Comparison Review: Pyunkang Yul Mist Toner vs. Essence Toner

I think Pyunkang Yul is popular for a reason. I have tried both of their toners and was equally impressed for different reasons. As such, I also purchased their newly released acne lines for my husband who has oily and acne-prone skin. I am curious to see how they will work on his skin! Stay tuned if you are interested! So now lets back to these toners that I bought long time ago from the brand Pyunkang Yul!

ABOUT PYUNKANG YUL

If you are not aware, Pyunkang Yul is a Korean skincare brand. Their products are mostly in deep blue, with minimalist packaging. They use the simplest ingredients without adding any fragrance or fanciness inside to achieve the maximum efficacy. The brand is developed by Pyunkang Oriental Medicine Clinic in Korea, so you get some quality assurance there. Like Chinese medical practices, these oriental medicines not only treat your surface skin problems, but dives deeper to understand the root cause of your problems. Balance is the key here. The balance between yin and yang, or moisture and oil.

PYUNKANG YUL TONERS

Pyunkang Yul is popular for its Essence Toner and Balancing Gel based on my observation. I didn’t get the Balancing Gel, as I think I don’t really need one, so I only got the Essence Toner, and the Mist Toner later. But for newcomers into the brand, toners are something good to start with before venturing into this brand.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ESSENCE TONER AND MIST TONER

I used the Essence Toner, then the Mist Toner. I like them both as they serve different purposes. But if you were to choose just one, choose wisely.

	Essence Toner	Mist Toner
Skin types	Normal to dry Sensitive	Combination to oily Acne-prone
Texture	Viscous, gel-type	Watery
Application	Hydrating, moisturizing	Cooling, refreshing
Key ingredients	91.3% Astragalus Membranaceus Root Extract	91.9% Coptis Japonica Root Extract
Container	Bottle	Mist bottle
Best for	“yin” body type, those who tends to look pale, feel cold, or have poor blood circulation, with skin that is more prone to dryness, tightness, and flakiness, or skin that becomes red or irritated easily	“yang” body type, those who sweat easily with skin that is more prone to oiliness, excessive sebum production and enlarged pores
Application method	On a cotton pad, or By hand	Spraying

SIMILARITIES OF THE ESSENCE TONER AND MIST TONER

Both are in the toner category where you use before a serum and after a facial cleanser. Their prices are the same, and both are available in 100ml and 200ml bottles. Additionally, both are also free of artificial preservative, fragrance and unnecessary additives

WHICH TONER SHOULD I GET?

There comes the hardest question. I have this hard time choosing the best Pyunkang Yul toner for myself too, so I totally understand your cry.

I think the Mist Toner would work best for Malaysian weather unless you have dry skin. It is more practical and convenient to use a mist toner, as you can save your money on having to buy a mist.

If you do great on Hada Labo Light Hydrating Lotion or Dr. Wu Hydrating Essence Toner, then the Essence Toner would work best for you, since you might not get used to a watery toner that feels like mist. Supply the right amount of moisture will surely protect your skin against external and internal stressors. It also helps your skin to appear radiance and dewy over time.

For those with acne-prone and oily-dehydrated skin, the Mist Toner would do much better than the Essence Toner. It gets absorbed right in to quench your skin’s thirst, and it will cool off your skin (supply “yin”) therefore reduce excessive sebum production on your skin. The coptis japonica root extract (黄莲), which is a super bitter oriental herbal ingredient, is an effective tonic to reduce excessive “yang” or “heaties” inside your body. As such, using it as a skincare ingredient is believed to have skin cooling, soothing and balancing properties for those with oily, acne-prone, and oily-dehydrated skin.

CONCLUSION

One of the reasons I love Pyunkang Yul is how much love and wisdom they have in developing their own skincare lines. They teach me how skincare doesn’t have to be pricey. The brand is similar to Sulwhasoo, but Sulwhasoo uses ginseng as its main ingredient, which shoots up the prices greatly. Pyunkang Yul goes back to the basic and tries to achieve the ultimate balance between moisture and oil with the simplest ingredient, without breaking your wallet.

I like it when they say “The goal is not to battle your skin type, but to find your skin’s resting point, or in other words to achieve balanced skin. Balanced skin is not attained by another label but by ultimately being in-tune with your skin and its ever-changing needs.” My skin is ever-changing, so are my routines, ages, internal health condition and surrounding environment. I am blessed with normal skin, but it can get drying sometimes, and oily at some other times, so I know the struggle to achieve the balance, and I am doing that constantly.

In short, go ahead and get yourself a bottle of Pyunkang Yul toner. For normal skin, the Mist Toner will do great. Unless if you need extra moisture, or prefer a gel-type toner, then the Essence Toner will be a better choice. I got myself both because I am somewhere in between, but I find myself reaching out for the Mist Toner most of the times, so that’s saying something about my preference.

You can get this from: Hermo | Wako Beauty 
[Disclaimer] Products are purchased with my own money. All copyright of contents and images in this article is strictly mine.