[REVIEW] Ephyra Skincare Series - Skin Bar, Skin Nano Serum & Skin Snow Cream

Hi guys!

So today I'll be reviewing this newest skincare from Ephyra which is also the first skincare series of the brand. In the series, there are Skin Bar cleanser (which I had reviewed here and here) , Skin Nano Advanced Repair Serum and Skin Snow Advanced White Repair, which Skin Nano and Skin Snow are the latest introduction to the series. Also, to let things got easier for both local and international readers, I will write this review in dual language (English and Malay)

Assamualaikum semua :)

So hari ni, Mizu akan review skincare terbaru dari Ephyra di mana ia juga adalah skincare series pertama untuk Ephyra. Dalam series ni, ada sabun pencuci muka Skin Bar, di mana ia merupakan "TOP PRODUCT" Ephyra (Mizu dah review sabun ini dalam dua link post, tekan link sini dan sini) dan dua produk terbaru mereka iaitu Skin Nano Serum muka dan Skin Snow Cream muka di mana ketiga-tiga produk ini menghasilkan Ephyra Skincare Series. Untuk menyenangkan pembaca dari Malaysia dan International, Mizu akan menulis blogpost ini dalm dua bahasa (Bahasa Inggeris dan Bahasa Melayu)

Before proceeding with the review, here's a little bit about the brand and the product; Ephyra is a Malaysian brand focusing on skincare and health products. Their products a Swiss quality product, not tested on animals(cruelty-free) and clinically tested and proven.

Sebelum Mizu review produk baru Ephyra ni, biar Mizu perkenalkan serba sedikit tentang brand Ephyra. Ephyra adalah Malaysian made brand dan brand ini memfokuskan produk-produk skincare and kesihatan. Untuk skincare, ia adalah produk berkualiti Swiss and ia juga adalah clinically tested and proven. Selain itu, Ephyra juga tidak mengamalkan ujian ke atas haiwan untuk produk mereka (cruelty-free).

I also included the cosDNA analyzed ingredients table in this post for reference. Lately I realized that even the smallest irritant can cause my skin to be having break out which I had no idea before since I always thought that my skin is pretty tenacious from mixed products. Also, what made me realize this is because I'm having a pretty much clear skin now compared to three years ago (which is like a dream) and even a smallest redness can be seen clearly.

Untuk review ni, Mizu masukkan analisis kandungan di dalam ephyra skincare daripada website cosDNA untuk rujukan bagi yang mempunyai masalah kulit. Lately ni Mizu sedar even sedikit bahan yang x sesuai untuk kulit Mizu boleh menyebabkan tumbuhnya jerawat sebab selalunya bila Mizu tukar-tukar produk, rasanya takde kesan kat kulit tapi sebabkan kulit Mizu sekrang boleh la dikategorikan sbg "ok" berbanding 3 tahun dulu jadi even sedikit kemerahan dari jerawat pun dah boleh nampak dengan ketara. 

Previously, there's isn't a soap holder by Ephyra but now, they do have one! You can either get this by PWP for RM5 or individual purchase for the holder alone for RM10 each.

Terbaru, Ephyra kini turut mengeluarkan tempat letak sabun berwarna biru seperti di atas di mana para pelanggan boleh mendapatkannya secara "Purchase with purchase", dengan harga RM5 atau pembelian individual dengan harga RM10 setiap satu.

Usually I will go ahead and take the picture from the box itself but since it is one of those box that reflects light, so I had to re-write the ingredients by myself.

Selalunya, Mizu just ambil gambar dari kotak packaging sebab Mizu tak rajin untuk tulis kesemua bahan-bahan dalam produk kosmetik tapi disebabkan kotak Ephyra ni memantul cahaya, jadi Mizu tak dapat nak tangkap keseluruhan bahan kandungannya. So Mizu buatkan satu list kandungan untuk setiap produk berdasarkan apa yang ditulis pada kotak Ephyra (gambar berwarna pink di atas)

Ingredients above are analyzed at www.cosDNA.com 

Carta di atas telah di analisis di website cosDNA di mana website ini menyusun dan menyimpan data bahan kandungan dalam produk kosmetik di mana ia merupakan penerangan ujikaji yang dilakukan oleh pakar. Disebabkan kulit Mizu sangat sensitif kepada jerawat, jadi Mizu selalu pergi ke website ini untuk tahu kandungan dalam kosmetik itu sama ada ia selamat untuk digunakan ke atas kulit Mizu.

