Unboxing Beauty

I started a long term 6 ~ 8 week skincare testing routine back in November, which included the following products

Daytime: Kikumasamune Skincare Lotion –>  Gu:aam Method Black Pearl Conchiolin 35 Whitening Serum –> Zymogen Houttuynia Cordata Ferment Serum (T-Zone) –> Melano CC Essence with Vitamin C & E –-> Graymelin Propolis 80 Energy Ampoule (T-Zone) –> Holika Holika Cheoeum Balhyo Miracle Seed Emulsion

Nighttime: Kikumasamune Skincare Lotion –> Innisfree Ginger Oil  Skin –>  Gu:aam Method Black Pearl Conchiolin 35 Whitening Serum –>  Melano CC Essence with Vitamin C & E –> Graymelin 100% Beta Glucan mixed with Innisfree Ginger Oil Serum 

I mention 8 weeks, as some of the products were started earlier than others.  Products I have already reviewed are hyperlinked to the reviews.

This blog post will focus on items used in my night time routine

• Innisfree Ginger Oil  Skin
• Innisfree Ginger Oil Serum

Part 3  will be Zymogen Houttuynia Cordata Ferment Serum and Holika Holika Cheoeum Balhyo Miracle Seed Emulsion (daytime).  I will cross link the reviews as they are published.  My skin type and concerns:  oily, blemish prone, aging, hyper-pigmentation

When Innisfree announced that they created a Ginger Oil skincare line back in October, I was all over it!  I wanted it to be on InnisfreeWorld, which is their global site, but they didn’t have plans to carry it right away ~~ so I went to Jolse and they had it.  Once I received them, I rejoiced on IG and then posted my nightly skin care routine for November/December.

Ginger Oil (6-Gingerol) is an essential oil found in Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) and is a traditional Asian herbal medicine.  It contains  anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds and can be used both internally and topically.   Ginger contains 40 antioxidant compounds that help with anti-aging, removes toxins and stimulates your blood circulation.   It combats and prevents damage from free radicals, helping improve elasticity which makes your skin firm, toned and less wrinkles. 

Not only does it have anti-bacterial properties to help fight off infections, it is also an anti-septic and antimicrobial, which helps keep blemishes away and its anti-inflammatory properties help reduce redness and swelling of the skin.   It also helps reduce the appearance of hyopigmented scarring ~ these scars are lighter than your skin tone and occur when your skin loses its pigmentation ~ it is the exact opposite of hyper-pigmentation.   It also is a skin brightener and can help even out your skin tone by inhibiting the production of melanin.

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There is also data that supports that ginger can protect damage that occurs from UVB light, as ginger can absorb UV light.     One of the more powerful free radical “scavengers” is Vitamin E and research shows that 6-Gingerol is equivalent to α-Tocopherol (Vitamin E).  There are other forms of gingerol and shogaol ~ made from dried ginger ~ but I do not know if any skincare contains these compounds.

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References:  Science Direct ~ Style Craze  ~ MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)  ~ Hindawi

 

Innisfree Ginger Oil Skin  I have to say, this product is wonderful to use and I really have enjoyed it.  Skin or Toner, is your first step in your skin care routine after cleansing, but this toner is so rich,  that I used it after the Kikumasamune Skincare Lotion.   Ginger Oil Skin comes in a large bottle that has an adaquate sized opening.   I love that the cap of this bottle has the word Innisfree “carved” on the side.   The packaging is very classy and simple ~ an off white bottle with gold and brown letter and a gold colored cap.

The texture of this toner is very thick and not watery at all.  It has a light ginger scent, but without the spiciness.  I happen to like this warm scent, and it is not overpowering.    Since this is a toner, I did  a pH test on it and came up with a level between 5.5 and 6.

One of the reasons I am using Ginger Oil as a night care treatment is due to the richness and glossy sheen it leaves on my skin ~ I do not mind it at night, but for daytime, it is too heavy for me.  However, this product does not leave any tacky or sticky residue when it dries down, but leaves my skin smooth and silky looking, with a glossiness that makes my skin look dewy.    My average readings using skin resulted in a 34% increase for both oil and moisture levels.  This is a very moisturizing and nourishing toner!

The photo above shows 3 cycles of the toner ~ straight out of the bottle, where you can see how thick this toner is;  freshly applied on my hand and lastly, after 7 minutes.  Seriously.  My skin was still glowing with just the Skin application.  I did not experience any blemish or acne breakouts with this product either, which I was almost scared that I would, due to the richness of the oil.  Instead,  using this with Innisfree Ginger Oil Serum, mixed with Graymelin Beta-Glucan, I was able to not use a sleeping pack on most nights, as these products gave my skin a soft and smooth feel, without feeling dried out in the morning.

I am pretty pleased to read that both ginger oil and ginger extracts are in the first top 10 ingredients of this product.  This is full of moisturizers and emollients and also contains the famous Innisfree Green Complex:  citrus unshiu, orchid, green tea, camellia and prickly pear (opuntia coccinellifera) extracts ~ full of antioxidant compounds.

Description: Nourishing ginger enriched with nutrients derived from soil, the source of life. Nourishing the skin from the inside out to allow it to feel smooth and look radiant. The power of the skin to protect itself against external irritants . Enhance the power of the skin that has become tired and exhausted from external irritants in order to keep it health.  Nourishing essential toner is completely absorbed into the skin and leaves it feeling smooth and moist. Nutrient-rich Jeju ginger grown in the fertile soil of pristine Jeju Island has 6-Gingerol which is effective in protecting the skin. 6-Gingerol and functional skin-vitalizing ingredients enhance the natural strength and protective power of the skin to keep it energized and healthy.

