Atomy Absolute Skincare Set

Where I got it

I little while ago, my sister sent me a link to apply for the Atomy Experience Challenge which was basically an application to try out their skincare or healthcare products and there was a list of contents you need to create. For example, an unboxing video, a first impressions video, written review, etc. There were deadlines, but basically no particular requirement as to what you need to say or write about. They also allow you to choose up to 2 sets of skincare or healthcare products to review and give you a choice of complimentary products as a thank you gift for participating. Therefore this is not a paid or sponsored post, but the products are all gifted to me in return of some video and written content.

Now that I have explained how I got these products, let me tell you what I know about the brand Atomy. This is not a very well-known brand in New Zealand at the moment, but they are similar to Usana or NuSkin. Atomy is a South Korean cosmetics company founded in 2009 and has become one of the world’s biggest “multilevel marketing” (MLM) companies – where individuals make money by selling items and getting people to sign up – and claims to have 15 million members globally” – TheGuardian.com.  They are currently very popular amongst the Asian community where I often see people promoting their skincare as well as their health supplements and household items.  Their product range from skincare, health supplements like vitamin C and enzyme powders, personal care products like haircare and body care, household items like kitchen detergents and laundry liquids, also food and beverages.

Before I was sent the link from my sister, I learnt about this brand from an old friend of mine. She is Vietnamese-Chinese married to a Chinese family, and she was the makeup artist for my wedding over 10 years ago. She has since become a mother and no longer a makeup artist. She introduced me to drinking this instant Pu’er tea by Atomy. I am a big tea-drinker and I love my green tea and black tea, but I hate fruity tea. I fell in love with the Pu’er tea and it was so convenient as well. I started to repurchase from her a few times and eventually she told me she was able to “sponsor me” to become a member of Atomy and at first I was a little sceptical because I didn’t want to be a salesperson and did not want this to “become my next line of income”. I just wanted to be a consumer and buy the products. She assured me it was nothing like that and I was able to become a consumer member (something along those lines) and just shop on the website without going through her anymore. I wonder if she gets any commission? I didn’t really mind either way.

Anyway, I applied for the “challenge” (complete with a short video of my personal introduction) and they accepted my application within 2 weeks. I received a call from one of their team and we also exchanged emails with my postal details. The products are about to arrive either this week or the week after. At the time, I will update this blog post as I go. Otherwise, you might see updates on my IG stories!

What I got

So this is one of the skincare sets that I received to try. This is the Atomy Absolute Skincare Set and there are 6 products in this range – a toner, an ampoule, a serum, a lotion, an eye-complex and a nutrition cream. These are available for purchase as a set ($320) and separately (I will include prices below). The Absolute range encompasses “the ‘core essence of evolutionary derma-science’ brought on by Atomy with years of additional research on top of skincare 6 system that revolutionized the history of skincare”, “Absolute was created with 4 upgrades from existing key piece of Atomy skincare technology, in addition to 2 more outstanding technologies”. Also, the entire range contains a “mysterious fragrance of tuberose”.

I won’t be going into the really fine details of the technologies behind the products, because the information is quite overwhelming and not my expertise to understand. I am just going to take you through simple descriptions and my personal thoughts and experience of these products.

Absolute Toner ($54 for 150ml). Premium boosting toner to revitalize and refresh skin. 

First of all we have a green tea leaf water as first ingredient and this hylocereus undatus fruit (dragon fruit) extract, some propanediol, niacinamide, glycerin, some floral and root extracts before water. Straight away, we are not seeing water as the first, or even second ingredient so I am impressed. Korean skincare really do like to use green tea leaf water or extract and they do it well. The rest of the ingredient list is full of floral and herbal extracts, the bifida ferment lysate (probiotic) as well as hyaluronic acid, lactic acid and glycolic acid. This is going to be a soothing, hydrating and emollient toner.

Absolute Ampoule ($65 for 40ml). An ampoule infused with an exclusive technology to reverse the signs of aging.

The ampoule also has green tea leaf water as the first ingredient, then leucojum aestivum bulb extract which is a roof of some kind of flower (I couldn’t find much information on it), and then glycerin, etc. This also contains lactic acid and glycolic acid within the first 15 ingredients. There are a handful of floral and herbal extracts, but the rest of the ingredients are chemicals that are emollients and humectants, that are good for the skin and for the formulation.

Absolute Serum ($60 for 50ml). A highly concentrated serum for visibly younger looking skin.

