Naruko Tea Tree Oil Out Acne Clay Cleanser review

Finally Naruko has reached Malaysian shores officially. I've been eyeing this particular brand of product since forever, but was not keen to buy online or pay the hiked up prices from various push carts around town. Furthermore with the pushcarts, one will never be able to completely verify the authenticity. Luckily though, Watson's decided to bring this Taiwanese based beauty product in and after reading the glowing reviews from vloggers and bloggers I decided to try it out myself.

Niu er is a really famous skincare guru (i have no idea if he is actually a dermatologist or make up artist or  what) in Taiwan so obviously the skincare line (Naruko) he developed won many fans in Taiwan as it claims to be paraben  and preservatives free. With the big names and eco-friendly claims, the product is very reasonably priced. No wonder then the Naruko stands in Watson's were mostly quite sparse, except for the Tea tree line (perhaps because of the ugly packaging?)

I bought the Tea Tree Oil Out Cleanser as well as the Tea Tree Oil Out Balancing Serum as i felt this range was the most suited for my oily yet dry and easily prone to break outs combination skin.

The packaging is really ugly and almost manly.

But i guess, it's a marketing ploy, because this is their motto written on the box:

I guess it is apt that the inside is lovingly decorated and designed as such that it can be reused as a stationary holder. My only grouse though, if they really are that environmentally friendly, why is there another piece of cardboard covering the product besides the reusable cardboard box? Does not make sense.

Anyway this is what it looks like inside:

This is what the actual product looks like:

Packaging: 2/5- exterior 3/5- interior 4/5- idea

Function: Cleanser (the usual lather,massage and rinse) and face mask (apparently just put it on your face and it works as a face mask- i leave it on for about 5-10 minutes), some exfoliating properties- there seems to be tiny particles in the cleanser.

Ingredients:

Claims: Pore refining, oil control, conceal and fight blemishes, regulation of skin metabolism, anti-bacterial. (Phew..)

Performance: When used it gives a really cool feeling to the skin and a really strong tea tree oil scent. As a mask the cool sensation and tea tree oil scent is intensifies 10 times to the point that it actually stings the eyes slightly but not to the extent that will cause tearing.But i think it will seriously hurt if the cleanser gets into the eyes. Works fine. Does not give the too taut and squeaky feeling. Used together with the serum, does reduce oil production on the face. In terms of blemishes, it does reduce the severity of the break outs somewhat. I still have pimples but are smaller and less inflammatory.I've only been using it for 2 weeks. Pore refining component: I don't think anything can shrink my pores. No visible improvement seen yet. I rate it 8/10 just for helping me with my spots. Mind you i've got skin so problematic that i've never used a normal lather cleanser without breaking out badly before.

Price: Cheap at RM29

Would i repurchase: Most likely yes.

Oh and have a look at what the inside of the box turned out to look like:

Oops, ignore the slipshod card i made.