Unboxing Beauty

Ready to do some gift giving?  What do you give a person who LOVES skincare ~ how about one of the lux skincare brands from South Korea, Sulwhasoo?  Sulwhasoo focuses on using hanbang, traditional Korean medicine and ingredients that are indigenous to Korea as well.  The founder, Suh Sung-whan, took an interest in hanbang herbs and used these medicinal botanicals with science backed research found at Kyunghee University of Oriental Medicine.   In 1966, Sulwhasoo was founded in the AmorePacific family and use their herb farms to harvest ingredients such as ginseng, lily, lotus, green tea and camellia.   

This season, Sulwhasoo has prepared several gift boxes and I received the Cult Classics from them for review purposes.

Skin Type/Concerns: oily, blemish prone, aging concerns, pores, fine lines/wrinkles, hyper-pigmentation

I received these products complementary to review and was not paid.  All reviews are my own honest opinion and  I never have been asked to write copy for a brand.  This blog post might contain promo codes, affiliate and referral links, which using my links will help generate a small commission that helps support my blog at no extra cost to you.

What makes this a Cult Classic Holiday Box?  It contains two bestselling products that feature Sulwhasoo’s patented JAUM Balancing Complex and Korean Red Ginseng with limited edition artwork.

Packaging

Cult Classics comes in a beautiful wrapped paper design from renowned Thai illustrator, Phannapast Taychamaythakool.  The custom storybook artwork features Asia’s most legendary beasts.   The animal featured here is Haetae, a muscular lion-like beast who has a horn on its forehead.  In ancient Korea, Haetae, or unicorn-lion, is a omniscient magical and wise beast that prevents natural disasters and is capable of finding justice.  Seoul has official used Haechi (Haetae) as their symbol since 2009.

Once the paper illustration sleeve is removed, there is a travel case ~ it is covered in deep maroon velvet with a zipper closure and a golden Sulwhasoo tag.  Inside are the goodies.

The first item is a 2 oz full size First Care Activating Serum EX, which is an HG product for me and is a favorite among Kbeauty enthusiasts.  Sulwhasoo’s patented Juam Balancing Complex, a unique blend of five hanbang ingredients: Solomon’s Seal, peony, white lily, rehmannia and sacred lotus ~ all brewed together for 18 hours and will help bring your skin back to its optional balance, helping to fight dry skin, dark spots and inflammation

Other good stuff: fermented soybean and natto gum ~ fermented ingredients penetrate your skin more easily and deeper. Natto contains PGA ~ polyglutamic acid.  PGA helps moisturize and exfoliate old skin cells. It can penetrate to the deepest layers in your skin, locks in moisture and helps increase the production of NMF ~ Natural Moisturizing Factor. Finally, this is aged with all natural honey ~ honey being crucial for glowing moist skin and also helping fight and heal blemishes and other skin issues.  This is a very concentrated serum, so you don’t need a lot.  For my full review, read here.

Ingredients: water, butylene glycol, alcohol, glycerin, betaine, PEG/PPG-17/6 copolymer, glyceryl polymethacrylate, ophiopogon japonicus root extract, phenoxyethanol, bis-PEG-18 methyl ether dimethyl silane, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, carbomer, tromethamine, glycyrrhiza uralensis (licorice) root extract, fragrance, honey, juglans regia (walnut) seed extract, theobroma cacao (cocoa) extract, dextrin, lilium candidum bulb extract, paeonia albiflora root extract, rehmannia glutinosa root extract, polygonatum officinale rhizome/root extract, nelumbo nucifera flower extract, xanthan gum, ethylhexylglycerin, portulaca oleracea extract, limonene, camellia sinensis leaf extract, disodium EDTA, phenyl trimethicone, chondrus crispus (carrageenan), linalool, biosaccharide gum-1, zizyphus jujuba fruit extract, natto gum, citronellol, citral, propylene glycol, geraniol, chlorphenesin, hydrogenated lecithin, BHT, sodium dehydroacetate, potassium sorbate, citric acid, sorbic acid, tocopherol  cosDNA

The second Cult Classic is an intro size (1 oz) of their Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream, featuring Korean red ginseng which has twice as many types of saponin and is an anti-wrinkle, anti-aging, anti inflammatory and brightening ingredient.  It can aid in the production of collagen. Ginseng also helps increase elasticity and firmness, improves blood circulation to your skin, strengthen skin and also is a superb moisturizer.  Sulwhasoo uses ginseng that is 4 years old, known for its higher saponin content. ⁣⁣ But that is not all!  There is more ginseng packed into this cream!  Compound K is an antioxidant-rich compound extracted from Korean red ginseng to minimize the appearance of lines, and boost moisture while protecting skin against future signs of aging.

