Missha Super Aqua Oxygen Micro Essence Peeling is one strange product! I never heard of it before I got a sample with purchase of some Korean products off E-bay, and even when I tried searching online for reviews in English, I failed miserably (found probably 2 reviews maximum). I find it really hard to believe though, as this product has become a little gem in my skincare routine and definitely deserves more attention. If you're a fan of effective, yet quirky products, read on!
To start off, I should probably mention that Missha is a Korean brand, which is quite hard to get hold of in the UK (however it's not impossible, E-bay is an ultimate source of Korean brands for me!). You might be more familiar with their BB creams, which are quite popular even over here. Now to the product - Missha Super Aqua Oxygen Micro Essence Peeling is basically an oxygen based peeling in a gel form. You might be familiar with oxygen peelings, so this might be all old news for you, but this is the first oxygen peeling I've ever tried myself and I can't get over how fascinating it is!
The packaging is simple, yet functional and I would say eye-pleasing (when you hold the bottle you don't think drugstore-cheap, well at least I don't!). It's got a sleek white/blue design and comes with a pump. This might be a bit of pain when you start running out as you can't see how much is left, but oh well - will just have to slice it open like Liz Earle, hey! The product itself is a milk-coloured gel with a very fresh floral scent (you know what I mean if you tried Korean BB creams before, as all Korean products tend to smell like a bouquet of wild flowers, mmm). You only really need a pump or a pump and a bit for your whole face. I usually use it after taking my make-up off with cold cream/hot cloth cleanser and apply it all over the face, quickly rub it in (don't try to massage it in for more than a few seconds, as I found the oxygen effect decreases slightly when you do so) and leave it for about 3-5 minutes to do its magic. Now these 5 minutes might seem like the worst 5 minutes of your life. Imagine your face being covered in little creepy crawlies tickling your face to death (how gross does this sound, yet I find this sort of description pretty accurate, bleurgh). I got used to it after a few applications, but when my boyfriend uses it, he freaks out - it's actually pretty hilarious, he always wants to use it, yet can't stand it on his skin for more than a minute, haha! Anyways, that horrible tickling means it's working - and you can even see the work in progress. All dirt that's left on your face, even in your pores, literally bubbles away. The gel consistency turns into foam and you can see where your particularly 'dirty' areas on your face are - mine bubbles on sides of my cheeks (where I sometimes slack on removing make-up) and areas where I tend to have bigger pores or blackheads (yuck). When you see that the bubbling is wearing off (max 5 minutes really), wash it off your face (I find it a bit slimey - this review is just getting better and better, right? haha! so I like wiping it off with a muslin cloth).
This whole effect sort of reminds me of Ginvera's Marvel Gel - if you tried that one, you're more than likely to love this too! The results are pretty apparent - it leaves my skin squeaky clean without any irritation (although it sounds very harsh, it's really far from it - I think this would do even for sensitive skin to be fair!) and feeling really smooth. It's also nourishing and leaves my skin nowhere near to dry or tight! Recommended use is once to twice a week, however I started using it more often when I first bought it (not only for a slight addiction to the funky bubbling, but also because I felt like it was helping my skin to get to a certain state of squeaky-cleanliness) and now I'm using it probably once every 3 days or so to maintain it.
I believe this product would be great for those who hate that feeling of clogged pores and 'dirt' on their face, and those who like products that work visually too, not just secretly inside-of-your-pores. You get 100g of the product, so if you're using it once or twice a week it will last absolute ages. I got mine off E-bay for £10, although I think that original price is around £15 in the US.
Have you tried an oxygen peeling before?