Where does this gel cream go in my routine?

As the last skincare step, morning and evening, over serum. Anything thinner than a gel cream goes on before it, and anything richer goes on after. If you are adding it to a routine you already like, give it a week on its own first, so what you see is the Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract and not three changes at once.

Is this the Korean-market gel cream or a US version?

The Korean-market one, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract and all. We match this gel cream to its Korean barcode before it reaches the shelf, which is the check that tells you which market release you are holding.

What else is on the list besides Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract?

Niacinamide, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate and Madecassoside. The order they are printed in on this gel cream's panel is the order on the box, so you can see where Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract sits relative to them. Further down the same panel: Asiaticoside, Madecassic Acid and Asiatic Acid.

Heimish

Matcha Biome Oil-Free Calming Gel Moisturizer 100ml

Name: Heimish Matcha Biome Oil-Free Calming Gel Moisturizer 100ml
Brand: Heimish
SKU: 6854046649
Price: 47.5 USD
Availability: InStock

Heimish's Matcha Biome Oil-Free Calming Gel Moisturizer 100ml is a moisturizer that puts Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract to work rather than burying it on a long ingredient list.

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$47.50

100 ml

$47.50 per 100 ml

Korean-market formula
Ships from California or direct from Korea
Korean barcode and batch code intact

Suited to: Congested skinUneven textureDehydrated skinSensitive skin

Helps with: Shoppers looking for Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract in a gel creamRoutines that want Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract and Niacinamide in one stepFilling the gel cream step with a Korean-market formulaAnyone who wants the Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract gel cream sold on Korean shelves

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How it works

The Matcha Biome Oil-Free Calming Gel Moisturizer is a 100ml gel cream, used as the last skincare step, morning and evening, over serum. The plant extract it is built around is Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, named second on its own ingredient list. The same list carries Niacinamide, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate and Madecassoside, so the plant extract is not the only thing on it worth naming. How much of the Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract stays on the skin, and for how long, is decided by the gel cream format rather than by the list alone. This is the Original Korean Formula, the gel cream Heimish sells in Korea, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract and all.

Key benefits

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, the plant extract this gel cream is built around
Niacinamide, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Madecassoside and Asiaticoside on the same list, actives
Madecassic Acid and Asiatic Acid further down the same list
Saccharomyces Ferment and Lactobacillus Ferment further down the same list
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract named second on the manufacturer list printed on this page
Original Korean Formula, the gel cream sold on Korean shelves

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

No fragrance

on the list

1 of 4

43 of 44 explained

Water solvent: Water is the base almost every serum, toner and cream is built on. It dissolves the water-loving ingredients and sets how light the finished texture feels. On an INCI list it is usually first, which only means it is the largest single ingredient by weight.
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract plant extract: Camellia Sinensis is the tea plant. Green tea leaf extract carries catechins, among the most studied plant antioxidants, and is used for the look of redness and oily shine.
Glycerin humectant: Glycerin is the most used humectant in skincare. It draws water into the outer layer of skin and holds it there, and it is one of the very few ingredients whose hydrating effect is settled science rather than marketing. Higher amounts feel tacky, which is why it is usually blended.
Butylene Glycol humectant: Butylene Glycol is a small glycol that does two jobs at once: it holds water in the top layer of skin and it dissolves plant extracts and actives that plain water cannot. It also thins a formula, which is why watery Korean essences lean on it.
Dicaprylyl Ether emollient: Dicaprylyl Ether is a very light emollient used to make a formula spread quickly and feel dry rather than oily.
Niacinamide active: Niacinamide is vitamin B3, and it is the most studied active in Korean formulation. It is used at roughly 2 to 5 percent for the look of uneven tone and visible pores, and it is water soluble, stable and comfortable beside almost every other active, which is why it turns up in so many lists.
1,2-Hexanediol humectant: 1,2-Hexanediol is a glycol used for two reasons: it holds water like glycerin, and it makes a formula harder for microbes to live in, so less traditional preservative is needed. Korean formulas use it heavily for that second reason.
Pentylene Glycol humectant: Pentylene Glycol hydrates and, like the other longer-chain glycols, makes a formula less hospitable to microbes so the preservative system can be lighter. It also improves how evenly a product spreads.
Hydrogenated Polydecene emollient: Hydrogenated Polydecene is a synthetic hydrocarbon emollient used in place of mineral oil. It is stable, has no scent, and gives a cushioned slip without oxidising.
Vinyl Dimethicone silicone: Vinyl Dimethicone is a silicone used as a building block of the crosspolymer gels that give a formula its soft, blurring feel.
Caprylyl Methicone silicone: Caprylyl Methicone is a silicone with a fatty tail, so it mixes with plant oils as well as with silicones. It gives a dry slip and helps disperse powders.
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer thickener: This is the thickener behind most gel-cream textures. It builds a soft, bouncy gel that collapses to a light fluid as it is rubbed in.

