If you’ve noticed, I’ve been writing on here regularly this past week—and it feels gooood. I’ve missed it! I’ve been forcing myself to just sit down and get into the zone, and then I find out I always have so much to say. It’s a good forced kind of creativity, in the sense that I need to be plonked down (forcefully) and then the creativity just oozes out (naturally). Everything in moderation, as they say!
Today I thought I’d regale you with a tale of one of my favourite K-beauty products of recent times, which I don’t believe I’ve written about in detail before. It’s the May Coop Raw Sauce, and hoo boy, is it a doozie!
I picked up this bad boy for the first time about a year and a half ago, and I believe I’m on my second or third bottle now. Of course, I go through ~phases~ (as I do with everything in my life), but I always find myself coming back to this. I have to say, the name really pulled me in. Raw sauce?! It sounds edible and also saucy, both of which I approve of. And it only got better from there.
First off, the packaging: it’s very cute and semi-eco-chic. It comes in a wooden-toned cardboard box (long gone), and the bottle itself is that thick, opaque glass which feels like good quality. It has a cute little wooden lid a well, and a pretty cool biological-looking illustration of the ingredients (I never realised until now, and also can you tell I’m not a science-y person by nature?!). Very clean and cool, in my opinion.
Now, the beauty of this product for me is in the texture. It’s so… saucy. I would call this a mix between a toner and an essence, and in the descriptions this is exactly what they were going for. It’s kind of a be-all-end-all of toner game. At closer inspection, it also is classified as an emulsion, so it’s doing 3 jobs for the price of one! If you know me, you know I can’t multitask whatsoever—so I appreciate when my products can.
Of course, this can always go haywire, and we can’t be everything to everyone… which is why this baby intrigued me even more.
Let’s start with the ingredients: it contains 93% maple sap, which is included in said cell-like drawing on the bottle. Actually, it’s officially Acer Maple Water. It also contains a bunch of plant extracts, including (but not limited to) Olive fruit extract, chestnut bark extract, grape fruit extract, rice bran extract… the list goes on, literally. You can check the full ingredients list here for your perusal!
But in short, the vibe they are going for is earthy, natural and nourishing. And I think they really hit the nail on the head.
This sauce promises to nourish and promote radiance, as well as to help fight darks pots, dryness, acne, fine lines… a bit of everything, really. Which you can see in the genesis of the product. It’s truly the equivalent of the Head & Shoulders 2-in-1 shampoo, except it really works! (A separate conditioner is a must for my mane).
Now, onto the actual product and texture. I tried to capture the texture of the Raw Sauce in my pictures, and hopefully that translates. It’s a satisfying consistency; slightly thicker than a toner, but thinner than an ampoule. It’s like an essence water hybrid, and I find that it absorbs easily.
One thing I will say about this, is that it smells heavenly… and thus is fragranced. This could be irritating for some of you, so do be aware of this. However, my sensitive skin seems to be fine with it, so make of that what you will!
Most of all, this product makes my skin feel smooth and hydrated. It seems to work well under most products, and just absorbs easily, as I said. I can’t speak for the anti-acne properties, or even anti-ageing(!), but it definitely is a hydrating piece of work.
That’s about it for today… if you can’t tell, I love this stuff! I would be keen to try more from May Coop, as I’ve obviously only experienced this sole product. I’m always excited to discover Korean beauty brands I haven’t yet heard of—and these seem to be multiplying by the day! Which is so fun and exciting.
Have you tried this? Would you? Let me know!
Steph x