am+pm | Chasing Elixir

am+pm is the skincare brand by Taiwanese celebrity skincare guru, Niu-er (牛爾). His most well known skincare brand, Naruko, focuses on using naturally derived ingredients, whilst am+pm is all about cosmeceuticals. Admittedly, I’ve not tried any of his products, until ~~Tine~~ Akisa (oops I got ma sistas mixed up! >.<)handed me this product in one of our MBBE meets.

Having had excessively oily skin my whole life, I’ve just kinda put up with it. Yes I’ve tried “oil control” day lotions before, and none have done anything for me, so I left this tube in my beauty drawer with no desire to even try. But in Taiwan, where it’s currently 37 degrees and 80% humidity, my oiliness is at an all new level – I need SOMETHING.

am+pm All Day No Shine Sebum Balancer is packaged in a 30ml tube with a long nozzle and squeezy tube. Simple, effective and offers great control as you can squeeze out just the amount you need.

The texture is a cloudy coloured gel, which is classified as a serum on the official Naruko website (where am+pm is also available from) as it contains pumpkin enzyme, yeast extract, hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C & B5 and a couple of other botanical extracts.

The idea is that when it comes to reducing the oiliness of the skin, hydration is as equally important as controlling sebum production. The am+pm Sebum Balancer not only works on the sebaceous glands, but also hydrates and boost the general health of the skin.

When first applied, the gel becomes a watery texture which I do find a little hydrating (I still put on a hydrating serum first though). Once it absorbs my skin feels very satin-y to the touch, and you can see from above pic that it also blurs the lines and pores. This is great as the am+pm Sebum Balancer is also quite effective as a primer.

In such heat and humidity, the less layers on the face the better. So my day routine is Cleanse – tone – hydrating serum – am+pm sebum balancer – sunscreen – BB cream.

I still need to blot my face once or twice during the day, but that’s a lot less than what I had to do before. And I find much less oil on the tissue when I do blot. I also find it great to mix the am+pm Sebum Balance with a little BB cream, and apply that on my face when touching up my makeup so it doesn’t look heavy or cakey.

So thank you Akisa! I have been using this EVERY.SINGLE.DAY since I’ve been in Taiwan, and when I run out, I’ll be sure to re-purchase another tube!

The am+pm All Day No Shine Sebum Balancer retails for NT$449 and is available in selected Watsons and Naruko.com.tw.