Centella Asiatica/Cica is taking the whole skincare industry and community by storm because it’s pretty much everywhere now. Whether it’s from abroad or even western beauty. I just bought a l’oreal revitalift cica and retinol cream recently at the drugstore. Iunik has been in the skincare game for about 2 years now and they’ve grown and expanded a lot from they first started as. They’re still one of my favourite brands to use in my skincare regimine because of their affordability and how excellent their products work for my skin. Alright, let’s dive into the review on this cica gel cream.

Claims

iUNIK Centella Calming Gel Cream is a refreshing and moisturizing oil-free cream that makes the skin clearer and more vibrant.
Enriched with Centella Asiatica Leaf Water 70% and Tea tree Leaf Water 10%, gently lowers skin temperature, effectively soothes and calms sensitive skin with blemishes.
Lightweight gel texture containing 6 kinds of sprout extracts fully moisturizes the skin and helps relieve skin stress, creating clear, refreshed skin in a good condition.
Whitening & Wrinkle Care Double Functional Cosmetics
6 patented sprout extracts
Quick absorbing and acts as an amazing perfect makeup base

Key Ingredients

Centella Asiatica is a plant-based ingredient that has multiple healing properties. The extract is rich with amino acids, fatty acids and etc that can help treat and prevent acne, calming down skin inflammation and promote collagen growth.

Niacinamide is ideal for those with acne-prone and oily skin as it works to minimize sebum production for a more balanced complexion.

Adenosine is a yeast-derived ingredient that has soothing properties and skin-restoring agents. It also has anti-wrinkle benefits due to its ability to energize the skin’s surface creating a youthful appearance.

Hyaluronic Acid is a very well-known and popular ingredient that has some great qualities and benefits such as it can reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and also speed skin recovery. It also is fantastic for retaining moisture in the skin.

Ingredient List:

Centella Asiatica Leaf Water, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Water, Butylene Glycol, Water, Niacinamide, Phenyl Trimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Arginine, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Hyaluronate, C12-14 Pareth-12, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Extract, Medicago Sativa (Alfalfa) Extract, Brassica Oleracea Capitata (Cabbage) Leaf Extract, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Extract, Brassica Napus (Canola) Extract, Raphanus Sativus (Radish) Seed Extract, Allantoin, Centella Asiatica (Gotu Kola) Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract, Adenosine, Ethylhexylglycerin, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Pentylene Glycol, Aspalathus Linearis (Rooibos) Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract

My Skin Type and concerns:

Combination | PIE | Congested | Dehydrated | (Occasionally) Sensitive

How to use: After using toner, apply a moderate amount to face and gently pat until fully absorbed.

My thoughts

There are a lot of beautiful ingredients in this product that are packed with skin relieving properties. I would be curious to know if whether they decide to release a cream version of this because I think it would be amazing for those who have dry, dehydrated skin. This gel-cream is more ideal for those who have combination, oily skin and for those who live in hot climates. I don’t think this would be enough for anyone who suffers from dehydration issues, however, that being said, it is a great gel-cream used as a topical treatment because it does instantaneously relieve the skin from further inflammation and redness does gradually go away after application.

The one thing that really throws me off about this cream is the essential oils. I have developed a sensitivity towards essential oils so I would prefer to stray away from them as much as possible if I could. I personally did not experience any adverse effects when using this product however, I would rather be safe than sorry with my skin.

Be aware that there is also dimethicone in this product and some people are sensitive towards that. I found this gel-cream not effective as a makeup base simply because it pills on the skin and it even pills when you apply sunscreen on top.

Overall

Texture: 4/5 – Comfortable, lightweight gel formula however I just did not like it as a makeup base. As a skincare product, it performed fine.
Scent: 4/5 – I personally did not smell anything, maybe a super faint citrus scent from the bergamot oil but I would prefer to stray away from essential oils because they’re quite sensitizing.
Price: 5/5 – IUNIK products are always affordable and they have a nice range of choices to choose from so that is always nice.
Performance: 4/5 – It worked fine but I cannot say if I would repurchase this. It’s definitely a product I would use specifically for the hotter season but definitely not all year round.
Packaging: 3/5 – I like that it’s in a squeeze tube for hygienic reasons but I also do not like how difficult it is to squeeze product near the end. I’m only halfway through my bottle but it’s like pulling out teeth to get out just some product.
Overall: 3/5 – Not for me but I know a lot of oily skin folks would really enjoy this gel cream and would appreciate it for it’s fantastic soothing and cooling effects. If you’re interested in trying this out, here are the following links to purchase them on.

Use code DORKIE1 at checkout to save on Yesstyle your purchase

Available here: eBay | Yesstyle

Hello, friends! I’m back with another review this week and this is a product I have been using for little over a month now and wanted to hop on here to share my feedback and thoughts on it. I also wanted to thank Jin for sending this to me to try and review for you all.

40 ml ~ price may vary where you purchase
$25 ~ $27

Available on: Yesstyle | Amazon | Style Korean

Firstly, I would like to thank Jin & Sungman from Rovectin for sending over some goodies for me to try. This was the first product I tried out because it really caught my attention. I feel that Hyaluronic Acid was a very popular ingredient last year but this year, I believe cica is somewhere on the top well-loved ingredients in skincare. I mean, what’s there not to love about it? It’s well-known for its multiple healing properties; it is rich with amino acids and fatty acids that can help treat and prevent acne, calming down skin inflammation and promote collagen growth.

