SKIN1004
SKIN1004 TEA-TRICA B5 CREAM 75ml
Three calming waters before the water.
Hinoki cypress and tea tree leaf waters open the list, with panthenol carrying the B5 in the name.
Soft cream, faintly botanical.
What this cream does
A 75 ml cream built on hinoki cypress water and tea tree leaf water, with Panthenol at position five, Niacinamide at eight, and a titanium dioxide and silica optical system.
CI 77891, explained
Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891) is listed with its colour index number, which is how a pigment is declared as a pigment. There is no SPF claim on this product, so it is not here as a sunscreen — it is here as white.
The supporting cast confirms it. Silica at fifteen scatters light and softens the look of texture. Aluminum Hydroxide at twenty-eight and Triethoxycaprylylsilane at thirty-two are the standard coating pair used to disperse titanium dioxide evenly and stop it clumping.
So this cream has a slight brightening cast when applied. On most skin that reads as an instant evening-out. On deeper skin tones it can read as a grey or ashy film, and nobody tells you that before you buy. Patch test on the jaw in daylight.
It is a legitimate formulation choice and it makes skin look better immediately. It is optics, not treatment, and it comes off with your cleanser.
The B5 is real
Panthenol is the fifth ingredient, above the silicone and above every emollient. That is genuinely high, and it is the honest core of this product — B5 holds water and works on the look of irritation at the same time, which is exactly what a cream for reactive skin should lead with.
Niacinamide follows at eight. The two together, both above position ten, is a well-built top of a list.
Two waters instead of one
Chamaecyparis Obtusa Water is first — hinoki cypress distillate, uncommon outside Korea and Japan — and Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Water is third. Water itself is second.
Those two distillates are the "Tea-Trica" of the name, and putting them at one and three means the liquid base of this cream is substantially plant distillate rather than plain water.
Two ingredients to weigh
Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil at twenty-three is the essential oil, not the distillate. Tea tree oil is a recognised sensitiser for a minority of people, and it is in a cream sold for reactive skin. Small amount, but present.
Mandelic Acid at forty is an AHA — the largest and slowest of them, and antibacterial, which is why it appears in blemish formulas. At position forty of forty-one it is a trace, and nothing on the front of the tube mentions it. Worth counting if the rest of your routine already exfoliates.
Key ingredients
Ingredient · What it is, and what it is used for
- Panthenol
- Provitamin B5. Used to calm irritation, and pulls water into the surface and holds it there.
- Niacinamide
- Vitamin B3. Studied for evening out the look of tone, for the look of pores, and for breakout-prone skin — which is why it turns up in so much of this catalogue.
- Chamaecyparis Obtusa Water
- Distillate of hinoki cypress. First on the list, ahead of water; uncommon outside Korea and Japan.
- Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Water
- Distillate of tea tree leaf — the water fraction, not the essential oil. Third on this list.
- Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)
- White mineral pigment, declared here by colour index — so it is colour, not sunscreen.
- Silica
- Silicon dioxide. Scatters light, softening the look of texture on contact.
- Mandelic Acid
- Alpha hydroxy acid, the largest and slowest of the class. Also antibacterial. Fortieth on this list.
- Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil
- Essential oil of tea tree leaf. A recognised sensitiser for some people.
- Ceramide NP
- Ceramide 3. A material skin already contains, so it reads as its own.
- Hydrolyzed Viola Tricolor Extract
- Hydrolysed extract of heartsease (wild pansy). Uncommon; listed as skin-conditioning agent.
- Hydrolyzed Malt Extract
- Hydrolysed extract of malted barley.
- Hydrogenated Polyisobutene
- Hydrogenated polyolefin. A light, dry-feeling emollient that does not go rancid.
How the formula works together
Three silicones — Dimethicone (6), Cyclopentasiloxane (11) and Dimethiconol (18) — set the texture. Cyclopentasiloxane evaporates, dimethiconol stays and forms a light film; together they give a cream that spreads thin, sets dry and does not feel greasy.
The emollients are all synthetic or hydrogenated rather than plant oils: Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Ethylhexyl Palmitate and Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride. That is a deliberate choice for blemish-prone skin, where plant oils are more often a problem.
Three hyaluronates at 36 to 38, Ceramide NP at 33, and centella extract twice at 39 and 41 round it out.
Who it is for
Worth checking before you buy: Contains titanium dioxide as a cosmetic pigment at position twelve — it gives the cream its white tone and can leave a slight brightening finish.
Labelled for all skin types. Best on combination or blemish-prone skin that wants a mattifying, slightly brightening finish. Contains tea tree oil, an AHA and a white pigment — patch test if you are reactive, and check the cast in daylight if your skin tone is deep.
How to use it
- Take an appropriate amount and spread it over the skin.
- Tap lightly to help it absorb — the silicone and silica set down better pressed than rubbed.
- Give it a minute before makeup; it is a good base.
- Check the finish in daylight the first time you use it.
Details
- Size
- 75 ml
- Made in
- Korea
- Finish
- Slightly brightening — contains titanium dioxide as a pigment, not as sunscreen
- Contains
- Tea tree essential oil, mandelic acid, silicone
- Ingredients
- 41, published in full below
Full ingredient list
Chamaecyparis Obtusa Water, Water, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Water, Butylene Glycol, Panthenol, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Niacinamide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Polyacrylate-13, Cyclopentasiloxane, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Pinus Palustris Leaf Extract, Silica, Propanediol, Glycereth-26, Dimethiconol, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Sorbitan Isostearate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Pentylene Glycol, Hydrolyzed Gardenia Florida Extract, Hydrolyzed Malt Extract, Hydrolyzed Viola Tricolor Extract, Aluminum Hydroxide, Caprylyl Glycol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Disodium EDTA, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Ceramide NP, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Hyaluronic Acid, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Centella Asiatica Extract, Mandelic Acid, Centella Asiatica Leaf Extract
In label order, unedited.
Ships from Korea.