Based on the above table, most of the ingredients are safe to use on skin and there is almost no irritant nor acne trigger among the ingredients. However the three ingredients, Bearberry Alpha Arbutin A Extract, Fish Collagen and Banana Enzyme are not found in the website which I cannot analyze it.

So I did a little bit search about the three ingredients that are not available in cosDNA and hopefully I don't stray from the real purpose of the ingredient.

• Bearberry Alpha Arbutin A Extract - which is also said as Bearberry extract that contains Alpha arbutin in it which act as skin brightener. Apparently, it doesn't have nasty side effects and most probably would work on all skin types and is considered safer than Hydroquinone (another type of skin lightening)
• Fish Collagen - is used for anti-aging purpose. I don't get much info about this since collagen suppose to be good for both body and skin when taken in an appropriate amount.
• Banana Enzyme - act as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory. When I had my worst acne 3 years ago, my mom used to get me some bananas and used the banana peel to be applied on my face but since you know, I'm not that diligent to do that every day and it feels uncomfortable too so I don't know whether it works or not but now I knew that it works as anti-inflammatory, I can see why people recommend it for acne/pimple skin.

Berdasarkan carta di atas, majoriti kandungan dalam sabun ephyra ni selamat digunakan. Untuk bahagian safety, level hazardous rank dari 1-9 dan semakin sedikit rank bahan itu, semakin baik is untuk kulit, ha dah keluar hypotesis kat situ XD Mostly, kesemua ingredients rank 1 jadi ia selamat untuk kulit. Tetapi, ada tiga bahan yang website cosDNA ni tak dapat nak analisis so Mizu search sedikit sebanyak tentang ketiga-tiga bahan ni, harapnya info yang Mizu beri ni x salah, in sha allah.

• Bearberry Alpha Arbutin A Extract - Dalam Bearbery Extract ni ada sejenis bahan yang dinamakan Alpha arbutin di mana bahan ini berguna untuk mencerahkan kulit. Setakat ni takde side effect dari bahan ini dan ia sesuai untuk semua jenis kulit dan dianggap bahan selamat berbanding Hydroquinone(bahan lain yang berfungsi sama tetapi lebih memudaratkan untuk kulit)
• Fish Collagen - bahan ini digunakan untuk anti-penuaan. Tiada info lebih untuk bahan ini tetapi selalunya collagen adalah baik untuk badan dan kulit apabila diambil dengan kadar berpatutan.
• Banana Enzyme - bahan ini digunakan untuk anti-radang dan antioxidants. 3 tahun dulu, my mother selalu suruh Mizu sapu kulit pisang(bahagian dalam) ke atas muka untuk kurangkan jerawat tapi disebabkan Mizu x rajin nak buat hari-hari dan sebab kulit pisang ni bergetah, so rasa x selesa bila disapu ke mukaso Mizu x tahu sama ada ia berkesan atau x.

I don't think I have much to say about this soap, it cleanse very well and have a very aroma therapeutic smell to it which is ocean-like smell. I love it and it works for me and this time I'm very thankful that ephyra sent over the soap-holder as well which is a need for me coz it is easy to place my soap in.

You can of course read more in-depth review of this bar soap which I had posted two reviews previously for this soap as seen HERE and HERE.

Mizu rasa x banyak yang Mizu boleh bagi review untuk sabun ni sebab Mizu dah review sabun ni before dekat LINK INI dan LINK INI. Mizu suka sangat dekat bau yang ada pada ephyra skincare ni, x terlalu keterlaluan dan sangat harum! :D Juga, kali ni ephyra ada bekas tempat letak sabun sekali, memang sangat convenient untuk Mizu letak sabun ni kat dalam bekas tu tanpa bercampur dengan benda asing :)

When I saw the table above, I was pretty surprised since Isopropyl Myristate is at the highest level of triggering acne which is 5 and 3 for irritant o.o, whilst Triethanol amine is close to hazardous level since the highest level of hazard is 9. Most probably people who have a very sensitive skin or more to acne-prone will trigger acne by the Isopropyl Myristate and it was the 4th highest volume in the serum. For the triethanol amine, it was said that this ingredient is moderately hazardous and will probably cause harm if used in a long term, however considering that it was among the lowest volume ingredient in the skincare, it MIGHT not causes effect in short time. Although it was actually very bad for acne, it is actually a pretty safe ingredient as the safety is on the top level.

