What does the TOCOBO cream texture feel like on skin?

It applies as a rich texture that settles in within a minute or two rather than sitting on the surface. Because it is the Korean-market formula rather than a US-shelf reformulation, the finish matches what the same product feels like on shelf in Korea, not a version adjusted for a different market's regulations.

Where does this cream fit in a Korean skincare routine?

It sits at the last step of a moisturizing routine, applied after serum or essence to seal everything in. Korean routines are built as layers rather than a single all-in-one step, so using it out of order, for example before a lighter product that needs to absorb first, is the most common reason a product underperforms its expectations.

Is this the authentic Korean-market version, and how is it different from what US retailers sell?

Yes: TOCOBO formulates this line for the Korean market first, and this is that exact formula shipped from Korean-market stock rather than a separately registered US version. Some Korean brands sell a reformulated line through US retailers with different actives or filter systems to clear US regulations, and this is not that product.

Who should reach for this cream first?

Anyone already using TOCOBO's other products will notice the same formulation logic here, and it is a reasonable first pick for someone building out a Korean routine around this step for the first time. Skin that reacts to heavy fragrance loads should still read the full ingredient panel on the product page before committing to daily use.

How should this be stored and how long does it last once opened?

Keep it out of direct sun and away from bathroom heat and humidity, the way any Korean-formulated skincare should be stored, and use a clean hand or spatula rather than repeatedly dipping wet fingers into the container. A sealed, unopened unit keeps for the shelf life printed on its own Korean-market batch code, which is intact on every unit we ship.

TOCOBO

Cica Calming Gel Cream 75ml

Name: TOCOBO Cica Calming Gel Cream 75ml
Brand: TOCOBO
SKU: 10280285171
Price: 37.5 USD
Availability: InStock

TOCOBO Cica Calming Gel Cream 75ml carries four separate centella asiatica forms on its own ingredient panel, including Centella Asiatica Leaf Extract, Asiaticoside, Asiatic Acid, Madecassic Acid.

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$37.50

75 ml

$50.00 per 100 ml

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

Suited to: dry skincombination skinsensitive or reactive skinnormal skin

Helps with: dryness and dehydrationa compromised skin barrierdullnessredness and reactivity

One-time purchase

$37.50

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$33.75

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How it works

The panel on this gel cream names four forms of centella asiatica rather than one: Centella Asiatica Leaf Extract, Asiaticoside, Asiatic Acid, Madecassic Acid. 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. On this panel it sits alongside Bifida Ferment Lysate, Lactococcus Ferment Lysate and Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate. Bifida Ferment Lysate is a bifidobacteria ferment with the cells broken open. It is the ingredient behind the first-essence category and is used for the look of tired, reactive skin.

Key benefits

Four forms of centella asiatica on one panel, not a single token inclusion
Bifida Ferment Lysate on the same panel, the formula's ferment
Lactococcus Ferment Lysate on the same panel, the formula's ferment
75 ml to a unit
Korean GS1 barcode matched against a Korea sourcing supplier's record for this item

Inside the formula

Ingredients declared

Last

Fragrance on the list

1 of 3

44 of 47 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.
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.
Propanediol humectant: Propanediol is a plant-derived glycol used in place of propylene glycol. It hydrates, carries actives into solution, and gives a lighter, less sticky slip than glycerin at the same strength.
Dimethicone silicone: Dimethicone is the most used cosmetic silicone. It forms a breathable film that smooths the surface, slows water leaving skin, and gives the slip that makes a primer or cream feel silky. It is inert and does not penetrate.
Methyl Trimethicone silicone: Methyl Trimethicone is a light, volatile silicone chosen for a notably dry finish. It thins a formula and disperses powders evenly.
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene emollient: Hydrogenated Polyisobutene is a stabilised synthetic hydrocarbon used in place of mineral oil. It is an emollient that leaves a smooth, cushioned film.
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.
PCA humectant: PCA is pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, one of the components of the natural moisturising factor skin makes for itself. It holds water at the surface, and its salts do the same job.
Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate emollient: Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate is a light ester emollient that gives a dry, silky finish and disperses pigment evenly.
Cetearyl Alcohol fatty alcohol: Cetearyl Alcohol is a waxy solid, not the drying kind of alcohol. It is a blend of cetyl and stearyl alcohols used to thicken a cream and keep oil and water from separating, and it softens skin as it does so.
Glyceryl Stearate Citrate emulsifier: Glyceryl Stearate Citrate is a mild, citrate-modified emulsifier. It holds oil and water together and is chosen for formulas aimed at reactive skin.

