estee lauder micro essence treatment with bio-essence

this is the description from their website: double barrier power. one key breakthrough. this next-generation essence lotion features our exclusive postbiotic 12+ to work together with our 98.9% bio-active lactobacillus ferment. optimizes skin's barrier - its inherent strength and stability. helps significantly boost skin's first line of resistance to external aggressors. locks in moisture and soothes to minimize the look of redness. skin is hydrated and smoothes so pores look reduced. reveals a stunning radiance.

- fortifies: +23% stronger barrier after just one use

- neutralizes: instantly fights redness

- infuses: all-day hydration

micro essence's fast-penetrating, nourishing texture with essential nutrients intensely hydrates to minimize the appearance of dry pores and reduce the look of fine, dry lines. skin is soothed, and its inner glow is revealed. micro essence helps soothe skin to minimize the look of redness. awaken youthful, healthy-looking skin. softer and smoother. glowing with vitality.

key ingredients:

- bifida ferment lysate: ferment that promotes natural skin repair and skin strengthening.

- sodium hyaluronate: AKA hyaluronic acid, a ferment that is powerful moisture magnet.

- lactobacillus ferment: is a commonly known class of ingredients. there are several types of lactobacillus ferments, some of which, such as the one in micro essence, helps to strengthen barrier.

the packaging: it comes with light blue box with the picture of the full size bottle at front and there's this extra side on one side and it makes it weird. there's a very short description in various languages as well as the ingredients list. this one is the sample size, so it's not much. i've been hesitating in buying this one because i know for sure that the price per ml will be very expensive. but, i decided at the end to hell with it. i only live once, so i decided to buy the sample size, which is 30 ml. the price still makes sense, but price per ml is not worth it. it comes in a transparent plastic bottle with gold screw cap. another description at the back of the bottle. however, the opening of the bottle is quite big for FTE. like there's no plastic stopper like any other toners.

the scent: this has the fermented scent that most FTE has, though lately they manage to get rid of the foul smell, but apparently estee lauder doesn't care. yeah sure, it wasn't bad, but it is still off-putting for me. let's wish they do something about it.

the product: this is an FTE so it's watery and transparent like water. it looks like water and feels like water. just like any other FTE. however, there are some FTE that feels slippery at the end, feels a bit siliconey. well, this one is like that. a little bit so it doesn't bother me much. i can still put more products on top of this one. their main ingredients are those which usually found in an FTE, so there's nothing special about it. 

the result: well, FTE is the over-rated version of hydrating toner, so this one works like that. it's hydrating and it's very lightweight. i have to add something else on top of this one so my skin is well-moisturized. however, this one is very lacking. it might be okay for tropical weather, but when i bring it to finland, this one is no help. 

honestly, i'm quite disappointed. i wanted to like it but turns out it's just ordinary. less than ordinary even. i have tried other hydrating toners that works better than this one. even other FTE that's cheaper than this can perform better that this one. so honestly, just save your money and buy something else. but if you have lots of money to burn, then you can try this one. luckily they have a mini size so you can save some money by buying the smaller size to try. as for me, definitely not repurchasing this one.