Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner Review

Hola guys, in today's post I'll be sharing my review of Pyunkang Yul's Essence Toner!

This post is actually part of a double update! I also reviewed Pyunkang Yul's ATO Lotion, so if you're interested in reading that too, click here.

Pyunkang Yul is a brand that only came into my radar in the second half of this year. If you guys remember, I participated in Stylekorean's K-beauty Guru contest and received a huuuuge parcel from them:

Pyunkang Yul (I'll abbreviate it to PKY) has a 40-year heritage and their motto is "Makeup was meant to be brewed, not bought". I'm not really sure what that means because you have to buy their products hahaha. Their 3 main principles are: safe, natural and customized.

SAFE:

While most cosmetics have 30-60 ingredients, the average number of ingredients that PKY products have is only 12. Also, for all you CosDNA users out there, most of the baseline products included in PKY products have an EWG grade of 3 or lower, with 55% of all ingredients used having an EWG grade of 0.

Click here to know more about EWG grades and CosDNA!

NATURAL:

Every ingredients included in their products are carefully selected and have removed fragrances and other ingredients that do not have a major function. They aim to relax and soothe fatigued skin with safe ingredients.

CUSTOMIZED:

PKY understands that everyone has different skin types and even offers an online test to find out which products fit you as well as a 1 on 1 consultation on their website.

They currently have 3 different lines: the Basic Line (basic products that can raise or lower skin temperature), the ATO line (for sensitive skin/special care) and the A Therapy Line (for soothing and relaxing the skin and body).

PKY's Essence toner was one of the products that Stylekorean previously sent me, and finally I'm sharing my thoughts and reviews on it! As always, all opinions and thoughts are mine and 100% honest 💕

WHAT IS IT

This product claims to be a nourishing essence toner that moisturizes the skin from within, making it soft and supple.

It's basically a two in one product that you can use as a toner after cleansing that will hydrate your skin like an essence, as well as lower its temperature. 

I mentioned above that PKY has 3 lines, and this product is from the Basic Line. The basic line is separated into 2 categories: Up & Down. Up products help to raise your skin temperature while down products help to lower (cool) it. Apparently according to Korean techniques, it's also vital to maintain your skin's temperature. Since I don't have a skin detector (yet) I can't really comment on this huhuhu, but I'll try and update this post when I get my hands on one.

WHERE TO BUY

This product is available in quite a few versions on StyleKorean. You can either get the full-sized 200ml bottle for $17.76 (~MYR72.48)

Click here to check it out.

The 200ml pouch set (including 11 samples) for the same price $17.76 (~MYR72.48)

Click here for more info.

Or as a 100ml pouch set (including 11 samples) for $12.15 (~MYR49.59)

Click here for more info.

I feel like RM72 for a 200ml product isn't that expensive and is actually in my "okay" range! Plus with all the samples inlcuded the pouch, it's a no brainer that the 200ml set is super worth it!

PACKAGING

The product doesn't come in a box and I can't remember if it came sealed or not hahaha 😅 (I'm pretty sure it did)

When I first got it, I thought that it looked pretty small, but I later realized that it actually has more product that my Therapy First Serum (125ml) from the Face Shop! I think its just an illusion made by the packaging haha. PKY has no extraness, just straight up basic, minimalist and simple.

INGREDIENTS

Like I mentioned before, the average ingredient count in all PYK products is 12, and the Essence Toner only has 7 ingredients. 6 of them have an EWG grade of low and 1 has a grade of moderate.

FRAGRANCE & TEXTURE

This product has a viscous texture and no fragrance.

For comparison, it feels thicker compared to TFS' Therapy First Serum, Whamisa's Organic Flowers Toner (Deep Rich) + Klairs' Supple Preparation Facial Toner (between Whamisa it's only thicker by a tinge).

HOW TO USE

According to PKY, you should use it like a normal toner: and apply it to a cotton pad and sweep upwards.

I use this in 2 ways: as a toner and as an essence patted in. I feel like because the texture is thick, it doesn't really do a great job of removing my dead skin cells/exfoliating my skin compared to a thinner toner. It does help to moisturize it and slightly exfoliate, but I wouldn't use this to double cleanse if I had just removed my makeup or if I was breaking out.

MY REVIEW + VERDICT

At first, I didn't know how to feel about this product because of texture. Although you only need a bit of product to be able to wipe your entire face, the thickness of it made my cotton pads stretch and unravel (lol) and it didn't make me feel as exfoliated as I'd like. Sure you can scrub harder and get residue off of your face, but I could easily remove that with a thinner toner like TFS' Dr. Belmeur Toner or Kiehl's Calendula Toner.

However, after switching to thicker and sturdier cotton pads + trying it more, I have to say that I'm a big fan of the hydrating properties of this toner. It really is plumping and soothing to the skin! It doesn't feel uncomfortable and it didn't break me out, but I could literally feel the moisture and softness when I touched my skin. I tried patting in 2 drops of this product into my skin after toning it and it felt even better! (I can't give you guys stats on how hydrating it is because I don't have a skin detector...yet 😢)

As for the skin temperature, I was scared since it said it would raise the skin's temperature (I was expecting it to be hot lol) but funilly enough, its actually feels cooling and soothing upon application.

Overall I think this product is worth it. If you're super dry you'll be hydrated (but it depends on how dry you are) but if you're oily like me, you'll enjoy cooled, soother and moisturized skin all day long.

WILL I REPURCHASE?

For the price and the quality, definitely yes! I love their philosophy and the overall hydrating effects of this toner. Since only a bit of product is needed, I feel like my 200ml bottle will last quite a while. Once it finishes I'm definitely getting another bottle!

And that was it for my review of Pyunkang Yul's Essence Toner! If you guys are interested in reading my review on PKY's ATO Lotion, click here!



I hope you guys found it interesting and informative. As always, thanks for reading and see y'all in the next post!