[ENG] K-Beauty Review: Pyunkang Yul Mist Toner + Moisture Cream

Pyunkang Yul has become one of the most talked-about Korean skin care brands this year, and thanks to German K-beauty store Lovemycosmetic, I finally got to try out two of their cult products°: the Pyunkang Yul Mist Toner and the Pyunkang Yul Moisture Cream. Are they really worth the hype? Find out in today’s K-beauty review!

I have been following the Korean skin care brand Pyunkang Yul for a while now, lusting after the contemporary, stylish packaging and the minimalist formulations based on ancient herbal remedies. Thus, I was excited to hear that their products are now available here in Germany, via the online K-beauty shop Lovemycosmetic.

The lovely people at Lovemycosmetic sent me two Pyunkang Yul products for review purposes:

• Pyunkang Yul Mist Toner, 200ml
• Pyunkang Yul Moisture Cream, 100ml

I will let you in on my opinions regarding each product separately in a short while, but first – a few words about the brand Pyunkang Yul.

Pyunkang Yul – Ancient Herbal Medicine Meets Contemporary Skin Care Knowledge

Pyunkang Yul is a skincare brand developed by the Pyunkang Korean Medicine Hospital in Seoul, also known as “Oriental Medicine Clinic”, a health clinic specialising in ancient herbal remedies based on traditional Korean medicine. The clinic founder has a strong research background in treating atopic dermatitis and other skincare diseases, as well as respiratory illnesses.

Thus, it is no surprise that Pyunkang Yul skin care products are designed to be especially gentle and well-tolerated even by people with eczema, dermatitis, rosacea and allergies. The focus lies on creating skin care products with effective, minimalist and gentle ingredients, while leaving out potentially harmful ingredients such as alcohol or fragrance.

Most of the products are free of any fragrance or essential oils, though I believe the Moisture Serum contains lavender and some citrus oils. Two of the herbal “star ingredients” featured in many of the products are “coptis japonica root extract”, which is said to have anti-inflammatory, skin-soothing properties, and “astragalus root extract”, a herbal extract said to exhibit potent anti-oxidant properties and possibly be able to boost skin suppleness.

Animal friends and vegans will be happy to hear that Pyunkang Yul is also a cruelty-free brand, which – from what I  have heard so far – does not sell their products in China due to a strict anti animal testing policy.

Pyunkang Yul Mist Toner – My Review

If you listen to my K-beauty podcast (and you should absolutely listen to my podcast, guys!), you already know how I feel about this mist toner, but let’s do this step by step…

First, a look at the list of ingredients for the Pyunkang Yul Mist Toner:

“Coptis Japonica Root Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate.”

Short and sweet, right? Only 5 ingredients and three of those highly moisturising and soothing: the aforementioned coptis japonica root extract, which, according to Pyunkang Yul, makes up 92% of the overall formulation, glycerin, and hyaluronic acid. So, just from looking at the ingredients, this should be a highly moisturising and hydrating toner!

The Mist Toner is scent-free and altogether very simple – something that speaks for the brand and shows how great the products could potentially be for those of you with allergies or intolerances. Unlike the thicker texture of the highly popular Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner, the Mist Toner has a more liquid, water-like texture.

The toner comes in a sturdy blue plastic bottle with a plastic spray nozzle.  It can be sprayed directly onto the skin either for your daily toner step or as an in-between mist if you suffer from dryness or dehydration. My skin is more on the oily side overall, but the drawn-out winter weather has been leading to strong dehydration and tightness. Thus, I reach for hydrating mists constantly throughout the day!

I’ve used the Pyunkang Yul Mist Toner both as a toner as well as a mist these past weeks, and even tried using it for the 7 Skin Method, layering it a few times to test its promised hydrating effect. And…well, what can I say? This just didn’t really impress me the way I had hoped.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this overall as a quick burst of hydration. On my podcast, I compared the effect of the Mist Toner to that of a thermal water spray such as my beloved Avène Thermal Spring Water Spray (buy at Amazon US* or Amazon DE*), which I adore on a hot day. However, the hydrating effect isn’t very long-lasting, nor does it seem to do much else for my skin. The drops of liquid bursting from the spray nozzle are also quite large overall, so this does not work over makeup, and has a tendency to run down my face in droplets.

