Trying out a moisturising essence.

Since I was sick a few weeks back, part of my "recovery" was to bring my dull and neglected skin back to life. I admit that the last thing on my mind was how I looked but I absolutely felt that my skin was suffering too so once I felt better (you know, no more joint pains and headaches and all that), I immediately rummaged through my stash for skincare. My Palmer's samples (read review HERE) were all used up so I definitely needed something to use! Thankfully, I found a little skincare sample, tried it for days, and here's what I think about it.

Here I have a sample sized (30ml)  Crystal Moist Hydra Ion+ Moisturising Face Essence Milk. I'm not at all familiar with the brand so after some digging, I found out that Crystal Moist is part of a company that operates under Guardian Singapore. It's not really a Korean company but the Crystal Moist products are made and formulated in Korea so in a way, it is legit Korean skincare. Crystal Moist offers mostly skincare products like cleansers, toners, face & eye creams, and masks, as well as a CC cream. They also have two lines: Hydra Ion+ (for Moisturising and Smoothing) and Bright Ion+ (for Refreshing and Balancing).

According to the Guardian website, the Moisturising Face Essence Milk is mainly for moisturising and smoothing. The essence has three important components:

-HY+3 Aqua-Channeling Factor that replenishes the essential trace elements for skin health, rehydrates skin and improves its balance.

-Perfect-Hydration 24 Complex that activates skin’s hydrating retention capacity to promote a finer and smoother skin.

-Blend of Agave Tequilana Leaf extract, that makes the skin perfectly moisturised, reaching its optimal crystal-moist skin complexion.

The product itself comes in a blue bottle (both in sample and full) and has a milky, kind of translucent appearance and a thin but not too watery-type of consistency. It has a light essence-y scent quite reminiscent of those high end ones and something I actually quite like. I've been using this for days now and I have to say, I like how absorbable it is. It doesn't stay on top of the skin; it actually sinks in, making sure my skin gets the hydration it needs. And you know what, it's actually superb in hydrating and moisturising! You don't need to use much product because it spreads easily and you can feel its magic working on the skin. For an essence, it feels lightweight and doesn't feel too obvious on the skin. 

According to the application instruction, you should use this essence after cleansing and toning, then follow up with whatever moisturiser you're using but you know what? I say skip the extra moisturiser because this alone gets the job done. I recommend following up with a primer instead, especially if you're on the oily side. Speaking of oiliness, I'm currently leaning towards that side right now and I'm happy to say that this essence doesn't make the oil situation worse. It doesn't help stop it but it doesn't make me shine too much like a disco ball so that's a win on my books. Also, it doesn't feel tingly at all and most importantly, didn't break me out. Guess my skin likes it too!

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Overall, this is a win! I love using it day and night to give my skin a boost of hydration and I love the result: healthy looking and feeling skin. I recommend this to those who have normal to dry skin; oily gals like me should use a primer or powder finish products afterwards just to control oil. I'll definitely look into more Crystal Moist products because their products look really promising- and not that highly priced too! Definitely put this brand on your radar, skincare junkie!