide
    Vitamin B3
    Steadies oil and supports the barrier over time.
  • 6% Glycerin Glycerin
    Vegetable-derived
    A humectant to offset the dryness acids can cause.
  • 1% Centella asiatica Centella Asiatica Extract
    Madagascar
    Centella extract, to soothe.

Scent None added. A faint acidity from the formula itself.

What it will not do.

  • It will not work overnight. Acids resurface skin over weeks, not days.
  • It will not suit a skin already using a prescription retinoid nightly without spacing the two out.
  • It will not exfoliate if layered under a heavy occlusive that blocks it.

Not in this formula

  • Alcohol
  • Added fragrance
  • Glycolic acid
  • Drying sulphates

Batch dated and numbered. Best within twelve months of opening.

Next in the range Vell Gentle Cleanser