I don’t think I have tried a Taiwnese skincare brand that I didn’t fall in love with!! I have been using 23.5°N for several years now and had been purchasing products from Pinkoi, which is a Taiwanese Marketplace. Now, Glowie Co carries 23.5°N and I am so happy I can get my fix faster! I had already purchased the Pineapple Exfoliating Nightly Concentrate from Pinkoi and Glowie Co sent me the Pineapple Exfoliating Gel Mask complementary for review purposes, as you know I love my gelly masks! You can save 10% with my affiliate code of UNBOXINGGLOWIE10
Skin Type/Concerns: Oily, blemish prone, pores, aging skin with fine lines/wrinkles, hyper-pigmentation ~ sun damage and PIH
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.
Brand Intro
23.5°N is a vegan, cruelty free, Taiwanese brand that creates simple formulas that are effective and gentle. They use locally sourced ingredients and their formulas are lightweight with a balance of oil and water. Taiwan is in a sub-tropical/tropical zone with its fair share of humidity, so their skincare products are never heavy or greasy, yet hydrating and skin softening. This is why I love Taiwanese skincare brands so much ~ they are a perfect match for my oily, aging skin!
23.5°N will only select highly nutritious botanicals that are chemical fertilizer and pesticide free. These plants are harvested and quickly sent to be processed to preserve the beneficial active ingredients and their concentrated extracts will be used in their skincare products. 23.5°N does not use artificial coloring, artificial fragrances, alcohols or parabens, , SLS, SLE as well as animal ingredients. Glowie Co has a much more in-depth brand introduction here.
Oh and the reason behind the name? 23.5°N is actually Taiwanese’s latitude, The Tropic of Cancer. The Tropic of Cancer passes through 16 countries and regions, most of which consist of grasslands and deserts ~ yet when passing through Taiwan and southern China, the area is a rich, green area of forests with abundant rainfalls. It is called “the return of the magical green belt“.
Key Ingredients
image from 235n.com.tw
Both items in the Pineapple Exfoliating line share the same ingredients with one exception in the Gelly Mask. The main showstopper is actually one of Taiwan’s biggest exports ~ pineapple. 23.5°N’s pineapple is naturally farmed from Minxiong Township in Chiayi County, Taiwan. Pineapple does have a naturally occurring enzyme called bromelain, which is similar to papaya’s papain enzyme. Bromelain is a gentle exfoliator and has anti-inflammatory with antimicrobial benefits as well. Enzymes break down and dissolve keratin protein, your outer layer of your skin while whiskjng away dead skin cells and oils. Your skin is smoother and glowing. It can also help with reducing scars, fine lines, hyper-pigmentation over time. Pineapple also has antioxidants, vitamin C, amino acids and manganese, which helps strengthen your connective skin tissue, keeping it elastic & firm. It aids in collagen production, reduces redness, softens and hydrates your skin.
Red quinoa is another key ingredient ~ this also has exfoliating properties as it also contains enzymes, speeding up cellular turnover and skin renewal. It’s full of vitamins ~ A, B2, E and minerals, peptides and amino acids, making it a powerful
Grapefruit extract, not essential oils, is a great ingredient, as it is packed with vitamin C, helping to cleanse and clear up oily skin as it heals blemishes. This also has hydrating humectants glycerin and sodium hyaluronate to ensure that your skin doesn’t feel tight or dry.
Pineapple Exfoliating Gel Mask is my favorite of the two products. The additional ingredient in the mask is tremella fuciformis aka snow fungus. This white, gelatinous parasitic fungus has been used in TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) for centuries, as well as for culinary dishes. It draws water to the skin, just like hyaluronic acid, helping keep your skin hydrated and moist, plumping up fine lines and wrinkles. It is supposed to be 120% more efficient than hyaluronic acid, as its particles are smaller than hyaluronic acid. It can penetrate your skin better and more easily due to the smaller size. Snow fungus contains vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin and is an antioxidant, helping combat and reverse free radical damage, including lightening of hyper-pigmentation spots
This is so stunning looking in the tub ~ it is pale golden yellow, a lovely clear gelly with what looks like it has chunks in it. Those chunks turn to a liquid on my skin quickly and it absorbs nicely. This has no scent and has a pH level of a 5, which is mildly acidic. However enzyme pH levels do not work the same way as acid pH levels do ~ They are stable over a much wider range of pH levels, so don’t think that that level is too high for an exfoliating treatment. It isn’t
This is a wash off mask and I just apply a thick layer on your skin, leave on for 20 minutes, then do a 2 minute massage, then I rinse off. My skin does feel softer and smoother but I felt this was just a waste for such a great product. And so does 23.5°N, as they said to use it daily, just like a serum. Since it is so watery, I have used this as a serum step every day, without experiencing any tacky or sticky residue. If you have oily skin or live in a humid area, you will love this, as it is a bit mattifying as welll! My skin is so soft and smooth using this product in this manner and I am a huge fan of this mask/serum. I totally recommend this product.
Ingredients: Water, Ananas Sativus Fruit Extract, Chenopodium Formosanum (red quinoa) Grain Extract, Citrus Grandis (grapefruit) Fruit Extract, Glycerin, Tremella Fuciformis Extract, Carbomer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Benzyl Alcohol, Chlorophenesin cosDNA
The Pineapple Exfoliating Nightly Concentrate is a small 15 mL bottle which is quite the contrast with the huge 100 mL tub of gelly mask! However, you only use 1 to 2 drops so it does last a long time. This concentrate has a light watery yet gel-like texture with a pale yellow cast to it. Even though this has the same ingredients as the mask, minus snow fungus, this serum leaves my skin feeling very sticky and tacky ~ I guess that is why it is a NIGHT product. Just like the Gelly Mask, this product has no scent and has a pH level of a 5.
Once I apply a moisturizer over it, that sticky residue disappears. I wouldn’t recommend this for daytime use, as it does make my skin a bit shiny as well. However, this little bottle of pineapple juice really does work overnight, leaving my skin baby smooth and soft without drying it out. It really has the same benefits as the Gelly Mask only in a more concentrated formula.
Ingredients: Water, Ananas Sativus Fruit Extract, Chenopodium Formosanum (red quinoa) Grain Extract, Citrus Grandis (grapefruit) Fruit Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycerin, Carbomer, Benzyl Alcohol, Chlorphenesin cosDNA
Final Thoughts
If you are looking for a gentle enzyme exfoliator that can leave your skin feeling silky smooth without irritation, these pineapple products from 23.5°N are really great ~ which one to choose is up to your preferences. For me, I like the Gelly Mask, as I can use in two different ways and use it in both my day and night time routines. If you are looking for a concentrated serum, the Nightly Concentrate would be your choice. Or choose both! In case you were wondering, 23.5°N came out with their pineapple line at least a year before Glow Recipe’s Pineapple line. Glow Recipe is good, but I like the formulas with 23.5°N much better and find them to be less sticky than Glow Recipe.
Where to Purchase
You can purchase 23.5°N Pineapple Exfoliating series at Glowie Co. The Pineapple Exfoliating Gel Mask comes in two sizes, a deluxe 20 mL mini for $7.00 and the full size 100mL tube for $29.00 USD (click here) . Pineapple Exfoliating Nightly Concentrate is $25.00 USD for 15mL (click here), but a little goes a long way with this baby. You can save 10% with my affiliate code of UNBOXINGGLOWIE10
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