pic from jolse

the packaging: it's like the usual foam cleanser. it comes in a white plastic tube with a flip top. the hole opening is covered by seal as usual. it feels good holding a foam cleanser with a decent size again... i think i like bigger size better and i won't repeat my previous mistake by buying smaller size foam cleanser ever again. other than that, it's pretty plain, with the usual label in front and other korean/english text at the back.

the scent: this is the first time i use unscented cleanser. but somehow, it feels like using medicated cleanser. it smells like medicine. although i don't quite like the scent, i think it's important for people who have sensitive skin since scent might irritate them. however, for me personally, i think i like a little bit mild scent in my facial foam. somehow it soothes me and comforts me when i take my bath.

the product: it's a clear gel foam. this is really new. an unscented one plus a clear one. the other clear foam that i had before is a medicated foam from a skin clinic. so this is quite weird. it doesn't bubble as much as other foam cleanser, but i think since this one is acidic one, it doesn't produce much bubble. i think i've read somewhere that usually cleansers with high pH are the one that produce much bubble.

the result: ahem.. my acnes are already in scar condition, so i can't say about its ability to help prevent acnes from forming. but i can feel this one is clearly not stripping at all. slightly moisturizing afterwards.

i think this one is really suitable for people who have sensitive skin. or if you're low-pH foam seeker. or just want to try something new. this one is worth to try, but keep in mind that it doesn't have nice scent like usual foam, or bubble as much as other cleanser.. so if you have problems with those two criterias, then you might skip this one. price-wise, it's worth your money. even if you're in a budget, you could afford this one and still get months worth of cleanser since a little goes a long the way. as for me, this one is definitely made the cut to my cleanser rotation.

the cleanser tube

top left: the flip top bottom left: the seal right: the gel cleanser on my hand

although i haven't reached enough conclusion about the previous version, i'm intrigued when i saw the newer version. they released two types of this new version, essential and light. the original's main ingredient is black sugar, but the newer one has black sugar and rice wine, which is famous for its brightening effect. while there's no information on their website about the difference between the essential and the light version, i assume the light one is more suitable for oily skin, so i decided to pick that one.


this is the definition from their website: achieve a smoother, clearer complexion with a combination of moisture rich black sugar and cheongju, a traditional korean wine. a lighter formulation provides immediate hydration and quick absoption. this refreshing serum provides balance to both oily and dry skin. to use: shake before use. after cleansing, dispense serum on cotton pad. wipe with the textured side to gently exfoliate dead skin, excess keratin, and other impurities. pat with the soft smooth side to ensure total absorption.

the packaging: there's no difference in packaging from the older version, but the label. it's just like pictured above, in a dark brown glass bottle with metal screw cap. it's quite heavy, so if you order online, you might have to consider the weight. it has one opening on top of the bottle with a plastic separation. the light one has white label, while the essential one has the brown label.

the smell: okay, perhaps this is the difference between the older and the newer version. the older one has stronger scent, like alcoholic liquor, but the newer one has similar scent but more subtle.

the product: it's quite similar with the older version. it's gold brown liquid, like-water-viscosity, so the cotton pad is suitable, since it's pretty like toner for me. oh, i forgot to mention that if you buy the full version, you will get a box of special cotton pad to use. the cotton pad has two sides, one is slightly rough with holes to exfoliate, and the other is smooth like usual cotton pad to tap on the excess of the serum to your skin. the cotton pad is kinda important since i've tried using the regular cotton pad. the regular cotton pad won't do the exfoliation part. the downside about the cotton pad is that the rough side is easily detached from the whole cotton pad, so you have to be careful to rub your skin.

the result: oh yes, it helps maintaining smoother and clearer complexion. as for hydration, it doesn't seem like it helps, but somehow it helps the next step. somehow it acts more like booster for me. my moisturizer is being absorbed better and even my makeup holds longer after using this pre-serum. it helps controlling my sebum problem so far, but hot days are coming, so i will keep you updated. as for the brightening effect, i bet it helps though it doesn't look that clear to me. it doesn't cause me breakouts or purging in any sort. and when i tried this, i used it twice a day at first, and then tone it down, and i can see the difference. when i used it once a day, i noticed my skin is dull. i hate it and i started using it twice a day again. it sucks to realize that it made your skin dependant to it. not improve it.
oh, and when i wrote about it, i read about other blogger's review, and she used it without the cotton pad and she loved it. actually, i was afraid of over exfoliating, so i tried using this without the cotton pad. well, the brightness effect is still the same if i use it twice a day, but somehow it's a little bit sticky than usual. FYI, i've used two different moisturizer after this serum. the mizon one i haven't tried it without the cotton pad, but it's still sticky anyway some days. but for the face shop emulsion, when i use the cotton pad, the emulsion will be absorbed completely and leave my skin velvety. but when i tried it without the cotton pad, i noticed there's a slight stickiness afterwards.

