Over the previous couple of years, I’ve developed a reasonably critical dependancy to gel lotions. I typically have not less than a few gel lotions open and in energetic rotation in my on a regular basis skincare routines, as a result of now that my pores and skin is totally adjusted to my very excessive (0.14%) Curology tretinoin prescription, I don’t want heavier lotions for day. I generally even want gel lotions to richer moisturizers at evening. And gel lotions are in all places today. In actual fact, COSRX simply launched a brand new one, the COSRX Balancium Consolation Cool Ceramide Soothing Gel Cream.
One in all my favourite product varieties, from one among my favourite manufacturers? In fact I’d need to evaluation it. I’ve had the brand new product in my arms for some time now. I’m prepared.
The product featured on this submit was offered at my request by the model. This submit could comprise affiliate hyperlinks, which allow me to earn a small fee on purchases made by clicking the hyperlinks. Affiliate hyperlinks are marked with an asterisk(*).
However first, for these of you newer to what’s good in skincare today…
To outline the time period, I’m simply going to cite my very own e book*, the place I outlined gel lotions within the Regular Pores and skin part of the moisturizer chapter:
The water and humectant content material in gel lotions tends to be increased in comparison with its fatty content material than in conventional cream moisturizers, and gel lotions typically use extra silicones than oils or plant butters for his or her emollient content material. This makes them extra light-weight than lotions, although with the flexibility to supply a big quantity of moisture. Pores and skin that’s dehydrated however not too dry typically does nicely with gel cream moisturizers.
My pores and skin is regular today however does finest with a number of hydration, so gel lotions work very nicely for me.
The Consolation Cool Ceramide Soothing Gel Cream is a brand new addition to COSRX’s Balancium line, which launched with the Balancium Consolation Cream again in 2018. (Regardless of having nearly reverse pores and skin varieties and issues, each my good good friend Tracy at Fanserviced-B and I got here to the identical conclusion in regards to the Balancium Consolation Cream. We discovered it unremarkable and even unsuitable when our pores and skin was in good condition however splendidly replenishing when our pores and skin was already struggling–in her case, from Accutane use, and in my my case, from eczema flare-ups.)
Just like the Balancium Consolation Cream, the Consolation Cool Ceramide Soothing Gel Cream accommodates ceramides and centella asiatica extract, a mix that ought to theoretically assist restore and strengthen a broken pores and skin barrier whereas calming and therapeutic irritation. In contrast to the Balancium Consolation Cream, the Consolation Cool Ceramide Soothing Gel presents these potential advantages in a a lot lighter base and with further results added.
Function: The COSRX Consolation Cool Ceramide Soothing Gel Cream is a light-weight moisturizing product that claims to assist restore and strengthen broken pores and skin obstacles whereas cooling and soothing irritation.
Finest fitted to: Regular to oily pores and skin varieties.
Don’t use if: Your pores and skin has points with silicones, fatty alcohols, tea tree oil, aromatic important oils like bergamot and rosewood, or anything within the elements checklist.
When and methods to use: Apply after any toner, essence, and serum steps in your morning or night skincare routine (or each). If utilizing within the morning, let it dry down for a couple of minutes earlier than continuing to sunscreen and/or make-up. (In the event you’re not sure about what order to make use of merchandise in your routine, my e book or this weblog submit could assist.)
COSRX Consolation Cool Ceramide Soothing Gel Cream elements: Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Squalane, PCA Dimethicone, Phenyl
Trimethicone, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Polyglycerin-3, Dipropylene Glycol, Ceramide NP, Betaine, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Hydroxyacetophenone, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Sodium Polyacrylate, Xylitol, Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, Polyisobutene,
Polyquaternium-51, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Disodium EDTA, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Sorbitan Oleate, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract, Menthyl Lactate, Ethyl Menthane Carboxamide, Methyl Diisopropyl Propionamide, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Centella Asiatica Leaf Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Water, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Chamaecyparis Obtusa Water, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wooden Oil, Tocopherol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Allantoin, Panthenol, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Phytosphingosine, Ldl cholesterol, Ceramide NG, Ceramide NS, Ceramide AP, Ceramide AS, Ceramide EOP
Notable elements: So let’s discuss ceramides.
Ceramides are naturally occurring lipids that play a central function within the integrity of the pores and skin barrier, serving to to “waterproof” pores and skin in order that it retains its pure moisture and extra successfully repels exterior micro organism and different irritants and contaminants. The significance of ceramides to pores and skin barrier perform is why you’ll discover them in just about any product marketed as barrier-repairing, together with COSRX’s Balancium line.
Ceramides themselves aren’t essentially the important thing, nonetheless. There’s analysis suggesting that particular ratios of ceramides, ldl cholesterol, and free fatty acids work extra successfully to restore a broken barrier. With most commercially bought skincare merchandise, we will’t know the ingredient ratios. However we will not less than search for the presence of all three forms of ingredient. The unique Balancium Consolation Cream doesn’t comprise ldl cholesterol. The Consolation Cool Ceramide Soothing Gel Cream does, and it additionally accommodates phytosphingosine, making it extra seemingly (on paper) to speed up barrier restore.
