Review: CURE Natural Aqua Gel

Welcome to yet another review of the ever-so popular CURE Natural Aqua Gel. I like to review reviewed-to-death products, have you noticed?

If you don't know what CURE Natural Aqua Gel is, it is chemical exfoliator made in Japan with a high cult standing. Compared to a physical exfoliator which requires manual scrubbing with "micro beads" or "scrubbers", chemical exfoliators involve a process of peeling. Unlike highly acidic chemical peels, CURE is made up of 90% revitalized hydrogen water, aloe vera, ginkgo and rosemary plant extracts which is gentler on the skin (full ingredient list at the bottom).

My lovely mother purchased CURE Natural Aqua Gel at a random Watsons in Hong Kong. It costs around $30CAD and has an expiry date of 6 months after initial opening. After reading several reviews and complaints that this exfoliator expires too soon to the point not even half of the product is finished, I need to debunk these claims.
I have tried and tested CURE since January and it's now July - that is six months folks.
Take a look at my sad & empty bottle of CURE:


This exfoliator is meant to be used on the face and body so with 1-2 times usage on the face, once on elbows and legs - three pumps for each area - it can be finished within the six month expiry date! Unlike Japalang, the instructions on my bottle say to use three pumps opposed to a "small amount":

The neat thing about CURE is that it comes out as a thin gel but turns into a milky white water as it is massaged onto the skin. With a little more massaging the gel/water will start to "pill"; form into solid white balls.
A demonstration of CURE courtesy of Japalang:


In Step 3, you see a ball of dead skin and dirt; that is what you will see on yourself when you use CURE.

What I like about CURE Natural Aqua Gel is how gentle it is on my face and body. Even though I use the Clarisonic around three to four times a week, I can still use CURE twice a week. I also enjoy using CURE to exfoliate my legs before I shave them and on my elbows because they can get a bit ashy. A strange way I use CURE is on my underarms. All deodorants irritate my underarms to the point where the area dries up and flakes but since I enjoy wearing sleeveless tops, I need smooth looking underarms. This gentle exfoliator helps remove the dead skin and leaves me with smooth looking pits (and everything else)!

Not only does CURE always leave me with smooth skin, it also helps my skin emit this radiance. My skin literally glows like Mr. Clean's bald head and it feels squeaky clean without drying or irritating my skin beyond relief. It's gentle and more effective than any physical exfoliator that I have tried so far.

The a scan code on the back for Blackberry, Android, and iPhone users is very neat. This is the first time I've ever seen a scan code on a cosmetic product. Sorry, I'm a bit lame.
It's good to know there's the price in yen printed on the bottle too:


What I hate about CURE is how it is not officially sold outside of Asia but if I can find a seller, the price is outrageous. If I want to repurchase this beauty in a bottle, I'll have to fork out almost twice the original price. I don't think it's fair for me to have to pay high end costs for a drugstore skincare item and because the exfoliator expires quicker than most generic exfoliators, it's too expensive for long-term use. Lastly, the scent of the exfoliator is like dirty dish water with a drip of vodka. Blegh!

Bottom Line:
I recommend everyone try CURE Natural Aqua Gel at least once and decide for yourself if it is worth the regular price (~$26) or inflated price ($40+). The product itself is awesome but I simply can't justify paying twice the original price for something that expires quickly.

Have you tried CURE before? 

Ingredients