7 Budget Serums: Kazunosuke's 2026 Picks That Are "a Miracle They're Not Department-Store Cosmetics"

The original plan was to keep everything at around 2,000 yen, but the products they truly wanted to recommend didn't all fit that price, so the cap was raised to roughly 3,000 yen. Every product has already been covered in detail in past videos, so this one serves as a digest. Demonstrations of how each product feels are left to the original videos, and the focus here is on ingredients and the reasons for each pick. Kazunosuke's position is that skincare doesn't only work if it's expensive, and that adding even one of the products introduced here to your daily routine can significantly change the foundation of your skin.

The first pick is Rohto Pharmaceutical's "Melano CC Medicated Spot Concentrated Care Premium Serum." Kazunosuke calls it possibly the product that has appeared most often in their roundup videos, and says it's the first one that comes to mind when people hear "budget serum."

Melano CC had long offered a "Spot Concentrated Care Serum." Rohto Pharmaceutical developed a formulation that boosts the effectiveness of the ingredients while reducing irritation to the skin, and this Premium version adopts it. Kazunosuke explains that the same technology is used in the high-end products of Obagi, the company's premium brand.

There are four active ingredients. Ascorbic acid (active-form vitamin C) is approved for a whitening effect that suppresses melanin production and prevents dark spots and freckles; pyridoxine hydrochloride for suppressing sebum secretion; allantoin for preventing skin roughness; and isopropyl methylphenol for its antibacterial action. According to Kazunosuke, the original Melano CC serum was the first budget quasi-drug in Japan to use active-form vitamin C as an active ingredient. The formula also contains penetrating, long-lasting, and oil-soluble vitamin C derivatives, natural vitamin E, Alpinia katsumadai seed extract for a translucent look, and citrus extracts such as lemon and grapefruit.

The old formula contained a high concentration of solvent ingredients, but the Premium version has a gentler overall composition. As a result, Kazunosuke rates it as a vitamin C serum that even people with relatively sensitive skin can use, though it can't quite be called suitable for extremely sensitive skin.

What Kazunosuke considers especially significant is that the efficacy of its vitamin C is recognized for a quasi-drug. Even the higher-end Obagi C isn't approved for this as a quasi-drug efficacy claim. High concentrations of vitamin C tend to be rejected in approval because of doubts about stability. Even so, this product is said to contain around 5% or more vitamin C, and when tested, it retained strong vitamin C activity—even a bottle bought years earlier was still fresh. Kazunosuke recommends it first to anyone who has never tried active-form vitamin C.

The caveat is isopropyl methylphenol. Because it's an antibacterial agent, there's a concern that using it over large areas might interfere with the skin's resident bacteria. For that reason, Kazunosuke recommends spot use on areas prone to acne or dark spots. 20 mL, official price 1,628 yen.

The second pick is PDC's "Dermaid Triple Active First Serum." Kazunosuke usually introduces the toner from this line (Triple Active Lotion), but this time chose the serum. The serum was renewed this spring and was introduced in a previous video along with the mist lotion.

Dermaid is the first brand in Japan to obtain approval for a combination of three active ingredients—niacinamide, tranexamic acid, and D-panthenol—and when it launched last year, Kazunosuke introduced it as "possibly the most impressive skincare right now." Niacinamide has wrinkle-improvement and whitening efficacy, while tranexamic acid has whitening and skin-roughness-prevention efficacy. D-panthenol is an active ingredient for preventing skin roughness in this product, but it reportedly has a track record of whitening approval in other products. The reason for the recommendation is that one bottle can target multiple benefits from different angles.

Kazunosuke recommends the toner more often since it comes in a larger size and is more cost-effective, but believes the serum likely has a higher concentration of moisturizing ingredients. Other ingredients include BG, dipropylene glycol (DPG), and xylitol. Xylitol is said to be a moisturizing ingredient that has a positive effect on the skin's resident bacteria and is also expected to help nurture healthy skin. Bisethoxydiglycol cyclohexane-1,4-dicarboxylate is a penetration enhancer that can be expected to deliver active ingredients quickly into the stratum corneum. The formula also contains squalane, skin-activating plant extracts (such as Saxifraga extract), four human-type ceramides added in the renewal, and hydrogenated lecithin, an emulsifier that is compatible with cells.