Ingredients:   water, propanediol, alcohol, PEG/PPG-17/6 copolymer, glycereth-26, betaine, zingiber officinale (ginger) root oil, zingiber officinale (ginger) root extract, citrus unshiu peel extract, orchid extract, camellia sinensis leaf extract, camellia japonica leaf extract, opuntia coccinellifera fruit extract, macadamia integrifolia seed oil, adenosine, xanthan gum, glyceryl caprylate, diethoxyethyl succinate, methyl gluceth-20, bis-PEG-18 methyl ether dimethyl silane, dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, acrylates/c10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, disodium EDTA, phenyl trimethicone, potassium hydroxide, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, fragrance   cosDNA.com analysis

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Innisfree Ginger Oil Serum  I decided with this version of the serum, as they do have a “rich” version as well.   Quite honestly, based on this product’s performance, I probably could have used the rich version, but as there were no reviews on the products at the time I purchased them, I was worried that the Ginger Oil line might be too rich or heavy for my skin.   This serum is packaged similarly like the matching skin and has an easy pump applicator.   

Ginger Oil Serum has the same gingery light scent as Skin and the texture of this serum is almost an emulsion ~ it is very creamy and has an opalescence look to it  ~ I tried to capture the beauty of this product in the sun light below, but I am not sure I was able to fully get how this serum looks like.   It absorbs fairly quickly into my skin, and like the Skin product, it leaves my skin glossy without being oily or greasy, with no tacky feeling.     My skin feels very soft for hours after application.    However, it only registered a 13% increase in my skin oil/moisture level, so I felt this alone would not be enough.

I mentioned in this in my Graymelin 100% Beta-Glucan review, so I will repeat it here.   Since I was using the beta-glucan product in my night time routine, I decided to add it to the serum ~~ with amazing results.  The serum alone made my skin soft and smooth, but by mixing the beta-glucan, the moisture level on my skin increased from 13% to 40%.

Mixologist ~ Innisfree Ginger Oil Serum with Greymelin 100% Beta-Glucan

 

This mixture, with its humectant properties of beta-glucan matched with the rich occlusive of olive and ginger oils in the serum, made it a fantastic alternative for a sleeping pack.   My skin never felt dry or irritated in the morning, nor did it cause any rashes or blemishes. 

 

Ingredients: water, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, hydrogenated poly(C6-14 olefin), glycerin, polyglyceryl-3 methylglucose distearate, cyclopentasiloxane, alcohol, octyldodecyl myristate, pentaerythrityl tetraethylhexanoate, butylene glycol, dimethicone, cyclohexasiloxane, macadamia integrifolia seed oil, macadamia ternifolia seed oil, zingiber officinale (ginger) root oil, camellia japonica seed oil, citrus unshiu peel extract, orchid extract, camellia sinensis leaf extract, camellia japonica leaf extract, opuntia coccinellifera fruit extract, adenosine, methyl glucose sesquistearate, cetearyl glucoside, ethylhexylglycerin, phenoxyethanol, fragrance   cosDNA.com analysis

 

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Final Thoughts

Another two thumbs up for Innisfree!!  I really did like the Ginger Oil Serum, but I fell in love with the Skin product, as I felt that was so moisturizing on my skin.  The serum needed some extra work in the moisture area that was corrected with the addition of beta-glucan.  However, I was using these products without a normal moisturizer, so if you choose to use this with the normal routine of serum –> moisturizer, it should work just fine.   I love the scent of these products ~ do I wish it had more of a sharp bite of ginger?  Sure, but then that scent might turn off other customers, so having a light, non-spicy ginger version scent was perfectly fine by me.    What I really liked about both of these products is how well they worked with my oily skin ~ even with the ginger oil addition, which is quite rich, my skin did not experience any rashes or blemishes, nor redness.   Instead, my skin is soft, smooth and plumped up.   

These products are really great during the winter or in drier temperatures, as they are rich, but non greasy products.   For oily skin types, if you like that “glow”, you could use this during the daytime.  Dry skin types will also love these hydrating products and can use them also in their daytime routine.  I chose the night time as they really added a sheen on my skin and I am more into matte skin.    The Skin product is on my purchase list for winter-time, as I do think that is an outstanding product that worked well with my skin type. 

Are you interested in trying Innisfree Ginger Oil line?  Which items ~ they have the Skin, Serum, Rich Serum, Cream and Warming Mask Pack?  I would love them to come out with a Ginger Oil Sleep pack!!

Where to Purchase

Innisfree Ginger Oil Skin 200 mL

• Jolse
• ibbi (IBuyBeauti)
• TesterKorea
• Amazon
• InnisfreeWorld

Innisfree Ginger Oil Serum 60 mL

• Jolse
• ibbi (IBuyBeauti)
• TesterKorea
• Amazon
• InnisfreeWorld

 

Full Night Time Routine November/December 2015

If you are interested in the other products I used with my Night Time Routine, I have hyper-linked them above, but here they are again

• Kikumasamune Skincare Lotion
• Innisfree Ginger Oil  Skin
• Gu:aam Method Black Pearl Conchiolin 35 Whitening Serum
• Melano CC Essence with Vitamin C & E
• Graymelin 100% Beta Glucan
• Innisfree Ginger Oil Serum 

 

[ Disclaimer: all products purchased by me.   this blog post contains affiliate links ]