It's Tiger Skin
Today's blog post is sponsored by the K-beauty brand, It's Skin!
You've probably seen them around the beauty blogosphere if you're a fan of K-beauty. They have a ton of cult favorite products like their power 10 essences, mini bebe hand creams, fresh sheet masks, and cookie hand creams. A lot of Korean brands only offer a select collection of their products on their US sites but after a quick browse of the It's Skin site it seems the offer the entire range! They sent over a box of their products for me to try including some of said cult favorites as well as some not as popular products. Of course, the inner skincare addict in me made grabby hands at the skincare-- two moisturizers from their Tiger Cica line!
While it has a crapton of benefits when ingested, it also has plenty of topical benefits. It's excellent at healing wounds and promotes collagen production. It also has inflammatory properties so it's an ace ingredient for those of us who suffer from acne. It's also rich in antioxidants and vitamins and minerals and all that good stuff so it's also a superstar anti-aging ingredient.
You can read more about it in a blog post by the Klog!
Ingredients: Centella Asiatica Extract, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Alcohol Denat., Water, Polyacrylamide,1,2-Hexanediol, Pentylene Glycol,Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Extract, Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Caprylyl Glycol, Dimethiconol, Laureth-7, Hydrogenated Lecithin,Ethylhexylglycerin, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ceramide AP, Ceramide AS, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide NP, Ceramide NS, Cholesterol, Phytosphingosine, Propanediol,Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer,Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans,Sodium Hyaluronate,Benzyl Glycol, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Madecassoside, Asiaticoside, Asiatic Acid, Madecassic Acid, Hyaluronic Acid, Raspberry Ketone, Cetearyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA
I'm not sure what to make of the ingredients list. Pros: it has Centella Asiatica extract listed as the number 1 ingredient! According to the brand the moisturizer is composed of 68% Centella Asiatica! Cons: it has Madecassoside, Asiaticoside, Asiatic Acid, and Madecassic Acid (aka 4 of the active ingredients in the extract) listed all the way at the end of the ingredient list. Pros: it doesn't contain any synthetic fragrance. Cons: it contains a number of fragrant essential oils towards the top of the ingredient list. Pros: it contains 5 forms of ceramide as well as cholesterol-- all of which help bolster our skin's moisture barrier! Cons: they're listed further down the ingredient list.
But as I always say, I'm more about performance than I am about ingredients list. And I like how this moisturizer performs! At first, I found it to be just another ok moisturizer, but the more I used it the more I liked it and it went from just okay to really good in my books!
It has a lightweight texture but is surprisingly moisturizing. It does have alcohol in it but it doesn't have a noticeable dry down. Nor does it have an alcohol-y scent nor does it dry out my skin! 9 times out of 10 I'm not a fan of alcohol in skincare but I think because this has a lower amount, it works for me. It also allows me to carelessly slather on an excess amount of moisturizer when I'm in a rush in the morning. With some other moisturizers, this can be a problem cause it will lead to white streaks, a greasy face, and pilling. But because it does have that small amount of alcohol in the formula, my skin soaks it all in without any of the aforementioned issues!
Because it's winter this wasn't heavy enough to be my nighttime moisturizer, but it works perfectly in the daytime. It wears well with oils, sunscreen, and foundation.
One last thing to mention-- it's heavily scented. Like I said, it does not contain synthetic fragrance but it does have a lot of essential oils. Personally, I enjoy the citrus-y scent but if you don't like scented skincare, you probably won't like this.
Ingredients: Centella Asiatica Extract, Dimethicone, Dipropylene glycol, Seawater, Cetearyl Alcohol, Pentylene Glycol, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil, Lemon Peel Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Citrus aurantium dulcis, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Extract, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Cetearyl Olivate, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Sorbitan Olivate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/ Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Cyclopentasiloxane, 3 Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate , Dipentaerythrityl Hexahydroxystearate/Hexastearate/ Hexarosinate, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, PEG 150 Distearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Dimethiconol, Ethylhexylglycerin, C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside, Myristic acid, Arachidic acid, Dimethicone/ Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Lauric Acid, Propanediol, Oleic Acid, Hydrogenated lecithin, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Ceramide NP, Phytosphingosine, Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans, Sodium Hyaluronate, Benzyl Glycol, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Madecassoside, Ceramide AP, Ceramide AS, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide NS, Cholesterol, Asiaticoside, Asiatic acid, Madecassic acid, Hyaluronic Acid, Raspberry Ketone, C14-22 alcohols, Xanthan Gum
Unfortunately, the balm was a flop for me. Mostly because of the texture. As someone with dry/ dehydrated skin, I usually prefer thicker creams but the texture of this was too thick and siliconey for me. In the swatch shot up above the left swatch is of the gel cream and the right swatch is of the balm.
Unlike the gel cream, this did pill when worn with oil. It was also a difficult formula to layer because again, it would pill. It did wear okay overnight under a sleeping pack and with no oil, but it wasn't moisturizing enough for my dry winter skin. Perhaps it would work better as a summer moisturizer.