The pre-renewal version contained glycerin, but the new formula is glycerin-free. Because the manufacturer itself advertises it as glycerin-free, it also contains no glycerin-like ingredients. It is also fragrance-free, colorant-free, alcohol-free, paraben-free, and mineral-oil-free. The pre-renewal version was said to have a distinctive smell, but Kazunosuke thinks the manufacturer must have identified and removed the ingredient responsible, so the smell probably won't be a concern. 48 mL for 2,420 yen.

The third pick is "Unlabel Lab Ultra-High-Pressure Penetrating AZ Essence" (containing an azelaic acid derivative), released this spring. The brand's Ultra-High-Pressure Penetrating Essence line originally came in four types: retinol, placenta, niacinamide, and ceramide. Kazunosuke speculates that the placenta version was discontinued and replaced by this AZ version.

Azelaic acid is an ingredient that suppresses sebum secretion and controls acne, and it is approved as an acne treatment in countries such as the United States. In Japan, partly because it can be irritating, it has not been approved as a pharmaceutical ingredient and has been distributed as a cosmetic ingredient. According to Kazunosuke, Rohto Pharmaceutical released a cream using it as a cosmetic in its "Dermacept RX" series, which became popular, and following that trend, Korean cosmetics and emerging Japanese brands also began adopting it.

Pure azelaic acid is the most effective form, but it is irritating and dissolves poorly in both water and oil, making product design difficult. Rohto Pharmaceutical sells a cream containing 20% pure azelaic acid, but some people find its rich texture hard to use, and lightweight serum types have recently become popular. However, it is difficult to dissolve pure azelaic acid as-is into a water-based serum. Kazunosuke observes that products containing neutralized forms or derivatives have therefore become mainstream. Neutralized forms and derivatives are considerably milder in effect than pure azelaic acid, but in exchange they are less irritating and easier to use even for sensitive skin.

This product's distinguishing feature is that it contains 16% of a raw material that includes potassium azeloyl diglycinate, an azelaic acid derivative. According to Kazunosuke, this raw material has been considered quite effective at just 2–3%, so 16% can be called a very high concentration. It also contains 2% glycylglycine and five types of ceramides. The base is isopentyldiol alone, and it is glycerin-free. Kazunosuke strongly recommends it for people troubled by oiliness or acne and for those looking for a glycerin-free azelaic acid serum. They also personally rate it highly for not being a neutralized type, and note that the raw material documentation shows a sebum-suppressing effect.

50 mL for 1,980 yen. Kazunosuke says there are hardly any high-concentration, Japanese-made azelaic acid serums at budget prices. The manufacturer recommends it as a booster serum to use right after cleansing. However, judging from the base composition, Kazunosuke doesn't think it necessarily needs to be used as a booster, and in their video on routines for oily skin, they used it in the normal serum position. Since both potassium azeloyl diglycinate and glycylglycine are water-soluble, they suggest it may penetrate more easily and be more effective when used after hydrating the skin with toner.

The fourth pick is "Faltea Moisturizing Serum," released by Kracie this September. Faltea consists of three products—a toner, a cream, and a serum—all budget-priced. Kazunosuke says they recently introduced it in a video titled "Isn't it a miracle that this even exists?"

The highlight is that it is the world's first product to contain "Liposome Fermentation Drip," developed by Kracie. According to Kazunosuke, this is nearly the first time liposomes have properly appeared on the market in Japanese budget skincare. Utena released a liposome serum earlier, but Kazunosuke's current view is that, based on their impression from looking into the evidence, Faltea's is stronger, and it comes out ahead in terms of how the liposomes work.

