Along with the products from the
Snowy Dessert Collection (
review here), I was also sent some products from the
Etude House Honey Cera line! I don't believe this particular 4 piece kit is available to purchase, but you can get it with a full sized purchase of anything from this line. The products in this kit include a toner, emulsion, cream, and priming eye serum.
This whole line is targeted to plump, firm, and moisturize the skin. My skin is dehydrated and so this line was totally up my alley and I couldn't wait to start using everything. For some background, I used to have very acne prone skin until about a year ago that left me with so many acne marks that are still there now. I still have some pimples popping up here and there, but that's more stress related. My skin also used to be normal to oily and now it's overall dehydrated, dry on my cheeks, and a slightly oily t-zone. It's kind of hard to deal with, but I generally buy/use products for brightening and moisturizing.
This 4 piece set actually includes a lot of product for me to really try out and I'm very very happy to say that none of them broke me out!
The Honey Cera Toner* is thin and milky that easily spreads over my face. The claims include being able to "moisten rough and dry skin without any stickiness." I would apply this product with a cotton round, but it's not like water like regular toners and so you could even use your hands.
I do prefer to use it with an exfoliating cotton round though to remove any leftover cleanser or dirt. Unlike their claim, I did feel some slight tackiness but it wasn't that bad. It's just different from the toners I'm used to because they leave my skin matte. The way I see it with this toner is that this adds moisture to my skin as well as taking away dead skin while most toners just take away dead skin.
Emulsions are not normally part of western skin care products, but to my knowledge, they're also another thin product that helps with moisture. The Honey Cera Emulsion* claims to "provide rich nutrition and strengthen the skin's oil-moisture balance." As I've mentioned, I do have some oily parts to my skin and so the description made me very happy!
I apply this product with my hands and just spread it over my face. This product is also thin and sinks into the skin really quickly, but also leaves a slight tackiness. The texture was surprising because I thought it would be liquidy, but it kind of sticks or holds to itself pretty well like honey. It was hard to pour the product out of the bottle and so I had to use a cotton bud to get some out. Using a cotton bud was more hygienic anyway and so I wasn't too bothered. Once you blend it, the texture thins out.
Both the toner and emulsion are very similar and if I had to choose, I would pick the emulsion. I already have a toner that I really love that is a chemical exfoliant. It's also my only exfoliant and so it's the only product I can't switch out. The emulsion on the other hand, is more unique in my collection. I have an essence that's supposed to also balance my "oil-moisture" as well, but it did not work as well as the Honey Cera Emulsion.
The Honey Cera Cream* claims to "provide dry skin with abundant nutrition and radiance." I don't know about radiance, but it does provide my skin with a lot of moisture. If I've never tried the Fresh Seaberry Oil before, I would've thought this was more than enough for my dehydrated skin. It's still really good as a day and night cream, but I do add a drop of my Fresh Oil at night. During the summer, this will be perfect though! My skin is just more dry during winter.
It also works really well under makeup just by itself. A lot of creams leave my skin with a slight oily residue that I need to put primer or powder over it before foundation. Even though skincare takes awhile to see the effects, this cream did leave my skin a bit more plump and smooth that you can see right away.
The Honey Cera Priming Eye Serum* claims to "enhance dark circles under the eyes with its whitening function for a smooth and brightened eye area." I've never heard of an eye serum before, nonetheless a priming one. I'm also not sure if the priming aspect is for makeup or an actual eye cream.
The texture is thin and so it works well by itself and under makeup. I'm still in my early 20's and so there's not too many wrinkles to test on. My undereye area is dry though and so it's very easy for my concealer to crease and make the lines appear worse / more visible.
Because of the thin texture, it does sink into the skin pretty well. At night, I do use an eye cream though because this serum doesn't feel hydrating enough just by itself. In the morning, I just use this to help with the dryness. My undereye area looked smoother and also helped prep that area for concealer. This eye serum would probably work best for those who are just starting with eye care products or want to really oomph up their exiting eye cream.
I also couldn't test out the whitening claims for the undereye area. I do find that when my eyes are more dry, they look darker and so that bit of moisture did help? Eye creams / eye care products are hard to test out for my age range though - sorry! All I can say is that I do like it because it plays well with my makeup and that's usually the thing that defers me from using eye care products in the morning.
Final thoughts: Overall, I'm very happy with this collection as well. My dehydrated skin is in love! Realistically, I probably won't buy the full size of the toner since I do love my current one but it's a really good choice for those who have dry skin and don't have acne marks. I really want to get the other three products though once I run out of the things I'm using now. The Lush Celestial Moisturizer I use is about the same price as this Honey Cera Cream, but it's just not moisturizing my face as well as it used to. The Honey Cera Emulsion was a surprise love, but it's just the thing that was missing from my routine. The full sized Honey Cera Priming Eye Serum also has a metal applicator and so I bet that would feel great on my puffy eyes in the morning. If you're looking to get into the Korean skin care routine, this would be a great collection to look into if you have dry skin. Nothing broke me out as well and that's always a huge plus for me!
*These products were sent to me as a PR sample. All opinions are 100% honest and my own.
For more information on any of these products mentioned, please visit
Etude House's Official Website!
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