innisfree black tea treatment essence

the moment i saw this on innisfree page, i told myself that someday i will try that one. especially after i tried the fresh one, i'm curious whether the innisfree one could be a dupe for that. so when i was finally almost run out on my toner/essence, i bought this together with the ampoule that has been on my wishlist since it first came out. 

this is the description from their US website: this concentrated, antioxidant-rich treatment essence is formulated with black tea and powerful ingredients to promote healthy skin cell turnover, enhance hydration, and reveal radiant skin that glows evenly from any direction! meet this lightweight, powerhouse treatment essence - your ideal partner after cleansing to prep skin and leave a smooth canvas. this allows skin to help better absorb the next steps for an instant boost in moisture while delivering concentrated benefits for a smooth and radiant complexion!

key ingredients:

- black tea peptide activator: rich in antioxidants and 8 types of peptides that deliver visible anti-aging effects.

- triple antioxidant ingredients: glutathione, niacinamide, vitamin C derivative - helps to deliver a clearer, brighter and refreshed complexion.

- triple protective ingredients: jeju green soybean-derived low molecular hyaluronic acid (helps provide deep hydration), cica/centella asiatica (helps sooth stressed skin), ectoin (helps protect skin from environmental stressors).

innisfree's black tea collection is meant to revitalize stressed, tired, and even cranky looking skin, to deliver a youth-enhancing effect that anyone can use!

a double shot of black tea: pair the youth enhancing treatment essence with our youth enhancing serum for a multi-benefited synergistic effect to visibly clarify and protect skin from oxidative damage. when used together, the serum and essence deeply nourish the skin to deliver more glow, more visible firming and more skin tone evenness for a truly targeted skincare routine. hydrate, soothe and brighten skin using this black tea power-duo!

the packaging: it comes in dark brown box with description on the back and sides in korean. the essence comes in transparent glass bottle with dark brown cap. there's a bit description on the bottle as well. the bottle is similar to other FTE bottle that's available in the market so far. there are two sizes available, mine is the 75 ml. i believe the bigger size is 150 ml but it's hella expensive. anyway, since the bottle is transparent, you can see the remaining product inside. however, since i use it twice, it leaves fingerprints and lots of smudges on the bottle a lot. they secured the opening at first with a white plastic sealing.

the scent: this is the part where i'm most disappointed about. i was hoping that i would at least get some subtle tea scent, but no.. there's nothing. there's something, but it's not tea and i can't describe it. i do enjoy the fresh one because of the scent adds something more whenever i use the product. something that i don't get when i use this essence.

the product: the essence is a brownish watery type essence. Well, like tea. since it's very runny, i can't pour much to my palms without making a mess, so i resort to pouring it twice before patting it to my face since once is not enough. again, since it's runny, it's absorbed right away.

the result: this one is hydrating. i usually put two palmful of essence to get the hydration level that i need. however, it's not as moisturizing as i was hoping for. it layers well with my other skincare products. however, i don't see any other effects though.

i have to say that i'm not totally sold on this one. this feels like any regular essence. which shouldn't make me pay that kind of money. i'm quite disappointed to see that this one can't be dupe for fresh one. oh well.. maybe i should revisit my old favorite, the soybean essence and see whether my skin still like it or not. anyway, their warn is a little bit too late. in my mind, i always think that the black tea is for aging skin, but they confirm that it's not. maybe that's why this essence is lightweight so it'll be suitable for all skin types. luckily, they have smaller size so i don't have to bleed money to try this. definitely won't repurchase because i need something more moisturizing that this one. not because this is a bad product. as i've said, maybe i should revisit the soybean one again.