Liposomes are multilayered capsules applied in drug delivery systems, made famous by Cosme Decorte's Moisture Liposome (now Liposome Advanced Repair Serum). A manufacturer can't claim a product contains liposomes unless it verifies that they are stably incorporated. For that reason, while there have been budget products with liposome-like structures in the past, almost none openly claimed to contain liposomes. Faltea encapsulates Aspergillus/rice ferment and lactobacillus ferment in liposomes, and has even gathered data showing that they reach the stratum corneum and that continued use improves both barrier function and moisture retention. Kazunosuke rates releasing this at 30 mL for 1,870 yen as a major achievement in the history of budget cosmetics. Because Kracie doesn't advertise much, the product had been overlooked, but their own video has been widely viewed, and they say it will likely continue to draw attention.

The base is BG, glycerin, and propanediol, all of which are highly moisturizing and low-irritation ingredients. Hydrogenated lecithin, the base material of the liposomes, is also included at a fairly high concentration. Kazunosuke explains the encapsulated fermented extracts by comparing them to fermentation-derived extracts such as SK-II's Pitera and Rice Power No. 11. From a chemical standpoint, they also think this serum likely has the highest concentration of these ingredients in the line. The pseudo-ceramide phytosteryl/octyldodecyl lauroyl glutamate is also included.

As a caveat, among the seven products in this video, this and the Melano CC Premium are the only two containing fragrance.

As for how to use it, Kazunosuke says it is most recommended as a booster serum. Because the liposome's bilayer membrane has the same composition as the skin's intercellular lipids, it enters the skin while its multilayered structure unravels and penetrates like an eggshell breaking open, they explain. They also describe the texture as melding into the skin as if it had always been part of it. Since it can be expected to carry along both the water-soluble and oil-soluble ingredients of the products used after it, they suggest that adding just this one bottle may change how well your skincare works.

The fifth pick is "Chifure Medicated Whitening Cream TA&NA." It's closer to an eye cream or all-purpose cream than a serum, but Kazunosuke treats it in the serum category. This is also a new product this year, introduced in a video titled "Chifure's overwhelming masterpiece has evolved even further."

One nice thing about Chifure, Kazunosuke says, is that it discloses ingredient concentrations. The active ingredients are 5% niacinamide and 2% tranexamic acid, both high concentrations. Comparing quasi-drug active ingredients alone, Dermaid, which also contains D-panthenol, comes out ahead. However, Kazunosuke says this product has strengths that go beyond that.

Its predecessor was Chifure's gel cream. It used niacinamide as the active ingredient, contained 4% pseudo-ceramide, and was made with a surfactant-free formula. Surfactants can be a concern for irritation in sensitive skin, and Kazunosuke had highly praised how it used a gelling agent to emulsify and stabilize 4% pseudo-ceramide and 5% niacinamide without surfactants. TA&NA adds tranexamic acid to this while carrying over the surfactant-free formula. Kazunosuke also values that the company verified in basic research that combining tranexamic acid and niacinamide synergistically increases the whitening effect. It also contains 3.5% pseudo-ceramide (phytosteryl/octyldodecyl lauroyl glutamate).

The high concentration of pseudo-ceramide, the simple ingredient list, and being surfactant-free are features that even Dermaid lacks, they say. It suits people with sensitive skin who want to target dark spots and wrinkle improvement with a mild feel. Also, since some people don't do well with the D-panthenol (panthenol) in Dermaid, this is easier to recommend in such cases. 20 g for 2,090 yen. Kazunosuke adds, while showing the actual product, that the container doesn't stand upright on its own.

The sixth pick is Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare's "Minon Amino Moist Aging Care Oil." Kazunosuke describes it as being in a class of its own among oil serums.

Typical beauty oils, even good ones, are based on squalane or plant oils. This product lists the pseudo-ceramide phytosteryl/octyldodecyl lauroyl glutamate first in its full ingredient list. It is followed by hybrid sunflower oil, isostearic acid (a higher fatty acid that adjusts firmness), and isopentyldiol, and Kazunosuke thinks there is likely very little of anything after that.

This pseudo-ceramide appears to be the same ingredient that was at 3.5% in the Chifure cream. Kazunosuke had called even Chifure's 3.5% impressive, but in Minon it's the main ingredient, and they estimate the concentration may be around 50–60%. They call the price of 1,650 yen for 20 mL cost performance that would normally be unthinkable.