Again, this one has green tea leaf water as the first ingredient, as well as the leucojum aestivum bulb extract. Looks pretty similar to the ampoule above, but this one has a thicker and more emollient texture. Generally not what I expect from a serum, I would say the ampoule was more like a serum and this is more like a lotion.

Absolute Lotion ($54 for 135ml). Intense hydration to enhance radiance.

The same first ingredient throughout this range and then a new plant extract: narcissus tazetta bulb extract. Which is a type of daffodil, also know as the Chinese sacred lily. I’m not sure what it does though. This one is the lotion and it does indeed feel like a lotion. More emollient than the ampoule and sufficient for my skin type to use as a day time or summer moisturiser.

Absolute Eye-Complex ($60 for 40ml). Reduces the appearance of aging and smooths wrinkles.

A really thick, balm-like eye cream that looks and feels really different to the Nutrition cream in the same range. I am also trying out The Fame range, which has an eye cream as well and that one feels basically the same as the nutrition cream in that line. I usually use my face moisturiser over my eye area and vice versa, but with this one, I probably would not because it is quite emollient. I pick up a small amount of this eye balm with my fingertips by swirling and it picks up just a hint of it, then I just pat it around my eye area. If you have quite dry skin around the eye area, you could pick up the product with a spatula, but personally, I wouldn’t use too much because I am prone to millia around the eye area.

Absolute Nutrition Cream. ($55 for 50ml). Highly enriched to reduce the appearance of aging.

This is a day and night moisturiser and you use this on top of the lotion if your skin needs it. It does not contain SPF so during the day, you will need another layer of sunscreen. Hence I would focus on using this only at night. During the day, I stop at the lotion and then I use a sunscreen on top. This is a nourishing face cream without any particular exfoliating benefits or retinol ingredients. It really is quite easy to incorporate into a skincare routine without having to worry about being too strong or causing sensitivity.

How I find it

I did a quick unboxing video of the products I received and immediately, I started to trial these products exclusively for a good 8 weeks, with a few exceptions because the set did not have a cleanser, makeup remover and sunscreen product. Therefore I used my own products along with the Absolute set.

Let’s start with the Toner. It is lightweight and refreshing, it provides the first step of hydration and it feels so good on the skin when I pat it in with my hands. On nights I use tretinoin, I like to put a layer of this underneath, let it sink in and then apply tretinoin on top. It creates a light buffer for my skin and makes sure my skin doesn’t feel tight and uncomfortable. Then we have the Ampoule, which is my favourite product from the range. It is similar to an essence/serum I would say. Slightly thicker than an essence, but intense like a serum. It is hydrating and plumping on the skin. I only use one pump for the entire face and maybe another pump for the neck and chest area and my skin hydrating level is elevated. Then I could use the Serum which I think wasn’t absolutely necessary after I have used the ampoule. It does provide light moisturisation, but I think the benefits has been provided in the Ampoule already. After the serum, I will use the Lotion, mostly during the summer days and nights because it has a light, fluid texture and is feels really soothing for my combination skin. It doesn’t leave my skin sticky or greasy and is absorbed easily. Then the Eye Complex and Nutrition Cream are both products that I have not been using a lot since summer is upon us here in the southern hemisphere. Days and nights are getting hotter and I often prefer something lighter on the skin. The Eye Complex has like a solid balm texture. I swirl my fingertips to pick up the product and it feels almost like an oil-balm on my fingers. It would be quite nice for more mature skin or dry skin, but personally, I would try not to use it so much because it might cause millia on my eye area.

Overall

Overall, I really enjoy the lighter-weight products of this range. The beautiful scent and packaging really makes the whole package really enjoyable to use. My top picks would have to be the Toner and the Ampoule and I think you don’t need to entire set to create a skincare routine. You could pick either the ampoule or the serum as the concentrated product, and then either the lotion or the nutrition cream as the moisturiser depending on your skin type. Personally, I won’t get the eye cream at all because I just use a moisturiser over the eye area anyway. The entire line does an amazing job with hydration and moisturisation to the skin. It keeps my skin feeling comfortable all day long and I have not experienced any dryness irritation at all even when I am using tretinoin every other night. However, I would like to use an additional active ingredient in this skincare routine – maybe an AHA or BHA 1-2 times a week for exfoliation and a vitamin C serum during the day for my uneven skintone.

Nevertheless, the entire skincare set in the box is really a lovely gift to gift to someone and this range is generally great for all skin types.