by Jude Chao

First Impressions: Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Oil

I’ve been in the AB game for long enough by now that not every parcel I get is cause for excitement. Sometimes they’re just restocks, and sometimes they contain items that, while new and interesting, just aren’t all that exciting.

But then there are the ones that are. The ones that make me hover creepily behind my mail carrier as he tries to ignore me while putting the mail in our complex’s mail boxes. The ones that put a little extra nitrous in my step as I carry them back home.

The one that came yesterday was one of those parcels.

Behold.

Banila Co MIss Flower & Mr Honey Essence Oil and Essence Stick
Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Oil and Essence Stick, sister products to the Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr Honey Hydrogel Mask that I love.

I don’t know why we don’t hear more about Banila Co. skincare. With the exception of the well regarded Clean It Zero cleansing balm, it seems the company’s products don’t get much attention, at least in the Western-based AB blog world. That’s a shame. A peek at the ingredients list for the Essence Oil reveals a pretty impressive product.

Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Oil ingredients:  Collagen extract, glycerin, water, methylgluceth-20, polyglycerin-3, niacinamide, ethanol, honey extract, aureobasidium pullulans ferment, theobroma cacao (cocoa) extract, royal jelly extract, propolis extract, chrysanthellum indicum extract, plukenetia volubilis seed oil, argania spinosa kernel oil, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, anthemis nobilis flower extract, oenothera biennis (evening primrose) oil, limnanthes alba (meadowfoam) seed oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed extract, calendula officinalis flower extract, pentylene glycol, PEG-8, butylene glycol, glyceryl polyacrylate, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, adenosine, tromethamine, caprylic/capric triglyceride, octyldodecanol, hydrogenated coco-glyceride, sodium starch octenyl succinate, maltodextrin, calcium pantothenate, hydrogenated lecithin, sodium ascorbyl phosphate, tocopheryl acetate, pyridoxine HCI, silica, xanthan gum, carbomer, disodium EDTA, phenoxyethanol, fragrance

Niacinamide. Honey. Royal jelly. Propolis. Adenosine. Sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP), a stable and gentle form of vitamin C. It’s like everything I love, all in one amazingly gorgeous package.

Banila Co. Miss flower & Mr.. Honey Essence Oil packaging
SHINY.

I’m not yet very familiar with many of the plant oils and extracts in this product, but they sound like an enchanted garden for my face. I’m already doing the research to give you the full rundown on this bevy of botanicals in my full review of the Essence Oil, coming in about one month, once my testing period is over.

What I can already tell is that it is going to be a glorious testing period.

The Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Oil is an oil-and-water serum-type skincare product. You shake the bottle to mix the oil and the water ingredients before application. It’s quite thick and rich-feeling, a lot like honey; it makes my skin feel deeply moisturized and incredibly supple (new favorite word: SUPPLE), and it smells exactly like the most delicious honey that any bee could ever make.

No lie. It doesn’t smell like honey fragrance. It doesn’t smell like artificial honey fragrance. It just straight up smells (and feels) like some magical luxurious honey of the gods.

I’ve been using this in a couple of different ways. I use it undiluted as one of the serum steps in my morning and evening skincare routines. Then, at night, I mix an extra drop or two into my COSRX Honey Ceramide Full Moisture Cream. Doing this makes the cream extra rich, and I woke up this morning unable to stop patting and touching my cheeks. If I ever manage to tear myself away from my new Hera UV Mist Cushion, I’ll also try adding a drop of the Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Oil into my Missha M Signature Real Complete BB Cream as well.

What I’m trying to say is, you guys should definitely stay tuned for the full review.

And what’s that other thing in my haul, you ask?

Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Stick, unboxed
It’s the Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Stick.

I haven’t quite figured out the best way to use this stuff yet, but don’t worry. I will.

Gotten anything new and exciting in the mail lately?

22 thoughts on “First Impressions: Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Oil”

  1. This product look like I would really like it. The thing about Banila is, that the items are mostly to expensive for me, although I would love to try them :’D

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  2. I’m surprised that there isn’t more Banila Co. stuff either, it seems like a really well designed and well performing brand. I’m pretty keen to try this Essence oil, I really love honey as well and I get a little disappointed when I find Honey sheet masks or other products don’t smell like honey in the slightest 😦

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  4. I wonder if the lack of love for Banila in the Western AB fandom is due to the dire brand boxes that Memebox curated for both this and Shara Shara notably last year. They were generally bad examples of what the brands had to offer and a lot of fans were put off by the poor makeup items included and therefore, possibly dismissed the skincare (and ergo the brand itself) as being equally poor?

