Review: Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner and Essence Mask Pack

PR | The items in this review were kindly sent over to me by Skinsider. However, all thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

The world of Korean skincare is massive and, though I’ve tested out maaaany different K-beauty products, I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. So, when Skinsider reached out to send me some goodies from Pyunkang Yul – a brand I hadn’t yet tried – I was super excited.

Skinsider is a UK-based, online retailer that specialises in Korean beauty products. They source and sell a selection of popular (and less well-known) skincare brands, making them accessible to an audience outside of Korea. Though they’re located in London, they do ship internationally so it’s really easy to get your hands on your K-beauty faves.

I was gifted a few of the Highly Moisturizing Essence Mask Packs and the Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner – which I’d been dying to try! Check out my review of both of these down below…

Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner

The Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner is a kind of hybrid product that, as the name suggests, sits somewhere between an essence and a toner. It contains over 91% Milk Vetch Root Extract which is supposed to strengthen the skin barrier and protect the skin against external irritants.

This anti-inflammatory extract, combined with the wound-healing properties of arginine, make this toner ideal for those who suffer with skin conditions like acne or rosacea.

HOW I USE IT:

The instructions say to dampen a cotton ball and wipe it over your skin. However, I feel like this wastes a lot of product – especially if you’re using reusable cotton rounds. Instead, I prefer to put three or four drops into the palm of my hand which I’ll then rub into my face.

SCENT:

From what I can tell this seems to be odourless. I don’t notice any scent whatsoever when the product is on my face.

PACKAGING:

This toner comes in a translucent plastic blue bottle with a black flip-top cap. With liquid products, I’m always concerned that the content will just fly out of the bottle. Luckily, this comes out one drop at a time so you can control how much you’re using.

TEXTURE:

This has a very lightweight consistency, though it is probably thicker than your average toner. It’s not at all gloopy and it dries down pretty quickly. It has a slight tacky finish when initially rubbed in, but this kind of disappears as the product continues to dry.

MY EXPERIENCE:

I’ve enjoyed using this toner and can now understand why so many people love it! This is really gentle and hasn’t irritated my skin at all. It’s also great for layering and sits well under other skincare and makeup products.

I love that this comes in two sizes – the 100ml version is perfect for travelling. And I can see this lasting me a long time since, after a couple of weeks of use, it hardly looks like it’s gone down!

If I had to be critical, I’d like this toner to be a little more hydrating. I can definitely feel it soothing my skin upon initial application, but throughout the day I do still experience some dryness. This can usually be combated with a thick, ceramide-rich moisturiser so it’s not a massive deal, just something to be aware of if you have dry or dehydrated skin.

Overall, I think this would work best for normal, combination or oily skin types who perhaps also suffer with inflammatory conditions.

Pyunkang Yul Highly Moisturizing Essence Mask Pack

The Pyunkang Yul Essence Mask Pack is absolutely packed full of amazing ingredients. I’m actually not sure I’ve ever seen a face mask that contains so many good things. If you look at the ingredients list below you’ll see that it has panthenol, betaine, squalane, five types of plant extract AND five different forms of hyaluronic acid!

HOW I USE IT

After patting in the Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner, I apply one of these sheet masks. I definitely notice more benefits when I put sheet masks on damp skin so I really recommend you do this too!

MY EXPERIENCE:

I really like this sheet mask, it’s hydrating without leaving my face feeling sticky or greasy. It’s also super long lasting. I left this on my face for the full fifteen minutes and it hadn’t dried out at all! I find that some sheet masks lose their moisture quickly but this one felt like I could have kept it on forever.

After wearing this my face felt soft and supple, I also didn’t experience any dryness like I usually would throughout the day.

Size-wise, this was a little big. However, I’d rather it be too big than too small. And I was able to fold down the edges to fit my face so this wasn’t really an issue.

Overall, I would 100% continue to buy these masks. I think they’d make a perfect once-a-week moisture treatment for those with dehydrated or irritated skin. These are definitely the kind of product you’d turn to to give your skin an extra boost of hydration when it needs it!

Where can I buy the essence toner and mask pack?

You can pick up both of these from the Skinsider website. The essence toner is £9.50 for 100ml and £16.00 for 200ml. The essence mask pack retails for £4.00.

Use my code thesummerstudy15 to get 15% off full-price products at Skinsider.co.uk.

Have you tried anything from Pyunkang Yul before? What are your opinions on the brand? Let me know!

Plus, if you liked this post, check out my list of the best places to buy K-beauty products in the UK.