Claims

Reduce and calm down skin rashes that develop during the menstrual cycle period
Able to clear skin texture from pimples
Reduce the appearance of rosacea
Reduce traces of skin scarring and troubles during the teenage years

Features

An active “Barrier Repair Complex” hydrates sensitive skin while strengthening the barrier of the skin.
This is free of paraben, mineral oil, artificial fragrance and coloring, and steroids.
This contains Calamine and high-concentrated Madecassoside to soothe and calm skin sensitivity, ex: acne, inflammation, and redness.
The high-concentrated Madecassoside has the ability to reduce and gradually removes skin blemishes while promoting skin cell regrowth for a more healthier, glowy complexion.
Madecassoside has the ability to skin barrier while calming inflammation through it’s potent antioxidant properties.

Key Ingredients:

Calamine – is very commonly found in skin spot treatments. It has soothing and anti-inflammatory effects. The natural pink raw ingredient gives this product that gorgeous hue to it.
Madecassoside – is fantastic for healing and fading the appearance of scars and promotes skin cell reproduction. This is highly concentrated in this product and in powder form rather than the diluted liquid extract that is commonly found in a lot of skincare products.
Barrier Repair Complex – Skin lipid ingredient and reinforces the skin barrier by repairing it and protecting it.

Ingredients

Water, caprylic/capric triglyceride, propanediol, glycerin, sorbitan stearate, stearyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, 1,2-hexanediol, vinyl dimethicone, glyceryl stearate, trehalose, centella asiatica extract, hydrogenated lecthin, arginine, lavandula hybrida oil, madecassoside, lavandula angustifoila (lavender) oil, hydroxyethyl acrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer, sorbitan laurate, calamine, synthetic beeswax, phytosteryl/octyldodecyl lauroyl glutamate, behenyl alcohol, carbomer, glycol stearate se, betaine, cetearyl alcohol, stearic acid, glyceryl acrylate/acrylic acid copolymer, xanthan gum, protease, disodium edta.

My Skin Type and concerns:

Combination | PIE | Congested | Dehydrated | (Occasionally) Sensitive

My thoughts

The first thing I noticed about this balm, was how small it was. I honestly was expecting it to be triple the size but unfortunately, it’s quite small. The reason why I expect more product was because this is a kind of product where you can use as a spot treatment or throughout your face. I really like how there was no noticeable scent to this but if you look at the ingredient list, there are two kinds of lavender essential oils. If you’re sensitive to essential oils, please be sure to do a patch test prior to applying onto your face.

Overall:

Texture: 5/5 The balm has this really faint pink hue to it, it may not be as noticeable on your skin but if you look inside the tube, you’ll see the colour. This is way better than what I expected it to be, I thought it was going to be an extremely thick balm consistency where it doesn’t squeeze out so easily from the tube. I basically expected it to be similar to the glossier’s balm dot coms but thankfully it wasn’t and was more of a soft gel x balm texture. When you apply this on, you’ll notice it has a really pleasant and wearable mattifying finish to it.
Scent: 5/5 It has a very subtle lavender scent, you will barely notice it. As I experiment with more skincare products, I realize I like fragrances but not necessarily in my beauty products; If I can avoid them, I would. They can be potential irritants. Overall, this product did not irritate my skin so I personally had no issues with this. I just wanted to share this for those who are sensitive to essential oils to keep this in mind.
Price: 3/5 This is kind of expensive for my budget and I see this as “premium” skincare pricing for the amount of product that you get. I mean, if you use this as a spot treatment, then you’re set – it will last you for a while before you need to repurchase but if you use this for your entire face all the time, you will likely finish it up a lot sooner.
Performance: 5/5 It does exactly what it claims and says, I have zero complaints about this department. My skin feels so much softer and my breakout inflammation has dramatically reduced after 4 days of continuous use. Sometimes pimple patches don’t the job for me so I’m glad I have a product like this to turn to when my skin is in need of help. The most fragile region on my face has to be my nose; I often blow my nose and product gets wiped off my face so that tends to be the first area that usually starts to crack up and get really dry. This balm repaired and sealed up my broken skin barrier within 3 days of continuous usage!
Packaging: 5/5 It’s super simple but I really like how easy it is to read; It’s not too busy looking and you can easily identify it. I also like how travel-friendly it is. Basic isn’t always bad especially for skincare, I really appreciate when brands make things more easy to use and find.
Overall: 4/5 I’m very satisfied with the results this balm has given me but I’m not quite sure I would repurchase this but I will follow up with you all on Instagram stories if whether I will or not. I think it is worth a shot for those who have skin inflammation where you want to reduce. This is a fantastic spot treatment, I’ve specifically used this on inflamed regions on my face and I can see a remarkable difference the following day. The redness and raised bump gradually gets smaller from continuous usage. I actually prefer this product over the famous cosrx centella blemish cream; don’t get me wrong, I like it but not as much as this balm because this balm offers multi-functional purposes and really did a fantastic job maintaining and protecting my barrier from weakening. I found the cosrx blemish cream left an unnecessary white cast (does contain zinc oxide) on my skin while this balm glides on seaminglessly and looks like my skin. I would recommend this to those who have dry, dehydrated and inflamed skin.