Intelligent Beauty

What Exactly Is An ‘Essence’?

What Is An Essence?

It’s probable you’ve heard of {essence} even if you’re yet to jump on this particular {skin care} bandwagon (it’s only a matter of time). As Derek Zoolander once said; “Water is the ESSENCE of wetness” and well, he was right… sort of.

Hailing from the Far East, essences are a pivotal part of many Asian women’s skin care rituals. Sitting halfway between {toner} and {serum}, these slippery elixirs are brimming with hydrating, soothing and anti-inflammatory extracts to help maintain moisture levels and support your skin’s barrier function – keeping ‘good stuff’ in and ‘bad stuff’ (pollutants etc.), out.

Unlike toners – which are used to eliminate residue and re-establish skin’s pH – essences have a marginally thicker, plasma-esque consistency (they’re typically less water-y) and behave like a daily prescription; think of them a little like a multi-vitamin for your complexion, delivering a concentrated dose of antioxidants, moisture and minerals.

Application is unusual as well. These aren’t swept over skin with a cotton pad – instead, you pat them into your complexion, tapping ’til absorbed. Because they’re so lightweight, they’re able to penetrate quickly, providing skin cells with an energising ‘boost’, before following up with a serum to address specific concerns.

Omorovicza’s stunning {Omoressence} contains a cocktail of amino acids, polysaccharides and silicium to support water-retention, quell blemish-causing bacteria and promote collagen synthesis for increased resilience. It’s a truly stunning formula and will dramatically enhance the efficacy of your subsequent skin care ritual.

If your skin is chronically thirsty, try Su-Man’s delicately-scented {Rehydrating Toning Essence} – a potent source of hyaluronic acid, which attracts up to 1000 times its own molecular weight in water, to ‘swell’ skin cells and exhibit an instant line-lessening effect.

And if your skin’s deficient and looking lacklustre, Blithe’s {Vital Treatment Pulp Essence – 8 Nourishing Beans} is enriched with ‘beads’ of vitamin E, which burst on application to intensify the free radical-fighting, skin-conditioning effects. Just as juice with ‘bits’ is better for you, this ‘Pulp Essence’ is more nourishing – enhancing your skin’s ‘bounce’ and restoring an enviable, supple dewiness.

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Verity Douglas

Verity Douglas

Content Editor

Cult Beauty’s Content Editor and a Cult Beauty OG, Verity loves nothing more than the marriage of language and lip balm. A quintessential Libran, she’s a self-professed magpie for luxury ‘must-haves' and always pursuing the new and the niche — from the boujee-est skin care to cutting-edge tech. Balancing an urge to stop the clock with her desire to embrace the ageing process (and set a positive example for her daughter), Verity's a retinol obsessive and will gladly share her thoughts about the time-defying gadgets, masks and treatments worth the splurge...