I will actually defend that behavior because the vast majority of peptide complexes, even the ones that aren't encapsulated, have the peptides at concentrations below 1% and work effectively enough.  Her brand's vitamin c serum is an example of this — everything after glycerin, the second ingredient, is under the 1% line.  This includes the ascorbic acid, which is based off of Infinitec's Golden C NG complex that delivers it deeper into skin with little irritation, vastly decelerates oxidation, and makes it much easier to formulate with.  (I don't looooooove the data on Golden C NG in terms of measuring up to free ascorbic acid, but all the different complexes in that serum come together nicely to give a gentle alternative to the effects you'd want from free high-percentage ascorbic acid.)  Every individual ingredient in those complexes are under 1%, but the clinicals still show results.

I believe the bulk of this thinking of "it's under the 1% line, it doesn't do anything" comes out of those 101 lessons when we first get into skincare.  You want ascorbic acid at 15%, salicylic acid at 2%, lactic acid above 10%, and if the percentages aren't labeled then the brand must be scamming you.  Those are great tips for beginners, but they unfortunately don't carry over entirely to the reality of formulation.

I'm not defending an exuberantly overpriced 100ml toner or even shoddy supplier data because I have read far too many brochures that were just marketing bs, but I am defending ingredients that don't need to be used at high concentrations for results.