First impressions: Isa Knox Age Focus Prime cream and serum

Following Odile's recent posts on retinol, and my general wish to switch everything to luxe, i ordered both Isa Knox products (partly because they were the cheapest and the LG heritage always grabs me).

You can also find the ingredients in links on Odile's post so I won't duplicate them here.

Link to Odile's main retinol post

Link to Odile's post on the Isa Knox Age Focus Prime Wrinkle For All Serum 

Link to Odile's post on the Isa Knox Age Focus Prime Polynoid Wrinkle Cream 

Thankfully TesterKorea comes through again with sample options of both.

The serum has cedrol in addition to the other ingredients. I've been very pleased when something I already use or happen to have purchased has cedrol as it's one of the key ingredients in the Whoo lip cerin.

Link to my review of the Whoo lip cerin if you want to read more about it.

Is cedrol the thing that makes the lip cerin so effective? I don't know but it's an interesting ingredient and it's a bonus to find it on the ingredient list of something I was going to buy anyway.

The one thing I can't be sure about is the results beyond enjoyment because, as I mentioned in my moisturiser texture post, I haven't used the cream consistently for more than a month and I'm trying to use up an open retinal that's hit its PAO. 

Update to when I initially drafted this post: I'm bored of the retinal, I think it's actually well last its PAO. Although it seems OK, it's probably best to bin it at this point.

I have used the Isa Knox serum most mornings since I got it but it was only April, so that's all of four months. Following the lip cerin, if it works for to plump out my eye area, we're looking at a good six months, perhaps more because my eye cream needs quite a bit of plumping.

So this really is just a first impressions review. I will do a follow up!

Serum

Texture

It's a nice, soft, lightweight gel serum, a bit like the Sulwhasoo Timetreasure Invigorating serum less slip and lighter. 

Whereas I can briefly feel the Sulwhasoo after I've applied it, this sinks in straight away. Both do dry quickly, although I'd argue the Sulwhasoo is more moisturising and locking-in of moisture.

On top of siliconey gel toner and serum products, the Isa Knox will immediately adhere to my skin making it feel like it's not spreadable but it is, it's just that the siliconey stuff grabs it. 

That instant absorption and grabby silicone layers is my favourite texture and it's the outcome I want for an addition to my routine.

Actually, I'd say it disappears to nothing after its applied but in a good way of balanced, moisturised skin even, after quite a few other products. By itself, such as when I rub it into my hands, it doesn't have the grabby, siliconey feeling - it just feels like a thick serum.

It doesn't have, for example, the slip of Sooryehan's The Black Serum so if slip is a want, this might not be the serum for you. 

Link to my review of Sooryehan's The Black Serum

Personally, I kinda consider it a light emulsion, although I use it in the serum spot - it is thicker than my emulsions (Sooryehan The Black Essence Moisturiser, Whoo Gongjinhyang Seol Radiant White emulsion or Sooryehan Hyobidam Fermented Emulsion) so arguably it should go after those? Depends on how rigidly you want to adhere to the thin to thick logic. 

I keep it in the serum slot, however, because it makes a good base for my emulsions: like a primer. 

Fragrance

It has a simple fragrance: a faint citrusy smell with a little sweetness. It could do with something that has a medicinal herbal-woody-menthol effect, like camphor or eucalyptus. Menthol is not the right word but "cooling" is worse still. I know what people mean by cooling but I think it diminishes the dark, full richness of the herbal-woody elements.

Anyway, whilst I like the fragrance, I'd definitely prefer it slightly more limey-herbal like the Whoo Gongjinhyang Seol Radiant White line but you can't have everything.

I will spend the rest of my life comparing fragrances to the Gongjinhyang Seol and even though it's not really suited to dry skin, I might just shoehorn the balancer back into my routine because of the fragrance.

When I was using the Gongjinhyang Seol balancer, I didn't have this Isa Knox serum in my routine so I do suspect it all balances out in the long run.

This is, however, a future-me consideration as I've got two other toner spot products to try totalling 100ml so it's going to be a while before I'm looking to purchase a full size toner spot product.

Experience

The texture and moisturising effects of the Isa Knox serum meant it was an immediate perma-addition to my routine. It doesn't hurt that TesterKorea has 20ml tubes of the serum so it's an easy dispensing format with a very decent amount of product for about $6. 

I immediately bought three more tubes once I'd done the breakout test (one week of adding it to my routine - I usually breakout within a week. Not always, but usually).

Because it's a nice addition to my routine, I'm happy to wait to see if there's enough cedrol to have an effect on plumping out my eye area and I'm not fussed if it doesn't, I'll keep using this product.

A 20ml tube lasted three months so I figure that I've probably been using it between four and seven days a week, depending on time constraints (and sometimes I just forget but I've rejigged my daily organiser so it's in sight now).

This is another product that isn't available from a lot of shops - TK still as those 20mls as yet.

They do stock a 100ml serum for $72 so that'll be an option. KoreaDepart has a 50ml serum set for $50 with some other minis, it would be interesting to try other products from this range, although TK's is better value.

Cream 

Texture

I've said some of this in my recent cream texture post so it might be a little repetitive.

Link to my cream texture post 

What a texture! This stuff is incredibly stretchy. 

It's up there with snail but in a different league of cosmetic elegance than Cosrx snail.

