Sulwhasoo are one of those brands that always, for me, feels just out of reach financially. I’ve treated myself to a couple of products here or there, but this high end luxury brand just isn’t sustainable for my budget, and has to be a once-in-a-while treat. My drooling over the products and constant desire to buy, however, has never subsided. Enter K-beauty fairy godmother Jude from Beauty Tap (and Fifty Shades of Snail), who invited me to test and review a selection of products from the site. She gifted me a hanbang queen of products: Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Water. And here I am after over a month of use. Let’s get into it, because we all want to know- is it really worth spending $80 of our hard earned money on a toner?
*Product provided for honest review from Beauty Tap. See my disclaimer page for my policies on PR gifts.
Purpose & How To
This is described on Beauty Tap as a “prestigious toner”. Fancy. It’s purpose is to nourish, as the ginseng water moisturizes and firms skin.
“After cleansing and while your face is still damp, dispense a moderate amount into your palm or a cotton pad. Apply on face and pat in to enhance absorption.”
So the suggestion is to apply this immediately after cleansing, and before other skincare steps. I’m going to talk about my application method later on in this post, because this application advice has not worked best for me.
Product Details & Ingredients
Full name: Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Water
Amount: 125ml
Price: $80 on Beauty Tap
Ingredients (as per Beauty Tap):
Water, glycerin, butylene glycol, glycereth-26, alcohol, betaine, panax ginnseng root water, glyceryl polymethacrylate, Bis-PEG-18 methyl ether dimethyl silane, propanediol, hydroxyethyl acrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, behenyl alcohol, polyglyceryl-10 pentastearate, glyceryl caprylate, fragrance, cetearyl alcohol, acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, tromethamine, methoxy PEG-114/polyepsilon caprolactone, disodium EDTA, xanthan gum, ethylhexylglycerin, 1,2-hexanediol, adenosine, sodium stearoyl lactylate, honey, cetearyl glucoside, beta-glucan, lilium candidum bulb extract, rehmannia glutinosa root extract, paeonia albiflora root extract, nelumbo nucifera flower extract, polygonatum officinale rhizome/root extract, sorbitan isostearate, polysorbate 60, hydrolyzed ginseng saponins, hydrogenated lecithin, phenoxyethanol, caprylyl glycol, dextrin, theobroma cacao (cocoa) extract, potassium hydroxide, acetic acid, BHT, tocopherol
Lots of moisturizing ingredients and botanical extracts here. Also alcohol, which as I always say isn’t a huge concern for me in the amounts in skincare, but be aware if you’re sensitive to it. Here’s the cosdna link for your convenience.
According to Beauty Tap: “The key to this prestigious toner is the trademarked Steamed Ginseng Water Concentrate™. This is a precious ingredient obtained by distilling and condensing the rich moisture and nutrients of ginseng, making it an extremely powerful concentrate. Ginseng water helps provide moisture and firm up the look of your skin. Using their cutting-edge technology and devotion, Sulwhasoo has infused the Steamed Ginseng Water Concentrate™ into their Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Water, gifting us with an absolutely extraordinary toner.”
Packaging
Ugh, stunning. The packaging is so luxe in the heavy weight, cream and gold bottle. It looks beautiful on my shelf, and I’m not going to lie, that makes the product all the more attractive. The dispensing hole is okay, but I do prefer a pump or other, less messy, form of getting the product out the bottle and onto my face. The hole is mildy annoying, but doable.
Texture & Scent
The scent is distinctly hangbang- ginseng ginseng ginseng. If you’re not used to ginseng, it might be worth trying to have a sniff before you purchase, because it’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. Personally, I love it, and always will.
Now, here’s what threw me with this product. The texture. This is not “water”. Do not believe the product name. This is most definitely thicker than any hydrating water/toner/essence that I’ve ever used. It threw me because previous to this I’ve gotten through multiple samples of the Sulwhasoo Essential Balancing Water Ex, which I adore. It’s moisturizing but a very thin watery texture, that immediately sinks into skin and leaves a gorgeous dewy finish.
This Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Water is much thicker than I expected- not watery nor particularly runny. It spreads over skin but takes a long while to absorb, leaving a tacky finish. The tackiness disappears once I layer creams over the top, but it is most definitely a product I had to figure out. I now apply this after watery essences or toners, and before creams. Not immediately after cleansing as the directions suggest. I’ve also largely stuck to using it in the evenings because I don’t have the time nor patience to let it fully sink in in the mornings.
Overall Performance
I am really enjoying it. I sound slightly negative, but I just wanted to highlight that it wasn’t what I expected. I’m using it as a thicker essence or serum, and in that capacity, it’s lovely. It seriously does nourish skin, and after over-exfoliating a few weeks back, layering this product on was much appreciated by my face. It truly helped my skin recover, and it gives an overall bounciness to my skin that is fabulous. It has an elegance about it because of the combined luxurious scent, texture, and bottle presentation.
On the downside, because this is so much heavier than I expected, I can’t really use it in the morning. It’s just too much and takes too long to absorb when I only have 30 minutes to get ready for work. But if I use it overnight I see an added glow and health to my skin in the morning.
Sulwhasoo are known for their anti-aging attraction, but I can’t really comment on this too much. I have a few fine lines, that do plump out when I use the toner. However my anti-aging routine at this point in my life is more preventative, so results are hard to talk about after just one month of use.
Price
Now this is the real debate. Is it worth spending $80 on this Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Water? I think it truly depends what you’re looking for, and how long you’re willing to save for one product.
At this point in my skincare journey, I have a lot of fantastic budget products (brands that come to mind are Cosrx, Purito, The Ordinary). For me, I’m happy now to save for a month or two and splurge on a fancy product too. Sulwhasoo are a brand that I’d turn to for this, because every aspect of their products are luxe and high quality, and I love their focus on Korean hanbang ingredients. This is all completely personal, and with some really great budget k-beauty options, I wouldn’t suggest to anyone that you must spend over $50 for good products, because you absolutely don’t need to.
This particular toner would not be my first choice for my treat pick. When I’m spending $80, I want a product I can use throughout the year and at any time of day. The Essential Balancing Water Ex I mention earlier in the post would work very well for me in that aspect, whilst this product is more limiting. For drier skin types it could be perfect, but for my normal skin, not so much. The Balancing Water Ex is also $55 on Beauty Tap FYI.
So yeah, I am enjoying the product and using it fairly frequently at night- particularly when my skin needs some added rejuvenation. But it would’t be my number one choice when saving for a special purchase.
What’s been your biggest skincare splurge? Would you spend $80 on a toner or do you prefer budget picks? Let me know in the comment section, and sign up to my newsletter to stay updated on my reviews!
