Naruko Tea Tree Oil Out Balancing Moisturizer Review.

If anyone ever told you that oily skin does not need moisturizers, do not listen to that person. Your skin has to be constantly moisturized, day and night.  Of course, people with oily skin should be careful about what kind of moisturizer they use, but that does not mean you can abandon it all together.

Case in point: I never used moisturizer because I was under the impression that my level of hydration was good enough without it. My skin at the time was the worst I have ever had: break outs and dry patches all over the place. I went to a cosmetologist who told me that my skin was very dehydrated and that I should start using moisturizers day and night.  After I started using two different types of moisturizers for the morning and the evening, I noticed a great difference in my skin tone and skin elasticity. Even though I still get break outs, I do not suffer from dry patches and my break outs are easier to cover up because my skin is smoother.

Fast forward a year, and I am looking for a good day moisturizer that can help keep my skin moisturized at the same time reducing oil production. I found Naruko Tea Tree Oil Out Balancing Moisturizer while I was doing research about Korean cosmetics. While Naruko is a Taiwanese brand, it is a well known brand in Asia that has great reviews from bloggers.

I ordered the moisturizer from Pretty and Cute, an online store specializing in Korean cosmetics. It arrived pretty fast and I was treated to a nice plastic bottle with cute colors:

This moisturizer is designed specifically for oily, acne prone skin and is promised to decrease oil production and make the skin less shiny. Here is the description from  the company's website:

The instructions of their website ask to use a cotton pad to pat the face with the moisturizer, but I don't use a cotton pad for this step as it seems wasteful to me. I just distribute a few drops of the lotion in the palm of my hand, rubs my hands together and pat gently on my face. 

As you can see, this moisturizer's texture is very watery, almost transparent. It is definitely a moisturizer meant for already oily skin.

Upon contact with the skin it feels extremely light-weight and leaves a slightly cooling sensation that I am assuming is due to the mint essential oil content. It is absorbed quickly into the skin and hardly leaves any trace. I have been using it for a couple of weeks and I think it is definitely making a difference in the oiliness of my skin. My skin feels moisturized and supple. I notice that towards the end of the day, it is just barely shiny and my make up stays on longer. 

I feel good about this product, especially considering that it has no parabens, preservatives or artificial ingredients. I will definitely use it in the future provided I dont get any weird break outs from it. I am not sure it would suit dry skin very well though as it seems like it is more suited to oily/combination skin.

OVERALL: Highly recommended. Keeps the skin moisturized while making it less oily.

Ingredients:

Purified Water (Aqua), Phytoferulin® Extract [Kalanchoe Spathulata Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Alpine Skullcap (Scutellaria Alpina) Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Masterwort (Peucedanum Ostruthium) Leaf Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Alps Wormwood (Artemisia Umbelliformis) Extract, Leontopodium Alpinum Extract, Alpine Willowherb (Epilobium Fleischeri) Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Chamolmilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract], Lens Esculenta (Lentil) Seed Extract, Witch Hazel (Hammamelis Virginiana) Extract, Tranexamic Acid, Phragmites Kharka Extract, Poria Cocos Extract, Cellulose, Propanediol, Silica, DImethicone, Zinc PCA, Ethyl Alcohol, Prioctone Olamine, Methylisothiazolinone, Phenoxyethanol, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Essential Oils of Tea Tree (Melaleuca Alternifolia), Orange (Citrus Nobilis), Spearmint (Mentha Viridis), Lemon (Citrus Limonum), Lime (Citrus Aurantifolia), Peppermint (Mentha Piperita), Grapefruit (Citrus Paradise), Niaouli (Melaleuca Viridiflora)