The recommended way to use it is to mix one drop into your toner. That way, you can deliver a high concentration of ceramide to your skin as a toner. However, mixing it into toner by hand is awkward, and combining it with an emulsion or cream tends to make things sticky. So, as a trick introduced in a past video, Kazunosuke suggests soaking a cotton pad with toner, dripping one drop of the oil onto it, and patting it on while mixing it on the skin. Since ceramide could be called the skin's barrier function itself, they especially recommend it for people with sensitive skin, weakened barrier function, or dry skin. It can also be used on its own as an oil serum, but because pseudo-ceramides tend to feel sticky, mixing it into toner is the recommended approach.

The seventh and final pick is "Cosmedica Repair Serum," also sold by Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare. It is manufactured by Yushin Brewery, known for Rice Power No. 11+. The active ingredient in its full ingredient list is Rice Power No. 11+.

Rice Power No. 11+ is a new active ingredient that made headlines when it was first adopted in ONE BY KOSÉ's Serum Shield, and it has two efficacies: wrinkle improvement and improvement of the skin's moisture-retention capacity. Its predecessor, Rice Power No. 11, is an ingredient that improves the skin's moisture-retention capacity by increasing ceramides and had been recommended for atopic and sensitive skin. However, that efficacy alone didn't make it very popular. According to Kazunosuke, it began attracting attention once its wrinkle-improvement efficacy was recognized for quasi-drugs.

According to Kazunosuke, the ingredients currently recognized for wrinkle-improvement efficacy are niacinamide, retinol (currently only Shiseido has obtained approval), Pola's proprietary Neal One, an ingredient called VEP-M, and Rice Power No. 11+. Of these, effectively only niacinamide is available to many manufacturers, and since it's already in many cosmetics, it lacks novelty, and its wrinkle-improving action is mild, so it can't be promoted strongly. Trying to target wrinkle improvement with other ingredients means many products cost around 10,000 yen, and even an inexpensive retinol product like Elixir's costs about 7,000 yen. These ingredients also don't suit every skin type, so they weren't something anyone could casually use.

Rice Power No. 11+ debuted in ONE BY KOSÉ's Serum Shield at a price in the 5,000-yen range, making it relatively accessible for a wrinkle-improvement product. Its verification data is extensive, and it is a rare ingredient shown to act all the way down to the basement membrane between the epidermis and dermis deep in the skin. Kazunosuke highly values that it combines both an action that works on the basement membrane to plump the skin and improve wrinkles, and an action that supports ceramide production to improve moisture retention. Furthermore, there is almost no concern about the retinoid ("A") reactions seen with retinol, or about it not suiting people with allergy-prone constitutions. Surprisingly many people don't do well even with niacinamide, so the near-absence of such drawbacks is another reason they champion it.

Kazunosuke says this Repair Serum is currently the cheapest way to get Rice Power No. 11+. It has an open price, and the lowest price on Amazon for the small 18 g size is 3,280 yen. It barely fits in the budget category, but they include it, asking viewers to forgive this since it's a serum. They also admit that the 45 g size is around 6,280 yen, so it's fairly pricey per volume.

The ingredient composition is simple: aside from the active ingredient, it uses low-irritation ingredients such as BG and glycerin, the moisturizing ingredient maltitol, and a relatively low-irritation emulsifier. It is fragrance-free, colorant-free, and alcohol-free, with many "free-from" claims. Serum Shield has an interesting balm-like texture but is better suited to spot use than to the whole face, they say. This one is a basic cream texture, so the Repair Serum is easier to use over large areas.

Kazunosuke also mentions that they plan to release a serum containing Rice Power No. 11+ from Ceralabo this December. However, because of their focus on ingredients, they couldn't release it at a price this low. For those who want to target wrinkle improvement, improved moisture retention, ceramide production from within the skin, and basement-membrane care all at once, they recommend the Repair Serum.

Kazunosuke concludes by noting that most of the products introduced can be bought for around 2,000 yen, and that it would be hard to find better Japanese-made serums. The video's conclusion is that there's no need to use all seven—simply incorporating one that fits your skin concerns into your usual skincare routine should change your skin's foundational strength.