so, will i repurchase it? perhaps.. if it doesn't require special cotton pad. and i can't find the cotton pad refill, so i guess i have to buy the full size product to get the cotton pad. plus it's in a glass bottle. i've been trying to avoid glass bottle since my kids are eager to play with my skincare arsenals. the other thing that kind of annoying me is the rate of this product gone. it's been almost two weeks since i've started using it, and i've managed to use a quarter of it. with the price only 100k difference with innisfree soybean energy essence in big size, the length of usage is quite different. the small bottle of innisfree can last me up to 6 months, but this one? probably a month or a month and a half top. that's quite pricey for me. but, if you're looking for a toner/first serum/essence that helps with hydration and brightening effect and hate the purging that usually comes with most first essences, then try this one. it's nice and effective. i think it will suitable for every skin types.

oh and i forgot. many people are curious about the step of this product. the company stated that it's to be used after cleansing your face, so in the toner step. many bloggers use this as a hydrating toner. i think it's up to you how you want to use it, but since it's meant to exfoliate and hydrate, i think the company suggestion is suitable. so i use it after cleansing my face, so in the toner step.

the complete box packaging

the cotton pad box

the product and the cotton pad box

cotton pad inside the box

the cotton pad left is the exfoliation side, right is the smooth side

the serum bottle

left: the seal opening right: the hole after removing the seal

left: before using right: after using the exfoliation side

a week before after using the product

i'm so sorry for not finishing the beauty bible s/s show earlier. somehow, the shows became boring in their late episodes, especially their last episode, which covers the beauty expert special. they found beauty youtubers with their own expertise, and they awarded one of them for being inspirational. and later at the makeup demo, they invited another 3 amateur makeup artists with different makeup expertise too. and again, they will awarded one of them too. although there are some tips we can get from this episode, but none interesting product.

okay, let's discuss about the three youtubers. first is the early beauty adapter and her "it" item. she recommended mally beauty poreless face defender, lipstick (i thought it was bite beauty), and maybelline dream wonder foundation. aside from the mally face defender, the other items are not interesting for me. the second youtuber is all about recycling. she recycled leftover lipstick and shimmer eyeshadow and combined it together to make shimmery shadow stick that can be used as blush or eyeshadow or on lip. she also made DIY nail polish using broken eyeshadow and transparent nail polish. and last, i think she invented all cushion for blushes before any brand since she mix her bb cushion and tint to make blush cushion. she even modified her bb cushion to suit her. the last youtuber is all about organic product. she had sensitive skin so she made her cushion, deodorant and even body scrub herself. the cons about organic products is it expired quicker. although more people like organic products lately, but it's not easy to make it yourself. that's why i think they won the second youtuber since it's easy to copy her ideas.

now about the makeup demo..
first one: plastic surgery makeup. the makeup artist has chubby face and small eyes. and she made it slimmer using perfect contouring technique and longer eye line to make her eyes look bigger. she also made fake fat under her eyes to make herself look younger. fat under eyes was the ongoing trend at that moment. i remember etude even make a special product for it.
the second one: westerner makeup. the idea is to copy western makeup artist. usually most western have deeper eye socket, so they use contouring technique to create false deep eye socket to make her eyes bigger. and alter her jawline. aside from deep eye socket, western were also famous for their thick dark eye brow and pouty lip like angelina jolie. so they copied it too. i have to admit though, the lip contouring technique is good. she used a dark lip liner to outline the lip slightly larger than the original line. and then she used dark lipstick to draw the lip but not on area that catch the light. so the idea is to highlight the lip to make it look pouty. good technique.. really.
the last one: celebrity makeup (gu hara's look alike). this one.. i don't think it's exciting enough. i think this makeup demo is the usual korean makeup. light eyebrow, making bigger eye using false eyelashes on top and bottom eye line. bright lip, shading to make face smaller like usual (since korean are sooooo into small face). the unusual thing was she added fine glitter and colored and shaped glitter on eyes to make it more sparkly. like gu hara. not special at all, for me, at least.

so, if you're interested to learn about the technique, you can watch the end of season here, but from all the episode, i think this one is not interesting enough.

the packaging: it's in a purple plastic bottle, with a weird-looking shape screw top, like an antenna or something. inside, there's a transparent plastic tip with a round tip to dispose the product.

the scent: ugh.. this one is no different than the treatment pack. it smells like ginseng and it's pretty intense. if you don't like strong scented product, then better stay away from this one since the scent will linger.