32 more explained

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.
Glyceryl Stearate emulsifier: Glyceryl Stearate is glycerin joined to stearic acid, and one of the most used emulsifiers in skincare. It holds oil and water together and thickens the result, and it softens skin at the same time.
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.
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.
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.
Bifida Ferment Lysate ferment: Bifida Ferment Lysate is a bifidobacteria ferment with the cells broken open. It is the ingredient behind the first-essence category and is used for the look of tired, reactive skin.
Lactococcus Ferment Lysate ferment: Lactococcus Ferment Lysate is a lactic-culture ferment with the bacterial cells broken open, so their contents are in the formula too. It is used as a conditioning ferment in barrier-focused products.
Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate ferment: Lactobacillus Ferment Lysate is the ferment with the bacterial cells broken open, so their contents are in the formula too. It is a conditioning ferment used in barrier-focused products.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Disodium EDTA chelator: EDTA is a chelator: it locks up trace metal ions from water and packaging that would otherwise turn a formula cloudy, off-colour or rancid. It does nothing to skin and appears at a fraction of a percent.
Sorbitan Isostearate emulsifier: Sorbitan Isostearate is a mild emulsifier that holds water into oil, the direction a cleansing balm or an oil-based cream needs.
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.
Melaleuca Alternifolia Leaf Extract plant extract: Tea Tree Leaf Extract is the water-based extract rather than the essential oil, so it is far milder and much less aromatic. It is used in formulas for blemish-prone skin.
Hydrogenated Lecithin emulsifier: Hydrogenated Lecithin is lecithin with its unsaturated bonds filled in, which makes it far more stable. It emulsifies and is the standard shell for the liposomes that carry actives into the outer layer of skin.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sodium Hyaluronate humectant: Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt of hyaluronic acid, and it is what most products labelled hyaluronic actually contain. The salt dissolves more readily and the molecule is smaller, so it sits in the outer layer of skin rather than only on top of it.
Beta-Glucan polysaccharide: Beta-Glucan is a polysaccharide from oats or yeast. It holds a large amount of water, forms a soothing film, and is one of the ingredients formulators reach for in products aimed at reactive skin.
Ceramide NP barrier lipid: Ceramide NP is the most used cosmetic ceramide, the same class of lipid that makes up roughly half the mortar between cells in the outer layer of skin. Added to a cream it slots into that structure, which is why ceramide formulas feel less leaky rather than merely greasy.
Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate humectant: Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hyaluronate carries a positive charge, and skin carries a slight negative one, so it is attracted to the surface and stays through rinsing. It is the hyaluronic used where a formula gets washed off.
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid humectant: Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid is hyaluronic acid cut into much shorter fragments. The smaller the fragment, the further into the outer layer it can settle, which is why serums stack several sizes together instead of using one.
Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate humectant: Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid modified to be part oil-loving, so it clings to skin instead of rinsing away. Formulators call it the one that stays put.
Hyaluronic Acid humectant: Hyaluronic Acid is a sugar chain the body already makes, and one gram of it can hold several litres of water. In a formula it is a humectant that pulls water to the surface of skin and holds it in a film, which is what makes skin look plumper while it is there.
Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer humectant: Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer is hyaluronic acid linked into a mesh. It holds water in a soft gel on the surface rather than sinking in, and it releases that water slowly through the day.
Potassium Hyaluronate humectant: Potassium Hyaluronate is another salt of hyaluronic acid, used for the same reason as the sodium form: it dissolves easily and holds a large amount of water in the outer layer of skin.
Parfum fragrance: Fragrance, or Parfum, is a single declaration standing for a whole scent blend, which can be dozens of materials. Regulators allow it as a trade secret, so a list showing only this word does not say what the scent is made of. It is the most common trigger named by people with reactive skin.

How to use

After serum, take a small amount of Cica Calming Gel Cream 75ml 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 on the inner arm before a first full application if you are trying a new Korean formula for the first time, since a fragrance or botanical extract that suits most skin can still be the one thing an individual complexion does not tolerate.
Introduce any new Korean-market formula on its own for the first few uses before layering it with the rest of an existing routine, so any reaction is easy to trace to a single product.

Complete the routine

This itemTOCOBO Cica Calming Gel Cream 75ml$37.50
The last step of the morning, over everything elseTOCOBO Vita Soft Daily Sun Lotion SPF50+ PA++++ 150ml$37.50
Prep after cleansing, before the treatment stepTOCOBO AHA BHA Lemon Toner 150ml$35.00

Total for 3 items$110.00

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TOCOBO Cica Calming Gel Cream 75ml

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TOCOBO, Korean-market original

The Korean-market TOCOBO cream formula, not the US reformulation.

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