The History Of Whoo Hwa Hyun Balancer

If I were to compare the Seol Skin Balancer to the Hwa Hyun Balancer, I would say that the Hwa Hyun Balancer is richer and much more hydrating. The texture is less runny than Seol’s Skin Balancer, and the fragrance is actually much more subtle and pleasant than Seol’s. The Hwa Hyun Balancer is similar to Sulwhasoo’s Balancing Water (basic line) but more fluid. It is hydrating and absorbs into my skin very quickly, and without leaving a strong scent that lingers.

Am I glad to have discovered a Japanese equivalent of Korean’s G-Market! Despite all the rage and hype about Sulwhasoo and The History of Whoo, my first love is still Japanese brands. When I was looking for AMP Innersignal, I was almost too happy to discover that I can actually buy it from Rakuten!

First of all, I use a massage cream once a week on a regular basis. I have been using Charmzone CRD DeAGE Red Addition Control Cream (it lasts forever!) for the past 2 years and thought it was a really good massage cream – until I tried this one! The texture of the Jinyul Essential Massage Mask is more like honey than the AmorePacific Restoring Masque – even the color looks like golden honey with lots of shimmer.

It is less creamy than the Charmzone control cream, more like real honey but less sticky. It goes on my face very easily and it was a real pleasure to massage it through. Unlike the Charmzone control cream, which does not heat up or feel anything special once you massaged and left it on, I did feel a slight heat and a good kind of tingle throughout the massage. I even left it on just for a couple of minutes because my skin is so dry anyway. After I washed it off, my skin was very supple, moist and nourished.

At first, I thought it was more like a sheer lipstick just because of the word ‘tint’ in the name, but this isn’t the case. It was meant to describe the weight of the lipstick. While it is richly pigmented, I must say it did feel heavy on my lips. It’s not too bad though, because it is highly hydrating, but I would say that Shiseido The Makeup Perfect Rouge is much lighter and a lot more hydrating than this one.

My pot of this cream eyeliner was very dry, and hard to apply, blend or smooth on my lids. It went on very dry and cakey, and unfortunately, also smeared and smudged. It was disappointing because I had wanted to like this, because of my fondness for Kevyn Aucoin and his legacy, but somehow this didn’t live up to my expectation. The Maybelline gel eyeliner I just bought outperforms this by far, and is also more than 50% cheaper.

I have been using a felt-tip kind of liquid eyeliner (from Stila), which I started to dislike after awhile because it is not forgiving and can easily give you zigzag kind of line. I prefer the cream liners which can get very close to your natural lashline. This Maybelline gel eyeliner has the same consistency as Stila’s Smudge Pot, Shiseido’s and Bobbi Brown’s cream eyeliners, but at only a fraction of the cost. To my pleasant surprise, it lasted all day until I removed it with an eye makeup remover at night, with no smudging, smearing or flaking. All for less than US$10!

Hmm…there is nothing sheer about this cream blush! It is highly pigmented, even more so than Make Up For Ever’s microfinish cream blush. You barely touched the product and it was already too much color. You need to be really light handed with this one!

This shade, DW 07, is the best match I have ever had. It beats even Shiseido, Kanebo, Sofina, for my skin tone. I guess my skin tone isn’t all yellow but has neutral undertones too! Anyway, this literally disappears into my skin when I apply it with the sponge. The coverage is sheer I would say, but buildable if you want to. After I apply a light layer, it didn’t feel or look like I had makeup on. The wear is very comfortable and long lasting – no touchup required from morning till night.

This is a healing, regenerative serum for a variety of skin troubles. It claims to improve elasticity, moisturize and lessen the appearance of wrinkles, and I definitely need something for my fine lines on my forehead! I have a 2 week supply of this essence, which I used day and night for the past 2 weeks. And here is my review after two weeks, the amount of time that this product claims will give you results:

su:m37 Secret Programming Essence complete list of ingredients and brand information, with updated first impression of the texture and feel of the product as compared to SKII Facial Treatment Essence.

So far, I have used it 4 times. Each time it is with intense frustration, because this truly awful bottle design just doesn’t work well with the super thick, almost solid consistency of this supposedly honey textured creamy mask. It took great effort to even squeeze out anything from the tube (it’s a hard tube). I found that the best and only way to get the product out from the tube is to lay it sideways on the edge of a table, countertop or whatever surface you are using, use one hand to hard press it and the other to catch it at the other end. Anyway, the consistency of this mask is a very thick paste. There is added fragrance which you will detect right away. There is a special technique you need to use to make this work – you have to tap the mask gently on your face and somehow, magically, it transforms into a honey textured (at least the product description didn’t lie afterall), soft and thin cream that you spread on your face. You won’t be able to do an even layer like most cream masks with this one though (and trying to squeeze more out of the tube each time is a pain), so make sure you get enough out before you start tapping.

I had liked Amore’s sun powders before (IOPE has one), and I think they are really great ideas. Why? Because that sticky, greasy finish of many sunscreens makes us not want to use them, even though we know we have to. The powder form makes it so easy, especially for people who need a touch up or two during the day. A sunscreen powder can blot out sebum and protect the skin from the sun. But the main concern some might have is the finish – will the powder be too white? Too drying? Cakey? Balls up whatever’s underneath?