the product: it's a yellowish liquid. after being absorbed by my scalp, i can feel the same cooling sensation as the hair treatment, but since it's applied on spots, the cooling sensation only happen on the spots where i applied it, not the entire scalp like the hair treatment. however, i think the cooling sensation is weaker than the hair treatment and doesn't last long too.

the result: since my hair doesn't fall as much as before, i can't compare the result with the hair treatment. but i can assure you that the rate of my hair falling is still the same as before.

however, this is supposed to use on clean hair (i don't know dry or wet), twice a day. i've tried using it in many ways, on wet hair only on crown, on wet hair on the entire scalp, on dry hair on crown, on dry hair on crown followed by massaging. and i decided the best way for me is to use it on wet hair on hairline, and on my temples part since it's thinning. if i used it on dry hair or massaging the entire scalp, it will make my scalp oilier than usual and then i have to wash my hair the next day too. and although it's said to use twice a day, i only use it once a day after washing my hair. overall, this is a good essence for anti hair loss, but i think i prefer the hair treatment somehow.. and i don't think i will get it again if i have hair loss problem. i do hope there's an anti hair loss product that has better scent.

the bottle

the weird looking tip

i can't believe myself, but i think i'm starting to like these lululun masks. after finishing the white one, i use one of my etude's mask sheet again, and i felt it was too thick and the essence was too much. and it's milky white essence that take a little while to be absorbed. and then i use this one, and it felt right. the thinner mask sheet and the clear runny essence doesn't burden my skin. so refreshing. now i regret that hubby only got the basic types, the blue, pink and white one. he did found the special edition one, which is special according to the region, but the price is triple than the usual so i said to him to forget it and get and basic only. *sigh* oh well, i might use what i had wisely.

the packaging

pic from ebay

the packaging: well, i have to to admit this is quite new to me. it's in a can bottle with a part that can be turned to chance the switch from off to on, and another flip top cap to show the compartment where there's a hole to spray the product out and where the cushion puff is stored. since the product has to be sprayed, there's no separate place from the cushion unlike any other cushion. there's also a small mirror inside the cap. cute. oh and the cushion puff is slightly smaller than regular cushion puff. and they give additional cushion puff too. but i do hope they make slimmer can so it will fit any storage easier, and it's not travel friendly too, being in an aerosol can.

the scent: i have to mention this since if you don't like strong-scented product, then stay away from this cushion. the smell is just like a hair spray. and it's sooooo strrrooonnngg... and the scent stuck on the cushion puff as well so the application is quite annoying.

the color payoff: for those who has darker skin tone, the color offer from skinfood is disappointing as always with most korean cushion/foundation product, since there are only two options, light skin and natural skin. mine is no.1, but one blogger said that no.1 is for pink undertones, while no.2 is for yellow undertones. and mostly review that i read, they usually use the no.2 one. so i don't know.. i think unless you're very very pale, probably you might want to try no.2. but for me, somehow no.1 works. and i don't notice oxidation, so i guess this one is a good option from the usual bb cream.

the formula: this one is supposed to control sebum and oil on your face, but let's face it, korean products never really produce matte finish and it's the same with this cushion bottle. it gives semi-matte finish. so, unless the weather is extra hot, it will give slightly dewy finish and will melt for about 4-5 hours or so. on oily skin perhaps will melt quicker. the cooling effect? it's cooler than innisfree sun spray. but let's say the coolest part is not my face but my cushion puff. but it's cooling alright. every time i puff it on my face i can feel the cooling sensation. but don't hope for long sensation. it will vanish within minutes.

the coverage: some blogger said that this one has medium coverage, and i have to agree it is, but make sure to puff enough on your cushion puff. it will cover redness and light spots, but probably won't cover acne scars. since my skin isn't behaving when i tried this cushion bottle, i can't say how good it is to cover my scars (update: it doesn't help covering acne scars, you have to use separate concealer). but i remember i have to puff 3-4 times before i get nice coverage. 1-2 puffs won't give any coverage at all. but remember not to ditch your concealer just yet.

so, aside from the fact that i can't bring it to air-travel with me and the strong scent, i have to say i'm quite happy with this one. although i still haven't get used to the cooling sensation. it's cold, not cool for me. i bet my pores will be shrinking under its touch. if you like new things to try, try it. but perhaps it's not for darker skin babes. will i repurchase this? i probably won't since many brands are releasing special edition cushion. i want to grab one of them, aren't you? they are cute... i truly blame those korean brands... they always know how to make me want to spend my money...

the outer box (there's an english text..thank God)

the cushion bottle and the spare cushion puff

left: the mirror inside and the cushion puff inside right: the on-off toggle

left: swatch on hand unblended right: blended

left: bare face (notice redness on my left jaw and cheek, and right cheek) middle: applied on my right side, the redness is gone right: full face (no redness but you can still see an acne scars on my left cheek for a bit)