Brand Spotlight & Review: Pyunkang Yul

This product was sent to me by StyleKorean for review purposes. I was not paid for this post but please note that affiliate links are used on my blog. These go towards supporting Oh My Stellar and future content.

It’s been a while since I wrote about Pyunkang Yul but their brand concept is so unique that I’ve yet to find anything else like it. The brand was established by the Pyungkang Korean Oriental Medicine Clinic and therefore has a background in traditional medicine. Their products are formulated with the values of minimalism and balance, as well as the concept of skin temperature optimisation – you can read more about this in my original review of the Mist Toner too.

I’m collaborating again with StyleKorean and Pyunkang Yul again for one of their latest Try Me Review Me campaigns – if you’re a beauty lover yourself, do make sure to check out their website. They’re a trusted and wonderful online store, that spends a lot of time supporting the kbeauty community and creators as well. I’ve been working with them since the beginning of my beauty journey – I am happily both a collaborator and customer!

The products that I’ll be reviewing today are the Essence Toner, Moisture Serum and Nutrition Cream – almost a full skincare routine. I’ve been using these are around 2-3 weeks now, mostly alone except for an additional anti-acne serum (to target my chin area) and I’ve been pretty happy with the results.

All products from the Pyunkang Yul brand boast zero irritation, EWG Green ingredients, and a minimalist formula which is also fragrance and colour free. You can tell that they really focus on clean and simple formulas, which would definitely suit a lot of skin types.

If you’d like to pick these up, hop on over to StyleKorean. Before you do though, lets get into this review!

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Essence Toner | USD$14.90 (Originally USD$21)

My Pyunkang Yul routine started out with the Essence Toner. This is described as a viscuous essence type toner to deeply nourish and revitalise dry skin. It gives skin a dewy and refreshed finish. According to the product description, “Simply patting your skin will result in a gummy sensation in which the skin will react with a high level of elasticity” – which sounds pretty good to me!

This Essence Toner contains a grand total of seven ingredients – the main active ingredient being Milk Vetch Root Extract. This replaces purified water and, due to having smaller particles, is actually able to more deeply absorb into skin. This also allows to maximise efficacy.

I was actually curious about how this would differ from the54 (which is what I previously reviewed) and it’s mostly in the texture. This has a slighter denser formula that a regular toner, so applies with a little bit more slip. It still absorbs well though, so is perfect as a first step.

Packaging

The Essence Toner comes in a deep blue tinted plastic bottle. It’s semi-transparent, so you can see the level of product inside (though wouldn’t know until you poured it out if it went bad). The quality of the plastic is also nice and sturdy – it’s actually difficult to squeeze, so would be safe when travelling. The plastic cap (which you can see above) is okay – it works and I haven’t had any trouble with it, but I feel like it’s a lot ‘cheaper’ than the other components.

Aside from that, the packaging is very simple with a smooth paper label wrapped around it. It has a nice Japanese paper texture to it that looks and feels very luxurious, but is most likely not waterproof. It also scratches easily, as I have a few small lines on it from transit already, but it doesn’t affect it too much.

Overall, I like the aesthetics of the packaging. The quality is mostly nice too and I wouldn’t mind packing these for overnight trips. However, I’m concerned that the cap would snap with longer term use and would prefer if they’d used a screw-on instead.

Personal Experiences

I enjoyed using this toner – the essence-like formula gives a really nice boost of hydration. It fully absorbs within a few of seconds, but leaves skin feeling comfortable and supple. The Essence Toner would be brilliant for both morning and night skincare routines, and is also easy to layer up if you want to do the 7-Skin Method. It gives adequate hydration without affecting make up application.

That being said, I’m not sure that I saw a lot of benefit to this aside from hydration. It helped my skin rebalance oil production and minimised greasiness during the day. When it comes to break outs and other skin concerns though, this formula is not really intended for it.

Here’s the verdict!

SO WHAT IS IT?

A essence-like hydrating toner

RATINGS

• PRICE POINT | 3/5
• PACKAGING | 2/5
• TEXTURE | 5/5
• ABSORPTION | 5/5
• HYDRATION | 5/5
• OIL BALANCING | 4/5

OVERALL RATING? 8/10

THOUGHTS? I’ll definitely be finishing up this bottle, but will probably return to it once my break outs are fully recovered (since it doesn’t target all of my current skin concerns). I like the minimalist ingredients list and texture though, and would definitely be recommending this for people with sensitive skin.

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Moisture Serum | USD$19.90 (Originally USD$29.70)

Following up from your toner is, of course, a serum. This is the Moisture Serum and essentially does what you think it would – it rebalances your skin’s oil levels and also helps with moisture retention (so you won’t be drying out through the day). Aside from that, it also contains Olive Oil and Barberry Root Extracts; the latter which work to reduce the temperature of your skin, therefore soothing sensitivity and irritation.

Similarly to the Essence Toner, this product also uses Milk Vetch Root Extract in place of purified water, allowing for deep hydration. The formula contains fifteen ingredients, which I did search up on SkinCarisma since the existing entry is out of date. All of the ingredients are EWG Green Level, but there are a few comedogenic and acne triggering ingredients, as well as Dimethicone, so it’s good to be aware.

