AMORE PACIFIC TREATMENT ENZYME PEEL & TREATMENT CLEANSING OIL

Amore Pacific is a Korea-based beauty and skincare company with Asian botanicals as their core ingredients. The main company has many branches of brands in Korea such as Hera, Laneige, IOPE, Sulwhasoo, and etc... The brand being sold in North American department stores and Sephora stores is called Amore Pacific which is same as their main company name. From here on when I refer to Amore Pacific, I only mean the brand and not the main company that houses multiple brands.

I've tried several different products from Amore Pacific, but my favourites, that I've repurchased multiple times, are the Treatment Enzyme Peel and Treatment Cleansing Oil. I first came across these products about five years ago while I was at a Sephora store in New York. At that time, I've been using Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant on and off for about ten years, and Amore Pacific Treatment Enzyme Peel sounded like a similar product so I decided to give it a try. I also picked up the Treatment Cleansing Oil that day. 

Amore Pacific Treatment Enzyme Peel and Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant are both gentle skin exfoliant products formulated with papaya based enzyme called papain. They are both powdered products that are activated with water. They give similar results: a non abrasive exfoliation gentle enough for sensitive skin. I still use Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant once in a while, but it's been replaced with Amore Pacific Treatment Enzyme Peel as a staple for my skincare routine. I use Treatment Enzyme Peel 2-3 times a week and get same results, if not better, than using Daily Microfoliant
everyday. It eliminates dead skin cells and toxins and also tones the skin; it's a great product to prep the skin prior to a facial treatment or to a create a smooth canvas for effortless makeup application. This is an awesome product if you want to avoid harsh exfoliants or chemical peels but want smooth polished skin.

My first bottle of Amore Pacific Treatment Enzyme Peel lasted almost a year with me using it at least twice a week.  For the efficiency and quality, I think it's well worth the price of 60USD/ 60000KRW. To use this product, start by pouring out a small dime-sized amount of the powder and adding 2-3 drops of water to turn it into a paste: if you feel that the paste is too thick, more water can be added, but be sure to start out with just couple of drops. You might have to try it few times to get the right powder to water ratio to get the consistency you are comfortable with. Next, massage it into your already cleansed, damp face: it does work somewhat as a cleanser but not as a makeup remover. It foams up as you rub it into skin. If you want thick luxurious foam, use more powder, but a small amount is sufficient enough to get decent foaming.  Massage it gently into skin in circular motion for no less than one minute, concentrating on problem areas of the skin such as unevenness, roughness, or dry patches. It's important to use this on the skin for at least a minute as that is how long it takes for this product to properly take effect. If the foam dissipates during application, you can revive the foam by adding a bit of water. This product rinses off clean with water leaving skin squeaky clean and smooth. If your skin type is on the drier side, skin may feel a bit drying so it's important to follow up with your skincare products right away. 

This product has a dispenser that's supposed to give you the right amount of powder to use each time, however, after going through four bottles over the years, and although packaging has been updated for better dispensing, I think there's still a flaw in the dispenser design. You have to pour out the product with the top opening facing down, otherwise powder will continue to pour out until you tilt the bottle back up.  Also, you might clog up dispensing area if you keep this product in the shower or get water in it because it's a powder product.

Now, on to the cleansing oil... I don't use cleansing oils all year around on daily basis but I do use one often. I love how they remove makeup and cleanse the skin without drying out the skin. I've used various cleansing oil products over the years, and Amore Pacific Treatment Cleansing Oil is one of my favourites. Most cleansing oils perform pretty well in removing makeup but some leaves a bit of oily residue and doesn't rinse off clean with water which makes me feel like I still need to follow up with another type of cleanser. Some of these cleansing oils were good makeup removers but didn't serve the dual purpose of makeup remover and cleanser. Amore Pacific Treatment Cleansing Oil gently yet effectively removes even the toughest makeup and cleanses the skin while leaving the skin feeling nourished without residue. Ideally, to remove eye makeup with this product, you would take a small amount and massage it into eye area to dissolve the eye makeup and then go over that area with a cotton pad soaked with water. Then proceed to massage in more oil on rest of your face and neck to dissolve makeup and then add a bit of water to turn the oil into milky consistency to lift all the dirt and impurities before rinsing off with water.  But, unless I have heavy duty eye makeup on, I would just apply one pump of the oil and massage it into my entire face concentrating on eye area to dissolve all makeup and then work it into a milky emulsion by adding water with moistened fingertips before rinsing with water. If you want to use this product as a effective cleanser, remove makeup with it first (following the steps mentioned above), and then apply another pump to your damp skin to get the milky emulsion going again to lift all impurities before rinsing off clean with water.

Some of my other favourite cleansing oils are Shu Uemura A/O Premium Advanced and SKII Facial Treatment Cleansing Oil. Price points as well as effectiveness for these ones as well as Amore Pacific Treatment Cleansing Oil are similar. I've tried Shiseido Ultimate Cleansing Oil, MAC Cleansing Oil, as well as several other ones that are more cost efficient than Amore Pacific Treatment Cleansing Oil, but found that those don't perform as well. I especially like that the oils used in Amore Pacific Treatment Cleansing Oil are botanically derived and that it contains natural skin perfecting AHAs.

One of my favourite cleansing routine is to use Amore Pacific Treatment Cleansing Oil to remove makeup and/or lightly cleanse the skin and then following up with the Treatment Enzyme Peel to polish dull skin surface for a truly clean and evenly toned skin. Both products have a similar distinct scent; one of my friend said that it smells like sandalwood. I think it smells more like a strong floral-ish perfume. I'm not a huge fan of this scent but some people seem to find it pleasant.

I absolutely love both of these products and highly recommend them to anyone wanting try a gentle powder exfoliating product and/or a luxurious cleansing oil. Both products work effortlessly and does exactly what they are meant to. And the fact that there is no animal testing by the brand is a bonus! 

In North America, you can buy these products from the Amore Pacific counter at some department stores or at a Sephora store. To purchase these products online please click on the product pictures below.

                 

The pictures of these products on SEPHORA online store (above) still shows them in the old packaging; packaging has been updated in 2013. In Korea, these products are available at most department stores as well as Amore Pacific online store. 

Please feel free to ask any questions regarding these products and/or let me know about your experience with them.

xoxo

Lisa