Ingredient wise it also has a lot of the same ingredients as the gel cream-- ceramides, essential oils, those 4 active ingredients from Centella Asiatica. It also has Centella Asiatica extract as the number 1 ingredient and it compromises 55% of the formula. While the formulas of the gel cream and balm look quite similar on paper, they're vastly different in performance. I think this is a solid example of why you can't purely judge a product on its ingredients and you definitely can't purely compare two products on their ingredients alone. While two products might look similar on paper and might have similar ingredients listed in a similar order, that doesn't mean they can't be complete opposites.
While the gel cream is lightweight and easy to apply. The balm has a weird, clumpy texture that I'm not fond of. While the gel cream is fragranced, the citrus scent is barely noticeable in the balm (despite the fact that it also has the same essential oil blend.)
One thing I do like about both the gel cream and the balm is that they came with spatulas! I wish all products packaged in a jar came with spatulas. I am very much team spatula.
Also part of their macaron collection is their lip balms. I think I like the lip balms even more than the cheek colors. I actually kinda prefer the packaging of them too, because they're all one color. It is a bit bulky but I don't mind because they compensate with their cuteness. It's a lightweight formula that's comfortable to wear over or under lipsticks. It's not heavy enough to wear overnight but it is perfect for daytime wear. They also smell yummy! I would have to say my favorite scent at the moment is pineapple scent. And now I want to eat some pineapple...
Lastly are the cookies and cream hand creams! This was the one product from the brand that I've tried in the past and I like them just as much the second time around. The scents are true to smell. The mint one really does smell like mint cookies and cream ice cream. And the strawberry one really does smell like strawberry cookies and cream ice cream. They also look like cookies and cream as they have little bits that look like cookie crumbs. Thankfully when you work the hand cream in, they easily melt away. It's not the heaviest hand cream but they're good for daytime. If you're looking for something quick to apply while using your phone and laptop (aka things you don't want to get greasy) then this is a fab option. The only downside is that it will make you crave ice cream!
And that's a wrap, folks! Have you tried any products from It's Skin? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on them!
P.s if you want to win some of the products featured in this post, check my Instagram story!
You've probably seen them around the beauty blogosphere if you're a fan of K-beauty. They have a ton of cult favorite products like their power 10 essences, mini bebe hand creams, fresh sheet masks, and cookie hand creams. A lot of Korean brands only offer a select collection of their products on their US sites but after a quick browse of the It's Skin site it seems the offer the entire range! They sent over a box of their products for me to try including some of said cult favorites as well as some not as popular products. Of course, the inner skincare addict in me made grabby hands at the skincare-- two moisturizers from their Tiger Cica line!
What's Centella Asiatica?
I could probably dedicate an entire WTF post to Centella Asiatica but today let's stick to the basics. It's a plant extract... from the plant Centella Asiatica #thankyoucaptainobvious. The plant is found all over the globe-- from Mexico to South Africa to India! But it seems to be most famous for its use in traditional Chinese medicine.While it has a crapton of benefits when ingested, it also has plenty of topical benefits. It's excellent at healing wounds and promotes collagen production. It also has inflammatory properties so it's an ace ingredient for those of us who suffer from acne. It's also rich in antioxidants and vitamins and minerals and all that good stuff so it's also a superstar anti-aging ingredient.
You can read more about it in a blog post by the Klog!
Tiger Cica Gel Cream
$30.00 via It's SkinIngredients: Centella Asiatica Extract, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Alcohol Denat., Water, Polyacrylamide,1,2-Hexanediol, Pentylene Glycol,Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Extract, Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Caprylyl Glycol, Dimethiconol, Laureth-7, Hydrogenated Lecithin,Ethylhexylglycerin, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ceramide AP, Ceramide AS, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide NP, Ceramide NS, Cholesterol, Phytosphingosine, Propanediol,Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer,Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans,Sodium Hyaluronate,Benzyl Glycol, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Madecassoside, Asiaticoside, Asiatic Acid, Madecassic Acid, Hyaluronic Acid, Raspberry Ketone, Cetearyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA
I'm not sure what to make of the ingredients list. Pros: it has Centella Asiatica extract listed as the number 1 ingredient! According to the brand the moisturizer is composed of 68% Centella Asiatica! Cons: it has Madecassoside, Asiaticoside, Asiatic Acid, and Madecassic Acid (aka 4 of the active ingredients in the extract) listed all the way at the end of the ingredient list. Pros: it doesn't contain any synthetic fragrance. Cons: it contains a number of fragrant essential oils towards the top of the ingredient list. Pros: it contains 5 forms of ceramide as well as cholesterol-- all of which help bolster our skin's moisture barrier! Cons: they're listed further down the ingredient list.
But as I always say, I'm more about performance than I am about ingredients list. And I like how this moisturizer performs! At first, I found it to be just another ok moisturizer, but the more I used it the more I liked it and it went from just okay to really good in my books!