First of all, by now, I am totally enthralled by the buttery texture of various creams in the Whoo lineup (with the exception of Soo Yeon Cream, which is watery). It doesn’t feel thick, and it absorbs very quickly and nicely. I did not have any trouble blending it in at all. The scent, particulary from this Hwanyu eye cream, is more subtle than the Seol line, by the way, for some of you who are bothered by the strong medicinal smell. This one is actually quite pleasant – it certainly helps you feel that you are using a luxurious cream made with precious herbs and ingredients.

I have been using Sulwhasoo Lumitouch Lip Care for almost 4 months now – even though it’s only 15g, it lasts a very long time because you need so little at a time. But I didn’t see any results – this is mostly just like a clear lip gloss – and didn’t do anything for the lines on my lips or improve the hydration over time. When it’s on my lips are ok, but once it’s off, there is no difference in the lip lines or tone.

First of all, this comes in one shade only – and just like many other Korean BB creams I have tried, this is a grayish pink. I was afraid it will make me look ashy, but surprisingly, apart from leaving a rather white-pink film on my face, it looks fairly close to my own skin tone after awhile, just a bit more pink. The adhesion of this product is quite amazing, although at the same time, a problem for my dry skin. The texture of this very runny (at least it doesn’t call itself a cream), but just like those bi-phase waterproof oil-free foundations I used in my early 20s, this is very drying. So drying that even just an hour after using it, my skin was cracking and began to itch. The adhesion of this BB ‘lotion’ binds to my skin so much so that it stretched whenever I made a facial expression, accentuating every fine line, flakiness and pores. I had the urge every 5 minutes to run to the washroom and just wash this off – it was just too drying and uncomfortable. That’s despite having applied all my skincare under it.

This product reminds me of Benefit’s That Gal primer – it is pink hued but goes on pretty much clear, leaving a nice subtle glow on the skin. I find this to be more moisturizing than That Gal though – a plus for my dry and dehydrated skin – and of course, instead of That Gal’s bubblegum scent you get the Korean herbal scent with this one. It’s not overpowering and the scent goes away pretty quickly. The finish is dewy with very subtle shimmer. I believe That Gal is slightly more brightening over time than this one though – Gongjinhyang:Mi Essential Base is more hydrating on the long run, but the glow does not last too long.

This is a hydrating series, just like Sulwhasoo’s Hydroaid.The Soo Yeon Essence is very watery and absorbs very nicely into my skin, and though not very emollient, I felt that it replenishes the moisture content of my skin fairly well. The Soo Yeon Cream – very similar texture to the essence except a little thicker, is also very nice, absorbs well without stickiness or greasiness, and does not flake. However, for my dehydrated dry skin, neither (and/or together) is hydrating enough. I used them during the day and they make a very nice makeup base, but still, not nearly hydrating enough for my skin’s needs. If you have oily skin I think this will be a very good line for you – it will balance your skin without feeling heavy or sticky.

Just a quick note to tell anyone who’s interested in Sofina’s Jenne line (for women in their 20s), that adambeauty.com carries it now. Previously, the only other place I know that sells it is ichibankao.com.

used this for about a month, on top of the Seol products, and for 5 days substituting the Whitening Cream. The texture of this cream is very much like butter – it is very creamy, but once it goes on my skin, it spreads very easily and my skin stays moist. It’s so hydrating that it has an immediate plumping effect – my dehydration lines on my forehead (my main skin concern) disappeared. However, I still woke up with somewhat dry skin, so I had to layer it up a little thicker. It does its job of hydrating the skin, but as far as the anti-wrinkle benefit goes, so far, my dehydration lines are still there. Given that it has only been one month, I think it needs a little longer for the lines to be smoothed out. As for whitening, I had used the Seol line 2 weeks before I started to add this cream on top, and I did not really feel that this cream contributed to the whitening at all.

I am a huge fan of the History of Whoo because of the Gongjinhyang: Seol line, which did wonders to my skin, and I was glad I got to test this one out before I committed to full size. The version I got from the Seol Skin Balancer and Lotion set is SPF50 PA+++ in a miniature tube (6ml), which is quite generous. I almost bought the full size at the Whoo counter when it included a free cleanser and a travel size tube for the same price as one full size tube, but I decided to try it out from the deluxe sample first.

Happy New Year everyone! As promised, I am doing my Whoo reviews today, starting off with the Gongjinhyang: Seol skin brightening line. I was fortunate enough to try the entire skincare line (not the 2 makeup items from the line). Most of these lasted a month (except the peel off pack, brightening water, essence and cream) – and some of the ones that didn’t I actually ended up buying the full size versions anyway. I snapped pictures of my skin on the first night I tried these – on November 13, 2010, and also, this morning, just to compare.

A basic, hydrating line from The History of Whoo for young, thirsty skin.

A gorgeous collection of 9 essential matte neutrals and soft shimmer eyeshadows, complete with 3 Get-The-Look cards and an applicator tool.

A palette of 12 ultra-intense, magnificent metallic and smoldering smoky shadows, plus Liquif-Eye.

A long-lasting, non-smudging, multi-dimensional liquid liner.