iUNIK Skincare Review: Vitamin Hyaluronic Acid Vitalizing Toner and Tea Tree Relief Serum
You guys know how much I love Korean skincare, so today I wanted to introduce you to a brand new beauty line iUNIK. Launched by a hugely popular eBay Platinum seller of Korean cosmetics blueprint21, the line includes deeply hydrating and soothing products formulated with high quality natural ingredients. And best of all, everything is very affordable! We’re talking lower end drugstore prices here, people, so you will definitely want to check these out.
I had the opportunity to try two products of my choice, so I picked Vitamin Hyaluronic Acid Vitalizing Toner and Tea Tree Relief Serum.
iUNIK Vitamin Hyaluronic Acid Vitalizing Toner
iUNIK Vitamin Hyaluronic Acid Vitalizing Toner ($16.99 for 200 ml) comes in a tall plastic bottle with a small opening, so you need to shake out the product onto the cotton pad or in your palm. Although it looks like a liquid, the texture is more gel-like than water-like, if that makes sense. It’s like a diluted gelatin that didn’t set yet. When you look at the ingredient list, the #1 ingredient is Sodium Hyaluronate, which I thought was very impressive. I couldn’t believe my eyes, so I looked at the product listing, and sure enough, the ad states that the toner contains a whopping 45% Sodium Hyaluronate. Compare that to 1-10% in most skincare products on the Western market. Have you ever tried a toner with an active ingredient at the very top? If you have, let me know in the comments below!
Aside from being a powerful humectant, this toner is also packed with brightening ingredients and vitamin-rich botanical extracts that address multiple skin concerns. The third ingredient on the list is Sea Buckthorn Extract, which is listed in concentration 5%, and again, that is super impressive to see an actual active ingredient that high up. Other noteworthy ingredients include brightening Niacinamide, which is also known for supporting the skin barrier function; Thuja Extract to soothe inflammation; and Licorice Root Extract, which is a skin brightening botanical.
You may or may not be familiar with 7-skin method, a skincare trend that is very popular in Korea right now. The idea is to apply a moisturizing toner in 7 thin layers to deeply hydrate the skin, and seal everything with an occlusive. Problem is, you need to choose the right toner for the task, otherwise you risk irritating the skin instead. The product for this would be something soothing, with a low-alcohol or no-alcohol formula, little or no added fragrance, and definitely no dyes. iUNIK Vitamin Hyaluronic Acid Vitalizing Toner ticks all of the checkboxes, and yes, I confirmed that it works really well for the 7-skin layering method.
iUNIK Vitamin Hyaluronic Acid Vitalizing Toner is fragrance-free, alcohol-free, and dye-free, so any scent or color in the product is from natural extracts. By the way, to me it smells very faintly like fresh peaches. 🙂
You will LOVE it if:
- You prefer alcohol-free, dye-free, fragrance-free skincare.
- You are on a budget. It’s affordable!
- You have very dry skin. It works for all skin types though!
- You are a fan of 7-skin toner method. It’s perfect for layering!
You will HATE it if:
- You are sensitive to any of the ingredients.
Ingredients: Sodium Hyaluronate, Water, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Niacinamide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Trehalose, Caprylyl Glycol, Thuja Orientalis Leaf Extract, Zanthoxylum Schinifolium Leaf Extract, Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Pentylene Glycol, Aspalathus Linearis Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract.
iUNIK Tea Tree Relief Serum
iUNIK Tea Tree Relief Serum ($15.49 for 50 ml) is advertised as a product that can provide relief to sensitive and irritated skin. With active ingredients like Tea Tree Leaf Water (67%) and Centella Asiatica Water (19.5%), it seems to do just that in my experience. Contrary to my expectations, the serum is runnier and more watery than the toner, but it still feels deeply moisturizing. When I tried it briefly on the back of my hand, the spot where I tested it stayed hydrated all day long and felt different from other areas of my hand [in a good way]. Like the toner, this serum also contains Niacinamide and Sodium Hyaluronate high up on the ingredient list, and also 8 different plant extracts.
iUNIK Tea Tree Relief Serum seems to be a dupe for my favorite LJH Tea Tree 90 Essence, which by the way costs 3x as much. The ingredients are slightly different, so it’s not like a knock-off or anything, but the effect it has on my sin is pretty much the same. And if it’s the same, why pay more? I still have 2 backup bottles of LJH stashed away that I am going to use up, but after they’re empty, I am just going to buy iUNIK from now on.
The serum is fragrance-free, alcohol-free, and dye-free, so any scent or color in the product is from natural extracts [there are a whole bunch of green-toned extracts in here, like broccoli, alfalfa, and cabbage].
You will LOVE it if:
- You prefer oil-free, alcohol-free, dye-free, fragrance-free skincare.
- You are on a budget.
- You have troubled, sensitive, irritated, reactive skin.
- You are a fan of LJH Tea Tree 90 Essence. This one is just as good!
You will HATE it if:
- You are sensitive to any of the ingredients.
Ingredients: Malaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Water, Centella Asiatica Leaf Water, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Niacinamide, Glycereth-26, Water, Centella Asiatica Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycerine, Betaine, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Brassica Oleracea Italica Extract, Medicago Sativa Extract, Brassica Oleracea Capitata Leaf Extract, Triticum Vulgare Germ Extract, Brassica Campestris Seed Extract, Raphanus Sativus Seed Extract, Cellulose Gum, Allantoin, Beta-Glucan, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Adenosine, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Xanthan Gum, Chlorophyllin-Copper Complex.
BOTTOM LINE:
Even though the shop is old school, iUNIK as a beauty brand is still very new, so I would be a little cautious, just in case something like ‘bentongate’ pops up [google it if you want!]. But so far I am very impressed with what I’ve seen. The products are stellar, and I am still baffled how much better they are than a lot of their competitors in the same price range. A major thumbs up from me, and a recommendation for you!
Let me know what you think of these products in the comments below!
