Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes
There’s a first time for everything, including trying an essener. A hybrid between a toner and
an essence – meaning it comes with skin-prepping and hydrating properties − this K-Beauty staple is a must-have for simplifying skin care routines, while offering much-needed nourishment. For someone like me who balks at ten-step routines, an essener looks like the perfect short cut in helping me achieve my skin care goals!
My fellow editor Zoe has consistently raved about SIORIS, so I was eager to give the brand’s bestselling My First Essener a try. Famed for its clean, minimalist and vegan-friendly approach to beauty, SIORIS is all about optimizing the power of organically derived ingredients in skin care. For this essener, the brand has gathered 14 essential ingredients with the power to soothe, hydrate and nourish tired skin. At the top of the list are green tea, Korean mugwort extracts and Damask rose flower water, all of which are known for skin-soothing properties to revive irritated skin with a gentle touch.
After a spell of aggravation, my sensitive combination skin has experienced a period of relative stability. But the occasional flare-up remains an issue. It only takes using an incompatible skin care product, eating an extra-spicy meal or staying up late for my skin to start showing signs of irritation. I’m constantly in search of a product that can reset and strengthen my skin. Bonus points if it can eliminate the need for adding more products to my routine, as that always increases the risk of further aggravation!
Read on to see whether two weeks of using My First Essener both morning and night gave me clear, balanced and healthy skin!
My First Essener
The Product: Packaged in a recyclable glass bottle and coming in a lightweight yet viscous texture, the essener contains over 45% green tea extract, which gives the product its signature golden shade while charging it with soothing and hydrating properties. An extra infusion of Damask rose flower water, coupled with mugwort extract and polyglutamic acid from fermented soybeans, keeps moisture levels high. Designed to be used directly on cleansed skin and followed with a moisturizer, it’s purportedly powerful enough to eliminate the need for regular serum use.
My Skin Care Experience: Hungry for improvements to my skin, I opted to double layer the essence. I loved how quickly it absorbed into skin, and how comforting it felt. As I settled into my newly pared-down routine, I noticed visible changes at work. Not only did my skin look more plumped-up and hydrated immediately after application, persistent usage also faded a lot of the blotchiness, leaving a clear, more even-toned finish. Rather than the short-lived glow-ups that sheet masks bring, SIORIS’s essener delivers subtle yet more substantial effects. In short, it came close to the reset I was looking for without causing any irritation.
I didn’t expect pronounced anti-aging benefits from a product designed primarily to soothe and hydrate, especially within such a short time frame, so I wasn’t surprised when there were no marked improvements in terms of fine lines and sagginess. For such issues, I would probably need the occasional booster ampoule or a more elaborate routine. On the whole, though, the product lived up to its promise.
One quibble, albeit a minor one, is the small size of the bottle’s mouth, which means it could be difficult to get the product out.
My Skin Care Goals and My Final Verdict: Indisputably, this is a keeper. Despite its refreshingly lightweight formulation, My First Essener packs enough nourishment to eliminate the need for a serum, at least in the short run. As someone who’s always felt duty-bound to perform certain skin care steps, I welcome this new development.
However, as much as I’m thrilled at the product’s power, my skin has more deep-seated needs that the essener may not be able to fulfill. In the long term, my skin care goals include amping up skin resilience and softening the impact of aging. On this front, My First Essener is likely not the perfect answer. As such, my routine would still benefit from periodic dips into my serum and ampoule supply for products designed specifically to repair and revitalize aging skin. For hydration and soothing benefits alone though, My First Essener is hard to beat.