Setting my personal SK II beauty regimen aside, I embarked on two new facial products that Iโ€™ve been constantly using for more than a month now. Iโ€™ve been putting into test the Sulwhasoo Snowise Balancing Water as my facial toner, and the Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum as my daily facial serum. I know that the First Care Serum is the bestselling product of Sulwhasoo and a lot of people swear by it, so I was naturally intrigued and wondered just how good the product is, or if Sulwhasooโ€™s skin care line warrants a cult-following given the price of their products.

 

Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum & Snowise Brightening Water Review

 

Sulwhasoo is high-end Korean skin care brand owned by Amore Pacific, and itโ€™s much loved by a lot Koreans. The brandโ€™s philosophy believes in the concept of beauty and harmony of energies, combining traditional medicine with modern science. The main ingredient of most of their product is Ginseng, but itโ€™s not just any other Ginseng, itโ€™s the best kind of Ginseng thought to be found only in the Korean Peninsula. Ginseng, when used as a skin care, has a lot of potential benefits. One being good in the anti-aging department and it also has brightening properties.

 

Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum & Snowise Brightening Water

 

As a general observation of the two products I purchased, they both are in heavy glass containers that depicts a whole authentic Korean aesthetic vibe. The bottles are not necessarily too big or too bulky, and theyโ€™re both opaque, so you wonโ€™t be able to see how much product is left inside. Both the Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum and the Snowise Brightening Water smells very herbal-like, but itโ€™s not overwhelming to the senses, instead, itโ€™s pretty invigorating.

 

 

Sulwhasoo Snowise Brightening Water Review

Sulwhasoo Snowise Brightening Water (4.22 oz: $63) โ€“ This slightly hefty toner is meant to be applied with the palm of your hands and pat starting from the center of your face. With Broussonetia Kazinoki, a Mulberry extract known to brighten and soften rough skin. The toner is meant to prepare skin for other Snowise products like the Snowise Brightening Cream and Brightening Serum. However, I didnโ€™t plan to use this toner for that purpose, instead, I just wanted a good toner that can help brighten my dark spots or post-acne marks. So far, in my experience, this toner feels like a gel and itโ€™s tricky to use a cotton pad with this, as the consistency seems a bit too thick for a toner. You might really need to use your palms when applying this, but I prefer to still use a cotton pad because I want my toner to take off excess makeups that didnโ€™t rinse away after washing. Fortunately, the formula spreads very easily and it feels very soothing. As far as the benefits and changes Iโ€™ve noticed, this product did not irritate my skin and it keeps it plumped. Didnโ€™t notice any brightening effect so far, but my acne scars seemed to have not darken further.

 

Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum review

Suwhasoo First Care Activating Serum (2 oz: $84) โ€“ With Milkvetch that promotes skin circulation and Dwarf Lilyturf with Licorice to restore skinโ€™s radiance. This bestselling product is meant to restore the skinโ€™s moisture and nutrients. The serum has golden brown color and smells like Ginseng with some other herbs. It feels like a gel and it spreads easily onto the face, which then the skin absorbs easily and also has a relaxing feel to it. I truly love the consistency of this serum and a little bit goes a long way, perhaps 2-3 pumps will work per application. I also love the cap since itโ€™s very easy to take it off or replace it whenever you use the product. When it comes to its effect, I do notice an overall evenness of hydration on my face throughout the day. I no longer have dry patches around my mouth and my skinโ€™s not secreting too much oil. Itโ€™s still oily-prone, but not as much, and it looks my skinโ€™s regulating the sebum production well. This serum seems to work to balance the skinโ€™s chemistry, no wonder a lot of people have fallen in love with it.

 

Bottom line, I like Sulwhasoo a lot and Iโ€™m planning to try more of their products soon. Theyโ€™re really pricey, but you could sense that they put a lot of value and effort on their products. They feel luxurious, soothing, traditional, and thereโ€™s an element of care and wisdom to it. Compared to SK II, I definitely feel like theyโ€™re neck and neck with each other. I also like SK II a lot and will always be using them, but these two products from Sulwhasoo would be great add on.

 

Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum & Snowise Brightening Water Review

 

The Snowise Brightening Water is available at: Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus & Bergdorf Goodman

 

The First Care Activating Serum can be found at: Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman & Neiman Marcus

 

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