Scrubbing my face with my matcha latte feat. Wishtrend’s Green Tea & Enzyme Powder Wash (Review)

Hold on a minute there. Before you lose your mind thinking I washed my face with matcha latte, I’d like to tell you that I did not. But what I did do was wash my face with the star ingredient of that earthy flavoured drink that some people find utterly delicious while others think they’re drinking grass.

As the name implies, this wash comes as a powder. The granules are pretty big; they’re not small and fine like matcha. They’re little clusters of matcha exfoliating goodness! The wash comes in a muted pastel green bottle with white text and a flip top cap with a wide opening to make pouring the product out easy. 

The idea behind this product is that it’s a gentle, moisturising, low pH scrub. It was made for all skin types, but is especially beneficial for oily and acne prone skin. It’s perfect for those who want a gentle exfoliator since it isn’t too abrasive in comparison to the dear Klair’s scrub.

Note that not only is it a physical scrub, it’s also a chemical scrub since it’s slightly acidic with a pH of 5.5 These clusters will help get rid of those stubborn blackheads!

Ingredient list: Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Powder(2%), Lysine HCL, Proline, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Acetyl Methionine, Theanine, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Sorbitol, Papain, Betaine, Cellulose Gum, Citric Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate

You can copy and paste the list into cosdna.com or follow the link here for my analysis! In a nutshell, this product is extremely safe to use. In the end, it all comes down to you and your skin and how it reacts to it.

…by the notable ingredients, starting with green tea powder (a.k.a, matcha). We already know that green tea is great for our bodies because it contains powerful antioxidants (we’re talking vitamins A, C, and E) that detox our systems. The same goes for our skin! The biggest organ we have is abused daily when it’s exposed to pollution. We can help cleanse our skin using matcha because it contains these powerful antioxidants.

The second notable ingredient is papain, an enzyme extracted from papaya that is extremely popular in Asian skincare (not just Korea!) This enzyme breaks down protein bonds that bind dead skin cells along with whatever waste material is accompanying them to your skin. Yuck. 

Sodium bicarbonate, a.k.a baking soda, is the third ingredient and a tried and true one in skincare. This ingredient can go north or south for people, so make sure to do a patch test with this product before committing. This ingredient works as the scrub in this particular wash.

And, finally, the last noteworthy ingredient is an amino acid sufractant derived from coconut! An amino acid sufractant is the cleanser in the wash. An amino acid sufractant’s pH is close to skin, making it the ideal cleanser. 

Fun note, the word sufractant is a short term for surface active agent. They work by “degreas[ing] and emulsify[ing] oils and fats and suspend[ing] soil” so that they can be easily washed away (thank you, Paula’s Choice!)

Please note that you shouldn’t use this with other chemical exfoliants (such as retinols, AHA/BHA, etc.) since this product is one itself.

If you’re new to using powder washes, then all you need to know is that it’s super easy. Don’t over think it. Just pour some product onto your hand, I use about the size of a quarter, and add a few drops of water. It’ll be a little clumpy, but that’s fine since you want those clumps to exfoliate your skin. It starts to foam as you keep massaging it into your skin.

When I was asked if I wanted to review this product, I pretty much jumped with joy and knocked a table over in the process. I was sent the ingredient list and the papaya extract spoke to me since that’s a popular skin whitening ingredient in the Philippines.

Yes, I’m aware skin whitening is frowned upon (and I agree with it), but as a girl composed of four different shades of tan, I was eager to see if I could lighten my face since it’s the darkest part of my body. This does include my hands — as in, my hands are lighter than my face. Don’t ask me how that is, but it is. I dunno. It’s weird.

Having green tea as the headlining product was a plus (haha, I know — where are my priorities?) since your girl loves her matcha frapp or latte!

So what about the product itself?

This product reminded me of Tatcha’s Rice Enzyme Powder Wash except Tatcha’s is a finer powder in comparison to Wishtrend’s. In terms of physical exfoliation, I didn’t notice that much of a difference between the two products. What I did notice is that I felt like I needed more of Tatcha’s product in order to have enough to exfoliate my skin. Also, it didn’t seem like Tatcha’s had a lot of foaming action in comparison to Wishtrend’s, but that’s probably because I didn’t grab enough. (I was trying to be frugal with my Sephora sample!)

While massaging it onto your face, your nose is immersed in the smell of matcha. It’s matcha heaven, but on your face. Because of it’s earthy scent, I felt somewhat grounded. I know, weird, but for some people, skincare is a ritual, and I totally felt that way when using this face wash. It’s the perfect scrub to use in the evening when you want to scrub away the day’s stressors.

After rinsing it off, I noticed that my skin didn’t feel dry or tight. I believe that’s because of the amino acid sufractants since they help retain moisture. (If not, please comment down below. I’m a new student in the world of skincare.) My skin definitely felt a lot smoother and looked better overall due to the superstars of the wash, papain and green tea. The next day, however, I noticed that the skin on my nose was flaking, so I would be careful with this wash. Definitely go by the recommended usage on the box which is 2-3 times a week especially for those with thin, sensitive skin. This amount, though, is the typical amount for any scrub anyway!

As for the whitening aspect of this wash (really, papain is to help with skin tone, let me make this clear), I didn’t notice that much but I haven’t used it for long! We shall see how this works out after continued usage.

Final verdict.

All in all, I really like this product! I love the idea of using a powder that turns into a foam wash especially in terms of transportation. I don’t have to bring a full sized pump bottle if I’m travelling. Instead, I can bring a little packet of this powder and I’m good to go! (Although, I might bring the bottle in order to avoid odd looks at the airport.) I also LOVE that it has the detoxifying properties of green tea, moisturiser from coconut-derived sufractant, and enzymes that rid the face of blackheads and dead skin cells. It’s such a triple threat, and I love that!

And the final kicker is that it’s a fraction of the cost of a popular powder wash (*cough cough*look above*cough cough*), so you’re not kicking yourself after going on a shopping spree!

TAKE MY MONEY!

Starting yesterday, Friday, 10 November up until Thursday, 16 November, 2017, you can get this wash on Wishtrend at a special price of $17.60 USD instead of $22 USD (click the first image below for the wash only.) 

Yes, it’s an affiliate link (the first image, not the last two)! It would be a great help to my blog and channel if you use it since any revenue from it goes back to them which in turn goes to creating awesome content for you.

If you want to go the extra mile, you can always opt for one of the sets that Wishtrend came up with composed of products that work well with this wash (click the second or third image below).