natjtan Welcome to another Beauty Finds. This edition is I’m From Mugwort Essence.
Artemisia Princeps Mugwort not to be confused with Artemisia Vulagaris Mugwort when looking up mugwort is one of Korea’s oldest traditional medicine plants. Used as a healing herb its renowned for its skin care properties. It’s even in one of Korea’s oldest origin stories!
Both types of mugwort are in the flowering daisy family and share similar properties. Artemisia Vulagaris grows commonly throughout Europe and Asia. In the UK it grows fairly commonly I’ve never heard of it and if I did I was probably told it was a weed. It is used more for its digestive properties, in beer or getting high on lucid dreams. I don’t think my motherland thought of using it in skin care other than medicinal tinctures. Both types however can be used for in cooking, aid digestion, an insect repellant, treat eczema and other dry skin issues and help ease menstrual cramps are just a few of mugwort’s magical benefits.
Being a healing herb it’s an antibacterial and anti-fungal making it great for sensitive acne prone skin and ageing skin. It’s high in antioxidants which can help prevent damage from ultra violet rays (hello fine lines and wrinkles) and stimulate collagen. It’s full of vitamin E which too can help protect skin from free radical damage, heal skin and keep moisture locked in. Its antibacterial properties can help stop bacteria that cause *acne and keep excess oil at bay and help lessen outbreaks. You can even drink it as a tea!
Read on for my Beauty Finds requirements or skip a paragraph for the review.
I have a few requirements when it comes to beauty products: cruelty free, natural, clean, vegan better. I do my best to avoid nasty ingredients such as SLSs, parabens, PEGs, silicones, etc. Petrochemicals are the sneakiest with so many derivatives and aliases. I also avoid palm oil and it’s derivatives as I prefer orangutans. Coconut oil marketed as the good oil I’m also cutting down on as it can be just a damaging crop as palm oil. If I do get products containing palm or coconut oil I try to get organic or sustainably sourced. With make up it’s a little harder so I go for cruelty free brands. I prefer products with less plastic and thankfully more brands are aware consumers don’t want unnecessary plastic (or governments are telling them less plastic). My skin type’s oily sensitive, acne prone and now wrinkles. I know nothing stops those lines, but if I can delay them then….
I’m From Mugwort Essence
I’M FROM MUGWORT ESSENCE collects Ganghwa mugwort grown with a Sea breeze and fog and ages for 3 years with traditional method. The essence contains a single extract of fermented Ganghwa mugwort that has calming ingredients and purification activities throughout SLOW RELEASE EXTRACTION™️. Experience relaxing mood and rich scent with nature of Ganghwa.
DIRECTIONS
Apply from sensitive part to overall face after toner. When skin is extremely dry of need calming. soaking cotton pad into essence and put on face for 5 minutes.
Ingredients:
Artemisia Princeps Extract (100%)
Clean and Vegan Beauty
Okay, the description alone sold it for me. Grown in the sea breeze and sea fog? I’m in.
I used this a few years ago and stopped I think because I stopped ordering from YesStyle due to customs and I found another essence. It was also getting more expensive and harder to find in Europe. An essence is an in between toner and serum. Toner sets the skin back to its regular pH level after cleansing. An essence generally has a more watery texture designed to work at the cellular level to soothe skin, help hydrate, even out skin tone, brighten and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Serums are the powerhouse products designed to rejuvenate the skin at a cellular level. They’re generally thick in consistency and texture and packed with more potent, concentrated ingredients. They address more skin concerns such as hyperpigmentation, fine lines, discolouration. Confused? Me too sometimes!
To be honest I had forgotten all about this essence until last year thanks to a Soko Glam sale and P being in the USA so it could be shipped to him. I thought only YesStyle and amazon.es shipped it to Spain. Soko Glam at the time had put on hold on orders to the EU which is why I ordered it that way. At the time of writing Soko Glam now ship Spain (uh oh!) and quite a few places stock it in the EU, cheaper than YesStyle and Amazon. Wishtrend I’m From official retailer sadly doesn’t ship to Spain. It’s expensive depending on where you buy it. It’s roughly €30-€46 plus or including shipping for 160ml. However it lasts for ages. I started using my current bottle back in November last year and it’s now almost June and I have about a month left. I only use it in the mornings so this is a factor too in why it’s lasted so long. I don’t have to use much either. A little goes a long way.
Sometimes I ask if the products I use work or are they just a blanket and it’s the other products working. Do I need an essence? Am I just using it because it’s mugwort?, That it’s a Korean beauty product?, That’s it’s just a one ingredient product?
Application is easy. I just splash some on the palm of the hand, pat it with the other and then apply with both hands after toner, followed by serum. I have noticed it doesn’t feel like it’s drying my skin and it absorbs well. Even when it’s humid. I remember when I first started my forehead lines were less in almost a week. Returning back it took longer to see a difference. I do face yoga, face massage and Gua Sha which add to a glow and lessen fine lines so any new product might take a little longer to see the difference. Plus I’m older. Those forehead lines! My skin however always looks more refreshed and softer compared to other essences. It doesn’t dry my skin out or make it feel dry immediately after applying. I think it’s good on oily skin as I haven’t been oiler than usual. My acne as been less, however I’ve been a good girl remembering to cleanse my face at night. If anything I’ve noticed my acne scars are less visible and my skin is smoother. It has taken time to reduce the visibility of the scars. They’re still there however not as deep or as visible. For that alone I’ll continue using it.
The only plastic is the lid, bottle neck part the controls the flow and a security seal tag on the bottle neck thingy. The label is paper, the carton cardboard and the bottle glass. Heavy duty glass to sustain a few floor meets.
Would I recommend it? Yes 100% if you want to help fight *acne, reduce acne scars, lessen fine lines, like the multi step skincare routine, want a natural essence and/or a product that has fewer ingredients that work.
*Also remember that diet plays a role in skin care too.
Thank you for stopping by!
