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Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:30 pm  |
In all the years I have been trying different exfoliants, I have never heard of these cream exfoliants that do not use grains or acids. The action of this cream is meant to dissolve dead skin cells and basically draw out sebum and other impurities which settle into the skin.
Charmzone is a Korean brand, but the products are widely distributed in the US, they have mid end to mid high end products, quality and formulation wise I think they are excellent. There are several "cult" products from the brand that receive very good reviews from Makeupalley too!
Anyhow, so these are all the RINSE OFF exfoliants I know of
*abrasion based (microderm crystals, seeds, milled hard organic particles, acrylates etc)
*grain by product mild abrasives (bran casings, milled soft organic particles etc)
*acid based
*enzyme based
*clay materials, which also work by drawing up impurities
Control Creams have been around for a while in the Asian cosmetics market, and I believe there is only one equivalent in the European market - Yves Saint Laurent's Yves Saint Laurent Instant Pur Gommage Action Biologique Sans Grains Natural Action Exfoliator (which by the way also receives excellent reviews on MUA and Cosme.net)
This is not a cleansing cream or massage cream (leave on), it does not remove makeup or dissolve waterproof cosmetics, and it does not need to be removed with an additional cleanser as it emulsifies in water.
The Charmzone original product is now called NEW Control Cream because the formulation is a Control Cream + Essence (provides moisture and balances all skin types).
The texture is a thick opaque white cream that feels quite sticky when applied to the skin. It should be used on cleansed patted dry skin, it will not work if your skin is wet or damp. Once rinsed off it will leave a "film" on the skin, but it does not cause tautness but rather the skin feels very tender and has the lightest veil of hydration. The instructions state that for oily skins it may be necessary to cleanse afterwards, I did not have issues with heaviness even though I have oily skin. Also - in other cream based cleansers I have tried, they tend to deposit a layer of oil on the skin which leaves my face feeling very sensitised and heavy for the rest of the day, nothing like that with Charmzone.
Apply to the skin like a mask and leave on for a few minutes, then begin massaging until the product turns into oil, continue massaging until you can feel gritty particles - this is literally dead skin peeling off! The best thing about Control Creams is they never over exfoliate, as it only dissolves dead skin cells. Also because it is oil based it will also emulsify with any sebum and with that draw up any other impurities in the pores.
This is my ideal winter exfoliator as I still need to stimulate my skin turnover but I cannot tolerate any sort of manual or acid exfoliants. This is such a gentle product, I can use it directly after an Actifirm Z Peel!!!
200g retails for around under $30, also come with an extra travel size tube as a bonus. There are several versions of Control Creams from Charmzone, as they have several different functional lines, but all the others are either a little more expensive or about 40% higher in cost. I don't think I'll be tempted to try the other variations as the purported extra nutrients cannot be absorbed from a rinse off product anyway.
I also gave this cream to a friend with very dry skin (and she is now hydrocortisoid dependent!) who was quite creeped out by the effects but she has found it to be even better than her home microdermabrasion kit. |
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havana8
Moderator
 
Joined: 09 Sep 2005
Posts: 3451
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Wed Jun 11, 2008 8:44 am |
| Thanks for the great review, Miranets! It sounds like an interesting product. So if there are no acids or abrasive type ingredients included, what's in this to dissolve dead skin cells, then? |
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Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:03 pm |
New control cream has been around for a couple of years. It is an interesting product, not exactly a scrub, cleanser or mask... But it's very good.
I don't think it's very easy to find Charmzone here in north America, at least in Canada, any suggestions? |
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Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:09 pm |
Charmzone products can be found on Ebay, neobeauty.com, evecare.com
If you google charmzone control cream, there will be various results that take you to US sellers
The exfoliating action is actually the oil based ingredients seeping under dead skin cells and the massaging motion helps to loosen the skin cells. I find with my skin I need to massage a lot longer to have the same effect. |
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Thu Jun 12, 2008 1:59 am |
I think I forgot to mention the actual effects this has for my skin --
The pores on my nose darken easily because of sebum oxidation, the pores look very dirty when I am massaging but once I rinse all my pores are very taut and look as if I have just used astringent but without the dryness. All the areas on my face which develop small sebum plugs easily (forehead, nose, chin) are completely smooth.
I do not experience the sensitivity that a manual scrub creates and it is a lot more "invasive" than the Actifirm Z Peel because of the massaging action.
Actually this morning I used the Control Cream, in the evening I used Cellcosmet Dual Action scrub and I felt even more dead skin ball up after using Cellcosmet. Also my skin is definitely more balanced when I use the Control Cream, less oily, I only used one dusting of powder and my skin had a very natural sheen rather than shiny breakthrough.
I think I have found the perfect combination of exfoliants for my regime - Control Cream, Actifirm Z Peel and Cellcosmet Peeling cream. My skin loves constant exfoliation and finally I've found products that are gentle enough to use daily, even twice daily.
I've ordered the YSL Gommage sans grains and I will update on how it compares - but even if it worked well I would never repurchase because it costs $45 for just 75ml! |
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Thu Jun 12, 2008 2:31 am |
| My mom has been using something similar for years! |
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Sat Jan 02, 2010 6:35 pm |
Miranets, that's using 3 products for exfoliation! No wonder you get great results!
How did you go with the YSL gommage? My friend who worked for YSL swears by it. But I really like a good "scratch" with my exfoliant.
My fav is actually one from Gernetic, Ger Peel. The amount and size of granules are just perfect. The base is very emolient.
Thanks for a great review. |
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Sun Jan 03, 2010 11:41 am |
| If you can find a Korean grocery store, they might sell this product too. That's where I got mine when I used it. |
_________________
28 / Asian / oily tzone + dehydrated / Acne under control, fading acne marks. Still have clogged pores. |
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