This product has a lotion-like texture that’s quite different to most other serums that I’ve used. It’s described as a “nutritious and soft texture,” which does take a while to fully absorb into skin but isn’t too bad either!

Packaging

This serum also comes in a deep blue tinted packaging. This one is made of glass so can be a bit heavy for travelling – it 100mL is also quite large for a serum too so I’d most likely decant it anyway. The quality of this feels more consistent overall though – from the glass bottle, to the nicely texture label and the screw on dropper.

However, I have issues with this applicator. The formula is a lot denser than regular serums so is difficult to pick up. In addition, I can’t seem to get a full dropper of product – only around a quarter – so I have to dip back in at least twice for a regular application. It isn’t hard, but it’s bothersome. I’m not sure if it’s due to the design of the dropper or if this formula would just be better suited for a pump.

Personal Experiences

I think the formula of this is nice. It’s hydrating and soothing, which is also good for sensitised skin (such as mine with its break outs). It gives skin a nice, dewy finish but mostly absorbs into skin. I think that it would work well as a base for make up, especially if your skin tends to dry out (and get greasy) later in the day.

The Moisture Serum has long lasting hydration benefits and also aids in rebalancing my oil production. I like that it gives a glass skin look (and some very strong moisture), without feeling greasy or heavy.

Aside from that, the formula is pretty simple and doesn’t target much else though. It would be great for people who are mostly concerned with soothing, hydrating and oil production.

SO WHAT IS IT?

A dense, moisturising serum with soothing benefits

RATINGS

• PRICE POINT | 3/5
• PACKAGING | 2/5
• TEXTURE | 4/5
• ABSORPTION | 4/5
• HYDRATION | 5/5
• OIL BALANCING | 4/5

OVERALL RATING? 7.3/10

THOUGHTS? I think that this has a nice formula, but I’m just disappointed with the applicator really. That being said, I’ll finish this up but will likely not repurchase just because it doesn’t target all of my skin needs. This would be better suited for people whose primary concern is sensitive skin (as the simple formula is really good) or who really like the glass skin effect.

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Nutrition Cream | USD$25.90 (Originally USD$38.50)

And to finally finish off your skincare, it would be the Nutrition Cream. This claims to offer “an abundance of nutrients to nourish and moisturise the skin from deep within.” The result is a radiant and glowing complexion, which is perfect for people with either dry skin or who want that glass skin look. Aside from Milk Vetch Root Extract (which, yes, is replacing water in the formula), this also contains Shea Butter and Macadamia Seed Oil for long lasting moisture.

That being said, this formula also claims to contain the minimum ingredients but the list is a bit longer than the previous two – 14 in total. There are a few comedogenic and acne triggering ingredients though, as well as two ‘alcohols’. All of these are clean, EWG green level. However, it’s something to be aware of if you are prone to break outs (Information from SkinCarisma).

The texture of this is described as being ‘condensed.’ It’s very creamy and thick, but is also soft and applies easily over skin.

Packaging

The Nutrition Cream comes in a glass tub packaging, again tinted a dark blue. I like the shape of it, which is sleek and a bit taller than a standard tub size. It also has a glossy, black lid which is made from a good quality plastic – it screws on both secure and smoothly. Although the packaging is a bit heavy, it’s sturdy and compact enough for travelling. I like that everything is streamlined so that there’s no excess bulkiness.

Aside from that, I don’t have much to say about the packaging really! It looks nice and the simplicity means that I have no criticism here.

Personal Experiences

I was surprised how well this worked for me – especially since I only looked up these ingredients after testing this out. Although some of those ingredients should be triggering my break outs, I found that I had no adverse effects. The texture was thick and very moisturising, but didn’t clog any of my pores nor cause excess oil production later in the day (or night).

However, this moisturiser leaves a very dewy finish on the skin and I would personally only use this as a night cream – it would be too much beneath make up for me. As someone with combination-oily skin, this still works for me at night but I would not recommend this for people with oily skin. Dry skin, however – you would love this.

Here’s the verdict!

SO WHAT IS IT?

A dense moisturising cream with long-lasting and non-greasy effects

RATINGS

• PRICE POINT | 3/5
• PACKAGING | 4/5
• TEXTURE | 4/5
• ABSORPTION | 2/5
• MOISTURISING | 5/5
• OIL BALANCING | 2/5

OVERALL RATING? 6.7/10

THOUGHTS? I thought that this cream worked surprisingly well for me but I wouldn’t be able to use this during the day. I would personally be sticking to gel formulas but wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this for people with dry skin or moisture concerns.

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And they’re the three products that I tried out. I definitely liked the Essence Toner best but the other two products (Moisture Serum and Nutrition Cream) still worked out well for me – they just aren’t necessarily products that work in my skincare routine.

Overall, I think Pyunkang Yul‘s approach to skincare is really good. I like the idea of simple formulas, as well as their oriental medicine rooted idea of skin balancing. I’ll definitely be looking into more of their products in the future – maybe some of the formulas more targeted for oily skin?

Have you used any of these before? Especially if your skin type is very different to mine. Let me know in the comment section below and make sure to check out StyleKorean too!

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