Product Review - Neogen Naturals Real Fresh Foam Green Tea

I abandoned my usual preferred creamy cleansers and Cetaphil to look into the Neogen Dermalogy line of natural foaming cleansers. Product images from the Korean company called to me: actual green tea leaves sat at the bottom of each bottle, nutritious sediments that would continue to add to my bottle over the course of use. It certainly helped that the product was featured in Get It Beauty (2015, Episode 36). I shelled out the money, got it in the post shortly after (along with the Neogen Bio-Peel Gauze in Peeling Wine, which I love and will review soon, too), put it to the test immediately.

The cleanser comes in 2 sizes -depending on which version you've received - 120ml and 160ml. The 160ml is a newer size meant to replace the older 120ml bottles. The versions manufactured for the Hong Kong market (among others, I'm sure) have slightly different packaging. Neogen's Real Fresh Foam line is available in 4 different types, for 4 different purposes:

Source: Neogen Dermalogy

- Cereal (brightening)
- Cranberry (anti-ageing)
- Blueberry (hydrating)
- Green Tea (soothing)

Green tea intrigued me the most, and seemed to have benefits that could easily be applied to the most frequent users of cleansers in my household (who frequently sneak use of my products, from cleansers to sunscreens). Antioxidative? Check! Soothing? Check! Three weeks in, and I have my initial impressions formed on this cleanser.

Pros:
- 1 pump is enough, but 2 is a luxury you can afford to give your face. Being a self-foaming cleanser, use of the product is surprisingly economical even if you decide you want to depress that nozzle twice each time you use the product. Three weeks in, and between the guests that have helped themselves to the cleanser and myself, there's still a very sizeable amount left. A bottle could possibly stretch a good 3-4 months, or even longer if you use a different cleanser in the day, or at night.

- Foams easily and consistently each time. A single pump (pictured above) is generous enough for use each time.

- The foam is surprisingly creamy on skin. Let me explain: I usually find foam products, with the exception of a few, quite drying, and tend to prefer creamy or gel cleansers, even though they aren't anywhere as satisfying as using a foam product. This, however, wasn't as drying. It almost leaves a thin, oily film of sorts, though this goes away immediately once you pat your face dry. The foam is light, airy

- The great thing about these is that they have a whole host of lovely ingredients in there. There is a lot of going into this, from the green tea, ginseng and argan oil, to rice extracts, to honey and coconut ones.

- Neogen's promise of the product being free of some of the following, among others: sulfates, mineral oils, petroleum, dimethicone, artificial pigments, animal-derived ingredients.


Cons:
- This is a huge one for me. Not as much product as you would think when you first receive the bottle. A significant amount (maybe a quarter to a fifth) of the product is wasted because the bottle is designed to deceive: the sieves that you see inside doesn't actually just separate the tea leaves from the rest of your bottle -it also separates the foamy liquid that the green tea leaves are suspended in. I'd be keen to try the other versions available of this product to see if it may be just a one-off thing with my bottle. Which brings me to my next con:

- You don't actually benefit from having tea leaves sit in your bottle, and that's just a marketing gimmick I fell for (assuming the above isn't a one-off). I've read that they've changed the package size of the bottles, increasing the product given to 160ml rather than just 120ml, which could be in response to this.

- A number of potentially reactive ingredients, in the sense that the long, long list of ferments and extracts may potentially irritate the skin of users allergic or sensitive to anything on there. There are, supposedly, 99 different naturally-derived ingredients in the formulation, so I would caution and suggest that you have a quick look through the long laundry list of ingredients to be sure that nothing in there would sensitise your skin.

- It can sting the eyes if you don't have a towel on hand to dry your face off, even if you do avoid the eye area -but mine may just be more sensitive right now.

- Can be potentially drying, depending on your skin condition. On days where my skin feels parched, I tend to reach for something that's creamier in texture than this.

Overall:
I like the cleanser, but don't love it enough not to stray. It's a solid cleanser, and will appeal to those looking for a foam cleanser that packs a punch with its long, extensive list of natural ingredients, while keeping skin fresh and relatively moist. I'll be looking at other versions of this next, and may spring for the Cranberry while in Seoul, which should make for an interesting comparison. This green tea version is not likely to be something I'll spring for in the future, though -it's already been demoted to the guest washroom in my quest for something... better.

Neogen Dermalogy Labs have churned out a few interesting products, which I hope to investigate over the coming months in search of my holy grail beauty products. Neogen Dual Layer Ceramide Oil, I'm coming for you next! If you've tried any of Neogen's other cleansers, or have other brand recommendations, feel free to let me know what you think!

The product is stocked at Olive Young, but can be purchased at multiple sources online: Qoo10, Sokoglam, Korea Depart among others. I picked mine up from a seller on Qoo10.