Tony Moly - Tomatox Magic Massage Pack - Review

skincare
If you can recall, I got this Tomatox Magic Massage Pack in my Tony Moly special Memebox, and well, it has been a while since I got it and I should have reviewed earlier but, there's a reason for everything ! 

Ps : I'm also entering Final weeks, so I might not be able to post in the next coming 3-4 weeks, it depends if I'll have time to write and edit a proper review ! Anyways, let's get back to Tony Moly : 



What the brand says

Enriched with fresh tomatoes and pearl powders, Tomatox Magic Massage Pack brings you a multi-functional facial care, providing double effects of both a massage cream and a wash-off pack. Its soft, creamy texture will gently remove any residues on your skin, leaving it deeply energized and brightened.

This product is basically marketed as a brightening pack.



Packaging




There's one thing you can't say anything against this product, it's the packaging. How cool is it ? People who are familiarized with Asian Beauty won't be impressed by this packaging, but this Tomatox pack has been in my bathroom for a while and everytime a guest come it goes like this "Why do you have a Tomato in your bathroom ? Oh, it's a cream ? That's so interesting !". 

Letting that aside, it also comes with a spatula for hygiene purposes, I have pictures of that in the unboxing article, but they are so terrible (newbie's fault !) that I didn't want to add them to this article.

The product



You get 80g of product in a thick white creamy form. After cleansing your face, use it on your face and massage it in (as recommended by the brand), it spreads easily and dries white. Let it dry, and rinse it off with water.



My thoughts

Here comes the fun part. I'll say it right off the bat, I didn't like this product. 
First thing first, the application process wasn't that bad but as I was starting to dry it was giving me a bit of tingling sensation, it almost stung. I let that pass, and let it dry before removing the pack with lukewarm water. Now keep in mind that this is supposed to be a brightening product, it does have niacinamide in the ingredient list on Cosdna, pretty high up in the list, but what this product actually does is leaving you a white cast all over your face. It's pretty noticeable on darker skin tone, I'm an NC42 (my hands above are almost 5 times darker than my face) and that white cast was pretty apparent. It translates into a gray washed out looking complexion. To further my little experiment, I tried this on someone who has a much fairer complexion, NC30-35, and it gave that same gray cast all over the face of that person. I was pretty apologetic, the packaging was appealing to that person but the result were a joke.
A quick look on that same ingredient list on Cosdna, shows Titanium Dioxide as the fourth ingredient. Titanium Dioxide is (with Zinc Oxide) the primary ingredient contained in Physical sunscreen. It's a key ingredient to block UVB and UVA in physical sunscreen, but why would they include Titanium Dioxide in a face pack ? Here's the thing, physical suncreens are well known to leave white casts, and my guess in our case, is that Titanium Dioxide is used to give that fake temporary "brightness" in Tony Moly's Tomatox.

Final Conclusion

As you may have guessed by now, I wouldn't recommend this product. The packaging is stellar but the product is terrible. I'm going to throw the remaining product and keep the jar and put some of those samples I get in my hauls. Although I didn't like this product, I did a more positive review of their Floria Nutra-Energy cream.

Until next time ! 


Klairs - Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil - Review

klairs
I reviewed the scrub version of this product and now here comes its sibling :


 

What the brand says



Special cleansing oil for special skin, Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil

It is not just a cleansing oil, but the combination of natural black grains. Ingredients extracted from the nature will gently take care of your skin.
1. Black Bean Oil Black bean helps to control the sebum production, increases the skin elasticity and provides a soothing effect.
 2. Black Sesame Oil Black sesame prevents dehydration and skin aging while providing powerful antioxidant effects through various useful components such as Beta-carotene, Rinolenic acid, Sesamin, Sesaminol and Tocopherol.
 3. Black Currant Seed Oil Black Current Seed Oil strengthens the skins protective layer to prevent the evaporation of moisture from the skin. It promotes skin cell regeneration and provides antioxidant effects by containing various minerals.


This Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil is great if:
  • If you have rough skin by blackheads and dead skin cells
  • If you have dry or sensitive skin
  • If you want the skin care effect while cleansing
  • If you are looking for cleanser to clean out pores




The packaging

You get 150 ml of product coming in a simple but sleek plastic bottle.  I got picture of this, when I first got it but they were busted so, as you can see, in those pictures, I'm almost out of it. The wrapping paper around my bottle is slightly coming off but that's only because I tend to remove my makeup in the shower. 



 It also comes with a classic pump which delivers enough product in one pump, when you first get it, it also comes with a stopper (check out the unboxing article to see what I'm talking about).


The product


Here's a few pumps of the product on my hand to show you how it actually looks. It's a clear lightweight oil. The formula glides over your skin without tugging at it and as the name of it describe it, it's actually very gentle on your skin. You're supposed to get a few pumps into your palms, put it on your dry face and massage the product to remove all your makeup and skin impurities. Then, rinse it off with a lukewarm water (the brand and I recommend as well not to wipe it off with a cloth or wipe, all of the product won't come off !).
When you rinse with water, the product turns a milky white consistency until it goes off.

Where to get it

This product is exclusively sold at Wishtrend, and I believe it's actually one of their own brands.
You can get it here for 22,90$. 
  • With orders of 55$+ :  WISHAPR2015 - Get 10% off of your order
  • Coupon Code : 033450111 - Get instantly 5$ off of your first order with ANY amount by registering to Wishtrend and writing this code in  the "friends invitation program" box in the registration form ! 
  • With ANY orders, receive a free Elishacoy Vitamin Collagen Sheet Mask with code : WISHGIFTAPR2015
 
(If you're reading this after the month of April, alway check the sidebar for the updated promo codes)

My thoughts

I got this product in my wishbox purchased here and I was glad to get a new makeup remover. I used to use Shu Uemura's expensive one back in the days and I never got myself to get another one of those after I ran out of it. Klair's Gentle balck deep cleansing oil does a good job of removing my makeup. I wear extremely waterproof eyeliner (demo here with Klairs in action) and it removed that eyeliner and my mascara (Benefit's They're Real) perfectly. I usually took 2 to 3 pumps without thinking about it, and I realized that when I got too much product it's a bit harder to get it off. I do recommend only getting 2 pumps and really rinsing it off with water. 
As I mentioned earlier, the formula is really lightweight, gliding and gentle on the skin. After using it, my skin didn't feel tight meaning that I didn't rip my skin from its moisture but it didn't oil me up either, so don't be scared of using oils. As I said in this article, oils are great to use even for oily skin. If you have combination skin like I do, this product is perfect because it doesn't excessively moisture your skin but it doesn't dry it up either.
I mentioned the fact it took a bit of work to get it off and it might be why I still have a bit of makeup left on my skin afterwards. I did the white towel trick : Wiping (I know it's bad but it was an experiment) my face with a white towel to see if there's any makeup left. And there was, it's maybe because I use too much product but I feel like although I can't see it, there is makeup mixed with the oil on the surface of my skin. It wasn't that much of a problem because I always double cleanse (using a foam cleanser after the makeup remover) anyways to get all of my makeup off.

TL:DR


Pros 

  • Lightweight
  • Gentle
  • Isn't greasy
  • Doesn't strip the face
  • Moisturizing

Cons 

  • Can take a bit of time to remove the product
  • Residue of makeup found the skin, double cleansing is necessary 

 Effects on combination/acne-prone skin

I used it during winter time here in Paris, my combination skin turned to dehydrated cheeks and normal t-zone. As I said, this didn't dry me up nor did it oil me up. I would say that it's an ideal product if you have combination skin. As for the acne-prone part, this product didn't break me out, and if anything, my skin hasn't been this good for a good while. (Of course, I'm not saying that this cleared up my skin because the other products I used did that but it didn't make it bad that's for sure).

Conclusion for combination/acne-prone skin : Go for it !

