REVIEW: MARY & MAY

Fascinated by their philosophy that aims for clean beauty that captures good ingredients in full disclosure, I decided to join the “Try Me Review Me” by Style Korean Global. 

Another South Korean beauty brand, Mary & May’s ingredients are all EWG green grade and free from 16 harmful ingredients that can cause skin troubles and irritations. 

As a freelance product developer myself, I do appreciate a thoroughly well-thought products. Of course, ingredients are important, but so do labeling, wording, and packaging. Personally, I believe Mary & May scored on all of these. Just look at the labels, no fancy names, easy to decode even for beginners, and they transparently disclose how much of the ingredients are included. They state their concentration in both, PPM (stands for Parts Per Million) and Percentages. I will explain more about PPM below on one of the products’s review, so you can get clearer understanding. 

I also appreciate a little note from their researchers, tagged on the serum bottle.

They note that Idebenone (one of their main actives) is not easily soluble in solvents, but they’re using raw materials with the appropriate technology to increase the solvents’ solubility and skin penetration rate.

Overall I can say that Mary & May has this luxurious feel and touch without the luxury price. 

Let’s start the review of each products, shall we?

WHITE COLLAGEN CLEANSING FOAM 
The first ingredient in the list is a whooping Hydrolyzed Collagen at 46.6%. You see, collagen is a major component of our skin and it will help to strengthen, hydrate and great for elasticity. It also has 1% Niacinamide to help with brightening, hence the name White Collagen. With milky white texture that foams up well (not overly foamy), it has a slight green scent but very gentle ones. On my oily skin, it cleanse them up without any slippery feel. But I believe, it’ll also do good on dry skin, because it doesn’t strip the skin at all. 

VITAMIN B5 + BIFIDA TONER
First, I love the thick glass pump bottle. Since I never travel anymore during this pandemic, I don’t mind glass packaging at all, and it’s great for the earth too. It contains 30,000 ppm of Bifida Ferment Lysate and 1,000 ppm of Vitamin B5 aka Panthenol. That means 0,03% of Bifida and 0,001% of Panthenol. So why they stated on ppm rather than the percentages? Well, actually it just sounds more sophisticated because ppm is commonly used in the lab. But personally, I think it’s better to write big numbers rather than zero point something, right? It’s watery and has a slight herbal fragrance, IMHO it’s better to use without cotton pads. I also recommend this hydrating toner for CSM. 

IDEBENONE + BLACKBERRY COMPLEX SERUM 
Taken from the note of their researchers, which is tagged on the serum glass bottle, the orange shade is the original color from the antioxidant that they use, Idebenone and Blackberry Extract. They said that Idebenone is better than vitamin C, to make skin more healthy looking with less hyperpigmentation and wrinkles. Basically, this is a good serum to reduce the visible signs of aging without feeling oily and sticky. It’s also fragrance free and placed inside an amber colored pipette serum bottle. 

IDEBENONE + BLACKBERRY INTENSE CREAM
At first, I was skeptical because of the name. But when I applied it with the spatula provided inside the box, I know why this cream is one of their best sellers. It glides smoothly, doesn’t feel heavy like most anti-aging creams that I’ve tried. It just melts and sinks right away on skin, giving it a slightly dewy but healthy (not oily) look. Beside Idebenone (500 ppm) and Blackberry Extract (63%), it also contains 5 types of ceramides, so it’s great to strengthen our skin barrier and helps to brighten as well. Oh, have I mentioned I love the sturdy yet luxurious feel glass jar? 

You can purchase Mary & May products, here

PHOTOS & VIDEO BY SHINTA ROSVITA

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