The very first skincare item I bought upon arrival in Taipei was this Pond's Pore White Cleansing Oil. I didn't have an oil cleanser, because I purposely didn't bring one with me ^.^ There were lots of other options from Naive, Softymo, and Biore, etc., but I've tried all these before and was looking for something new. This one from Pond's fits the bills, and plus they were having a promotion at my local supermarket, 2 for NT$300 (~ USD10, they're normally NT$200 each). Next time I'll check out the local drugstore as they carry a wider brand variety than the typical grocery store.
It is a Japanese import, not just a Japanese brand that has been localized and produced locally, or in Thailand, China, else where outside of Japan. Mind you, I'm not saying there's something wrong with products made in Taiwan, Thailand or China, but you need to be aware that there's probably a difference in formula and ingredients between the same exact Japanese import and its non-Japanese-but-otherwise-Asian-made sisters. In the same sense, I won't be able to find the same exact formula/ingredients for an American product here either unless it's an American import. Being a Japanese import this tiny 150mL bottle is a tad expensive. Understandable, yes, but hella annoying too. On the other hand, I'm also willing to pay more for the imports, only because it's even more annoying to buy something you know and expect to work a certain way, only to learn its formula and ingredients have changed.
So how do I tell between a Japanese import and a localized Japanese brand? They're a bit sneaky about this actually, especially if you don't read Chinese character. If you read Chinese characters, it's super easy to spot the "Made in..." tag line. If you don't read Chinese characters, you can only try to guess. Some products are easier to guess than others, as their entire packaging are in Chinese characters. Other products are trickier, with their front or outer packaging in Japanese, containing both kanji as well as kanas, but their backs/bottoms or inner packaging in Chinese. These products are almost certainly have been localized and their formula/ingredients are probably altered.
Anyway, I have to say this is probably the best smelling oil cleanser I've ever used ^.^ The bottle describes the fragrance as green tea citrus, and sure enough it smells like a mix of tea and citrus, sometimes giving off a whiff of yuzu. At the same time, the fragrance is very mild and not intrusive, disappearing rather quickly. The oil cleanser itself is great too! It does a great job of taking off my makeup and sunscreen, and it rinses clean. Love it!
When I finish this bottle, I will move on to different one though, only because there are so many choices out there. Plus I can always save my second bottle to bring home since I'm running out of oil cleanser at home and this one has such a lovely scent ^.^
2 comments:
This sounds like it smells fantastic! Now I really want to try it, once I use up my ridiculous backlog of cleansers :P
Hi kuri,
I was surprised how much I liked it. I usually don't read the back of the bottle very carefully but after the very first use I studied the whole thing trying to figure out what fragrance this is because it smelled so nice! I'm glad I bought 2 bottles after all ^.^
Cheers,
D.
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