REVIEW: May Coop Raw Skin Care
Some of the most exciting products from The Case Full Of Seoul that I was most excited to try out were the May Coop Raw Sauce & Raw Moisturizer*. Now, one might speculate that it's because I'm Canadian and it seems impossible not to get excited about any product whose main ingredient is maple tree sap... and they would probably be right. Of course, it's less because I'm a huge fan of maple and more because I was intrigued at the idea of substituting the usual main ingredient of water with tree sap.
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May Coop Raw Sauce*
Raw Sauce is a gentle toner, emulsion and essence in one that intensively hydrates and nourishes the skin. What makes Raw Sauce special is that it is made with 93% maple tree sap, skin-nourishing fructan powder (eco-cert certified), and Asian herbal and fruit extracts to achieve the appearance of more hydrated and dewier skin. Perfect for all skin types.
For me, maintaining hydration is pretty much paramount to keeping my skin balanced and healthy, and I've definitely started to see a real benefit in using nourishing toners and essences in doing that - these are probably my favorite K-Beauty types of products. The really interesting thing to me about this one was the 93% maple tree sap, which apparently has a molecular size that's similar to skin and therefore penetrates more easily into it to boost hydration. It's also high in antioxidants, which are important in a well rounded skin care routine.
Let's just take a moment to talk about the smell of this, shall we? ITSMELLSSOGOOD. Initially I did think that this was just the smell of the ingredients, but a peek at the inkie list and I see that it does contain fragrance. Either way, though, I love the smell of this and from an experiential perspective it makes it really lovely to use.
The texture of this product is quite lightweight and thin, a little thicker than water, but as I work it into the skin it feels like it starts to get a little bit thicker and richer while still maintaining that lightness. It sinks in quickly but leaves skin with a light amount of hydration and a subtly healthy glow on the skin. Personally, I do use this the way that I would use an essence, as a sort of boosting humectant step before I apply serums and moisturizers. I definitely do not use this as my main hydration step, but as a boosting type of step.
I find that I really, really love this as a part of my morning skin care routine because it does give me a little bit of boost and glow that makes my skin look healthier and allows me to maintain hydration even if I use quite a light moisturizer, which always makes my makeup look better. With extended use, I don't think I've really seen any significant difference that I would attribute specifically to this product, but I do think it has a great place in my routine and it's a product that I would definitely continue to keep repurchasing. I would recommend this product to pretty much any skin type, but if you are drier I think you might find that this doesn't pack as much hydration as you might be looking for.
May Coop Raw Moisturizer*
The Raw Moisturizer is a unique formula moisturizer that contains a powerful combination of 70% maple tree sap, aloe, baobab tree and cactus extracts that easily absorb into the skin. Leaves skin feeling deeply hydrated and smooth. Perfect for all skin types.
Like the Raw Sauce, this product's first ingredients is maple tree sap and it includes many of the same plant extracts, such as rice, wheat, corn, and soybean. It also contains aloe, which is really hydrating and contains beneficial vitamins and antioxidants, cactus extract, which is also chocked full of antioxidants and and vitamins, and boabab, which is high in antioxidants like vitamin C as well as fatty acids.
I was actually really surprised when I opened this because I tend to expect Korean potted moisturizers to be quite heavy - and in fact, in the past I've had trouble with those kinds of moisturizing creams disagreeing with skin and breaking me out quite profoundly. This is, however, much more lightweight than what I was expecting, which made it infinitely more interesting to me. The texture is that of a very lightweight lotion and as it melts into the skin it reminds me quite a bit of a gel cream, sinking in quickly and leaving behind a lightly glowing and completely non-greasy, non-sticky finish.
Again, this smells really, really nice, though I would say that I find the scent in this to be quite a bit stronger than the Raw Sauce, and a little more perfumey. I do like it, but I wish it was softer and generally don't think I would miss it if this was an unscented product.
Again, like with other pot moisturizers, I kind of assumed that this would be a night cream for me, but I actually much prefer it for daytime. It gives a decent amount of moisture to the skin, but not as much as I prefer for night time use. As a daytime moisturizer, though, this is fantastic. It sits really beautifully under makeup, maintaining hydration without adding any greasiness whatsoever. I would recommend this product to people with normal to oily/combination skin. Because this is so lightweight, I don't think it'll pack enough moisture for really dry skin, but for people like me this is a phenomenal daytime moisturizer.
Before I end this, I do feel like I want to say one thing. Despite what the "Raw" name and the wooden lids on these products might imply, these are not all natural products and do contain some ingredients that some people try to avoid such as silicones, parabens, and mineral oil. Personally, none of those ingredients are an issue for me, but I felt like I would be remiss in not mentioning it since there are a lot of people who do try to avoid them.
Overall, I'm kind of in love with this pairing. Something that's really interesting to me about Korean skin care is that there's such a wide variety of products that utilize so many different ingredients for different reasons, and I think this pair is really solid evidence of that. Personally, I have every intention of continuing to use these products and I've already decided to pick up another bottle of the Raw Sauce, but I suspect I might also grab the Raw Moisturizer.
Thanks for reading!
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