31 more explained

Panthenol humectant: Panthenol is pro-vitamin B5: skin converts it to pantothenic acid. It is a humectant that holds water and leaves skin feeling soft and less tight, and it is one of the ingredients formulators reach for when a formula also contains something harsh.
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer thickener: This is a carbomer relative with fatty side chains, so it thickens and stabilises an emulsion at the same time. It gives a light gel-cream body rather than a heavy one.
Dimethiconol silicone: Dimethiconol is a high-molecular-weight silicone that leaves a longer-lasting smooth film than dimethicone. It is used for lasting slip and shine.
Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate thickener: Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate is a polymer thickener that holds a gel stable even with a lot of salt or acid in the formula.
Chlorella Vulgaris Extract plant extract: Chlorella Vulgaris is a freshwater green algae. Its extract carries proteins, chlorophyll and amino acids and is used as a conditioning ingredient.
Glucose humectant: Glucose is a simple sugar used as a humectant and as food for the ferment ingredients in the same formula. It hydrates mildly and adds a soft slip.
Tromethamine pH adjuster: Tromethamine neutralises acidic thickeners such as carbomer so they gel, and holds a formula near skin-friendly pH. It is used at a fraction of a percent.
Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer film former: This is a polymer that forms a moisture-holding film on the surface, usually supplied with glycerin and propylene glycol as a hydrating complex.
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate active: Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate is a water-soluble salt derived from licorice root. It is the licorice fraction Korean formulas use for the look of redness, and it is far more stable in water than the whole extract.
Fructooligosaccharides humectant: Fructooligosaccharides are short fructose chains used as humectants and as food for the skin's own resident microbes.
Fructose humectant: Fructose is a simple sugar used as a light humectant. It holds water in the outer layer and often arrives as part of a fruit or honey extract.
Ethylhexylglycerin preservative booster: Ethylhexylglycerin softens skin and boosts a preservative system, which is why it is nearly always sitting beside phenoxyethanol or 1,2-hexanediol. It also cuts down the odour bacteria produce, so it turns up in deodorising products.
Xanthan Gum thickener: Xanthan Gum is a polysaccharide made by fermenting sugar. It thickens a watery formula into a gel and holds the whole thing in suspension so nothing separates. Too much of it and a serum turns stringy, which is why it appears in fractions of a percent.
Citric Acid pH adjuster: Citric Acid is used in tiny amounts to bring a formula to the pH its actives need, not as an exfoliant at that level. It is an AHA, so at much higher concentrations it can also exfoliate.
Sodium Phytate chelator: Sodium Phytate is a rice-derived chelator used in place of EDTA. It ties up trace metals so the formula stays stable and its colour and scent hold.
Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract plant extract: Melia Azadirachta is neem. Its leaf and flower extracts are long-standing Ayurvedic ingredients, and Korean formulas use them in products aimed at the look of congested, blemish-prone skin.
Cynanchum Atratum Extract plant extract: Cynanchum Atratum is a root used in Korean traditional practice. Its extract is used as a conditioning plant extract in formulas for reactive skin.
Saccharomyces Ferment ferment: Saccharomyces Ferment is a brewer's yeast ferment. It supplies amino acids, sugars and B vitamins and is used as a conditioning, hydrating ferment.
Lactobacillus Ferment ferment: Lactobacillus Ferment is the liquid left after lactobacillus bacteria have fermented a plant or milk substrate. It carries the small molecules the fermentation produced, including lactic acid and amino acids, and is used for the look of dull, uneven skin.
Tocopherol antioxidant: Tocopherol is vitamin E. It is an oil-soluble antioxidant that protects the oils in a formula from going rancid and works on skin as an emollient, and it is regularly paired with vitamin C because each keeps the other going for longer.
Dextrin thickener: Dextrin is a starch fragment used to thicken and to give a formula a light, powdery finish. It is also a common carrier for powdered extracts.
Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract plant extract: Cocoa Extract carries polyphenols and a little caffeine. It is used as an antioxidant plant extract and gives a faint warm tint.
Dipropylene Glycol humectant: Dipropylene Glycol is a glycol used as a solvent and a light humectant. Its main job is keeping the rest of the formula dissolved and the texture fluid rather than adding hydration of its own.
Althaea Rosea Flower Extract plant extract: Althaea Rosea is hollyhock, a mallow relative rich in mucilage. Its flower extract hydrates and leaves a cushioned, slippery feel.
Madecassoside active: Madecassoside is the centella triterpene most associated with the look of redness, and the one brands lead with in cica products. It is water soluble and stable, so it appears in essences as readily as in creams.
Asiaticoside active: Asiaticoside is one of the four active triterpenes isolated from centella and the most studied of them. Korean formulas name it separately when they want to show which fraction of the plant they standardised.
Madecassic Acid active: Madecassic Acid is the fourth centella triterpene. A list that names all four is telling you the extract was standardised rather than simply pressed, which is the difference between a cica claim and a cica formula.
Asiatic Acid active: Asiatic Acid is the third of centella's four triterpenes and the aglycone form, meaning it has no attached sugar. It is oil soluble, so it turns up in cica creams and balms more than in watery layers.
Centella Asiatica Leaf Extract plant extract: Centella Asiatica is the plant behind the whole cica category, sold as gotu kola or Madagascar centella. Its extract is the anchor of Korean formulas built for easily reddened skin, and its work is done by four triterpenes: asiaticoside, madecassoside, asiatic acid and madecassic acid.
Cryptomeria Japonica Leaf Extract plant extract: Cryptomeria Japonica is Japanese cedar. Its leaf extract is used as an aromatic antioxidant plant extract.
Nelumbo Nucifera Leaf Extract plant extract: Nelumbo Nucifera is the sacred lotus. Its leaf extract carries flavonoids and is used as a conditioning antioxidant extract.

