Hi everyone,
I hope you enjoyed yesterday's post when I talked about makeup master Atsushi Kokawa. In line of the Japanese theme, today we are talking about my new skincare discovery from the Kurahito Skin White line. When Choice Essentials contacted me, they wanted me to try Kurahito products and I thought to myself, why not! After reading about the ingredients, I was intrigued!
The lovely Val from Choice Essentials sent me two products from the Skin White line: the Skin Toning Lotion and Skin Cream. When I received the package, I committed myself to a month-long trial. But it didn't take me that long to see results.
First of all, I love the simple pink plastic container the Skin Lotion is housed. If you are not familiar with Japanese skincare products, a lotion is not a moisturizer. Instead, it is en par with Western toners but with moisturizing ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and glycerin. Also, you don't use a cotton pad to apply the liquid on your face but use your hands to pat and gently slap it onto your skin. You don't need to use a lot of products, either. I put 5 drops of this Skin Lotion on my palm and apply it to my face when it is still damped.
This is a huge bottle of toner: with 185ml and 6 months of use after opening, I wonder if I can finish it by the expiration time period. Since it does not contain any preservatives, I believe it will go bad after 6 months. As a skin toner, Kurahito Skin Lotion is on a thin side. It is more liquidy than the other toners I used before. However, the second ingredient on the list is rice ferment filtrate, which is the extract from junmai-shu, a type of good sake. As I mentioned in my review of TOJI sunblock, sake is an ingredient traditionally used in Japanese skincare as it is full of the good stuff such as minerals, vitamin B, polysaccharides, and amino acids. Beside junmai-shu, Kurahito Skin Lotion also contains soluble collagen, elastin, hyaluronic acid, and licorice. The last one is the whitening agent that is responsible for my much, much more lightened complex!
This skin cream contains 43g, which is more than the usual 30g/ml that we usually get when we buy a jar of facial moisturizer. The cream is thick and very creamy. I did an experiment when I held the jar upside down and nothing dropped down at all!
Like the Skin Lotion, this skin cream can only be used for 6 months because of the lack of preservatives. On top of that, it also contains junmai-shu, hyaluronic acid, licorice root extract, soluble collagen and elastic. If you notice, the ingredient list also contains other moisturizing compounds such as squalane, glycerin, and jojoba seed oil. It also contains two anti-oxidants: retinyl palmitate (a weak derivative of vitamin A) and beta-carotene.
The one thing I like about this product is despite the thickness, this is a rather light-weight moisturizer that does the job quite deeply. After I apply (read: slap) the skin lotion on my face, I use only a pea-size amount of Kurahito skin cream on my face. It soaks in immediately and I can wake up with my skin feeling like buttah! However, during the first few days, I did notice some minor discomforts as my skin was adjusting itself to the new skincare regimen. After that, it was all peachy!
The two major things I noticed during my month-long trial:
1. The scent of junmai-shu: I can smell it in these products and if you guys are familiar with rice wine, it is that smell. It is light and somewhat pleasant. It also goes away quickly. I dug around to see if this rice ferment filtrate from junmai-shu contains alcohol at all and I could not find anything. However, if my knowledge of rice wine is correct, it would contain around 5-8% of alcohol for rice wine, which is not enough to dry out your skin or anything. Your Sea Breeze toner has much, much more percentage of alcohol than that!
2. The lightening power: after two weeks of use, my face became about a shade lighter than my neck, which is something I have never experienced before! So, I did the only logical thing: I applied the lotion and cream on my neck and chest as well.
Right now, I am using these two products in conjunction with my Hada Labo Arbutin Wash facial cleanser. These three Japanese skincare products work very well together and since I have normal skin now, I only use them once a day but the moisturizing power remains for approximately 24 hours. I know these products are not that cheap but I only use very little at a time. On top of that, my skin is in tip-top shape, which means I don't have to look for another skincare brand to try for the next 5 months or so. However, I may need to split the toner with my mom so both of us can finish it by the end of the year.
Last but not least: Choice Essentials offer a 15% discount to MMB readers when you buy any product from their site and pay with PayPal. You need to write "mymakeupblog" in the remark section to qualify for the discount, btw. This is very generous of them and as usual, I don't earn any commissions from this.
That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by, folks!
With love,
Dao xoxo
Disclaimer: I received the products as press samples.
P.S: Please show your support by following my blog and
subscribing to my feed. Thanks a lot!
I hope you enjoyed yesterday's post when I talked about makeup master Atsushi Kokawa. In line of the Japanese theme, today we are talking about my new skincare discovery from the Kurahito Skin White line. When Choice Essentials contacted me, they wanted me to try Kurahito products and I thought to myself, why not! After reading about the ingredients, I was intrigued!
The lovely Val from Choice Essentials sent me two products from the Skin White line: the Skin Toning Lotion and Skin Cream. When I received the package, I committed myself to a month-long trial. But it didn't take me that long to see results.
 |
| (L-R): Kurahito Skin Lotion and Skin Cream (both are $41.54) |
 |
| Kurahito Skin Lotion |
 |
| Yup, I only use that much of stuff! |
 |
| Ingredient list and direction |
 |
| Kurahito Skin Cream |
 |
| Thick with a light pink tint |
 |
| Ingredients and directions |
The one thing I like about this product is despite the thickness, this is a rather light-weight moisturizer that does the job quite deeply. After I apply (read: slap) the skin lotion on my face, I use only a pea-size amount of Kurahito skin cream on my face. It soaks in immediately and I can wake up with my skin feeling like buttah! However, during the first few days, I did notice some minor discomforts as my skin was adjusting itself to the new skincare regimen. After that, it was all peachy!
The two major things I noticed during my month-long trial:
1. The scent of junmai-shu: I can smell it in these products and if you guys are familiar with rice wine, it is that smell. It is light and somewhat pleasant. It also goes away quickly. I dug around to see if this rice ferment filtrate from junmai-shu contains alcohol at all and I could not find anything. However, if my knowledge of rice wine is correct, it would contain around 5-8% of alcohol for rice wine, which is not enough to dry out your skin or anything. Your Sea Breeze toner has much, much more percentage of alcohol than that!
2. The lightening power: after two weeks of use, my face became about a shade lighter than my neck, which is something I have never experienced before! So, I did the only logical thing: I applied the lotion and cream on my neck and chest as well.
Right now, I am using these two products in conjunction with my Hada Labo Arbutin Wash facial cleanser. These three Japanese skincare products work very well together and since I have normal skin now, I only use them once a day but the moisturizing power remains for approximately 24 hours. I know these products are not that cheap but I only use very little at a time. On top of that, my skin is in tip-top shape, which means I don't have to look for another skincare brand to try for the next 5 months or so. However, I may need to split the toner with my mom so both of us can finish it by the end of the year.
Last but not least: Choice Essentials offer a 15% discount to MMB readers when you buy any product from their site and pay with PayPal. You need to write "mymakeupblog" in the remark section to qualify for the discount, btw. This is very generous of them and as usual, I don't earn any commissions from this.
That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by, folks!
With love,
Dao xoxo
Disclaimer: I received the products as press samples.
P.S: Please show your support by following my blog and
subscribing to my feed. Thanks a lot!