white tea & plum roses

I actually got this set when Innisfree first opened their online shopping site; Innisfree World. It was very widely raved about in the k-beauty world so I wanted to try it out. I used this almost every day since October, but I have changed to only using it in the mornings from about December and onwards. The Balancing Skin and Lotion, however, I have only used  for a month when I got it.

When I first started using the serum, I was finishing up another essence from thefaceshop which I believe was the Calming Seed SOS Care Essence (a repurchase). My skin is slightly sensitive so I try to choose lines that are more calming and not too heavy in texture or scent. While the Green Tea Seed Serum does seem to have a pretty strong scent, it smelled very subtle. It has a sweet leafy scent to it. I used this on top of my regular skincare routine at first to allow my skin to familiarize with it and see if I'd have any reaction to it. Happily, it seems that my skin was fine with it. I phased out my other essence and only used the serum after about a week, my skin continued to feel very hydrated and calm. 

The serum pumps out not really the translucent white colour but rather a translucent yellow-brown colour. I've read some other post that said their bottle was more white but there are also those whose serum comes out the same colour as I've encountered. I'm sure both are fine and it depends on the batch that you get your bottle from. In the bottle, it looks pretty white but the colour is definitely different pumped out.

In terms of overall results of using this serum, I'd say my face feels generally more hydrated and it did quickly reduce my problematic dry areas. I can't say that my face is noticeably more clear or anything like that but it does feel more balanced in terms of hydration. Hydration is the first step to clear skin so I do really like the serum itself. At the moment, even though I've almost used it up, I'm still deciding on whether I want to repurchase it. I might actually go and try Soy Essence [light] instead since they are both something you use before a toner. I will miss the pump bottle of this GTS Serum though.

As for the Skin and Lotion that the set came with, I would say it's more recommended for summer use rather than autumn/winter. They definitely do some sebum and oil control thus being not enough for me to use during the colder more dry season that I bought them in. 

Pros:

- Light texture absorbs quickly

- Hydrating for Combo/Dry skin

- Packaging makes it easy to hold and pump out

Cons:

- Might be more suitable for Summer or more humid climates

- Slightly too light for Dry skin

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If you are interested in Innisfree's Green Tea line, they are currently having an event for their 15th Anniversary with lucky bags! There's one for the Green Tea line and also one for the Volcanic Scoria line. Both of them seem to be more for Combo/Oily skin especially in this season, but if you are interested, now's a good time to check out a good amount of their bestselling items!