Parnell 92 Serum Cicamanu Biome Review

At a Glance

• Made by Parnell
• Packaging Dimension: 10.5cm x 4.8cm x 5cm
• 30ml / 1.01fl oz.
• Non-comedogenic formula
• Bitter, herbal, and petrichor scent

Packaging & Design

The Parnell 92 Serum arrives in a 30ml bottle measuring 10cm tall with a 4.2cm diameter. It’s compact enough for one-handed use, though the glass container adds noticeable heft.

The bottle’s base is roughly 1cm thick, which means the actual chamber holding the product is smaller than the exterior looks.

Packaging spans all four sides with dense text covering usage instructions, full ingredient lists, precautions, and manufacturer details in both Korean and English. The brand uses FSC-certified materials and soy-based ink, with everything except the dropper being recyclable.

Texture & Consistency

The Parnell 92 Serum appears as a transparent formula with a greenish tint. The texture is surprisingly thick and doesn’t flow easily, contrary to what the look suggests. Spreading it across the back of your hand feels smooth enough initially, though you’ll need a generous amount. Skimp on product, and the thick consistency makes even coverage difficult.

Absorption proceeds at a reasonable pace, but expect a tacky finish for the first 30 minutes or so. During this window, the serum sits noticeably on the skin rather than disappearing entirely.

The scent will divide users. It’s a bitter herbal aroma with a petrichor base that smells strongly of traditional medicinal herbs. I happen to like it, and both the scent and green tint work together to reinforce the calming effect the product aims for, whether that’s down to psychology or the formula itself.

Testing with oil blotting paper 10 minutes after application showed the serum does contain oils despite its texture. As someone with oily skin, I didn’t find it particularly bothersome, especially since I used it in late autumn during a cold, dry season. Now, whether it would bother me in summer isn’t even a question. I would never dare to use it in the summer.

Ingredients

The “92” in Parnell 92 Serum refers to the brand’s claim that over 92% of the formula consists of active ingredients, positioning this as a high-concentration treatment serum. The key actives listed include Centella Asiatica extract, Madecassoside, Manuka leaf extract, honey extract, Neem leaf and flower extract, cocoa seed extract, Ceramide NP, Phytosphingosine, and Melatonin.

Despite heavy marketing around Centella and honey as core ingredients, the actual concentrations tell a different story. Centella Asiatica extract sits at 0.0744% and Madecassoside at 0.002%, which is notably low for a product positioning itself as a Centella-focused treatment. Honey extract is present in smaller amounts at 900ppb.

Several potentially effective ingredients appear at concentrations that raise questions about clinical relevance. Madecassoside (20ppm), Leptospermum Scoparium Leaf Extract (20ppm), and Melatonin all register at very low levels.

The brand emphasizes that Melatonin benefits from their Cicamanu Biome hyper-liposome technology to enhance absorption, yet Melatonin appears at the very end of the ingredient list. Given that the honey extract, listed earlier, sits at 0.00009%, the Melatonin concentration is evidently far lower still.

That said, the formula does include generous amounts of other soothing actives, including Neem extract and mugwort oil, which likely account for much of the calming effect the product delivers. The “92%” claim appears to lean heavily on these supporting ingredients rather than the hero components featured in marketing materials.

Performance

Perhaps it was the advertising or the countless reviews praising the product, but the Parnell 92 Serum’s performance fell disappointingly short of expectations.

The serum does excel at one specific thing: addressing physical stimuli to the skin. It works well on discomfort from acne extractions, friction, or mask rubbing. Application feels like spreading an ointment over the skin, offering immediate comfort, and redness improves within 30 minutes.

Beyond that, performance becomes less convincing. It offered little relief for the pinching sensations experienced by our extremely dry skin tester. Also, the serum didn’t relieve itching, which isn’t what you’d expect from a product claiming high-concentrated calming actives.

Most disappointing was its effect on inflamed areas, tracked over seven days. The inflammation simply refused to settle at any meaningful pace.

For active acne, it showed minimal effect in my case, though scarring and post-extraction marks did improve with application. What’s slightly frustrating is that other products deliver faster results, which undermines the “92% active ingredients calming serum” positioning when the improvements crawl along at this rate.

To its credit, the formula felt genuinely gentle throughout testing. For sensitive skin that reacts poorly to stronger treatments, this slower approach might not register as a drawback at all.

The product is marketed as a potent calming serum built around Centella extract, honey extract, and Melatonin. After using it and examining the actual ingredient concentrations, the whole thing reads more like fairy dusting than substantive formulation. The supporting cast of soothing ingredients likely does most of the work, but that’s not what the packaging leads you to believe.

Value for Money

The main drawback of this product is its poor value. The 30ml bottle empties quickly due to the thick texture requiring 2-3 droppers full per application to cover the face properly. At that usage rate, the bottle doesn’t stretch beyond three weeks.

If it delivered exceptional calming results in emergencies, that might justify the cost, but it doesn’t.

The product sits in an awkward position. As one tester observed, this feels like a product that “calms through color and scent” rather than through measurable efficacy. You could describe it as a hydrating ampoule with a herbal scent, but our dry skin testers found it insufficient to justify the expense. The disconnect between the product’s market reputation and its actual performance is hard to ignore.

Who Is It For?

Parnell 92 Serum Cicamanu Biome is recommended for:

• Those who love earthy, herbal-scented skincare
• Those who are frequently irritated by physical stimuli
• Normal or combination skin looking for a soothing serum

Parnell 92 Serum Cicamanu Biome: Verdict

The Parnell 92 Serum occupies an uncomfortable space between modest effectiveness and overblown fame. It handles physical irritation reasonably well, but that’s a narrow use case for a product positioning itself as an intense calming serum.

Beyond that specific scenario, performance drops off sharply. Inflamed areas barely responded over a week of testing, itching saw minimal improvement, and the dry skin discomfort our tester experienced went largely unaddressed.

Despite the “92% active ingredients” claim and heavy promotion of Centella, honey, and Melatonin, the actual concentrations of these hero ingredients sit at trace levels that border on cosmetic fairy dusting.

The thick texture drains the 30ml bottle in under three weeks at proper application rates, and the results don’t justify burning through product that quickly. The formula is gentle, which is helpful if your skin reacts poorly to stronger treatments, but gentleness alone doesn’t compensate for its slow results and how quickly it runs out. The scent and green tint create a psychological sense of calm that the formula itself doesn’t fully deliver on.