Discoloration Defense is TXA plus kojic. Anua is TXA plus more niacinamide. That is not a copy.
The US SkinCeuticals serum is a short list: 3% tranexamic acid, 1% kojic acid, 5% niacinamide, and 5% HEPES. English “Korean dupe” lists often land on Anua’s niacinamide + TXA serum. Anua puts more niacinamide and more TXA on the label, swaps kojic for arbutin, and skips HEPES. Same two molecules, different stack.
What the US serum actually is
| Product | SkinCeuticals Discoloration Defense |
|---|---|
| Labeled stack (US) | 3% tranexamic acid + 1% kojic acid + 5% niacinamide + 5% HEPES |
| INCI shape | Short water serum. Niacinamide is third. HEPES (hydroxyethylpiperazine ethane sulfonic acid) is fourth. Tranexamic acid and kojic acid are later. |
| Size and US price | 30 ml / 1 fl oz, $115 on SkinCeuticals US and Dermstore (August 2026) |
| Job in a routine | Leave-on dark-spot / tone serum, morning and night, sunscreen after AM |
Some European SkinCeuticals pages advertise 1.8% tranexamic acid and do not lead with kojic acid. That is not the US copy we used. We did not independently assay the percents. The brand also publishes clinical percentages; those are theirs, not ours. Dermstore notes that kojic acid can shift the liquid toward light brown or amber. That is a color note, not a potency score.
Discoloration Defense on SkinCeuticals Same SKU on Dermstore
There is no Korean 3% TXA + 1% kojic + 5% niacinamide serum we could point to
A formula match would need tranexamic acid, kojic acid, niacinamide, and HEPES in the same labeled roles — not merely “brightening” or “dark spots.” Korean dark-spot serums that English threads name usually raise niacinamide, add arbutin or a vitamin C derivative, and skip kojic acid. Shared TXA is a job hint. It is not this formula.
Job match: Anua Niacinamide 10 TXA 4
This is the bottle “korean discoloration defense dupe” searches often mean. Anua’s US page labels 10% niacinamide, 4% tranexamic acid, and 2% arbutin. Official INCI starts with water, glycerin, niacinamide, then tranexamic acid, then solvents, then arbutin. Kojic acid is not on that list. HEPES is not on that list. Arbutin is not kojic acid.
Higher labeled percents are not a proof of a stronger copy. The vehicle is longer: plant oils, several hyaluronic salts, ceramide NP, and a late 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid. That last name is a vitamin C derivative, not 15% L-ascorbic acid — see the C E Ferulic page. Betaine salicylate also appears; it is not the 2% salicylic acid on our Paula’s Choice 2% BHA page.
Official US price: 30 ml at $24. YesStyle’s 2024 listing says only the name and packaging changed. Rank when we checked: #4 in Face Serums. Price on YesStyle depends on shipping country; a Korea-shipped request showed won, not dollars.
Anua 10 TXA 4 on YesStyle Anua on Anua US
If you only wanted 10% niacinamide
That is not a Korean gap. The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% is 10% niacinamide with zinc PCA, about $6 for 30 ml on theordinary.com. No tranexamic acid. No kojic acid. Sending that search to Anua is a category error the other way: you would be paying for TXA and arbutin you did not ask for.
Side by side
| Discoloration Defense 30 ml | Anua 10 TXA 4 30 ml | The Ordinary 10% + Zinc 30 ml | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niacinamide | 5% (brand) | 10% (brand) | 10% (brand) |
| Tranexamic acid | 3% (brand) | 4% (brand) | None |
| Other labeled brightener | 1% kojic acid; 5% HEPES | 2% arbutin | 1% zinc PCA |
| Where we checked | SkinCeuticals US / Dermstore, $115 | Anua US $24; YesStyle #4 face serum | The Ordinary US $6 |
| On this site | Original (US stack) | Job match, different stack | Cheap 10% niacinamide, not Korean |
What this page is not saying
We are not ranking which dark-spot serum “works,” converting 4% TXA into 3% TXA, or treating Anua as a melasma prescription. Hydroquinone-free is a brand label on the SkinCeuticals bottle, not a medical claim from us. If you want that US stack, look at that stack. If you want the Korean bottle the threads name, read the INCI: niacinamide, TXA, arbutin — not kojic, not HEPES.
Sources
- SkinCeuticals US Discoloration Defense page S25: 3% tranexamic acid, 1% kojic acid, 5% niacinamide, 5% HEPES, 30 ml, $115, August 2026.
- Dermstore listing 11679046: same percents, $115 / 1 fl oz, full INCI as quoted in the research note, kojic color-shift note. Brand clinical percentages on that page are not reused here as our results.
- Italian SkinCeuticals copy at 1.8% TXA was discarded for the US product.
- Anua US Niacinamide 10 TXA 4: 10% niacinamide, 4% TXA, 2% arbutin, 30 ml, $24, full INCI starting water / glycerin / niacinamide / tranexamic acid.
- YesStyle pid.1132942898: 2024 version, name and packaging only; #4 Face Serums when checked. Ingredient dump matches Anua US lead names; concentrations still taken from the brand page.
- The Ordinary US Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%: $6 / 30 ml; niacinamide and zinc PCA. Ulta sku 2551167 INCI for the zinc PCA confirmation.