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At a glance
I’m giving you my thoughts on The Giving Essence, a hydrating, antioxidant and brightening essence from the USA-based/ K-Beauty inspired skincare brand Then I Met You.
Author
I’ve been wanting to try this essence for years (if nothing else, just for the packaging)(yes, I know, that’s not the most important thing but LOOK AT IT 🤩). As soon as it was within my reach for ordering, I literally jumped on it! Today, I’m introducing you to the fabulous K-Beauty inspired ‘The Giving Essence’ from the American brand, Then I Met You!
The brand Then I Met You has been on my radar for a while. A brand designed by an American woman but very inspired by K-Beauty, of course, I was curious to see what it looked like!
I heard a lot of great things about their cleansing balm, but it’s not really the kind of product I’m super interested in, I must admit…
If I have to pay a bit of money, I’d much rather invest in an essence! I think you already know, I just love essences.
I use a lot of them, and have done for a long time, to hydrate my skin deeply, so it seemed logical to discover the brand through their essence!
Let me give you my review of the Then I Met You The Giving Essence!
Ingredients
Focus on: fermented ingredients (ferments, yeasts, probiotics)
Like probiotic cures that are recommended at each change of season, cosmetics use more and more bacteria, yeasts and other fermented ingredients in skincare products to take care of the skin and its micro-bacterial flora, the microbiome.
Read more
The brand Then I Met You, presentation:
It’s impossible to tell you about the brand Then I Met You without mentioning its founder, Charlotte Cho.
Charlotte Cho is a Korean-American entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of Soko Glam, an American website founded in 2012 that is on a mission to introduce Korean cosmetics to a Western audience. Charlotte Cho also published “The Little Book of Skin Care” in 2015, the first book in English dedicated to Korean Skincare. This book was quite popular, and it’s still very often cited as an example to talk about K-Beauty.
In this book, she explains, among other things, how to build your skincare routine using 10 Korean beauty products. She calls this practice the “10-step Korean skincare routine”. Her book implicitly suggests that this is how Korean people take care of their skin.
Because of the success of “The Little Book of Skin Care” in the United States, Charlotte Cho is considered an expert on Korean beauty, and many Western media outlets have featured the concept of the “10-step Korean skin care routine” in their articles.
However, the reality in Korea is much more nuanced and contrary to what you might think, skincare routines are usually shorter; you can read the very detailed article on Odile Monod’s blog if you are curious and want to know more about this super interesting topic!
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All that being said, Charlotte Cho is clearly a talented businesswoman and her curation on her website Soko Glam is generally very good.
So when I heard a few years ago that she was going to launch her own brand, Then I Met You, inspired by Korean cosmetics, I thought it was worth checking out!
Then I Met You wants to be a brand with a caring attitude that transcends self-care. It’s inspired by the Korean concept of “jeong“, a deep sense of empathy and affection that one can develop towards people, places and things, with the goal of going the extra mile, focusing a little more effort when needed and bringing a real change to the skin.
The fourth step in the Then I Met You skincare regimen, The Giving Essence offers a nice balance of antioxidant ingredients, deep hydration and a brightening effect.
Let me introduce you to it in detail…
Then I Met You The Giving Essence, product presentation:
The fact that the brand is inspired by K-Beauty made me hope that the ingredients would be the ones that are popular with Korean skincare brands… And I wasn’t disappointed!
Like most essences, The Giving Essence is designed to deeply hydrate the skin, but not only!
In the super complete formula, you can find:
– lots of fermented ingredients including the famous Galactomyces, derived from sake, which help to refine skin texture, soothe and brighten,
– niacinamide, an ingredient that does it all: brightening, antioxidant, purifying, soothing, helps to reduce hyper-pigmentation…
– hydrating ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, Aloe Vera, purslane, betaine and polyglutamic acid,
– anti-oxidant berries that improve the complexion’s radiance, including blackcurrant, black chokeberry (which contains a light exfoliating ingredient, ellagic acid), blueberry, raspberry…
– and finally antioxidant turmeric and red algae.
In short, it looks super promising on paper!
I also love the packaging of this essence, a periwinkle blue glass bottle with a transparent fading effect on the bottom, which reveals the natural pink color of the essence.
It looks like a K-Drama poster; and it’s not by accident! They inspired Charlotte Cho, who loves Korean dramas, for the aesthetics of her brand’s packaging. It’s a good thing, I’m a fan too, so it definitely appeals to me!
Price-wise, it’s more of a mid-range/high-end brand. I must admit that I find the brand a bit expensive. It’s probably worth waiting for a discount code to try it out 😉
Then I Met You The Giving Essence, my experience:
I started the Then I Met You The Giving Essence in October, and I’m about halfway through the bottle. It’s perfect for me this fall because the texture is not heavy, while still being very hydrating. I really like the antioxidant effect (always good to have) and the very, very gentle exfoliating effect. I definitely see the glow it gives me!
I only use it in the morning but you can use it at night too if you want (my method of use is at the bottom of the page).
Its texture is a kind of liquid gel that my skin greedily drinks up! I apply it in light pressures, directly with my hands, as I do with all my essences.
