Sometimes, you just want to pamper your winter skin – and add a lot of hydrating and calming products into your routine. For days when I don’t want to faff around with actives, I like some de-stressing, non-aggrevating and smoothing layers.
Cosrx products are beloved worldwide for their focus on ingredients and generally being suitable for sensitive skin. Most of their products don’t include alcohol denat., nor essential oils of fragrance. They’re also cruelty-free.
I tried a lot of products from their range, although I usually stay clear of their products that include active ingredients. I’ve been using acids for quite some time, and I’d class cosrx’s acid products as good products for people just starting with actives – the percentage is low and suitable for very sensitive skin. Instead, I’ve been concentrating on products that include natural ingredients that the Asian beauty world loves, and I’ve been curious about: centella asiatica, snail mucin, propolis and fermented ingredients, for example.
Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser
Every good pampering session starts with a thorough cleanse. I love this cleanser for using it under the shower, but it also cuts through makeup and sunscreen easily. Don’t get it into eyes, though – it stings. (I wrote about it in length here.)
Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence/ Galactomyces Alcohol-Free Toner
Galactomyces – great. When I can’t buy the super, super expensive SK-II treatment essence, this combo is my fall-back option. The toner is my first step of bringing back hydration into my skin after cleansing. It calms and hydrates, and prepares skin for the next steps in your skincare routine. Think of your skin like a dry sponge – it can’t absorb moisture as easily as a damp one. So, give it moisture after cleansing and your serum will be able to penetrate much more easily. The essence has a whopping dose of 95% Galactomyces in it, much like SK-II’s. Which, of course, makes it great for some serious calming action.
Holy Moly Snail mask
I don’t get along greatly with cosrx’s snail mucin essence, but I absolutely love their snail sheet mask. (I mainly don’t like the essence because of its tacky texture.) The mask has a super nice, soft material, and is drenched with an essence that’s just right – not too thin that it’s dripping down your face, but not so thick that you feel it’s just sliding around on your face, either. It’s deeply moisturising – so moisturising, in fact, that I only use it in the evening. (It would be a bit too much to layer sunscreen and foundation over it.) It also includes Red Ginseng and Camellia Oil, and its overall effect is calming and hydrating. Seriously plumped skin alert!
(I can’t find it sold on its own right now, but try the One Step Moisture Kit that includes the Good Morning Cleanser, one One Step Moisture Up Pad – which doesn’t make it on this list because I think it’s just ok, but nothing stellar; and the Holy Snail Sheet Mask.)
Ultimate Moisturizing Honey Overnight Mask
I’ve sung the praises of this mask due to its 85% amount of propolis, an ingredient that I love for its calming and inflammation-reducing properties. In winter, though, I can’t use it as a nightly moisturiser as I do in summer, but using this after the Holy Snails mask is heaven. It has some silicones in it, which I like, because the mask is nicely inclusive and I do wake up with plump skin. A great overnight alternative if you’re not into sheet masks.
Clear Fit Master Patch
If I do get any outbreaks (I do, especially in winter when my skin’s barrier is damaged because of some thing or other – which is often my fault by doing a lot of skincare trials, and my skin not agreeing with that), a pimple patch and some BPO will clear it up quickly (read about my clearing up outbreaks routine here). These ones are thinner than the one’s in the red packaging. That’s because you’re supposed to wear them during the day when they’re more unobtrusive than the thicker ones. I have worn them during the day and you can totally do that, but I also think they’re simply better, because they adhere better to the skin due to their thinness.
cosrx round-up
So, these are the best cosrx products that work for my sensitive, combination and (ahem) mature skin. In addition, I’ve to say that cosrx also drives me slowly insane by their insistence of releasing products exclusively at one retailer’s site, and their worrying tendency to add essential citrus oil to all of their newest releases. Stop that, cosrx. Seriously!
cosrx is easily available in Europe and the US and Asia. Online retailers like YesStyle, Wishtrend, RoseRoseShop or Beautytap all carry the brand. In the US, you can buy products at Walmart and Ulta. In Europe, I like LoveMyCosmetic or Lookfantastic.
Please note that this review is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods, or money, for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
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