How have I not talked about Origins? It is legit one of my go-to brands when it comes to masking. They are super natural, with a few essential oils tossed in the mix, and really enhance the whole experience of putting on your skin care. This product, in particular, has been a go-to ever since I got it.
The Philosophy
Origin's brand mission is to deliver creative, luxury skin care solutions powered by nature and proven by science. This is seen in their logo, where the 2 overlapping trees show the crossover of nature and science.
They are a brand who are very transparent as to what goes into their products and specifies the origins (get it) of an obscure ingredient - especially if it doesn't sound natural.
The Product
This will be the first essence to launch from Origins (in Australia at least) and boy was I excited to try it. If you're unsure what an essence is, well firstly where have you been, secondly, it is a pre-skincare step that helps to saturate your skin before the application of your targeted treatments i.e. serums. Think of a dry sponge and a damp sponge, which one absorbs water the fastest. If you said the dry one, then you are in need of an essence.
Claims are: It will soften, hydrate, refine, and restore radiance in the skin. You're also meant to see a boost in the skin's texture and radiance as well as a reduction in pores. It comes in an easy-to-use bottle that doesn't dispense too much on your hand. Great for preventing product wastage 150ml, good size. The bottle is also super cute.
The Application
It comes out a little thicker than your average toner. It almost felt slimey, but in a good way like, its going to hydrate and plump. It's also slightly shimmery, LOVE THAT. Definitely got a glow after use. It absorbs amazingly well and you feel a slight tackiness to the skin. I liked that because I felt like my other products would DEFINITELY absorb better.
The Result
After a week of using it, I noticed a suppleness in my skin. It's great because winter is about to hit Australia and my skin can not handle. I also found I needed less of my serums and moisturisers! Overall, my complexion was definitely on the brighter side and complexion was considerably smoother seeing as I was suffering a bit of crackly skin not too long ago. I honestly think its great for all skin types.
The Rundown
Hmm, I've never liked looking at the Origins ingredient list. It has some questionable ingredients that make it hard to tell a customer how safe it is. For example, the second ingredient is denatured alcohol. Yes, this can be a drying ingredient, I find if you use a product with such a high alcohol product, its best to combine it with gentle cleansers. This is so you don't harm your natural skin barrier. I mean, I've used it for a while now and I haven't dried out.
The other ingredients are pretty chill, I love the addition of the Clary Sage oil (salvia scalrea), this has amazing benefits in promoting cell regeneration - particularly for dry/sensitive types, and can be used around the eyes.
The Persian Silk Tree extract (albizia julibrissin bark) are one of the hero ingredients in the product. I wonder how high the concentration is, seeing as it is so low on the ingredients list… skeptical?
Well even if there's so little of it, I wish there was more! According to Future Derm, it can neutralise and detoxify products as they are leading to glycation (a process where there is a high level of sugar in the skin which causes it to react with proteins leading to AGEs. This leads to the body saying, whoa who are you, get out of here, which can cause the skin to become damaged = wrinkles). So, the extract helps the skin repair faster when it starts looking dull and tired. Give me some of that.
I thoroughly enjoyed this product, can't wait to see more Korean inspired skincare in other brands!