If you saw my Instagram post about this haul, you’ll know I got over egg-cited whilst shopping in Myeongdong, bought none of the items I went for, and instead came home in a state of confusion (or shell-shock?) with this bag of Too Cool For School products. I can only put it down to being overly happy about my then upcoming Beijing trip to celebrate the Chinese New Year, and thus buying Year of the Rooster themed products. So let’s see how the two foamy products, from the most random haul I’ve probably ever done, turned out…
I tested the Egg Mousse Soap once or twice daily for two weeks, and the Egg Mousse Pack about three times a week over two weeks. I’m still using both.
A Note: Egg in Skincare
Egg in skincare has been a long time trend in Korea, and came back with a bang in 2015, with these Too Cool For School products at the forefront. I keep reading articles in the likes of Allure and Vogue that hail egg extracts as doing everything from pore tightening and removing dead skin cells and sebum, to brightening and firming. I’m struggling to be fully convinced on all of these fantastical properties, as I can’t seem to find any solid scientific studies to back up the big claims (although I absolutely love eggs and think they’re a wonderful food, so who knows?). The Beauty Brains also don’t seem sure, with their responses here and here to reader queries, although these queries aren’t specifically about the type of egg extracts in these products. This Refinery 29 article seemed to have a bit more of a scientific edge about the goodness from eggs…I’m definitely happy to try egg products and see how they work out, but I don’t think I’ll be grabbing anything and everything with egg ingredients, like I do with snail mucin..! If you know of any scientific responses to egg in skincare, or can offer any expertise, please comment below, I’d love to hear more opinions.
Egg Mousse Soap
I usually stay well clear of cleansers that say ‘soap’ and ‘foaming’, because I tend to live the low pH life. But, as it came as part of a great deal, thought I’d give it a go.
Purpose
This is a second step, foaming cleanser. It’s supposed to provide ‘gentle cleansing’ and leave skin ‘smooth and radiant’ afterwards. I’ve been doing my oil cleanse first, followed by this mousse. I apply it to a wet face and massage in, then rinse.
Packaging
As always with TCFS- fabulous. I loved the Chinese New Year theme, particularly because I was getting excited (egg-cited? Okay I’ll stop…) for Beijing at the time of purchase. It’s a fairly large light metal bottle, with a pressurized pump/aerosol type dispenser.
Scent
The scent is like ‘classic soap’. It doesn’t really do it for me, particularly compared to my gorgeous Belif and Su:m37 Cleansing Sticks.
Ingredients (as per Sephora website)
Water, Tea-Cocoyl Glutamate, Palmitic Acid, Glycerin, Butane, Triethanolamine, Sodium Coco Amphoace- Tate, Peg-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Propanediol, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Propane, Myristic Acid, Milk Protein Extract/Extrait Protéine Du Lait, Egg Yolk Extract /Extrait De Jaune D’oeuf, Albumen Extract, Glyceryloleate, Betaine, Coco-Glucoside, Sodium Chloride, Allantoin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Butylene Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Disodium Edta, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance
Texture and Application
Having lived the low pH life for so long, I’m gonna admit- I miss proper foaming cleansers! This cleansing mousse feels so foamy and luxurious. You just need the TINIEST amount (believe me, I had more white beard than Santa the first time I tried it) and it lathers into a gorgeous foam, that feels oh so good on my face. It’s a dense kinda foam. It took me a little while to get the hang of dispensing the tiny amount needed, but overall the texture and application of this mousse is thoroughly enjoyable.
pH
So here’s the problem for me. It came out at pH 7 when I tested it…after learning extensively from Snow White and the Asian Pear about the importance of a low pH cleanser, I really stick with using cleansers below 5.5, and have done for about two years now. But, I like this cleanser, and others that don’t sit in the healthy range. And so the struggle continues.
Performance
I’m fairly conflicted over here. I expected nothing from it, wasn’t that interested, then tried it, and really quite liked it. I love the lathery, foamy texture, I enjoy massaging it in, and my skin feels pleasant and clean afterwards. I would say that needs to be used as part of a double cleanse (not the ‘strongest’ cleanser), but I’d say the same for most cleansers, as I don’t believe one step will ever truly remove makeup and sunscreen completely. It worked very well for me as a second step cleanser.
On the down side, I notice a very slight tightness, compared to my low pH cleansers, and that’s where I’m just not sure I can commit to using it twice a day, every day. I worry about the cumulative results of using a high pH (in relation to skin’s natural pH) cleanser and I think ultimately, I’ll probably use this once a day/every other day/less frequently. I don’t want to totally give it up, but I can’t commit to twice daily. I might also use it as a shaving foam (thanks to the tip from Instagram’s @thelittlestchef a while back who suggested this for high pH cleansers). I more than likely wouldn’t repurchase.
Egg Mousse Pack
Purpose
This is a wash off pack to ‘transform dry and dull skin into smooth and firm skin’. You apply it to a dry face, gently massage for a minute, then rinse with water. It should be used 2-3 times a week.
Packaging
Exactly the same as the soap, but with a few different doodles- I just love TCFS designs.
Ingredients (as per Sephora website)
Water, Betaine, Butylene Glycol, Lauryl Phosphate, Isopentane, Trehalose, Carbon Dioxide, Arginine, Potassium Laureth Phosphate, Laureth-1 Phosphate, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Egg Yolk Extract/Extrait De Jaune D’oeuf, Albumen Extract, Dipropylene Glycol, Potassium Hydroxide, Glyceryl Caprylate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ppg-3 Caprylyl Ether, Acrylates /C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer, Disodium Edta, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Fragrance
Scent
The scent is like a chemically/floral-ish/sweet scent. I don’t really like it.
Texture and Application
It seemed strange to apply a foamy mask to a dry face! It’s a softer, less dense foam than the cleansing soap. It massages in easily, and kind of tingles on skin (not in a burny way, in more of a crackling candy way). It feels pleasant, and after a minute of massaging I rinse it off. The application is really so easy and quick, and a good addition to a shower skincare line up.
Performance
So again an unexpected pleasant surprise- my skin feels so soft after using this. I didn’t really expect much from it, but my face feels a lot smoother and looks a little brighter. Here is a before and after photo, taken about 15 minutes apart in the same spot in my bathroom:
It’s subtle but I think you can see my skin is slightly brighter. Unfortunately you can’t reach into the photo and stroke my baby soft skin (wish you could eh?). So whilst I’m not fussed on the scent, this convenient and easy wash off mask is a great little way to add some gentle exfoliation and give my skin a brightening and softening treatment. Again I don’t think I’d repurchase it, not because it’s a bad product, but because I’m not really blown away or convinced other products can’t do the same thing (plus ya know I’m a skincare blogger, so I’m always trying new things). But I’m enjoying it while I have it, and who knows, it may grow on me.
Overall, these two products are nice! They’re more gentle than I expected, gave me nice smooth skin (particularly the pack), and did their jobs as described. But it’s not love. I’ll enjoy them while they last. Have you tried either of them? Thoughts on egg in skincare?
Watch out for Part II of this haul, where I’ll review the Egg Cream Masks.