    It has definitely been said of Shara Shara in FB groups more than once so I wonder….

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I am *this close* to buying that essence stick (and now probably the oil too lol). Seriously, I’ve got the tab open and everything. Have you tried it yet? Would love your thoughts. This line looks amazing and it’s all I can do to stop my money from spending itself! 😉

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    1. Steph, I love the line, but actually the essence stick is my least favorite item. I just have a hard time finding a use for it. It’s too waxy and occlusive to use as an essence, and I have other occlusives that moisturize more (like the cream from that line!). I use it as a highlighter sometimes and have also swiped it on dry areas of my face in the middle of the day, but definitely not every day. So I would suggest skipping the stick. The cream and the oil are amazing and much better investments.

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  6. Damn! So much regrets that I didn’t read this post before I went to Korea. I was lucky enough to get the Banila Co. Miss Flower and Mr Honey Cream when I was in Gangnam (the shop was closing but yknow XD). The sales assistant introduced us to the cream and the essence stick, and she told us that the essence stick could be used as a touch up moisturiser kinda thing (like when you’re on the go and you wanna touch up your BB Cushion you can use this underneath the BB Cushion) and also as a lipbalm! After reading this post I really wanna get the essence oil because know just how delicious the cream smells like. MUCH REGRETS. On a side note, I do really love Banila Co.’s products. Loving their brushes, primer powder, lipsticks and of course, the honey cream 😀

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    1. Lip balm! Oh my God! How have I never thought of that?!?!?!

      I’m batting about 75% with Banila Co, not loving the Black Pullulans ampoule I’ve been testing but lord the entire Miss Flower line is HG for me.

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  7. I’ve been lurking around your website looking for rave reviews on Korean brand products to buy before my trip to Korea! I’m back now and I’ve purchased the essence oil, I hope my skin love it as much as I love the smell! I got my friend to get the hydrogel masks and essence stick… Seems like my heart is still shopping in Korea!

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  8. Hi, I would like to purchase one of the banila co honey lines but I’m confused of which item should I buy first due to my insufficient budget for this month. Do u think I should try the oil first or the cream?

    Liked by 1 person

      1. 😱😱 I’m so happy to get a quick reply from you! XD I want to get rid of my laugh lines and if possible brighten up my skin tone a little bit as I have few dark spots from my previous acne. Your skin is so beautiful btw 💕

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      3. Oops, I didn’t mean to hit send! I would choose the essence oil because I believe it to have a higher concentration of the ingredients that will help with your goals, since any cream or moisturizer must contain a bunch of moisturizing ingredients with less room for other stuff.

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  10. Pingback: The Korean Beauty Product That Had Me Practically Hyperventilating – Misc. Bliss

    1. OMG “Kbeauty mecca.” Thank you! Yours is one of blogs I’ve been reading since I started getting into this stuff, so that’s a huge compliment!

      I’m hyperventilating over this product with you~!

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  11. Hi there! I’ve been stalking this item on Amazon and did a Google search for reviews, and your blog popped up 🙂 Do you know if this company tests on animals? That’s my #1 question for any new product these days…

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  12. I just tried the essence oil a few times. It smells soo yummy, but it seems like my skin doesn’t really like it.
    Each time I use it, my cheek feels a teeny tiny bit itchy, and when i look at the mirror, they look a bit red. (I use 1 to 2 drop for my face)

    Kinda sad, since it smells so good, and looks fancy. Nice dropper too.

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  13. I know this is an old post but did you ever get to do a “final” review of the oil? I was searching through your old posts and all I found is this and a mega-review of ampoules. I have dry, sensitive skin and it seems like the oil may be a good fit to my beginners’ skincare regimen.

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  14. Hi!

    I know this is an old post, but I blame you for this problem I’m having, and I’m hoping you have a solution. 😉

    Me, myself and my skin looooove the essence oil. In fact, we love it so much that we can’t seem to live without it. And now…alas! It seems to be discontinued! (we”ve found some bottles on amazon for a whooping $55, but our brain and financial conscience is stronger than us)

    So the question is this: what can we replace this with? My skin doesn’t really like pure oils, even if I find them to be quite nice, and serums and the like don’t quite offer the same kind of hydration as this gem of a product. Help. Please!

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