How to use

After serum, take a small amount of Matcha Biome Oil-Free Calming Gel Moisturizer 100ml and smooth it over the face and neck.
Pat rather than rub if your skin runs oily, so it sets into a light film rather than a heavy one.
Give it a minute to settle before sunscreen or makeup.

Worth knowing

Patch test this gel cream on a small area and wait a day before using it more widely, especially with Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract on the list.
Introduce this gel cream on its own for the first week, so anything your skin does is traceable to the Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract rather than to three changes at once.

Complete the routine

This itemHeimish Matcha Biome Oil-Free Calming Gel Moisturizer 100ml$47.50
From the same Korean-market lineheimish Artless Glow Base SPF 50+ PA+++ 40ml$45.00
Cleanse first, so the next step meets bare skinheimish All Clean White Clay Foam 150g$17.50

Total for 3 items$110.00

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heimish Matcha Biome Oil-Free Calming Gel Moisturizer 100ml

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Heimish, Korean-market original

The authentic Korean-market moisturizer from Heimish, Matcha Biome Oil-Free Calming Gel Moisturizer 100ml leads with Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract.

Verify your unit when it arrives

Korean-market stock with the original barcode and batch code intact, exactly as it left Korea.

On the unit itself

The Korean-market barcode, unaltered from the retail package.
The manufacturer’s batch code, exactly as the maker printed it.

정품Genuine article, Korean-market stock

What professionals say

What skin-care professionals say about skin care, quoted from the medical sources linked beside each.

Your skin barrier is basically your outer layer of the skin.
Melissa Piliang, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic
Pretty much every step of a Korean skin care routine is going to have some component of hydration.
Alok Vij, MDDermatologist, Cleveland Clinic