I don’t know guys… This just wasn’t what I had hoped for, I guess. I don’t feel it does much more than provide quick, short-term hydration, but for that it seems overpriced since a simple 8€ thermal water spray from a pharmacy or drugstore can pretty much do the same, and with a finer spray mist. As an actual toner, this product definitely does not provide enough moisture, and for an in-between mist, it can’t really compete with all the other great facial mists that Korean brands can offer. My current favourite face mist, the Benton Honest TT Mist,* gives me amazing dewiness and makes my skin look instantly plump and fresh – this is basically what the Pyunkang Yul Mist Toner had to compete with, and it didn’t really manage to dethrone my current darling.

So, the bottom line is: I love the general idea of this mist toner, but it did not wow me like I had hoped it would. If you are interested in the Pyunkang Yul Mist Toner, Lovemycosmetic sells the 200ml bottle for 18,95€.

Pyunkang Yul Moisture Cream – My Review

This cream comes in a pretty large glass jar with a content of 100ml, double what you usually get. There is a little spatula added inside the packaging for a hygienic way to scoop out the product. The lid has a tendency to not fully close unless you apply pressure, which does annoy me sometimes.

I was unsure if the Pyunkang Yul Moisture Cream would be right for my skin type – oily combo skin – because it seemed quite rich at first glance. This moisturiser has a rather beautifully simplistic formulation that appealed to me despite my hesitations.

Here is a full list of ingredients for the Pyunkang Yul Moisture Cream:

“Coptis Japonica Root Extract, Butylene Glycol, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Isohexadecane, 1,2-Hexanediol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Polysorbate 80, Glyceryl Caprylate.”

This moisturiser is free from any fragrance, essential oils or alcohol denat./ethanol. It contains a number of nourishing and deeply hydrating ingredients such as jojoba oil, fatty alcohols and shea butter. Except for the coptis japonica root extract, this is also free from any “exciting” ingredients, so I wasn’t sure if this would maybe bore me a little bit.

The texture of the Pyunkang Yul Moisture Cream is, at first glance, quite thick, but this is somewhat of a wrong impression. Once you apply the cream, it instantly melts into this lovely, milky and actually quite lotion-like texture that I enjoyed immensely!

Pyunkang Yul advertises this cream as mild enough even for baby skin, and I can totally attest to how wonderfully gentle this is (though I did not test this on baby skin, obviously!). Truly, I think this would be an ideal moisturiser for sensitive skin types, especially those on the drier side. For my oily skin, this worked well as a nighttime moisturiser during colder weather, but it may become a tad too rich once the warmer weather sets in. The Moisture Cream does need a little bit longer to sink into the skin compared to other creams I’ve tried, but not annoyingly long. I found this to be mild enough to use even on my under eye area, which is a rarity since the skin around my eyes is hyper sensitive!

All in all, I can really recommend the Pyunkang Yul Moisture Cream, even though it may not be as “sexy” as some of the other Korean moisturisers I have tried. This delivers straight up, no frills hydration and intense nourishment without feeling too rich or heavy. I adore its simplicity and will surely continue to use this whenever my skin feels a bit overwhelmed. Actually, I have a feeling that this will be a great remedy to soothe and slightly cool down skin that has been exposed to the sun for too long! Just slather it on a bit thicker than usual overnight as a sort of sleeping cream treatment!

You can buy the Pyunkang Yul Moisture Cream at Lovemycosmetic for 30,95€.

Pyunkang Yul – the Bottom Line

I’m really glad that Pyunkang Yul products are now available in Germany, and at a relatively fair price. Even though the Mist Toner didn’t quite impress me, I absolutely loved the Moisture Cream. The overall philosophy behind this Korean beauty brand and its products furthermore appeals to me, and I look forward to try out more from their skin care lineup.

If you want to try out Pyunkang Yul, you can find many of their products at Lovemycosmetic! I have heard good things about the Moisture Serum and the Essence Toner, which I believe is more hydrating than the Mist Toner.

Have you tried any of the Pyunkang Yul products yet?

Take care, guys!
Sugarpeaches

°PR Samples, provided for review purposes
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