Sensitive skin can really put a damper on skincare. You’re always finding ways to keep your skincare routine minimal – just enough to boost skin’s hydration, but definitely not too much so that your skin gets irritated by the many ingredients in your routine.
It’s an easy enough guide but with fewer (moisture-boosting) products, the cost, often, is a compromise on hydration.
Sensitive skin, what’s up?
Daily Vanity’s Melissa has sensitive and dry skin – a tricky combination when it comes to creating a pared-down routine.
“My skin will turn slightly red and red patches will appear on my face quite easily, especially if my skin comes into contact with dust, dirt, or oil. My skin also often feels tight and my face gets oily by midday, which I understand is due to dehydration,” she described.
“When my skin feels extra sensitive, I try to use even fewer products in my routine. Sometimes, they’re not enough to sufficiently hydrate my skin, so my skin feels dry, especially around my cheek area.”
Using a Japanese skincare duo for one week
That was before she tried the SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Pure Conc SS and SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Refining Milk SS.
The SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Pure Conc SS and SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Refining Milk SS are the brand’s new, improved formulations for sensitive skin. Free from alcohol, parabens, dyes, fragrances, and mineral oils, the toner and moisturiser duo are oh-so-gentle on even the most sensitive skin.
Keeping to this simple two-product routine for a week, Melissa found that the Japanese toner and milky moisturiser were, surprisingly, all she needed to put her sensitive skin woes at bay.
If you’re ready to dive into the nitty-gritty of it all, read on. Otherwise, just know this: the SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Pure Conc SS and SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Refining Milk SS didn’t just not irritate the skin, they also helped to reduce her skin’s redness and irritation.
The duo also bumped up her skin’s hydration so that her skin felt comfy (and not dry!) throughout the day.
Minimal skincare routine, check. Soothed sensitivity, check. Hydration? Big giant check!
The SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS experience
If we’re talking minimal, Japanese skincare brand KOSE SEKKISEI makes it clear that minimal is what you get, right at first glance.
The newest SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Pure Conc SS and SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Refining Milk SS bear a simple, stripped-down design bare of prints and you might even miss the raised “SEKKISEI” words on the front of the bottle because they blend right in with everything else.
“I really like the packaging as it looks minimalistic and has an ergonomic design. As the bottles are see-through, I like that I’m able to see their contents and easily identify if the products are running out,” Melissa explored.
“I also feel comfortable holding the products and feeling the cap open and close smoothly.”
SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Pure Conc SS
A toner formulated for sensitive skin, the SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Pure Conc SS is laced with the brand’s original ingredient ITOWA – made from Japanese botanicals, to strengthen the skin’s moisture barrier and prevent irritation caused by dryness.
It’s also bolstered with a special Moisture Navigation Complex, made with Japanese superfoods like rice bran and matcha extracts, to give the skin an intense dose of moisture.
We dipped our hands into confetti to test how sticky the SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Pure Conc SS is on our skin. Before (no toner) and After (with toner).
“The SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Pure Conc SS is pretty lightweight and feels silky on the skin even though it looks slightly thicker than your average toner,” shared Melissa.
“It felt a tad sticky at first but absorbed fast so I didn’t have to worry about my hair sticking to my face.”
“Even though it’s fragrance-free, it has a very, very slight non-floral scent that wasn’t irritating to my sensitive skin. It was an overall pleasant experience!”
SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Refining Milk SS
Also formulated for sensitive skin, the SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Refining Milk SS is a lightweight moisturiser that uses the same original ingredient ITOWA to support the skin’s moisture barrier.
It’s also enriched with a special Moisture Navigation Complex, made from Japanese matcha extract and rice bran extract, to deliver ample hydration to the skin.
“SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Refining Milk SS is thick but slightly runny, and its nozzle opening makes it easy to control the amount I pour out,” noted Melissa. “It’s definitely thicker than the toner but is still surprisingly lightweight!”
Even after layering the SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS moisturiser over the toner, our skin only picked up two pieces of confetti. It was hardly sticky at all. Before (no products) and After (with both products)
“It also absorbed quickly into the skin upon application, which is perfect for my skin that gets clogged easily.
Some moisturising products feel heavy on my skin, but the combination of the two KOSE SEKKISEI products (toner and moisturiser) feels lightweight and non-sticky on my skin.”
Results, really, after one use?
Our skin hydration level increased from 30% to 48% after using the SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Pure Conc SS.
When using the SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS duo for the first time, Melissa’s parched skin got boost of moisture that it needed.
“My skin felt sufficiently moisturised without feeling like there was a layer of product over it. My face also looked smoother, plumper, and there was a slight increase in a healthy-looking radiance too!” she quipped.
Our skin’s hydration level increased from 30% to 51.7% in total, after layering over with the SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Refining Milk SS
When we measured our skin’s hydration levels before and immediately after using the SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Pure Conc SS and SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Refining Milk SS, there was a significant increase with each product.
Minimal routine, maximum hydration
Throughout the week, Melissa used only the SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS toner and moisturiser in her routine after cleansing, once in the morning and once in the evening.
Besides using the toner as a toner – she dispensed it onto a cotton pad and swiped it across her face and neck, she also used it as a hydrating mask.
“I actually used it to create my own sheet mask too. I soaked my cotton pads with the SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Pure Conc SS and placed them on my face in the evenings,” she said. “This helped to soothe my active acne spots.”
Melissa’s skin was much less red and even had a clearer, dewier skin glow after one week.
“My face also no longer feels tight or dry during the day, and it doesn’t look as oily as it usually does by midday. It’s not just less irritated, but also much more hydrated after one week!
I wear a mask when commuting to and from work every day and it tends to irritate my skin, leaving red marks on my cheek area. After one week, the red marks don’t form as easily on my skin.
When I remove my makeup at the end of the day, it usually results in red patches on my cheeks, forehead, and nose. However, I am impressed that after using the two SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS products, my skin isn’t so irritated or tight when I remove my makeup.
Overall, I enjoyed using the two products in my simple skincare routine, and they’re the best sensitive skin products I’ve used for hydrating my skin so far,” she concluded, giving a five out of five-star rating.
Truly, fewer products in a sensitive skin routine doesn’t have to lead to less hydrated skin. With the SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Pure Conc SS and SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Refining Milk SS, we’ll be enjoying our pared-down skincare rituals with just as effective skin moisturising results!
Enjoy great discounts on SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS products during the 4.4 sales!
Snag discounts here!Shop SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS products at all KOSE department store counters, all Welcia-BHG stores, and selected Guardian stores. You can also find them online at KOSE Official Stores on Shopee and Lazada.
The SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Pure Conc SS and SEKKISEI CLEAR WELLNESS Refining Milk SS will be launched at a later date. Check back here to find out where and when you can shop for them!
Featured image credit: @glaglathis/Instagram, SEKKISEI
This article was brought to you by KOSE SEKKISEI.