Ginsenoside Re aka hydrolyzed ginseng saponins, which are enzyme-treated red ginseng saponins, has had numerous studies that show it is effective as a anti-wrinkle, anti-aging, anti inflammatory and brightening ingredient and can aid in the production of collagen. It helps increase elasticity, improves blood circulation to your skin and also is a superb moisturizer. Ginsenosides are compounds only found in ginseng and are an excellence source of anti-oxidants.  

This is a great buttery cream that is perfect for cold winter nights as a moisturizer if you have oily skin like I do.  If you have drier skin, you will love this during the daytime.  With its deep woodsy ginseng scent, this cream really helps keep my skin hydrated and plumped up without clogging my pores, thanks to the salicylic acid  and retinol in here.   I have not experienced any breakouts with this cream, despite its richness⁣.  My skin does feel more plumper and bouncy in the morning after I use it. My full review with additional details is here. 

Ingredients: water, glycerin, squalane, butylene glycol, cyclopentasiloxane, trehalose, limnanthes alba(meadowfoam) seed oil, glyceryl stearate, phytosteryl isostearyl dimer dilinoleate, octyldodecyl myristate,cyclohexasiloxane, PEG-40 stearate, stearic acid, phytosteryl/behenyl/octyldodecyl lauroyl glutamate,helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, jojoba esters, PEG-100 stearate, propanediol, mangifera indica (mango) seed butter, polyacrylate-13, PEG-30 dipolyhydroxystearate, cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 dimethicone, phenoxyethanol,glyceryl linoleate, cetearyl alcohol, pantethine, hydrogenated vegetable oil, dimethicone, glycine soja (soybean)sterols, glycine soja (soybean) oil, propylene glycol, tocopherol, acetyl glucosamine, cyclodextrin, polyisobutene, salicylic acid, panax ginseng root extract, polyquaternium-51, hexyl laurate, caffeic acid, copernicia cerifera (carnauba) wax, tocopheryl linoleate, alcohol, dimethiconol, glyceryl linolenate, persea gratissima (avocado) oil, polysorbate 20, gardenia florida fruitextract, ethylhexylglycerin, fragrance, glyceryl arachidonate, lauryl PEG/PPG-18/18 methicone, vitis vinifera (grape) leaf extract, sorbitan isostearate, honey, beta-glucan, dextrin, disodium EDTA, perilla ocymoides seed extract, retinol, lilium candidum bulb extract, sodium hyaluronate, nelumbo nucifera flower extract, polygonatum officinale rhizome/root extract, rehmannia glutinosa root extract, paeonia albiflora root extract, glycyrrhiza uralensis (licorice) root extract, phytosphingosine,  methoxy PEG-114/polyepsiloncaprolactone, 1,2-hexanediol, isostearyl alcohol, dodecene, ascorbyl palmitate, hydrogenated palm glyceridescitrate, hydrogenated lecithin, hydrolyzed ginseng saponins (enzyme-treated red ginseng saponins), panax ginseng flower extract, alpha-isomethyl ionone, limonene, linalool, BHT, butylphenyl methylpropional, BHA, sodium polyaspartate, TBHQ, sodium methyl stearoyl taurate, pentaerythrityl tetra-DI-T-butyl hydroxyhydrocinnamate⁣ cosDNA 

Where To Purchase

Please remember to click on my links if you wish to support my content.  I get a small commission at no cost to you and it helps keep my blog running. 

You can purchase the Cult Classics and other limited edition Holiday Gift sets by Sulwhasoo in a couple of places in the USA ~ I recommend using Sulwhasoo USA and Nordstroms.   Sulwhasoo offers interest-free, flexible payments with Afterpay and Nordstroms offers interest-free, flexible payments Affirm.

Cult Classics $204.00 value for $175.00

• Sulwhasoo USA 
• Nordstroms

All of Sulwhasoo’s Gift Sets at Sulwhasoo USA

Sulwhasoo Gift Sets at Nordstroms

 

[ products received for review purposes.  blog post contains affiliate links ]