Korean Skincare Review: COSRX Galactomyces 95 White Power Essence

June 9, 2015

Hey There!

I am making great progress at the moment with my master’s thesis and girls and boys I tell ya IT FEELS SO GREAT! I have been working on this thesis for over a year now and every step took me ages and aeons. I had huge difficulties in finding a suitable topic that I could pull off and that would interest me, it took me forever to fight my way through the literature (and studying in three different countries along the way didn’t really help when it comes to organizing….) and well, writing in Japanese didn’t really help either. I am so so so happy that I can finally see the finishing line and that there are only 10 pages or so that need to be written. FREEDOM, I CAN ALMOST TASTE YOU.
Talking about freedom; let’s talk about my favorite Korean brand COSRX that gave me the “freedom” (or well, the confidence) to show my naked face again! Of course, this is no wonder product, but so far, all products from this brand have worked great for me which I can’t say of any other brand that have been mostly hit or miss for me. Hence, I’m happy to share with you today my thoughts on the COSRX Galactomyces 95 White Power Essence!
Remember when I wrote my very first post about COSRX and how their A-Sol did work amazingly on my blemish-ridden face? Apparently, the people working for COSRX did see that review too – imagine my surprise when they reached out to me and thanked me for my positive review on one of their products! I thought it was a really nice touch to receive a personal message from them πŸ™‚ To my delight, they offered that I could pick some other products to try out since I just moved back from Korea to Germany and a few months back, it was a bit harder to get their products in Europe. One of the products I chose back then was this Galactomyces Essence in the hopes it would magically get rid of all my hyperpigmentation.

So when I received this essence, I had high hopes, I must admit. The high amount of ferments in this was something that I was really looking forward to and actually was missing in my skincare routine. Despite the unfortunate name “white power essence” (I’m pretty sure they didn’t mean it that way but just. can’t. oversee.) the ingredients are worth looking into!

Ingredients: Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, Niacinamide, Sodium Hyaluronate, Betaine, Panthenol, Glycerin, 1,2-Hexanediol, Allantoin, Butylene Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Ethyl Hexanediol, Adenosine

Ah, don’t you just appreciate a good short ingredient’s list? Certainly the main selling point for me when it comes to COSRX is their focus on efficient ingredients. Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, the main ingredient in a 95% concentration, is used as a moisturizing agent in cosmetics and used for induction of hyaluronan production in epidermal cells. I dug up some research and the conclusion was that Galactomyces helps to protect the skin against damage such as due to dryness or environmental stress. I didn’t find much on “whitening” (or: brightening, a term that I personally prefer), but it seems that the research revolving this ingredient is fairly new still.

          PACKAGING         


The packaging is sleek and rather unexciting, as all products of COSRX. All labels are conveniently made in a different color (that way I can just tell my boyfriend to use “the yellow one” without having to admit he’s rubbing snail all over his face..clever marketing!) and the product comes in a 100ml plastic pump bottle – as always.

The liquid is very runny, a bit thicker than water, but not much. This product falls in the range of “first essences” and would best be used first after cleansing & actives. For my routine, I wash my face with my Hada Labo Cleanser, use my BHA exfoliant and after waiting time, this essence is the next step that I’m using. usually 2-3 pumps for face and neck.

         PERFORMANCE         


…the moment of truth! I have added this essence to my routine a bit over 2 months ago and the reason why this review is up so late is because I wanted to see how much good the essence can do after the initial “3 week improvement”. As you can see, my skin did definitely even out a lot in the past weeks. If you compare the three pictures, you can see that my skin is overall less red and indeed brighter – although I dare say it didn’t do as much after the initial improvement after 3 weeks.

The reason why I am not absolutely in love with this essence is because I thought it would do a better job at my hyperpigmentation. (And keep in mind that I am also using a vitamin C serum every morning so that already did boost the essence’s brightening abilities) If you look at the pictures you can definitely tell the improvement and I probably only need to be more patient. I will definitely recommend this essence if you want to even out your skintone but if you have hyperpigmentation like I do (like, y’know, a lot), I would recommend to use the essence in addition to another, probably more potent serum to lighten the PIH. Overall, I did like this essence and as all COSRX products, they didn’t let me down and this didn’t break me out at all. I have still about a month left to use and will gladly do so but probably not repurchase. At least not for now, as I like to explore my options and maybe find something that works even better for my acne marks? All in all, it is a solid product and you can’t really go wrong with 100ml of product for the price in my opinion! It’s just not my favorite from the brand. πŸ™‚

+ light formula
+ absorbs fast
+ 95% fermented ingredients
+ didn’t break me out
+ evened out my skintone

– didn’t do as much as I hoped for my hyperpigmentation after initial 3 week improvement phase

The best thing even is that the brand is readily available now! You can get it at Jolse, Wishtrend, Roseroseshop, even Ebay with free shipping! Make sure to compare prices, as usually there is always some deal going on at some website. Hope this answered all your questions many of you had about this specific product! πŸ™‚

Lots of love,

Sam

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