Glow Recipe is my favorite shop for K Beauty skincare. They recently teamed up with WHAMISA a well loved organic K Beauty brand. You knew it was going to be good from just that alone. The Green Tea line I'll be talking about first. There is a second Chai Tea collection I'll talk about second but I just got it in the mail to start playing with. There are four products in the WHAMISA by Glow Recipe collection: Toner, Cleanser, Mask & Moisturizer. I grabbed all but the mask. I'm really picky about my clay masks, as as I feel I've already found the best one that works for me, so I didn't grab it.
"Our first-ever collaboration with Whamisa, one of our most beloved brands known for their innovative organic formulations featuring fermented and water-free technologies, features a full-range routine to balance combination/oily skin with the multi-functional superstar Green Tea ingredient. Each step of the routine was carefully crafted to hydrate, brighten, and refine skin while restoring a natural glow."
I'll start with the Green Tea Foaming Cleansing Gel. Details per Glow Recipe:
The Gist:
An SLS-free cleansing foam that melts makeup and removes pore-clogging impurities from skin for a deep, clarifying cleanse while leaving skin refreshed and balanced.
How it works:
The gentle Whamisa by Glow Recipe Green Tea Foaming Cleansing Gel doubles as a makeup-melter and non-stripping clarifying cleanser. Green Tea naturally balances skin's hydration while clearing pores of dirts and oils, leaving skin feeling fresh, hydrated, and balanced. The SLS-free cleanser transforms from a lightweight gel into a moisturizing and pore-purifying foam.
Free of:
Parabens, Sodium Lauryl Sulfates, Mineral Oils, Synthetic dyes & fragrances.
Directions Take a dime size amount in wet palms and rub into a luxurious foam. Gently massage into skin in a circular motion and wash off with lukewarm water. Finish with a splash of cold water to tone pores.
This is a lightweight gel almost jelly style cleanser. This isn't a traditional gel cleanser, it has some bounce to it like a jelly. If you like Indie Lee Brightening or Rosehip Cleanser this is a very similar texture. This is lighter and thinner in texture than the Glow Recipe Blueberry Bounce Cleanser. You can use it a multitude of ways. You can use it on dry skin then add water, follow the official directions above and mix it with water in your hands than apply, or you can add it to your wet face and then massage in. Any of these ways work and whichever you choose is really just personal preference.
You can use this alone as a morning cleanse as it's great for that. This can also be used as part two of a second cleanse. One of my favorite ways. You can try to use this alone to remove makeup without a first cleanse. That isn't the method I would suggest as this cleanser is light and didn't remove all of my makeup alone. It's light and gentle. You really need an oil based first cleanse to get all your makeup off, then use this as your second cleanse.
The texture is light and bouncy like a gel/jelly. This foams quite well for being SLS free and rinses clean. This will not strip your skin it's very gentle. It has a light clear green color and actually has little green tea flecks in it as you can see below. There is a very slight scent so it's not fragrance free. It's so minimal though you really have to sniff close to detect it. The scent is very light and green tea like. It's clean and extremely minimal.
Next up the Green Tea Seed Toner. Details per Glow Recipe:
The Gist:
A lightweight, skin–soothing toner and serum all-in-one that instantly floods skin with intense hydration, while imparting antioxidants to treat and refine troubled skin.
How it works:
Best suited for oily/combination skin, the Whamisa by Glow Recipe Green Tea Serum Toner has uniquely bouncy, watery texture and is formulated with soothing, anti-inflammatory Green Tea extracts. The water-free toner is perfect for the '7 Skin Method,' featuring Kale and Broccoli to brighten and refine troubled skin with high concentrations of vitamins A and C.
Free of:
Parabens, synthetic dyes & fragrances.
Directions Use after cleansing to soothe and condition skin. Dispense onto palms and gently pat into face. We recommend to use your hands versus a cotton ball in order to fully experience the sensorial texture. Follow with a serum and moisturizer. Try co-founder Sarah's '7 Skin Method' by gently patting in 7 thin layers of hydrating toner in succession for dewy, hydrated skin.
The toner is a light and hydrating with a slightly slippery feel. This has a clear very light green tint and the same almost non-existent scent as the cleanser. You can use this on a cotton square, I love Shiseido cotton, or as an essence and just pour some in your hands then pat all over. This toner is alcohol free and can be layered with just about anything as it doesn't contain any acids. It's a hydrating style lightweight toner.
Ingredients
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Water, Brassica Oleracea Acephala Leaf Extract, Aspalathus Linearis Leaf Extract, Diglycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Extract, Spinacia Oleracea (Spinach) Leaf Extract, Apium Graveolens (Celery) Extract, Algin, Lactobacillus/ Camellia Sinensis Leaf Ferment Filtrate, Spirulina Platensis Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Powder, Brassica Oleracea Acephala Powder, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Alcohol, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Geranium Maculatum Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil
Lastly there's the Green Tea Moisturizer. Details per Glow Recipe:
The Gist:
A lightweight, oil-free, fast absorbing moisturizer that leaves combination/oily skin hydrated and nourished without greasiness or heaviness.
How it works:
Instead of distilled water, the Whamisa by Glow Recipe Green Tea Moisturizer is fortified with a base of balancing Green Tea water and extracts to provide long-lasting daily hydration for combination/oily skin types. Vitamin-rich Broccoli and Kale extracts to brighten and plump skin.
Free of:
Parabens, Mineral Oils, Synthetic dyes & fragrances
Directions Use after cleansing and toning. Spread a pea size amount onto skin in an outwards motion. We recommend to always use a sunscreen or BB Cream with SPF during the day time.
This is a lightweight lotion textured product. This absorbs quickly and is never greasy or heavy. It's not the lightest lotion I've ever used, nor is it the heaviest. It's a medium hydrating lotion with a satin finish that takes about a minute or so to absorb. It has the same scent as the other two products in the line. This is perfect for summer, oily to combination skin, hot and humid climates. You can get away using this outside of those reasons if you layer it with other more hydrating products. Now, if you have dry or mature skin this may not be enough for you.
Ingredients
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Water, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Water, Aspalathus Linearis Leaf Extract, Brassica Oleracea Acephala Leaf Extract, Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Extract, Spinacia Oleracea (Spinach) Leaf Extract, Apium Graveolens (Celery) Extract, Cetearyl Alcohol, Lactobacillus/Camellia Sinensis Leaf Ferment Filtrate, Cetearyl Olivate Sorbitan Olivate, Cetyl Alcohol, Algin, Beeswax, Spirulina Platensis Extract, Brassica Oleracea Acephala Powder, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract
Green tea is an antioxidant helping protect your skin against free radicals. One part of green tea--Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is what's thought to give green tea it's main health benefits. Green tea has polyphenols that has antioxidant and soothing properties.
This line of products is actually available at Target now. There's a few mini sets and the full size products. You can also find it on Glow Recipe's site. I'm not aware of it being anywhere else at this time. It will be hard for my overseas friends to obtain these items for now. As Cult Beauty has recently decided to stock the regular Glow Recipe items (Blueberry Cleanser and Watermelon Sleeping Mask) this may be a possibility in the future.
The packaging is simple plastic and it's priced accordingly. At $22-25 a piece it's pretty affordable. These items are virtually fragrance free as well as free of common irritants so they should suit any skin type, even sensitive. Oily/combination skin types will love this line. Dry and mature skin might have to layer the lotion but should find the toner and cleanser work for their dry/mature skin as they're hydrating, alcohol free and don't strip the skin at all. The products are pretty clean so they should satisfy even the green beauty skincare lover as well.