About Skin1004
Here’s the thing: if you’ve read this blog for a while, you might have noticed that I regularly highlight centella in an ingredient list and often try products where centella is the key ingredient, like here and here.
Healing, soothing, calming and chock full of antioxidants for anti-inflammatory and, over time, collagen rebuilding. What’s not to love?!
In my Intermediate Acids article, I mentioned that I was really excited that UNBLEMISH was stocking Skin1004 because I’d tried an ampoule from them before and I really liked it.
Of course, I immediately ordered a new ampoule and a cream from UNBLEMISH inventory, as well the toner I’ve reviewed in my Intermediate Acids article I’ve linked above.
Skin1004 is a brand that is a bit special because they tell you that their Centella Asiatica is from Madagascar and that they have strict collection, processing and conservation practices.
Not many brands provide so much information on how they treat their ingredients and that gives me a lot of confidence in their products. Skin1004 are the ultimate Centella brand with good reason!
Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Asiatica Ampoule
This is the product that made me take notice of Skin1004. It has 100% centella asiatica so it was absolutely the one I wanted to try first – I’d heard that it was good for healing and reducing redness so I had to test it out!
The product itself is in a very stylish glass bottle with dropper – it looks wonderful on my dressing table and the translucent amber liquid makes me think of summer, which makes me happy on a dull day. I’ve used this all year round: with heavier products in winter and equally light products in summer. As a 100ml ampoule, it’s great value and there’s a mini you can try to see if you like it first!
The texture is thicker than water so it’s easy to apply and smoothes onto skin perfectly without being drippy, even if you use a lot (like I do). It feels nourishing whilst being pleasantly watery – I have done multiple layers without it ever being sticky.
For summer, it feels refreshing because it’s so light, so that’s a big win right now for me when the weather is heating up. It’s particularly nice when used with Benton Aloe Real Cool Gel and Pyunkang Yul Mist toner, two of my summer staples, for max, cooling hydration!
Although I didn’t find the Skin1004 ampoule hydrating the first time I used it, I think that’s because I was getting to know my skin and I didn’t have the perfect products for my skin, like the Isntree Yam Root Vegan Milk toner and Tia’m Snail and Azulene Water essence in my routine then.
These three products seem to work in synergy to keep my skin perfectly hydrated. Don’t get me wrong, I still use products I used back then, like Cosrx Full Fit Propolis Synergy toner and Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence serum but Isntree and Tia’m have the edge for me. This is partly because my neck skin is drier than my fave (something I didn’t realise at first) so I need products that have a bit of oil, even in summer.
I didn’t find the Skin1004 ampoule reduced my baseline redness but I didn’t expect miracles! It definitely helps with calming my skin’s reactivity and making it more resilient so I am a big fan of this product.
Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream
Centella is the star of the show, of course, but there’s a whole host of other ingredients that make this an excellent summer cream (or winter, if you layer it up – more on this below).
The tube is design minimal and stylish, like all of Skin1004’s products. It has a nice, tactile matte feel and it’s easy to squeeze so you dispense the right amount. And it’s a 75ml tube so you get a lot for your money!
This is such an intriguing product – it’s a true gel cream, which will hydrate but also supply your skin with important moisturising ingredients without any thick creaminess or heaviness.
I mention the moisturising element because sometimes gel creams can be too light unless you have oily skin and don’t contain enough moisturising ingredients to make them effective.
This product has ceramides, cholesterol, beta-glucan, biosaccharide Gum-1 as well as light but effective emollients like propanediol, 1,2-hexanediol and cyclomethicone, amongst others. Some of these are also great for barrier repair, too, along with well-aging effects, which compliment the benefits of the centella extract.
Oily and combination skin will find this product great because it provides the skin with moisturising ingredients whilst being super lightweight and hydrating.
With this cream, dry skin may find that it’s not creamy enough and if your combination skin tends to be on the drier end of the scale, you could do what I do and add a thicker cream over the top, like Illiyoon ATO Ceramide Concentrate cream, which I’ve reviewed here and it’s a product we talk about a lot at UNBLEMISH because it’s awesome!
Some people might find Illiyoon a bit heavy for the summer and great alternatives are Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Sleeping mask (for night or it’s a good base for makeup in the day, but a bit shiny without makeup) or Pyunkang Yul Nutrition cream for drier skin and avoids a shiny finish (I’ll be writing a review of this soon, it’s my new BFF!)
The other thing to note is that not only does this cream have 72% centella asiatica extract, it’s also got a nice array of other calming, soothing extracts, particularly liquorice.
And let’s not forget the powerful hydrating ingredients: glycerin, beta-glucan (yep, it does double-duty) and hyaluronic acid.
I found that this cream has a lovely cooling effect – it’s really refreshing when it’s hot, especially if you use it with a cooling toner from Pyunkang Yul, reviewed here.
This cream is a really well-formulated, multitasking product and super refreshing when it’s hot. If you have dry skin, pair it with something that’s more moisturising but otherwise you’re good!
Final Word
Skin1004 is a brand to check out if you’re looking for fuss-free gentle products that will properly hydrate your skin and provide a hefty dose of centella extract.