It’s super moisturizing and I also find that it gives me a nice glow, which is a welcome effect. This is probably due to the chokeberry which contains a light exfoliating ingredient, ellagic acid. Nothing irritating, don’t worry, it’s a super light exfoliation!
And it’s pretty good for me who hardly uses any exfoliating acids these days with tretinoin 😉
The experience of using it is a real joy too with this oh-so- pretty bottle, and the pink color of the formula. Yes, it’s frivolous, I know, but it feels good every now and then too 😉
I think this essence is going to last me another good two months, and frankly, I’m pretty happy to have it in my routine right now, so I’m not mad at it!
In conclusion:
In short, I find The Giving Essence to be a very pleasant essence to use! Its formula is very complete and there’s also this bonus brightening effect which is clearly a plus 🙂
It’s a bit pricey to buy, so I won’t be re-purchasing it right away; but I’ll be happy to have it back when I get a Cult Beauty discount code 😉
Product Review in detail
Summary
Then I Met You The Giving Essence
"An essence that is the perfect balance of antioxidants, deep hydration and brightening power. Ellagic acid, a naturally produced acid in berries, naturally brightens the skin, while polyglutamic acid helps your skin retain 5,000 times its weight in water."
Recommendation
A pretty essence that does the job!
Details
Pros
- the super original packaging, very pleasant to look at,
- the formula, which is full of good ingredients beneficial for the skin,
- the texture, fresh and quenching, which is naturally pink!
- the immediate hydrating effect, which lasts,
- the glow it provides,
- the antioxidant effect, always great for anti-aging prevention.
Cons
- it's a bit expensive.
product name
The Giving Essence
brand name
Then I Met You
size
100ml
made in
South Korea
packaging
A glass bottle in periwinkle blue with a transparent fade effect on the bottom, which reveals the pink color of the essence; it looks like a cloudy sky; the effect is supposed to remind the skies and sunsets you see in Korean dramas, and clearly this is it!
fragrance
Fragrance-free, and it doesn't smell anything.
texture
A liquid gel texture, super fresh and enjoyable to use.
For Who
All skin types, all ages.
Concerns
– sensitive skin,
– dehydrated skin,
– lack of radiance,
– wrinkles, fine lines.
Method
I use the Then I Met You The Giving Essence in the morning, after I have cleansed my skin and used my vitamin C serum and before my other specific treatments (serums) and moisturizer. You can use it morning and evening if you want to.
I apply it on my face, including my eye contour and my neck. I pour the essence directly into the palm of my hand. I sprinkle it between two and three times, so that I have enough product in my palm. You can also use a cotton pad to apply it, but I find that you lose too much product by using this method.
I then apply it directly to my skin, using light pressure with the palms of my hands until the essence has penetrated. If my skin is particularly dry, as it is the case at the moment for me, I reiterate the operation 2 or 3 times.
I finish by lightly patting my skin for a better absorption.
Key Ingredients
The formula is really nice:
– lots of fermented ingredients including the famous Galactomyces, derived from sake, which help to refine the skin texture, to soothe, and add radiance,
– niacinamide, an ingredient that does it all: brightening, antioxidant, purifying, soothing, helps to reduce hyper-pigmentation…
– antioxidant berries that improve the complexion’s radiance, such as blackcurrant, black chokeberry (which has a very light exfoliating effect), blueberry, raspberry…
– moisturizing ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, Aloe Vera, purslane, betaine and polyglutamic acid,
– and antioxidant turmeric and red algae.
Ingredients
Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, Aspergillus Ferment Extract Filtrate, Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate, Propanediol, Niacinamide, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf (Aloe) Extract, Ellagic Acid, Aronia Melanocarpa (Black Chokeberry) Fruit Extract, Polyglutamic Acid, Glycerin, Corallina Officinalis (Red Algae) Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Morus Alba (White Mulberry) Root Extract, Allantoin, Ocimum Sanctum (Holy Basil) Leaf Extract, Ribes Nigrum (Black Currant) Fruit Extract, Rubus Coreanus (Korean blackberry) Fruit Extract, Lycium Chinense (Goji berry) Fruit Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Glycyrrhiza Uralensis (Licorice) Root Extract, Rubus Fruticosus (Blackberry) Fruit Extract, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract, Betaine, Vaccinium Myrtillus (Bilberry) Fruit Extract, Aristotelia Chilensis (Maqui) Fruit Extract, Euterpe Oleracea (Acai palm) Fruit Extract, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe) Flower Extract, Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract, Gardenia Jasminoides (Cape Jasmine) Fruit Extract, Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Melia Azadirachta (Chinaberry) Leaf Extract, Melia Azadirachta (Chinaberry) Flower Extract, Xanthan Gum, Coccinia Indica (Ivy Gourd) Fruit Extract, Portulaca Oleracea (Duckweed) Extract, Water, Methylpropanediol
Ingredients not included
– alcohol,
– fragrance,
– essential oils,
– dyes,
– silicones,
– mineral oil.
Shop for this product
Then I Met You The Giving Essence $50
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