A replenishing and innovative essence with 30% encapsulated bee pollen extract. That’s the new Bee Pollen Renew Ampoule Skin from the Korean skincare brand Missha!
When I saw on Missha’s Instagram account this Bee Pollen Renew Ampoule Skin essence last December, I couldn’t resist!
You probably know how much I love honey, propolis, and royal jelly in my skincare… but I must admit that I hadn’t considered bee pollen yet!
So I was so intrigued that I searched all over the World Wide Web to find it ASAP. And of course, the bottle is so pretty… another reason to fall for it!
This essence seemed perfect for my current skin need: the repair of my skin barrier, a bit damaged because of my experiments with retinoid products (aaah the lockdown and its series of skincare experiments motivated solely by boredom and anxiety lol)!
I have been using it for several weeks now so I can give you my thoughts on the Missha Bee Pollen Renew Ampoule Skin Essence!
Bee pollen in skincare:
Bee pollen is made by bees from the pollen of the flowers they forage, and is used to feed the youngest bees in the colony. It’s high in protein (about 40% protein), amino acids, vitamins and folic acid. In short, bee pollen is a truly complete nutrient!
And for the skin, it’s also a very interesting ingredient! The proteins, amino acids and vitamins it contains help protect the epidermis and stimulate the regeneration of skin cells.
It’s typically an ingredient that will appeal to over-stressed, stressed, and sensitive skin… thanks to its regenerating and repairing action!
Perfect when you have over-exfoliated your skin with acids, or over-used retinol… or (the topic of the moment) when you are forced to wear a respiratory mask all day long and your skin is irritated!
Missha Bee Pollen Renew Ampoule Skin, product presentation:
The Missha Bee Pollen Renew Ampoule Skin Essence is one of the latest additions to the Korean brand’s popular “Bee Pollen” range, which is primarily aimed at sensitive skin in need of regeneration.
Is it just me or are the names of the Korean essences becoming more and more confusing? The brand talks about a “Skin Ampoule” (in Korea a “Skin” is a kind of moisturizing toner). But for me it’s simply a treating essence (if you want to know more about this category of products, I dedicated a whole post to them: Do I need an essence? ).
This Bee Pollen Renew Ampoule Skin Essence contains mainly bee pollen extract, but in a very original way!
It is actually located inside super small capsules made of layers of lipids, called liposomes (if you were already a cosmetics addict in the 90’s and 2000’s, this will bring back some memories!).
This technology makes it possible to isolate the ingredient from the rest of the formula, in order to maintain its effectiveness, but also to boost the penetration of this active ingredient. In fact, because of its membrane composed of one or more layers of lipids, the liposome has a better affinity with the superficial layers of the skin, because the latter also contain lipids!
Moreover, as you can see on the photos, you can see these little capsules in the formula and that’s all it took to please the skincare nerd in me! 😉
The rest of the formula is also very interesting! In addition to these famous bee pollen capsules, there are also some other interesting things:
– some moisturizing ingredients: hyaluronic acid (low molecular weight), polyglutamic acid, glycerin, betaine, honey,
– some repairing ingredients: adenosine, vitamin B5 (Panthenol), betaine, propolis,
– some soothing ingredients: Bifida Ferment Lysate (a probiotic), chamomile extract,
– some anti-oxidants/ anti-aging ingredients: Edelweiss flower stem cells, Chrysanthemum Borealis extract, niacinamide,
– some nourishing ingredients: ceramides, rose oil, royal jelly…
Missha Bee Pollen Renew Ampoule Skin, my experience:
I started the Missha Bee Pollen Renew Ampoule Skin essence a little over a month ago now, right after I finished my I’m From Mugwort essence. I figured it would be a nice change between trying more mugwort essences!
I chose to stick to using it only in the evening but you can use it in the morning as well if you want to.
Its texture surprised me! Given its name and the description of its formula, I was expecting a relatively rich texture, and a very comforting feeling after application.
In fact, the texture is rather fresh when you apply it! It’s a liquid texture, gel-like, quite typical of an essence.
You can’t really feel the pollen liposomes on the skin (they’re really tiny, to be honest) but my skin still feels comfortable after I use it, which was precisely the effect I was aiming for with this product!
I dab it into my skin with my hands, as I do with all my essences!
The brand emphasizes an effect on the skin’s radiance, the famous “honey skin” that Koreans love. I can’t really tell because, quite honestly, I rely more on my acids, vitamin C and retinol for my glow 😉
But as a complementary product to all these treatments, the Missha Bee Pollen Renew Ampoule Skin essence is ideal!
Plus, it has a delicious and subtle honey scent and I find the packaging very pretty, so I really enjoy using it every night!
In short, it’s a nice discovery, which is not too expensive (between $20 and $30) for a quantity of 150 ml, I expect it’ll probably last me a while!
In conclusion:
I find the Missha Bee Pollen Renew Ampoule Skin essence very pleasant to use and it’s also effective in moisturizing and helping to regenerate my skin.
An essence that does the job and is a pleasant step in my evening skincare routine, what’s not to love? 😉
The essence retails for $20 to $30 for 150ml depending on the retailers.