Price: RM118.90 in Watsons Malaysia
(received from Swanicoco in exchange for an honest review)
Verdict: 8/10
Repurchase: Maybe
Repurchase: Maybe
Product & Packaging
Swanicoco is a South Korean cosmetic company that has been around since 2005 and prides itself for it's patented raw component and nano-fermented formulations, using natural extracts in it's products. They launched in Malaysia Watson store recently and I was so lucky as to get to try some of the products prior to the launch.
In addition, they matched me with May from the Swanicoco team, who worked with my skincare issues in order to choose some products that would match my skin type better. Seeing as acne is one of my problems, she recommended the A.C. Control line, including the Toner and Emulsion.
The A.C. Care line specializes in acne treatment and it's special formula balances out water and oil on the skin, leaving the skin fully moisturized afterwards. It is made with natural and organic ingredients.
The A.C. Control Care skin emulsion is aimed for people with easily irritated skin, dealing with redness and spot, or teenagers first starting their skincare.
The packaging is really good! Personally, I love these pump designs bottles since it keeps the product sanitary. The glass bottle design does tend to be a little heavy, but kind of adds to the luxury of the product, making me feel extra fancy when I'm using it. :P There's 120ml of product, which isn't much when I first looked at it, but seeing as the bottle is probably going to last me about 7-8 months with once a day of usage, it's well worth it!
Ingredients
Full ingredients list: Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Water, Hydrolyzed Algin, Zinc Sulfate, Butylene Glycol, Heptyl Undecylenate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Isopropyl Myristate, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Erythritol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ceramide NP, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Diheptyl Succinate, Capryloyl Glycerin/Sebacic Acid Copolymer, Glyceryl Stearate, Allantoin, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Azelamide MEA, Lactobacillus/Soybean Ferment Extract, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Cinnamomum Cassia Bark Extract, Origanum Vulgare Leaf Extract, Chamaecyparis Obtusa Leaf Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Artemisia Annua Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Symphytum Officinale Leaf Extract, Helichrysum Arenarium Extract, Azadirachta Indica Leaf Extract, Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract, Glycerin, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Tocopherol, 4-Terpineol, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Cedrus Atlantica Bark Oil, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Polysorbate 60, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer, Arginine
Cosnda has hydrolyzed algin on a 4 as possible acne trigger and irritant. It's actually one of the star ingredients in the toner as well! It's a seaweed (algae) water binding agent that can help condition and hydrate the skin. It contains rich minerals and fatty acids and according to swanicoco, is a gentle exfoliant that can remove dead skin cells and encourage skin regeneration.
Tea tree is a naturally healing ingredient that is widely used to calm troubled skin. I enjoy the smell of tea tree in my products and the inclusion of tea tree in general just calms my acne-prone skin greatly! Tea tree has antiseptic and anti-fungal properties that helps to treat blemish-prone skin. It is also able to reduce oil and sebum production. The product uses tea tree leaf water instead of purified water.
There are plenty of ingredients here that are present in the toner, but there are some that aren't, such as the salix alba (willow) bark extract, which aids in removal of dead skin cells as well as sebum control.
There are plenty of ingredients here that are present in the toner, but there are some that aren't, such as the salix alba (willow) bark extract, which aids in removal of dead skin cells as well as sebum control.
There's nothing else jarring that shows up on cosdna, which is great. ^^ I see lots of plant extracts which can act as anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic ingredients, such as helichrysum italicum extract and scutellaria root extract. Sodium hyaluronate is added as a humectant and is hydrating for the skin.
Swanicoco A.C. Control Care Skintoner & Emulsion Clinical Tests
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| Image Credit: Swanicoco |
Swanicoco did some tests to study the product's effectiveness and found that 50-68% of the subjects (it doens't say out of how many subjects. :( ) answered that it effectively decreased new acne production, sebum control, and decrease greasy skin. In addition, tests found that the skin condition for subjects did not worsen after using the product (which is good, I suppose? XD ) while sebum control improved by 23%. I really like how they mention sebum control, cause that's the biggest difference from using the product that I've seen!
Performance
I've been using this together with the toner and I have to say I'm a bigger fan of the toner than the emulsion. It doesn't appear to add much to my routine and it's claim to be able to control acne isn't as effective as I'd like it to be. I'm still breaking out despite using this in my routine daily, which I know is not it's fault, but does sort of makes it fail a little at the 'acne-control' part of it's name.
However, I have to say it works well as a final layer of my skincare routine. I have oily skin and this helps keep my skin moisturized without being too heavy. It helps with sebum production and is able to absorb into my skin without leaving a residue (as pictured below).
On the other hand, this smells wonderfully of tea tree and absorbs pretty well as long as I'm using a reasonable amount. I've taken to mixing two drops of Olivarrier Squalene Oil with the emulsion and using those two together. My skin's super supple and moisturized.
However, I have to say it works well as a final layer of my skincare routine. I have oily skin and this helps keep my skin moisturized without being too heavy. It helps with sebum production and is able to absorb into my skin without leaving a residue (as pictured below).
On the other hand, this smells wonderfully of tea tree and absorbs pretty well as long as I'm using a reasonable amount. I've taken to mixing two drops of Olivarrier Squalene Oil with the emulsion and using those two together. My skin's super supple and moisturized.
As I mentioned, the product does great at sebum control and also helps keep my skin hydrated without causing additional breakouts. On the other hand, I will have to admit that through no fault of this, my skin condition has worsened. It's a combination of stress and lack of sleep that's causing more breakouts on my cheeks and while this doesn't worsen my skin, it doesn't really help in the healing process either. Still looking for something to help with that, but in the meantime, the toner and emulsion from Swanicoco has been pretty good at keeping the breakouts under somewhat of a little control? I'd experience no pain /stinging applying this on skin that's breaking out, which is pretty awesome. :)
Like the toner, the emulsion is a whooping RM118.90 in Watsons Malaysia, available online and in select Watson stores. It's a little expensive, in my opinion. I will be keeping my eye out on deals though, since Watson does pretty good deals occasionally and will likely restock then!
Price: RM118.90 in Watsons Malaysia
(received from Swanicoco in exchange for an honest review)
Verdict: 8/10
Repurchase: Maybe
Repurchase: Maybe
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