IN SEOUL - I can count with one hand the number of times a beauty product totally enraptured my heart. Being a beauty writer means you get to try almost everything on the market way before it’s launched.
Sulwhasoo’s Luminature Essential Finisher was no different. The brand was so confident that this product was going to work, it flew me to Korea to put it to the test.
A brand based on balancing ‘qi’
Sulwhasoo started way back in 1966 when its founder Sunghwan Suh created the first ever ABC Ginseng Cream. Since then, the brand has tapped into the anti-ageing properties of Korean ginseng and traditional herbs, creating a plethora of products that promise to balance your skin’s “yin” energy from the inside out.
But how can you tell that a product really works? Sulwhasoo sent me to its award-winning spa to put the product to the test.
Nestled in the heart of Seoul’s Lotte Hotel, Sulwhasoo Spa is a quiet haven that promises to give you the most luxurious treatment possible. The spa is spacious yet intimate, and I get the feeling that every detail is deliberate and planned. For example, before my treatment began, I was tasked to pick my favourite scent from the brand’s signature collection. This scent then accompanied my entire treatment, which added a personal touch to the experience.
To kick start our journey, I underwent Sulwhasoo’s signature Brightening Boost treatment: A ginseng-infused facial that promised to leave me with radiant skin like never before. Sulwhasoo assured me that this facial was like no other, but to be completely honest, I still had my doubts. After all, the best facials I’ve been to could never make me glow.
The real deal
After being escorted to a private facial room (which was huge, by all standards), I was given a ginseng foot massage. At this point, I began to notice that the room was filled with the same scent I had picked earlier. Coincidence? Probably not.
Unlike facials in Singapore where rooms are filled with nifty gadgets and machines, Sulwhasoo’s spa was minimalistic to say the least. There were no equipment to help with exfoliation or steamers to open up pores. The brand relied heavily on its own products to rejuvenate the skin - and I have to say that it worked.
The brand’s concoction of ginseng products was carefully layered onto my skin in between massages. This meant that my skin was given enough time to rest between products, while also ensuring that my face wasn’t being massaged the whole time.
At the end of the whole facial, the therapist gently applied a generous dose of Sulwhasoo’s Luminature Essential Finisher, and I couldn’t wait to see what I looked like in the mirror.
The true game changer
Sulwhasoo’s Luminature Essential Finisher literally made my skin glow. It wasn’t just the blissful short lived glow we sometimes get from good facials, it was a glow that lasted the entire afternoon. One that you get from a great facial.
Let me prove my point by posting a photo of myself without makeup (with the rest of the glowing media) when we went for the Sulwhasoo’s Luminature Essential Finisher’s event in the afternoon.
All of us glowing. I'm the girl with the squinty eyes and sunnies on her head.
I tried to prod the Sulwhasoo R&D team behind the secret of this product, but no matter how I asked my questions, they just didn’t budge. Sulwhasoo has managed to use the modernity of science to bring out the best in traditional Korean medicine. The result is truly spectacular.
Sulwhasoo Luminature Essential Finisher, $112, is available at Sulwhasoo counters. For more information, visit www.sulwhasoo.com.sg and follow the brand on Facebook.