Korean Beauty Brand: Missha and Super Aqua Ultra Waterfull Cream Review

Missha is a Korean beauty brand that focuses on quality and reasonably priced products rather than packaging or "mass media advertising," according to the company's US website.  This brand's goal is to satisfy customers with the products itself, while other brands draw in customers with adorable packaging and celebrity endorsers (I'm a huge sucker for both packaging and endorsers, which is why I'm not too familiar with Missha...).  According to Missha's ideology, quality, lowest prices and customer satisfaction are the main goals of this company.

In 2009, Missha began focusing on the American market, opening stores in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas, and launching the US website www.misshaus.com.  This website is fully functioning in English, so it is very maneuverable for English speaking fans.

The prices definitely are more expensive than other Korean brands, but this company does seem to focus on quality rather than facade, so prices might be worth the quality.

Super Aqua Ultra Waterfull Cream

I received this sample from my purchase as Debbie in Markham Mall.  All of the information on the backside is in Korean, so I researched this product through Missha's US site; here is the link.

The description states that this product moisturizes skin from dryness.  This cream is made from desert plant extracts that survive year-round, supporting this product's effectiveness toward dry weather.  This product's page goes on to list specific qualities of the cream, like how this cream protects moisture from escaping from your skin, it makes your skin more elastic and how baobab tree extract helps to stop your skin from drying out.  Let's see if my face agrees with all of these statements!

This cream is very thick, like a coagulated solid.  The right photo illustrates how even when I tilt my hand to be parallel with the wall, the cream doesn't slip off or even budge from my palm.  The amount in my hand was enough to abundantly cover my face, excluding my forehead and eyelids.  Because of the thickness, a lot goes a long way!  Despite its solid form, once the cream hits my face, it melts on my skin, is very creamy and spreads well.  Also the scent is a very subtle, clean soap smell.

My skin is a combination of dry at the cheeks and oily at the t-zone.  When I apply this cream to my entire face, it leaves a smooth and matte finish that evens out my dryness and oiliness.  I used this as a night cream and when I woke up the next morning, majority of the cream was still on my face and hadn't been fully absorbed into my skin yet.

Pros

• This cream works well as a primer: it leaves a thick layer on your face that takes hours (20 hours later and I still feel a bit on the apples of my cheeks) to be absorbed by the skin.  This layer smooths over my rough spots and blackhead areas and lightens my acne scars like a concealer.  When I apply concealer onto my zits, it looks a lot more natural and flush whereas using concealer on my bare face created an unnatural look.
• As a primer, this cream lasts all day.
• This cream is a great, strong moisturizer for dry skin.  This seems perfect for the cold, harsh winds of winter!
• My face is left feeling smooth and healthy, not oily.
• After 24 hours, my abnormally rough skin is significantly softer.

Cons

• When applied to my days-old zits, the area does sting.

Overall, this is the first time that I really loved a product after using a sample.  After one use, my face feels highly moisturized.  I'd be willing to pay more money for the high quality of this product (roughly $30USD for 47ml).  I absolutely love how this moisturizer doubles as a primer!