    If you read what the brand said about the product and then my thoughts about it, you'll notice that the product does everything it says it does.


    You can also use it in combination with its sister the Gentle Black Deep Cleansing scrub that I reviewed here. They work really well together and provide mild deep cleansing if you mix the oil with the scrub and massage it into your skin.




    Wishtrend Haul (Cosrx, C20)

    haul
    Another haul, and I was supposed to write this as the "last haul before going on a no-buy mode" but somehow I managed to make 4 other orders from different websites. To my defense, I said I was going to try other shops since my last Testerkorea fiasco but I didn't know it would be this soon. If you follow me on my instagram, you'll see a preview of one those 4 orders. 

    Let's get to this Wishtrend Haul, shall we ?

    Wishtrend

    I've already did a little presentation of the website in an earlier blogpost presenting this little bottle of amazingness :

    C20 - Original Pure Vitamin C20 Serum





    You already know how much I love this serum, it was only a given that I was going to repurchase it.

    • Brand :  C20 (OST)
    • Name:  Original Pure Vitamin C20 Serum 
    • Quantity : 30 ml
    • Price : 14,99$
    • Product link: Click here
    If you're interested by this product, know that there's special deal with this serum : You can get the Vitamin Starter Kit for Brightening purposes here with this serum and the cream that goes with it. 



    C20 - Pure Vitamin C21.5 Advanced Serum


    • Brand : C20
    • Product : Pure Vitamin C 21.5 Advanced Serum
    • Quantity: 30ml
    • Price :  24,99$
    • Product link : Click here
    This serum is the upgraded version of the C20 Original Serum. It's formulated with an additional 1,5% of Pure Vitamin C and lack of fillers and parabens that the previous one has. Less ingredients, supposedly better absorption. I had to get it to try it out. I'll probably do a comparison review with the Original version.

    There's also a deal going for this product : Here


    Cosrx - AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner and Naturally Embo Cotton Puff




    I've been wanting Mizon's AHA/BHA Toner for the longest time ever but as it's nowhere to be found on the market, I've decided to try the new and upcoming Korean Brand Cosrx (pronounced Coseurexeu , see, I knew that knowing how to read Korean would help). Along with the toner I decided to throw in their Cotton puff to use with said toner. 

    I've gotten into the acids bandwagon and I've been reading a lot about pH, AHA, BHA and retinoids. And along those lines, although the BHA Blackhead Power Liquid (I ordered this in one of those 4 orders) isn't in the deal : There's a Sol-Kit AHA/BHA deal going on Wishtrend that is worth checking out : here

    • Brand : Cosrx
    • Product : AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner
    • Quantity: 150 ml
    • Price : 12,60$
    • Product link : Click Here

    • Product : Naturally Embo Cotton Puff
    • Quantity: 80 pcs
    • Price: 2,80$
    • Product link: Click here


    Free Samples 

     



    After the no-free-samples order from Testerkorea, I was pleasantly surprised by the freebies I got from Wishtrend. Along with 3 informative cards about some of their products, I got a sample of Cosrx's Advanced Snail All in One Cream and samples from a brand I didn't know : Chica Y Chico. As you can see, I also got a free Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Mask , funny enough I was tempted to buy one when I did my cart some days prior. I kind of already used it :

     
     
     
     

    Shop at Wishtrend

     
    • With orders of 55$+ :  WISHAPR2015 - Get 10% off of your order
    • Coupon Code : 033450111 - Get instantly 5$ off of your first order with ANY amount by registering to Wishtrend and writing this code in  the "friends invitation program" box in the registration form ! 
    •  
    • With ANY orders, receive a free Elishacoy Vitamin Collagen Sheet Mask with code : WISHGIFTAPR2015
     
    (If you're reading this after the month of April, alway check the sidebar for the updated promo codes)



    Disclosure

    Wished Chronicles is a PR friendly blog and contains affiliate links. All opinions expressed are genuine and purely my own.
    Read the full disclosure and review policy here.