Naruko Raw Job's Tears Supercritical CO2 Pore Minimizing & Brightening Moisturizer

Raw Job's Tears line is officially my favourite line from Naruko. It is the only line that doesn't feature any essential oils, which is what I am looking for. The products in the line are also fragrance free and have pretty good ingredients. So if you want to try something from the brand, I recommend to start with Raw Job's Tears line.

Packaging/Pricing:

Product comes in a sleek red packaging with opening similar to a toner bottle, which allows minimal air exposure. You get 120ml (4.2fl.oz) for 27$ (here), but this web site always have some kind of discount going on (right now it is 22$).

Ingredients:

Water, Xanthan Gum, Glycereth-26, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Taiwan Jobs Tears Extract, Butylene Glycol, Cetyl Alcohol, Steareth-21, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Gluconolactone, PEG-4 Olivate, Dimethicone, Snow Fungus Extract, Lecithin, Jobs Tears Extract, Phytoferulin Complex (Kalanchoe Extract, Licorice Root Extract, Alpine Scullcap Extract, Masterwort Leaf Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Alps Wormwood Extract, Leontopodium Extract, Calendula Flower Extract, Chamomile Flower Extract, Green Tea Leaf Extract), Crambe Abyssinica Seed Oil, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Grape Leaf Extract, Alcohol, Yeast Extract, Thiamine HCl (Vit B1), Pyridoxine HCl (Vit B6), Creatine, Butylene Glycol, Enantia Chlorantha Bark Extract, Oleanolic Acid, Galactoarabinan, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Stearoyl Glutomate, Serine, Saccharide Isomerate, Ethyl  Ascorbic Acid, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Salicyloyl Phytosphingosine.

Excellent (only beneficial ingredients, proven research)

Good (mostly beneficial, not extensive research o r just not quite outstanding properties)

OK (mostly thickeners, emulsifiers, mild preservatives, pH adjusters, all that is necessary, but not a skincare per se)

Bad (irritants and anything bad that shouldn't be in skincare, usually fragrance)

Ingredients Discussion:

I would like to say a few words about supercritical CO2 technology, that according to Naruko helps ingredients penetrate better into the skin and making them work more efficiently. It is an extraction technique, that allows minimal contamination with solvents, also decreasing amount of purification steps needed, however it has no effect whatsoever on how cosmetics product works. Well, I'm happy that company employs this technique, but it's not particularly expensive or innovative or affects the quality of the product.

Now onto ingredients. You can tell from the list above, that there are a lot of ingredients marked in green, which I haven't found extensive research on (though some of them just do not have strong positive properties). It is always the case with asian skincare. They often use ingredients, that western literature doesn't cover extensively. However, I always try my best to evaluate potential properties to the best of my knowledge.

Nevertheless, this moisturizer is full of great ingredients. Some of them are too low on the ingredient list to be of any benefit, so I won't actually discuss them. In the top half of the list you get the most benefits from vitamin C (antioxidant/skin lightening), hyaluronic acid (moisture binding/skin identical), lecithin (water binding) and gluconolactone (polyhydroxy acid/exfoliant). I haven't found convincing research on raw job's tears extract properties, but I believe it is at least not harmful. In the middle of the list there is Phytoferulin complex patented by Naruko, which contains a blend of 10 plant extracts, and most of them have skin calming and antioxidant properties.

The only problematic ingredient here is alcohol, which is present in the low concentration, and doesn't worry me. Other than that, there are no essential oils or fragrance. Even the preservatives are very low on the list (unlike some other Naruko products).  

I think it is quite an excellent formulation. I don't think you will actually see minimization of pores or dramatic discoloration lightening after using this moisturizer. But I can see why they make these claims. Your skin will definitely benefit from exfoliation by polyhydroxy acid and use of skin brightening antioxidants if used consistently.

Consumer Thoughts:

Though it is called a moisturizer, it is not your standard "western" type of moisturizer. The texture of this product is of a milky toner or very liquid light lotion. I use it in the morning under my sunscreen on my neck and chest. It makes sunscreen glide on better and adds non greasy layer of moisture. The instructions on the packaging tell you to apply the product on the cotton pad and wipe the face with it, like you would do with a toner. However, I find the texture to be a bit too viscous and not watery enough to do it comfortably and not to pull on the skin. So I pour some product into the palm of my hand and spread it with hands. Less product is wasted that way and it takes less time.

Verdict:

I do like the ingredients and the feel of this product and will repurchase it again. Can recommend for any skin type. People with dry skin can use it as a layering product (as a sort of milky toner) and people with oily skin can use it by itself as a light weight moisturizer.

5 out of 5.