It has a lightweight texture but is surprisingly moisturizing. It does have alcohol in it but it doesn't have a noticeable dry down. Nor does it have an alcohol-y scent nor does it dry out my skin! 9 times out of 10 I'm not a fan of alcohol in skincare but I think because this has a lower amount, it works for me. It also allows me to carelessly slather on an excess amount of moisturizer when I'm in a rush in the morning. With some other moisturizers, this can be a problem cause it will lead to white streaks, a greasy face, and pilling. But because it does have that small amount of alcohol in the formula, my skin soaks it all in without any of the aforementioned issues!
Because it's winter this wasn't heavy enough to be my nighttime moisturizer, but it works perfectly in the daytime. It wears well with oils, sunscreen, and foundation.
One last thing to mention-- it's heavily scented. Like I said, it does not contain synthetic fragrance but it does have a lot of essential oils. Personally, I enjoy the citrus-y scent but if you don't like scented skincare, you probably won't like this.
Tiger Cica Moisturizing Balm
$29.00 via It's SkinIngredients: Centella Asiatica Extract, Dimethicone, Dipropylene glycol, Seawater, Cetearyl Alcohol, Pentylene Glycol, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil, Lemon Peel Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Citrus aurantium dulcis, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Extract, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Cetearyl Olivate, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Sorbitan Olivate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/ Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Cyclopentasiloxane, 3 Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate , Dipentaerythrityl Hexahydroxystearate/Hexastearate/ Hexarosinate, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, PEG 150 Distearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Dimethiconol, Ethylhexylglycerin, C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside, Myristic acid, Arachidic acid, Dimethicone/ Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Lauric Acid, Propanediol, Oleic Acid, Hydrogenated lecithin, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Ceramide NP, Phytosphingosine, Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans, Sodium Hyaluronate, Benzyl Glycol, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Madecassoside, Ceramide AP, Ceramide AS, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide NS, Cholesterol, Asiaticoside, Asiatic acid, Madecassic acid, Hyaluronic Acid, Raspberry Ketone, C14-22 alcohols, Xanthan Gum
Unfortunately, the balm was a flop for me. Mostly because of the texture. As someone with dry/ dehydrated skin, I usually prefer thicker creams but the texture of this was too thick and siliconey for me. In the swatch shot up above the left swatch is of the gel cream and the right swatch is of the balm.
Unlike the gel cream, this did pill when worn with oil. It was also a difficult formula to layer because again, it would pill. It did wear okay overnight under a sleeping pack and with no oil, but it wasn't moisturizing enough for my dry winter skin. Perhaps it would work better as a summer moisturizer.
Ingredient wise it also has a lot of the same ingredients as the gel cream-- ceramides, essential oils, those 4 active ingredients from Centella Asiatica. It also has Centella Asiatica extract as the number 1 ingredient and it compromises 55% of the formula. While the formulas of the gel cream and balm look quite similar on paper, they're vastly different in performance. I think this is a solid example of why you can't purely judge a product on its ingredients and you definitely can't purely compare two products on their ingredients alone. While two products might look similar on paper and might have similar ingredients listed in a similar order, that doesn't mean they can't be complete opposites.
While the gel cream is lightweight and easy to apply. The balm has a weird, clumpy texture that I'm not fond of. While the gel cream is fragranced, the citrus scent is barely noticeable in the balm (despite the fact that it also has the same essential oil blend.)
One thing I do like about both the gel cream and the balm is that they came with spatulas! I wish all products packaged in a jar came with spatulas. I am very much team spatula.
Extra. Extra
They also sent over some of their macaron cheek colors! I'll be reviewing them in my upcoming cream cheek + lip products post 😉 The packaging is absolutely adorable and there's a decent range of colors. Here are some quick swatches of the colors I've been using lately. They also work on the lips!Also part of their macaron collection is their lip balms. I think I like the lip balms even more than the cheek colors. I actually kinda prefer the packaging of them too, because they're all one color. It is a bit bulky but I don't mind because they compensate with their cuteness. It's a lightweight formula that's comfortable to wear over or under lipsticks. It's not heavy enough to wear overnight but it is perfect for daytime wear. They also smell yummy! I would have to say my favorite scent at the moment is pineapple scent. And now I want to eat some pineapple...
Lastly are the cookies and cream hand creams! This was the one product from the brand that I've tried in the past and I like them just as much the second time around. The scents are true to smell. The mint one really does smell like mint cookies and cream ice cream. And the strawberry one really does smell like strawberry cookies and cream ice cream. They also look like cookies and cream as they have little bits that look like cookie crumbs. Thankfully when you work the hand cream in, they easily melt away. It's not the heaviest hand cream but they're good for daytime. If you're looking for something quick to apply while using your phone and laptop (aka things you don't want to get greasy) then this is a fab option. The only downside is that it will make you crave ice cream!
And that's a wrap, folks! Have you tried any products from It's Skin? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on them!
P.s if you want to win some of the products featured in this post, check my Instagram story!
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