To give you an idea of how stretchy it is, I've put a few of the sample sachets in 20ml glass jar. Getting it in was easy, getting it out with a spatula isn't quite so easy! It's so slippery-stretchy that the spatula has a hard time picking up a reasonable amount and then the cream doesn't want to leave the jar, like the way honey elongates as you lift the spoon out of the jar.

Thankfully it's not sticky like honey! 

AB Muse felt it wasn't too siliconey, which of course meant I was delighted for them but sad for me. However, if applied on top of several layers that already have silicones, it's siliconey enough for me.

Link to AB Muse's review of Sooryehan's The Black Essence Moisturiser and siliconey texture musings

I think the reason I love the siliconey texture so much is because I find creamy-oily textures don't dry down well on my skin, I just feels like I'm just mixing cake batter on my skin. 

It just sits there on top of my skin, as an oily-sticky layer that rubs off overnight. All this does is moisturise my pillowcase and leaves my cheeks with dry patches. Whereas the siliconey products properly dry down and then subsequent products stay where you put them.

Compare, for example, a thin emulsion - such products end up moving around my skin and collect at the edges. 

I know this happens because the retinal products I've tried are yellowy. Of course, some of this comes down to cheap formulation. The Stratia Lipid Gold is yellowy and dries properly, so it doesn't do that once it is rubbed in. Thank you AB Muse for my Stratia - I am very overdue my review post of our gift exchange!

Back to silicones: I find the siliconey texture in luxe products behaves appropriately.

Fragrance

There's really very little to report here: it's less citrusy-sweet than the serum and, to me, barely smells of anything at all. 

Although as I should point out every time I talk about fragrance that I do use a lot of very vibrant fragrances (Whoo, the mid-tier Sooryehan and Sulwhasoo). Probably a lot of things that might have a noticeable fragrance for some people don't really tip my fragrance strength monitor because of that.

Experience 

Whilst I've tried retinal and granactive retinoid, this is the strongest retinol 'complex' product I've used at 0.63%. Although it's hard to tell what exactly that means, as usual I'm happy to trust LG and try this cream out longer term.

I don't find it especially drying, which is incredible because The Ordinary's 0.2 retinol sucked all the moisture out of my skin and made it irritable. 

For The Ordinary, I did all the right things (dry face, lots of hydration generally, only using it once a week) but it just didn't agree with me.

Although that was also before I discovered the joys of fermented skincare, which has vastly improved the resilience of my skin.

Link to my post on the whole ferment thing 

So I've said that I only used the cream continuously for a month and that's true but what I should celebrate is that between not using this and going back to a retinal, I'm not noticing any decline in my skin.

In the mirror, am I going to notice a 7% change in my fine lines? This is one of the claims reported by Odile from the official information.

Retinoids change skin so slowly that, in my limited experience of a couple of years, it can be hard to know what exactly they're doing until I stop using one and my skin starts to deplump. Plus I'm three years old than when I started The Ordinary's retinol then granactive retinoid.

It's no instant fix of hyper plumpness - I tend to notice that the retinoids have been doing something when I stop using them for a month or so and my fine lines become more visible.

Did I notice improvements within a month? No but nothing got any worse either (and I'd had a retinal hiatus before I started it).

Regardless of effects, I like the cream so much that I bought a full size, only to have Stylevana cancel my order after a month of waiting because they didn't have the stock.

Sigh. 

But at least I got the mascara I also ordered and the free gifts (two full sizes) so I can only half complain! 

I would have replaced it with one from KoreaDepart but it was $70 with shipping when I checked! That's more than I'm willing to pay for 30ml. 

I don't in all honesty know what was going on with that order price because I just went back to KoreaDepart and have ordered a full size for $37ish + $8ish shipping. Maybe the cream wasn't on sale or shipping was just oddly crazy or something.

The whole thing tops out at about £37 in UK money which I'm very willing to pay (and just did!)

Here's the thing: whilst I can't know if this product will work for me longer term, I really enjoy it. The texture is fun, the fragrance is nice, I enjoy applying it. What's not to like! 

It's even been possible to use it as a one and done or emulsion and then the Isa Knox this summer. 

My skin always prefers more moisturiser so I tend to put something over it.

Even if the Isa Knox takes a long time to work or the results are marginal, I'm happy with that for now because of the exquisite eye bag plumping I'm getting from the Whoo Cheongidan cream. 

So of course there's a question as to whether a retinol is a benefit to me or not. All I really care about is how my eyebag area is plumped and the Cheongidan makes a visible difference.

Skincare joy and cosmetic elegance is extremely important to me, although obviously I'd like efficacy to go with that. However there's nothing to say that the Cheongidan won't have long term benefits as well as short term so the chance for benefits with both products together is hopeful.

Link to my post on product joy

And of course I've got the Isa Knox serum in my morning routine as well. 

Oh and I've added a 17% glycolic acid peel so that's another well-aging tool in my arsenal.

Apparently using a standard leave-on acid is boring but a peel is a new method of application and it's right on the bleeding edge of what seems sensible to do at home. There's a strong element of danger here and I apparently enjoy risking my barrier to try new fun things. 

I'll do an update post once I've been using the cream for a more significant time period.

Final Thoughts 

I am very happy with these two products. 

Unless I'm noticing a significant decline in my eyebag area longer term, I'm likely to stick with them because they both add something immediately beneficial and enjoyable to my routine.