I was attracted to the texture of it as well it's herby smell and it seems like a premium line from Missha. Plus it was a good deal 2 full size bottles including full size day creams, travelling size of boosters and eye creams for the the price of 1. Seriously Korea, you are killing me.
I took the plunge resulting to 35kg luggage *though there were other products included, most of these essence and booster are in glass bottle. So you can imagine* Fast forward now I have finish 1 bottle of the booster and eye creams and i give away the day cream as I am not interested.
The highly-concentrated oriental Booster is for the very first step in your skincare regimen as it awakens your skin. It helps control oil-moisture balance, soothes to improve skin texture, nourishes, vitalizes, and purifies. Also provides wrinkle repairing and whitening benefits.Sounds promising right!
Made with wild ginseng, deer antlers and Reishi mushroom fermented and extracted based on gold. Contains Ginseng Water to nourish and moisturize dehydrated skin. Also contains Ginseng from Geumsan, Korea, which is famous for the best quality of ginseng around the world.
Ingredients:
Phellinus Linteus Mycelium Extract/Ginseng Root Ferment Extract Filtrate, Glycerin, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Ethanol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polyglutamic Acid, Arbutin, Propanediol, Betaine, Ginseng Water, Chrysanthellum Indicum Extract, Acorus Gramineus Root/Stem Extract, Ipomoea Hederacea Seed Extract, Codonopsis Tangshen Root Extract, Pinellia Ternata Root Extract, Eucommia Ulmoides Leaf Extract, Daemonorops Draco Extract, Astragalus Membranaceus Root Extract, Angelica Gigas Root Extract, Rehmannia Chinensis Root Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Extract, Poria Cocos Extract, Zizyphus Jujuba Fruit Extract, Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Flower Extract, Foeniculum Vulgare (Fennel) Fruit Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Ophiopogon Japonicus Root Extract, Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Coix Lacryma-Jobi Ma-yuen Seed Extract, Ardisia Crispa Extract, Acanthopanax Sessiliflorum Bark Extract, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Flour Extract, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract, Velvet Extract, Ganoderma Lucidum (Mushroom) Extract, Honey Extract, Bacillus/Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Seed/Artemisia Annua Extract/Phaseolus Angularis Seed/Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed/Wheat Bran/Xanthium Strumarium Fruit Extract Ferment Filtrate, Asparagus Cochinchinensis Root Extract, Cynanchum Wifordi Root Extract, Lycium Chinense Root Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Polygonum Multiflorum Root Extract, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract, Mineral Salts, Gold/CI 77480, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Carbomer, PEG/PPG-17/6 Copolymer, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Glyceryth-26, Sucrose Distearate, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ethyl Dimethyl Silane, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Dimethicone, PEG-2M, Cellulose Gum, Arginine, Adenosine, Benzophenone-5, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexyl Glycerin, Fragrance
I have to admit this is one of the longest ingredient list i encountered on a product I used... it does scare me a little. I do like that Ginseng is the first on list, and we got Sodium Hyaluronic and Arbutin up in the list as well. Lots of root extract which really give that oriental medicinal vibe or smell... although they do have Fragrance last in the list. Given the many extract I still wonder how much are really in it, especially when there is glycerin 2nd in the ingredient.
Personal Experience:
Colour, Texture and Packaging:
It is a water gel texture in light amber with gold specks infused through. It does make me feel lush. Given the price, which was quite expensive, more so than the more popular Time Revolution line, it has to feel great.
The bottle is nice enough to display on vanity but the cap looks a bit tacky to me, lol. But the pump works great and it is an actual glass bottle, so quite heavy to travel with.
However, while this does feel good and I like the light water gel consistency... after a while I started to hate those gold specks. Since my skin is quite textured... I noticed some of the gold specks settle in my acne scars... I don't think the gold really does anything...
I heard about all these 24k gold facials etc... but in this case it does nothing... or maybe it just not obvious.
At first I use to wear this before serum, after acid tone/ mist... I think it works well in combination with my brightening serum... but on it's own it really does not do much other than hydrating and softening. But I guess in Missha defense it does what it supposed to do? Prep skin for the products to be absorbed better. I can't help but started thinking it's basically a mix of ginseng extract and glycerin... which not to bad but not worth the price.
I don't want to say this product is bad, but I kinda felt slight tingling and irritating whenever I wear this, it might be the gold or the actual liquid itself. Overall it making me less excited to use especially when I have other better essence. But I just kept using so I can get rid of it. On the bright side it does not cause any bad reaction to my skin or flare up my acne.
Now I change to use after serum instead just before moisturizer which felt bit better.
Another reason I change to after serum is because of the long list of ingredient and its texture. While it is quite watery, the consistency is almost as thick as my current serums and my serums have shorter ingredient list so to be safe and wanting to get most pf my serum I believe it might be better to be worn after serum.
I even put on after moisturizer just so that I can finish it asap. But I think it's good under foundation especially the matte finish one. It gives an extra moist glow.
Neverthelesss it is still quite a dissapointment as a skincare product. Although I do notice a couple UK beauty blogger use it, so I am actually waiting for their review.
Overall I give it a 2/5.
Even if it is available to buy online in the UK, I will not repurchase.
