Monday, January 25, 2021

SK-II Not the Essence - Not as essential?

     Serums and oils are essential part of my skin care routine. I have dry sensitive skin, so I tend to use more oil during the winter months. Oil may not be suitable for everyone, so I am just going to talk about my personal experience. 

    The products of my previous blogs are my essentials and have been tested through time. This blog is a review of some SK-II serums and oils that I have tried. I will tell you about other serums next time, so if you are interested, please enter your email and subscribe to my blog!

SK-II Facial Treatment Oil

    The SK-II Facial Treatment oil is one of my favorite oil. My first blog is on the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence, my must-have for the last 30 years. As time went by, my skin became dryer and I needed more than regular moisturizer, especially during the winter months. The SK-II oil is a mixture of both the Pitera essence and oil. One little drop goes a long way, and is sufficient to soothe my dry skin and keep it feeling moist the entire day. However, this is NOT a replacement for the essence! I still use the essence first on the cleansed skin, followed by a toner and lotion. Then comes the SK-II oil and serums. During the day, I further complete the routine with a moisturizer and sunscreen. 

    The SK-II Oil is different from other oils. As pictured above, there are 2 layers. One is their famous Pitera, which my first blog is all about. The other layer is the Nourishing Oil Complex, which contains 6 types of oil - olive, jojoba, avocado, Japanese Riceterol Ester, Rice bran oil and squalane. Before using it, the 2 layers need to be well blended by shaking the bottle. Unlike other oil, the SK-II Facial Treatment Oil feels light, non-greasy and is rapidly absorbed. While writing this blog, I found out that SK-II discontinued the Oil! Quite devastating to me! I do not know and cannot find the reason behind this decision. Fortunately, I was able to purchase my last bottle right before the pandemic. Hopefully, they will have something similar to replace it.

    The other SK-II products are also frequently changed and updated. I used to love their Cellumination Mask-in Lotion, but it has been discontinued for many years, and I have not found anything similar. Their RNA Power Youth Essence and GenOptics Aura Essence Serum are rich and creamy. Besides Pitera, they both contain niacinamide, a topical vitamin B with anti-inflammatory properties commonly used to treat acne. GenOptics probably contain more niacinamide, which can decrease pigmentation of the skin. Personally, I prefer products that leave my skin feeling light and fresh so I am not as excited about these products as I am with others. Olay Regenerist is another product that also has niacinamide, as mentioned in my previous blogs! The RNA Power has also been recently improved and renamed to Skin Power. 


    If you want to pamper yourself, the SK-II serums contain the almighty Pitera in addition to all the other ingredients that most other skincare products have. But since I use abundant SK-II essence with 80-90% Pitera, I feel that I do not need to spend this extra money on their serums. Fortunately, I still have plenty of the now-discontinued SK-II Facial Treatment Oil, while I continue my search for the perfect oil! If you want a bottle of the oil, you may want to go to the departmental store now and see if they still have some in stock. My sister-in-law was able to purchase one recently!

My all time favorite - SK-II Facial Treatment Essence



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