I Tried This Asian-Owned Beauty Brand That Says You Can Sleep In Their Products
Hi, I'm Jessica, and occasionally, I'll test out interesting products I've seen online to truly see if they're worth the purchase.
This time, I decided to test out a beauty brand that I've been seeing everywhere lately: Youthforia, an Asian-owned beauty brand founded in 2021 by Fiona Co Chan. If this sounds familiar to you, you may have seen her pitch this brand on Shark Tank.
Youthforia's packaging and marketing are admittedly very cute, but that's not what caught my eye. Instead, Youthforia has the slogan "makeup you can sleep in" and as someone with sensitive, eczema-prone skin, I was skeptical but curious.
So, I decided to try out their products to see if skin as sensitive and reactive as mine would be able to sleep in their products without any issues. And to get a few different experiences, I also asked some of my colleagues to test the products with me.
We decided to try the four Youthforia products featured in the brand's Shark Tank bundle (AKA products that were highlighted during the episode). This included the BYO Blush, Pregame Primer, Pregame Setting Spray, and Dewy Gloss. In order to get the full experience, the plan was to apply these products in the morning and wear them overnight.
First up, I'll start with my experience with Youthforia. Spoiler alert: I was surprised by the results.
Upon application, I felt that the primer, setting spray, and blush applied super easily and felt light on my skin. I also didn't feel any irritation on my sensitive skin. On the other hand, the gloss felt a little tacky and definitely was not my favorite.
I also did my regular skincare routine prior to putting these products on to ensure that my skin was prepped and ready.
I took these photos to check in around 5 p.m., four hours after my initial application. My skin looked and felt the same, though the gloss had long since disappeared. Still, the other products seemed to work great. The blush was still fully on, and the primer hadn't caused any irritation.
Unfortunately, as I was leaving the office for the day, I felt itchy on one part of my face. Upon inspecting said itchy patch, I found some bumps on my face — which tend to appear when I use products that my sensitive and reactive skin hates.
I was able to ignore the itchiness on my commute home. At this point, the lip gloss had been gone for hours and the flush I saw from the blush was not super visible. Here I am on the train:
While I had originally intended to sleep in the products to really test them — as per our original plan — I ended up washing everything off the second I got home. By that point, the itchy patch had turned red and irritated, so I needed to give it some much-needed TLC. Ultimately, while this product could be great for some people (like my colleagues), it didn't work for me. Before I move on to my colleague's experiences, here's my in-depth summary of the Youthforia Shark Tank bundle:
APPLICATION: 4.5/5
The application was super easy! The primer, spray, and blush were all incredibly easy to apply. The gloss was tacky and while it did apply I needed to use about three full applicators in order to get a good layer.
VALUE AND PRICE: 3/5
The cost of the entire bundle is currently $92, which is quite pricey in my opinion. It's definitely not an affordable option for those on a budget, and I don't think it's worth buying all the products included. I believe the best product from this bundle was the blush, which is $36.
It's definitely not something to buy if you're on a budget, but if you frequently shop at Sephora or enjoy trying out new beauty products, this could be a good product to try out.
PERFORMANCE: 2/5
Minus the allergic reaction I had to the products, they felt really nice on the skin! The blush definitely was a little tacky upon application and the primer vaguely smelled like chocolate but overall I felt these products did what they were marketed to do.
While I can't speak on how these products would do on skin that isn't sensitive or how they would work overnight, if you are interested in trying them, they are worth a try.
Without further ado, here are four of my colleague's experiences with the Youthforia Shark Tank bundle, along with their skin types. While Morgan tried all four products, Skyler, Julia, and Abbey only tried the blush. Here's what they thought:
1.Morgan (Dry Skin):
PRIMER: It’s super soft and milky, I love how it feels. I would love to use this as a moisturizer or lotion. It’s also luminous and glowy but not overkill. The one thing that surprises me a little, it has a very, very soft hint of smell — like Nesquik chocolate powder. It's very subtle, but I thought that was strange.
BLUSH: It’s so cute, it looks so natural and pink, a little goes a LONG way.
GLOSS: Honestly a little disappointed in this one. It’s a little tacky and sticky, and I had to dip it a few times to get it to show. Also, I was hoping it could be as glittery as it looks in the packaging
SETTING SPRAY: Honestly, love this — very refreshing, not matte at all. As someone with dry skin, I absolutely would use this daily.
OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5
I think, apart from the gloss, I was really impressed!
2.Skyler (Normal To Dry Skin)
BLUSH: The color the blush changed to was a bit too light for my skin tone but overall gave a natural flush, maybe with additional applications it would build up to something a little stronger but the size of the product and wand make it hard to get a lot of product on your face.
By the end of the day, the color completely faded but left a cute (if you like dewy or glowy skin) highlight-y sheen!
OVERALL RATING: 2/5
3.Julia, Normal To Dry Skin
BLUSH: The color changing blush was so cool, and I loved the color it created when it hit my skin. I like a natural look, and this is exactly what it gave me. I didn't love the feeling of the blush itself, as I prefer a more cream based blush but it wasn't sticky!
OVERALL RATING: 3/5
4.Abbey, Dry Sensitive Skin
BLUSH: I really liked how I didn’t need a lot of product to produce a result, I like the fact that I didn’t need to color match the blush to my skin tone, and the ease of application was great bc I could blend with my finger.
I think the product went on a little tacky but dried to a nice finish, would love to try again with a damp sponge instead of my fingers to see if I like that any better.
OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5
Overall, I'm bummed that these products didn't work with my super-sensitive and reactive skin, but let me know if you test it out yourself! And remember to support Asian-owned businesses all year round.
If you'd like to try out these products yourself, you can find them on Youthforia.
