I first came across organic Taiwanese beauty brand Fasun a couple of years ago. The packaging is rather cute (also, there are not that many certified organic domestic C&T brands) and the INCI list looks interesting.
When I was in Taipei last month I finally had the opportunity to check out the brand more closely. I’m particularly interested in face care so I bought two products, a foaming facial wash and an intriguing-looking face mask. Click on the link below for more information and pics on Fasun.
Fasun belongs to Taiwanese marketing company Ur Pin. Ur Pin was established in 2008 and Fasun is their main skin and body care brand; the company also retails a range of herbal hair colourants. There is no English-language version of the company’s website so I had to take the Google Translate route to research the brand’s portfolio!
Fasun’s product line-up includes hair care (there are four shampoo ranges: Horseradish Root (for coloured hair), Rose Geranium (moisturising), Basil & Lemongrass (clarifying) and Mint & Grapefruit; several conditioners and two scalp treatments), body care (two body washes ranges: Mountain Cherry and Olive Leaf; matching body lotions and two bar soaps – Olive Leaf and Tea Tree & Cedar) and face care: two cleansing foams (Kiwi & Rosemary and Cherry Blossom & Lemon), a cleansing cream (Lemon & Cucumber) and two face masks – Rosemary Lotus (whitening) and Cherry Citrus (hydrating).
This is the Kiwi & Rosemary Face Cleansing Mousse (see pics above). The product carries an Ecocert certification – both cleansing foams and the two masks are certified organic; I’m not too sure about Fasun’s hair and body care products – and it does an excellent job: the thick, creamy foam cleanses my face without leaving it dry and it takes off my eye makeup as well.
The fragrance is rather bright – it smells like a conventional cleansing foam, not particularly herbal – but I don’t mind. Also, the scent doesn’t linger on the skin.
Here are the English-language INCI, as listed on the product label:
Honey extract, kiwi extract, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, rosemary essential oil, nelumbo nucifera flower extract, cucumis sativus, coco-glucoside/glyceryl oleate, glycerin, coco betaine, disodium cocoyl glutamate, 1.3-propanediol, lauryl glucoside, glycerin, aqua/sodium levulinate/sodium anisate, de-ionized water
And yes, I did notice the glycerin appearing twice in the list (I also think that the ingredients might be in reverse order…?). In any case, I like this cleansing foam and would definitely buy it again.
And now my particular favourite: the Hydrating Mask (rinse-free); check it out in the pictures above!
I was surprised by the colour and texture of the mask; the packaging doesn’t give any instructions in English so I took my cue from the “rinse-free” (which, presumably, means leave-on!) and applied it to clean, dry skin. Somehow I had expected a white/off-white cream colour/texture but as you can see, the mask is actually a translucent pink colour. And despite the fact that it looks like a gel, the texture is firm and almost buttery.
But the real surprise came when I applied the mask to my face: once you massage the pink gloop into the skin it turns into an opaque white cream. Which, after 20 minutes, had almost disappeared. I took off the rest of the mask with some tissues and that was it! The mask leaves a light moisturising layer on the skin so I didn’t need any night cream or oil. The perfect winter-time treatment! Next time I’m in Taipei I’ll try out the other face mask, too.
And here are the (English-language) ingredients; taken straight from the packaging:
Chrondrus crispus extract, selaginella leipdophylla extract, hyaluronic acid, sodium hyaluronate, shea butter, cassia angustifolia seed polysaccharide extract, tangerine essential oil, prunus speciosa essential oil, cyanocobalamin, ethylhexyl cocoate/cocos nucifera oil, sodium stearoyl glutamate, shorea stenoptera, cetearyl alcohol, sucrose polystearate, sodium anisate, xanthan gum, de-ionized water
I bought my Fasun products at Lafé Organic Supermarket in Taipei’s Da’an district. Lafé has a good selection of organic and natural C&T; mostly international beauty brands – like Bentley Organic, Dr. Bronner’s, Nature’s Gate, Dr. Organic from the US – but also domestic labels Cha Tzu Tang, Yuan and Esencia de Té. And Fasun.
Which, come to think of it, I didn’t see at any of the other organic supermarkets I visited in Taipei. Then again, I did notice that distribution of organic beauty seems to be a bit patchy in Taiwan. Each store – even if it belongs to the same chain – seems to carry a different line-up of products and brands.
Organic cosmetics aren’t particularly cheap in Taiwan – it’s definitely an upmarket product category – but compared to prices for Japanese or Korean organic brands, Fasun is pretty affordable. I paid TWD 432 (around 13 Euro) for the cleansing foam and TWD 452 (around 14 Euro) for the Hydrating Face Mask.
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