From American to Japanese to local homegrown brands, we’ve tried them all. We’re talking about skincare products and if you’ve always been on the lookout for the one HG (holy grail in beauty terms) skincare line, perhaps you’d like to check out what the Taiwanese have to offer.
We were at wits end with our skin when we heard of Naruko, a paraben and preservative free skincare line founded by Robin Niu or Niu Er, a well known beauty and skincare guru in Taiwan. The man doesn’t look a day over 20 but he’s already 45 this year! Niu who was a medical graduate who once served as a doctor in the military by Naruko products are paraben free and are full of natural ingredients and plant extracts. A look at the ingredient list will blow you away.
Naruko was born in 2002 when Niu Er rescued a company from the brink of bankruptcy with just six basic skincare products in a matter of five months. Today, there are a total of 11 series of products which you can choose from depending on your skin’s requirements but the more popular ones are those below:
Apple Seed & Tranexamic Acid Series: For precise brightening with anti-ageing and repairing properties to get rid of dark spots
Job’s Tears Whitening & Cooling series: For skin with freckles, sunburn, melanin, dryness and dullness. It brightens and repairs skin while moisturizing and protecting it from harmful environmental factors.
Magnolia Brightening & Firming: For brightening, firming and tightening sking as well as smoothing out fine lines.
Marjoram & Lavender Brightening Collection: Suppresses melanin growth and imporves skin texture, moisture levels and absorption rate to ensure clearer and brighter skin tones.
Narcissus Total Defense Series: Increases the effectiveness of other skincare products for individuals who are prone to stress and harmful environmental factors. Wakes up dull looking skin while conditioning it at the same time. Prevents melanin formations and excessive activity of free radicals.
Raw Job’s Tears: Provides skin with whitening, moisturizing, anti-aging, antioxidizing and soothing effects by penetrating deep into the skin and strengthening skin cells by injecting it with active ingredients. Contains higher level of amino acids, vitamin B complex and vitamin C compared to Job’s Tears line.
Rose & Snow Fungus: For dry, dull or sagging skin. Improves skin metabolism and enhances skin’s water retention to help skin feel refreshed and smooth all day long.
Tea Tree Oil Out Series: For acne and oily skin. Formulated with fruit acids to help skin keep its normal moisture and oil balance while also conditioning and tightening up skin.
While the packaging on the outside may come across as plain and simple, hardly girly, the actual product itself is solid and classy to hold. The sleeping masks and serums come in glass jars while the toners and lotions come in solid plastic bottles all of which are purple in color! They actually make for pretty deco on our dressers.
Naruko’s packaging is also eco friendly as there are in box guides on how you can transform your boxes to become handy holders for your stationaries! With that said, we’ve been purchasing our stash of Naruko products from Singapore but recently we’ve been seeing them in our local Watson’s so if you’ve always avoided trying them because you hate shopping online or would prefer to check out the product up close and personal, here’s your chance!
The good thing about Naruko products is that they smell really really good, absorbs into your skin very quickly and is not sticky upon application which means you can layer your skincare on top of one another without worrying about your face becoming oily later in the day.
With so many different series for all types of skin, its amazing how affordable Naruko products what with the high quality ingredients. If you’re interested to learn more about skincare application and makeup tips, be sure to grab his latest book, Niu Er Beauty Studio which is available at all major bookstores.
Naruko products are available from selected Watson stores and from the official Naruko website. For more information on Naruko, click here.
