Review: The History of Whoo Ja Saeng Essence

Good morning y’all! It’s been a surprisingly haze-free few days, which makes my mood (and sinus) all that better. Heh. Anyway, here’s a rather overdue review on The History Of Whoo’s star product that I got acquainted with during my trip with the brand to Korea earlier this year. I’ve been trying it out for a couple of months, and now’s time to announce the verdict!

The History of Whoo Bichup Jasaeng Essence

A top-down view of the bottle and the pump
Notice the intricate detailing on the sides of the bottle as well as the cap.

I say…

The Packaging: True to The History of Whoo’s style, this comes in an opulent gold packaging with intricate details along the edges and sides. It’s a fat little tub that’s rather similar in size to Sulwhasoo’s Renodigm Dual Care Day Cream, and gives a good firm grasp as well as a stable landing on the table. Surprisingly, I’d expected it to be made of heavier chunkier material, but it’s rather sturdy lightweight plastic, so it’s all good.

The Scent: It has a great mix of herbs and fragrance, so it’s not overly TCM, and neither is it too artificially scented.

The Texture: Now for someone who’s used to her normal lightweight gels and gel-creams or even liquids, this took me several usages to get used to. It’s golden yellow like honey – slightly thick, slightly gooey but a bit more liquid. It’s not thick per se, but it certainly doesn’t flow down your skin like normal liquids or gels do. That aside, it feels slightly rich in terms of nutrients – kinda like liquid honey but infused with finely ground-up herbs. When you soothe it over your skin, it really does feel luxurious, and it is rather quickly absorbed in – just massage it into the skin, pat it in and let it set for a minute or so. There’s no greasy or sticky after-feel, which is always a plus point in my books.

The Verdict: I’ve used this for a couple of months, and contrary to my initial worry that its slightly richer texture might result in a breakout, I surprisingly had no breakouts at all, even along my very-sensitive jawline. It has a nourishing effect on the skin – kinda like a herbal tonic version of a skincare product. There isn’t any noticeable difference in pore size, but it has increased the skin radiance. I daresay there’s even a slight improvement in the skin’s bounciness i.e. slightly firmer and not as thin. Overall, a pretty decent product to start your anti-ageing and skin detoxing routine with if you’ve got the moolah or want to start investing in your skincare early (I’d say those in their mid-20s can use this). Personally, I use this as a night time skincare boosting serum (after my toner/treatment essence), as it’s slightly richer than what I’m used to for daytime usage.