Again within the model’s early days, COSRX was recognized for the simplicity of its formulation. Because the model has expanded each its attain and product traces, nonetheless, it’s stepped away from its previous minimalistic formulation philosophy. Alongside the ceramides, ldl cholesterol, and phytosphingosine within the Consolation Cool Ceramide Soothing Gel, they’ve additionally added squalane, betaine, allantoin, and panthenol. These elements are nicely supported for anti-inflammatory, anti-irritation, and normal protecting results. Tea tree oil, aloe leaf juice, and centella, ginger root, and licorice root extracts present extra potential calming energy. Peppermint extract and derivatives contribute the cooling impact touted within the product’s title.
I keep in mind being disconcerted by the truth that the Balancium Consolation Ceramide Cream was scented. It was the primary fragranced COSRX product I’d tried (and might need been the primary one to comprise added scent!). Like that product, the Consolation Cool Ceramide Soothing Gel Cream is fragranced. Bergamot and rosewood oils give it a mushy, vaguely citrusy scent. It’s not strongly fragranced, and I discover the scent nice, however I agree with these of you who’ve identified that placing perfume in merchandise marketed for delicate or broken pores and skin is an odd alternative.
(Significantly, why? I really feel like I see aromatic important oils in a lot of supposedly delicate skin-friendly merchandise, when truly aromatic EOs are sometimes irritating, even when they arrive from vegetation which are purported to be calming.)
Anyway. The scent isn’t an issue for me, however maintain it in thoughts should you suspect it could possibly be for you.
Efficiency
In the event you’ve used just a few gel lotions, you then’ll know that it’s a surprisingly numerous class. Some gel lotions are so watery and light-weight that they barely depend as moisturizers. For instance, I wouldn’t advocate the COSRX Hydrium Inexperienced Tea Aqua Soothing Gel Cream* for any however essentially the most oily pores and skin, as a result of it should disappear proper into pores and skin and barely depart a hint behind. Mizon’s basic Snail Restoration Gel Cream* feels extra substantial, however in a siliconey method, leaving a easy floor with out including a lot moisture; for me it’s nearly like a lightweight make-up primer moderately than a moisturizer. On the opposite finish of the spectrum in each worth and results, Amorepacific’s Time Response Pores and skin Reserve Gel Creme* has that distinctly silky, hydrating gel cream consistency however packs a outstanding quantity of hydration and emollient moisture into a little bit smear of product. (It’s $450, so it’s factor it truly is particular.)
COSRX Consolation Cool Ceramide Soothing Gel Cream falls someplace in the midst of the spectrum however leans extra in the direction of the extremely moisturizing finish of the style.
It’s thick, dense, and easy, with a considerable really feel to it. I discovered the cooling impact noticeable however delicate. On my pores and skin, it simply feels refreshing, like a contact of cool water, moderately than minty in the best way {that a} stronger menthol product would. (As somebody who typically makes use of White Flower Oil* and even Tiger Balm* on my temples and brow after I get complications, I’m intimately accustomed to the havoc {that a} increased dose of menthol can wreak on pores and skin.)
The Consolation Cool Ceramide Soothing Gel Cream offers precisely sufficient moisture to maintain my pores and skin supple and completely satisfied on a standard pores and skin, regular humidity day. It comes via nicely when my pores and skin is feeling drier than normal as a result of climate or a little bit an excessive amount of exfoliation, too. I’ve been exfoliating a little bit greater than normal these days as a consequence of plans to evaluation a few peeling gels within the subsequent few weeks, and though peeling gels are among the many mildest exfoliants round, utilizing them nearly daily in an effort to search out my private restrict signifies that my pores and skin has been feeling thinner than normal. I haven’t gone far sufficient to trigger critical injury to my barrier (but), so I can’t converse to how nicely this moisturizer would heal up extra extreme issues, however I’ve discovered it reliably comforting when my pores and skin is edging into the hazard zone. As a bonus, it does calm my occasional delicate irritation and sensitivity nicely.
Since this can be a lighter product, I most frequently use it within the morning, below sunscreen. Regardless of being on the extra moisturizing facet for a product of this sort, it dries down rapidly and utterly for me, with no sticky residue, making it tremendous handy for a rushed morning routine.
Just like the Mizon snail gel cream I discussed earlier, the Consolation Cool Ceramide Soothing Gel Cream has a reasonably distinguished silicone element. The silicones permit it to behave nearly like a hydrating primer–it seems to be and feels nice below sunscreen and make-up. In contrast to the Mizon snail gel cream, nonetheless, the moisture this product offers lasts all day; I don’t really feel dry by the point I’m able to do my night routine.
Conclusion
General, I’m a fan. I’ve discovered myself reaching for the Consolation Cool Ceramide Soothing Gel Cream extra typically than most of my different daytime moisturizers. It’s obtained the correct quantity of moisture for my pores and skin, appears to supply some further assist for my pores and skin barrier after I’m being a bit onerous on it, and performs nicely with different merchandise each beneath and on high. I nonetheless suppose including aromatic important oils to a “repairing”-type product isn’t the very best transfer, since that may disqualify it for many individuals whose pores and skin barrier injury makes them extra delicate to these forms of elements, however I’m glad that isn’t an issue for me.
Score: 4/5
1 – This must be taken off the market, or this failed at its one major job.
2 – Brought on me some issues or doesn’t work very nicely; wouldn’t purchase once more.
3 – Meh. Neither nice nor unhealthy.
4 – Fairly good. Would purchase once more except I discover one thing higher.
5 – I’ll by no means be available in the market for a alternative except this one is discontinued.
The place can I purchase COSRX Consolation Cool Ceramide Soothing Gel Cream?
This product simply launched, however you may already discover it at:
