little white truths

The Chan-mool Patting Essence is to be used in place of a toner and aims to relieve, brighten and tighten the skin by creating a protective moisture barrier. The product card describes it as 'tangly and jelly-like textured'. Guess that's true, though I'd just call it a gel ; )

This is probably my least favourite item of the three - it's a little drying at first and smells like off gin. What I did notice, however, is that when I applied double the amount I normally would for a product like this, it seemed to have a better effect. While I don't think it's a great brightening/tightening product, it does have a cooling effect if you apply plenty of it. It's also a good base for the moisturiser and I can tell they work together (which is of course what you want from a kit like this one).

Water Block Jam

Last up is the Water Block Black Jam, which is designed to create a moisture wall over your skin: it achieves this via the black component extracted from plants and super hyaluronic acid. A single application will apparently last up to 48 hours without any further hydration (that last claim is rubbish, if you ask me).

This product is ok. It's a little sticky to use and if you don't apply enough of it, it certainly doesn't have any kind of plumping or brightening effect and leaves a thin film over your face without feeling like it's hydrating your skin in the process. 

If you do apply a double dose of it, however, it fares much better and there is some plumping/brightening. So if you're prepared to use a lot in order to get the best effect from the product, you may be pleasantly surprised by the difference between applying a normal amount and a double-duty one.

Note you can also apply it thickly and leave it on as an overnight treatment, although I have better products for this purpose - I only tried doing this a couple of times and wasn't wowed.

Overall verdict

As mentioned, I ended up liking this set more than I did to begin with - purely because I was lucky enough to discover that it works better when 'over-applied'.

While I wouldn't rush out and buy it, I'm certainly happy to get through the kit and my skin's looking pretty good after using it for a few weeks.

Have you ever found ways to use products that you weren't blown away by to begin with? I'm always up for hearing tricks/tips around how to make the most of the products you have : )