Review: Sulwhasoo First Care Serum

I read that Sulwhasoo is one of the two famous Korean brands that is separate from Skinfood, Missha that have only recently gained international exposure due to the popularity of BB cream. Their products are mostly for mature skin, but there are two products that are used with great praise for younger, 20-30's skin. One of them is the first care serum. The other is the Sulwhasoo Skin Clarifying Mask, which I also bought, but I haven't had the opportunity to use it yet. This thing is pricey, I think $80 for 60ml? But I've heard such great reviews about it so I decided I would splurge and give it a try.

The first care serum is something that you're supposed to use right after you cleanse your face, before toner, thus "first care." Since my toner is that of a cleansing toner (aka I put the toner on a cotton pad and wipe it on my face) instead of a moisturizing toner (something you just pat on your face), I use this serum after my toner.
 
Description (taken from sulwhasoo.com ):

• Formulated to replenish essential moisture and nutrients and to boost the effect of every subsequent treatment. Milk-vetch, licorice, and dwarf lilyturf work synergistically to optimize the Korean herbal ingredients in the complete collection while deeply hydrating.
• Apply morning and evening over cleansed face, spreading evenly with fingertips. Gently wrap the face with both hands for better absorption.

My impression:

It's a bit hard to give a review of this and it's my own fault because I started using this when I came back from Korea along with 23049234 other new skincare products because I changed my skincare regimen completely. Unlike the snail cream and sleeping mask, I didn't see any overnight effect when I was just using the serum and haven't started using the snail stuff yet. I've been using this night and day for about 10 days and then nightly for about 7 days now. I feel that my skin has gotten a lot better and I haven't had breakouts. But I definitely do not think this is solely attributed to this serum.

Moreover, this serum is really expensive. $80 for 60 ml, which was why I started using this once a day instead of twice a day. Even if it did help my skin a bit, I don't know if it would justify the price.

I like the fact that it's light and doesn't break me out. There is a herbal smell to it but it wasn't very strong and in general I don't mind herbs. 

This may be one of those products where you don't start noticing its effect until you STOP using it and then suddenly your face goes haywire. But I'm hesitant to splurge another $80 because right now I don't think what it does is worth the price tag.

Summary:

Light serum that doesn't break me out
Skin has improved but I don't think it's solely attributable to the serum
Very expensive and makes me wonder if its worth its value
$82 for 60ml on eBay, cheaper if you buy samples

Quality: 4/5 because it works, is light and my skin has improved

Value: 3/5 because it's really expensive $82 for 60ml and I don't think that it's done things that other way cheaper skincare products can't do

Repurchase? No, it's just too expensive for me to use on a regular basis. Well, I'll see how my skin becomes after I run out of this. If it suddenly gets worse again and it turns out that this WAS the miracle worker then yes I'll repurchase this (and also update this blog post)!