[Review] Cosrx Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol

Price: $14.30 on bbcosmetic

(Use affiliated coupon: C10T190S3 for 8% off) 
Verdict: 9/10
Repurchase: Yes

Price, Shop & Product

I received this Cosrx Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol from  BBCosmetic in exchange for an honest review a while back but all thoughts are my own, as always. ^^ It's $14.30 per piece but you can get it for $13.10 after the 8% discount code (C10T190S3  applied during checkout). For those of you unaware with the free international shipping store, check out my review of them here.

I've actually gotten through 2 bottles before I decided this is one of the things that I'm very likely to repurchase a 3rd time, but at the same time I'm still keeping my eye out for something that works even better. More on that later.

This is a toner that is aimed at solving skin troubles with a combination of AHA, natural BHA, and natural  moisture-retention ingredients. It can be used as a hyrating and preping step as a gentle chemical exfoliator, or repaire breakouts and clear dead skin and impurities. 

Packaging, Ingredients & Directions

This came in a white box that was very no-nonsense and down-to-earth, with ingredients, application methods, and purpose all written politely over it in black. The pump jar inside is white and non-transparent. I really like Cosrx's packaging of products. Their dispenser, cover, and container are all meant to be sanitary and easy to use.  However, the dispenser for this A-sol seems to be trying to get me to waste as much product as possible, squirting out and missing my fingers/pad and spilling all over the place if I'm not careful. Lol.

Ingredients: Propolis extract, alcohol, butylene glycol, sodium lactate, lactic acid, water, glycolic acid, betaine salicylate, sodium hyaluronate, panthenol, allantoin, cassia obtusifolia seed extract, 1,2-hexanediol, ethyl hexanediol, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) leaf oil

The only possible acne trigger is the butylene glycol, with cosdna pretty much loving the other ingredients. ^^ Do note that this is one of the few Cosrx products that does contain alcohol, so if you're sensitive to that, it's best to avoid it. Personally, I like having alcohol in my products since it speeds up product drying.

Propolis is the main attraction here, with Cosrx claiming to obtain this from black bee propolis. Propolis is used as a sealant in the  bee's hive to protect the colony from viruses, diseases and other outer intruders. In the hive, it acts to inhibit fungal and bacterial growth.  In skincare, propolis acts to supply necesssary oil and moistures, along with trouble care. 

The 60% black bee propolis extract is great for calming skin. Propolis acts to supply necessary oil and moisture, along with trouble care as it known to have antimicrobial properties.

A combination of natural BHA+ AHA is able to dissolve dead skin cells that clogs up pores and cause skin troubles. Lactic and Glycolic acids are the alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) in the product, which acts to remove dead skin cells from the skin. Betaine Salicylate is the beta hydroxy acid (BHA), which penetrates into the skin and assists in unclogging pores.

Tea Tree Oil is one of those things I really love. It's able to soothe and heal blemishes and is a natural antibacterial. Tea tree oil can also be used on it's own (once diluted properly) to disinfect pores and dry out whiteheads, blackheads, pimples, and other blemishes. Used incorrectly and it could actually dry out skin though, so I've never attempted using just pure tea tree oil. 

Directions: This is applied directly after cleansing on troubled areas as a spot treatment. I've taken to applying this before any other products using a cotton pad on my break out spots. ><

Texture and Fragrance

The reason why I've taken to using cotton pads to apply this is because it's really watery, which usually results me in spilling this all over the place. I use two pumps on my cotton pad and then apply it on my breakout areas. Or when I feel like I'm going to break out (pre-periods), I'll apply this to my entire face.

It has a faint tea tree scent that I'mactually quite fond of? I think people over at /r/AsianBeauty kinda hates the scent but I don't find it lasting enough to bother me. It dries almost immediately upon application and unless I'm sniffing this from the bottle like a... Cosrx-scent-addict, I don't usually pick up the smell at all.

Performance

This Cosrx A-sol is marketed as a spot-treatment and for that, it's really the most amazing thing I've ever used. If I feel a particularly painful acne is developing, I'll dab a bit of the A-sol on the spot and it'll calm down over the next few days instead of coming to head, which is a god-send considering how bad my pimples tend to scar.

On the other hand, I've been getting less and less of those pimples and just more cc's instead of cystic acnes that I find myself reaching for this less and less. It calms down painful pimples, but it doesn't exactly make the spots disappear. I'll end up with cc's on my face that just. doesn't. leave.

I love this product. It works, but somehow, it just doesn't finish the job completely, leaving bumps on my face that just keeps adding, hence the -1 point. I wish I could give this a perfect score since it's worked better than anything I've ever tried, but ugh. So close. 

As things are right now, I'm looking to get rid of the cc's on my face as hard as I can, but I'll still keep a bottle of this handle for those occasional painful pimples to keep them from developing. :)

Price: $14.30 on bbcosmetic

(Use affiliated coupon: C10T190S3 for 8% off) 
Verdict: 9/10
Repurchase: Yes

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