Today I’m reviewing Oseque Oxygen Mask Cleanser. This is a best-seller in South Korea, and Koreans are obsessed with skincare, so I was very excited to try it out. It’s also been endorsed by Korean actress Lee Ah Hyun, From what I’ve gathered, when a Korean actress endorses something, the Asian beauty world goes crazy (see e.g. BB cream). So this could well be the next big thing!
How to use it:
– Apply thin layer to dry face (it’s supposed to remove makeup)
– Let it foam by itself for a bit over 10 seconds (the foam is oxygen gas bubbles generating)
– Rub it around for 30 seconds
– Rinse
This is what it looks like after spreading and foaming:
At first I was a little hesitant about the oxygen bubbles. Theoretically they flush out your pores, oxygenate your skin and kill anaerobic bacteria…but y’know, oxidation. This was the first time I’d heard of oxygen gas-based skincare, so I’m not entirely sure how it’s supposed to work and how nicely they play with antioxidant skincare (the academic research all focuses on oxygen in wound healing), but there are a handful of them on the market.
It’s pleasantly tingly and cooling on the face – kind of tickly! The self-foaming aspect was great for avoiding that terrible moment when you realise that you’ll have to scrape the glob of gel off your face with your nails (Nivea Young Visage Wash Off, I’m looking at you). It also doesn’t seem to contain a lot of surfactants, which means it’s incredibly gentle. After washing my skin felt clean but not dry and tight. Win!
It does a good job of washing off BB cream, but even though it claims it’ll remove mascara, I wasn’t brave enough to rub it on my eyes. It also comes in a hygienic pump bottle:
Frustratingly, I can’t find a proper ingredients list for this cleanser, beyond a huge list of active ingredients, which includes vitamins C and E, various botanicals, emu oil, coenzyme Q10, hyaluronic acid, collagen, silk powder, milk protein and green tea extract. These are great ingredients, but I think they’re wasted in a wash-off product. Also, with so many ingredients, there probably isn’t much of each one.
This version of the cleanser also contains Gigawhite, a blend of Swiss botanical extracts which has been shown to lighten age spots and melasma at 5% concentration. I’m not super stressed about my whiteness (my aunts are though, I’m never going to find a good husband apparently, since good husbands all like their women pasty, that’s just how it goes), but I haven’t really noticed any real difference after 3 weeks. Again, since cleanser only stays in contact with skin for a short period of time, I wasn’t expecting a huge difference – there’s also a whitener-free version for those who like their skin brown.
Overall, it’s a very gentle but effective cleanser with barely any surfactants. My skin definitely feels less dry after washing than with my normal regimen. Definitely a good option for dry winter skin!
(Provided for review by Glow and Glamour. Available for purchase from Glow and Glamour – use coupon code labmuffin for a 5% discount.)
how often it should be used?