Mizu agak terkejut bila tengok carta kat atas sebabnya ada satu ingredient, Isopropyl Myristate boleh menyebabkan terjadinya jerawat. Ini kerana level acne-nya adalah di tahap maximum iaitu 5 dan tahap keradangan kulit pada tahap 3. Walaupun begitu, ia tetap diklasifikasikan sebagai bahan yang selamat kerana tahap safety bahan ini adalah 1. Selain itu, Triethanol amine, adalah bahan untuk pH adjuster adalah di tahap yang agak tidak stabil kerana tahap yang paling berbahaya adalah 9 untuk safety dan tahap 5 hampir kepada tahap paling berbahaya. Berdasarkan dari ujikaji, penggunaan bahan ini yang terlalu banyak boleh memberi kesan jangka panjang kepada badan TETAPI disebabkan bahan ini adalah di antara bahan yang berjumlah sedikit di dalam serum ini, Mizu rasa ia mungkin tidak akan memberi kesan jangka pendek.

For the review on this serum, I will compile it together with the cream below. Do read further :)

Untuk review serum ini, Mizu gabungkan dengan krim di bawah, sila scroll di bawah untuk review :)

Similar to the serum above, the cream also has Isopropyl Myristate which is also the 3rd highest volume in the cream. Also applies for the Triethanol amine which is rather higher in the cream than the serum. Almost catching up there is the Phenoxyethanol which rank 4th in the safety label.

There isn't any info for the Acetyl Glycyl beta-Alanine in cosDNA however, it was said HERE that it was a bleaching agent which I'm not sure what the side effects are.

Sama juga seperti serum di atas, bahan dalam krim ini yang mengandungi Isopropyl Myristate dan Triethanol amine. Sangat hampir dengan Triethanol amine adalah Phenoxyethanol iaitu bahan pengawet. Walaupun begitu, ia merupakan bahan pengawet yang mempunyai paling sedikit irritant. Tiada info untuk Acetyl Glycyl beta-Alanine di dalam cosDNA tetapi, menurut website INI, ia adalah bahan agen pemutihan kulit. Mizu x berapa pasti tentang bahan ini sebab hanya ada sedikit info di internet tentangnya.

For the serum, I would say that the liquid is quite thick and it is a little bit tricky to get a decent amount of product in one suction. The fragrance is almost similar to the soap and cream which I find it not overpowering and very pleasant. The liquid itself absorbs into the skin quite fast but leaving it a little bit tacky while waiting for it to dry. However, after it dries, it doesn't feel like you put on any products on your face, like even if there's anything on there even.

Untuk serum ephyra, Mizu rasa konsistensinya sedikit pekat so if Mizu pinch applicator tu sekali, x banyak product yang berjaya masuk so Mizu perlu buat beberapa kali untuk cukupkan amaun yang Mizu nak untuk apply kat muka. Wangian yang terdapat dalam serum sama baunya macam sabun ephyra dan krim ephyra di mana Mizu rasa baunya sangatlah wangi! Serum ni memang senang absorb dalam kulit dan kering dengan cepat tetapi ada sedikit rasa sticky semasa menunggu serum ni kering tapi lepas dia kering, memang takde rasa apa-apa dah.

For the cream, it has a cooling sensation to it once it was touched and just like the serum, it has a similar fragrance and it absorbs pretty fast. The cream also feels a little tacky while it was drying but it wasn't a big deal once it dries. I could say that it feels little lighter than the serum.

Untuk krim pulak, masa Mizu sentuh krim ni, macam ada feel cooling sikit ala-ala mint macam tu tapi bukan mint la, maybe sebab krim ni tak pekat sangat mcm serum dia so maybe dia rasa cool2 macam tu..haha.. Untuk krim ni pun ada sedikit sticky tapi tidaklah ketara sangat sbb krim ni pun cepat kering dan absorb dalam kulit so maybe feeling tu temporary je.

While dropping all the other skincare that I wore for the sake of trying this out except my a-sol toner, I tried them day and night diligently for a week. You could say that my face has been brighter on the 5th day which you can see in the picture below where the acne is almost healing.

Disebabkan Mizu nak tengok result kulit Mizu bila pakai skincare ni, Mizu tak pakai skincare sedia ada sbb taknak dia kacau proses tu tapi hanya satu je yang Mizu tak boleh tinggal, toner a-sol Mizu sebab selapas basuh muka, Mizu suka ada rasa macam watery kat kulit so bila nak apply skincare seterusnya, dia jadi smooth je nak apply. Mizu try skincare ni seminggu dan Mizu boleh cakap untuk hari ke-lima, kulit Mizu dah tampak cerah sikit dari sebelumnya dan jerawat hormon yang Mizu ada dalam gambar di bawah hampir pulih :D

However, when it hit the 6th day, I notice three small bumps starter to appear on my face but it wasn't that huge deal so I continued using them anyway. However, on the next day, one of the bumps has become bigger and inflamed, one became slightly redder and another one start to show bump-y appearance. Honestly I got a little freak out and wondering where did I go wrong. I do get breakouts but it wasn't a big deal each time as it was hormonal break out however this does goes slightly wrong.

