Naturie Coixseed Skin Conditioner

Been using this Naturie Hatomugi Coixseed Skin Conditioner after I ran out of the Rosette Soys Lotion a couple of months ago. I've never heard of the Naturie brand, but I have seen the miscellaneous Imju cosmetic and skincare items scattered here and there. 

Coixseed, also known as Job's Tears, is an edible a nutritious grain that counts natural jewelry beads among its various uses! How cool is that? I like this stuff and have eaten it aplenty in Cantonese tong sui (chè), sâm bổ lượng in particular. But to use a toner with its extract? Now that's new to me, and I'm all game! Not to mention this bottle of Naturie toner was dirt cheap, about 700yen for a whopping 500mL that will probably last me for freakin' ever! Of course I know being cheap means it's mostly alcohol and water, but then so is the more expensive stuff, no? :P 

Actually, I checked the ingredients on the Naturie product page, and it looks rather simple with only 10 ingredients. Alcohol was the 6th listed ingredient, though I'm not sure if this means the same in Japan as it does in the US, where ingredients are listed in order of concentration with the highest concentration being listed first. Anyway, this toner is fragrance and colorant free, and it's a translucent milky runny liquid that's not viscous like many other Asian toners. So I use it like the toners at home, soaking a cotton pad and wipe my face with it for exfoliation ^.^ This toner feels nice and refreshing, but it's not as mild as the Rosette Soys Lotion. In fact, now that it's getting drier and drier, I feel my skin getting kind of tight after using it. May be I should switch to a milder toner for the dry winter, then go back to this once the humid summer returns. I bet this will be great for the summer! 

Anyway, it's a funny story how I made my decision and bought this Naturie Coixseed Skin Conditioner. When October came around, at my drugstore there was this huge display of various HJB Skilabo lotions (toners) made from all sorts of herbs, grains, and whatnot. I'm not entirely sure whether this was because they were new products that just came out at the time, or it was just fall and Japan was like, "It's toners time, folks!" ^.^ There were so many choices, 6 to be exact, that I just couldn't make my decision, partly because I didn't know what a lot of these ingredients were (until I came home and looked them up). But then right next to this giant display were these Naturie Coixseed Skin Conditioner, and since they were just by themselves and also contains coixseed extract, this became the choice for me ^.^ Next time though, I will probably pick up the Skilabo Aloe Extract Lotion to see if it's any milder for winter use. These Skilabo toners are even cheaper, by the way, being only 400yen for the same 500mL bottle!

The below are the 6 choices of toners that confused me so when I saw them on display back in October.

Skilabo Aloe Extract Lotion

Skilabo Daizu Soy Isoflavone Lotion

Skilabo Dokudami H. Cordata Extract Lotion - H. Cordata is also known as heartleaf plant or Bishop's weed, a flowering plant that produces a heart-shaped leaf with a distinct fishy taste. It is eaten in Asian cuisines and is also used in traditional folk medicine for its detoxifying and antibacterial properties.

Skilabo Hatomugi Coixseed Extract Lotion - now I know what hatomugi is ^.^

Skilabo Hechima Luffa Extract Lotion - Luffa is a type of gourd that's widely eaten in Southeast Asian cuisines.

Skilabo Komenuka Rice Bran Extract Lotion - nothing new about rice bran and it's antioxidant effects.

***Pictures from HAC Japan.