SUQQU is more renowned for its makeup range than for its skincare lineup, as the brand has a variety of sublime color and base makeup items. But today I am featuring one of SUQQU’s key skincare products, Musculate Massage Cream.
Those who are familiar with SUQQU might know about the brand’s signature Gankin Massage, which is claimed to help ease the tension of facial muscles, stimulate blood flow, and re-define facial contours. The massage can be administered by staff members at the SUQQU counter or at home, with the help of Musculate Massage Cream.
The massage is performed after cleansing and before toning and moisturizing. Ideally, it is performed daily both in the morning and in the evening. There are specific steps in the Gankin Massage routine, which are available on the “How to Massage” page on SUQQU’s Japanese website. (These steps are not presented on SUQQU’s global website.)
After the massage, the massage cream is wiped off with a sponge cloth, which comes with the massage cream. (The sponge cloth can be purchased separately, and so can a fiber cloth (as an alternative for the same purpose).) SUQQU also recommends using Face Refresher to remove any residue of the massage cream. As far as I can remember, it contains quite a lot of alcohol and might cause skin irritation for some people.
The massage cream has a very emollient texture. It is designed not to sink into the skin entirely so that the emolliency stays on the skin to facilitate the massage. It contains rich emollients such as mineral oil, beeswax, petrolatum, and squalane. It also contains moisturizing ingredients such as dipropylene glycol, stearic acid, cetearyl alcohol, methylserine, xylobiose, and sodium hyaluronate. (I have noticed that methylserine and xylobiose don’t seem to be commonly used in skincare products from western brands.)
Because of all the occlusive emollients in this product, it is a lot more suitable for those with dry or very dry skin and I would not recommend this product for those with oily skin. If you have combination skin, do avoid using this product on the oilier parts of your skin. (Otherwise you are simply pushing mineral oil and petrolatum into the skin which is already very sebaceous and this might create more problems than benefits.)
The Musculate Massage Cream pictured above is the limited-edition jasmine-scented Matsukasoukou version (available in the UK from January), while the original version (without the leaf details on the jar) has the brand’s signature eastern orchid scent. From June 4th, a limited-edition 300ml version (of the original (eastern orchid) version (200ml)) will be available in Japan.
(The product featured in this article is provided by SUQQU.)
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