 I thought then probably I'm not suited to wear this skincare on the day or the cream might be too heavy for me, so I dropped on using the cream and just used the serum later at night. However, things doesn't stop there, I do get two little red bumps on my nose the next day. So then I made the ingredients analyzing on cosDNA and saw where does it goes wrong. It is probably because I'm sensitive to the Isopropyl Myristate. Honestly I'm not geek enough to check every single ingredients in all the products that I used because my skin always have been so tenacious before but I just have to for this since my skin causes reaction to them. HOWEVER, I'm not going to point any wrong here, it probably because it is my skin that cannot accept this since the ingredient is CLASSIFIED SAFE TO USE and despite all of this, I do still like the skincare as it brighten up my skin and give a glow to it every time I did use them. I would recommend this for those who don't have sensitive skin or major acne-prone or at least do a little patch test. How to do a PATCH TEST? Read the three tips HERE.

Tapi, bila sampai je hari ke-enam, Mizu perasan ada tiga bump kat pipi Mizu tapi tak nampak ketara sangat so Mizu x kisah sangat tapi masuk hari ke-tujuh, satu dari bump tu dah membesar dan kemerahan, satu lagi just jadi kemerahan dan last sekali dah mula show itself. Memang masa tu Mizu dah panik so dah berfikir-fikir, apa yang Mizu buat salah sebab Mizu memang ada tumbuh jerawat kadang2 tapi kali ni dia lain sikit sebab dia tumbuh banyak sekaligus. So Mizu rasa maybe Mizu x sesuai pakai skincare ni or maybe krim dia sebab selalunya Mizu memamng sensitif kat kebanyakan krim yang pernah Mizu guna so malam tu Mizu x guna krim, just serum tu je. Tapi esoknya, Mizu tengok ada lagi dua bump kecik tumbuh kat atas hidung, then Mizu buat analisis kat cosDNA and nampak Isopropyl Myristate ni sebagai acne trigger. Mizu actually xde lah selalu sangat buat analisis ni sebab kulit Mizu boleh dikatakan tough jugaklah sebab pakai mixed products tapi kali ni kulit Mizu x agree dengan skincare ni T_T.. Tapi jangan risau, ingredient tu memang dibuktikan SELAMAT untuk digunakan, cuma kulit Mizu je yang x boleh terima ;( Memang sedih TAPI Mizu still suka dengan skincare ni sebab dia buat kulit Mizu tampak lebih cerah dan ada glowy2 macam Korean lagi tu..hehe.. So jika pembaca nak try skincare ni, Mizu cadangkan buat PATCH TEST, macam skin testing la sebelum betul2 guna keseluruh muka. Macam mana nak buat PATCH TEST? Baca INI. Kalau x faham nanti boleh tanya Mizu kat komen or e-mel ok.

So lastly, it's kinda sad but I would still recommend the soap! I don't have reaction to that until now and it cleanse pretty well too so do try that out if you're interested!

Last sekali, memang Mizu rasa sedih sikit TAPI Mizu memang rekomen sabun ephyra. Dah berapa kali dah Mizu pakai sabun tu, kulit Mizu takde reaction dan ia berkesan untuk kulit so Mizu memang rekomen sabun tu untuk semua kulit :D

Here are the prices for individual and set for the skincare:

Harga Ephyra Skincare Series adalah:

RM 140 (SM) dan RM 150 (SS)

Ini adalah harga untuk set. Sekiranya beli secara loose, harga adalah berbeza iaitu:

EPHYRA SKIN BAR : RM 39 (SM) ; RM 45 (SS)

EPHYRA SKIN NANO : RM 68 (SM) ; RM 72 (SS)

EPHYRA SKIN SNOW : RM 48 (SM) ; RM 52 (SS)

*Digalakkan untuk ambil set. Lebih jimat. 

FB : www.facebook.com/oceanlife2u

IG : @ephyra2u 

Thank you for reading!

Terima kasih kerana sudi membaca!

xoxo 

Mizu