The month was November and I had just ended a meeting with L, one of the rep for Made in Singapore skincare brand, UNI-®.

L passionately explained the origin of the brand, their products, and the key ingredient – the highlight of the whole meeting for me. The key ingredient, MIRA®, is the result of 30 years

This revolutionary key ingredient that makes up the foundation of UNI-® is Chitin Biotechnology. Chitin is a natural, cationic biopolymer abundantly available from nature. It is a primary component of cell walls in fungi and the exoskeletons of arthropods, such as crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, and shrimps) and insects. Chitin derivatives are scientifically proven to possess exceptional moisturizing properties and can help fight against the signs of skin aging. Combined with skin-loving ingredients and extracts such as antioxidant-rich rosemary and naturally skin cell-enhancing sophora flavescens root, the protection, restoration, hydration, renewal and anti-aging properties of UNI-® are truly unprecedented and unsurpassed.

Following the success in combining Chitin derivatives with other skin-loving ingredients such as rosemary and sophora flavescens root extracts in the laboratory by researchers and scientists, UNI-® founder Mr. Goh decided to bring this technology and know-how to have UNI-® manufactured in Singapore. “Singapore is renowned for its bio-technology infrastructure of highest standards,” says Mr. Goh. “With this in mind, consumers can rest assure that UNI-® range of products meet strictest international manufacturing specifications and guidelines, using only natural ingredients of the highest level.”

– UNI-® Press Release, 17 September 2018

According to L, the main component of MIRA® is Chitosan, and up until now, this ingredient has only been largely seen and used in the medical field. This is because of the powerful healing effects it has on wounds and burns.

Extracted from the published article, Chitosan preparations for wounds and burns: antimicrobial and wound-healing effects, it is suggested that Chitosan can be used to prevent or treat wound and burn infections not only because of its intrinsic antimicrobial properties but also by virtue of its ability to deliver extrinsic antimicrobial agents to wounds and burns. It can also be used as a slow-release drug-delivery vehicle for growth factors to improve wound healing. The large number of publications in this area suggests that chitosan will continue to be an important agent in the management of wounds and burns (link).

Based on this finding, UNI-® developed the proprietary ingredient complex known as MIRA® and created 6 modular skin care products that would work seamlessly together with other products and brands.

Heavy text reading done, let’s go into visual treats! These are marketing materials from the brand which I thought was interesting and well conceived.

Like I said earlier on, really interesting and well conceived materials!

Okay, now, let me share my experience with UNI-® skin care. First up, #theLIONunbox!

What a wholesome parcel right? The entire box is well crafted and can tell that it really embodies the brand’s core vision: Simplicity is key.

Let us now delve into the individual products the brand has prepared for me.

Skin Cell Activation and Regeneration Essence

Roaring review for [Skin Cell Activation and Regeneration Essence]

Product’s packaging	Tall, clear plastic bottle with a clear bottle cap and pump dispenser
Product’s texture	Watery
Product’s scent	Faint herbaceous scent
Price point	Product was kindly sponsored by the kind folks at UNI-® Singapore; however, the Skin Cell Activation and Regeneration Essence retails for $168/80ml To find out more about this product, or to purchase it, visit the product page here. Or visit their beauty counters at Robinsons, The Heeren, and Robinsons, Rafflescity. There are testers at their beauty counter so if you’d like to test the texture, the smell, or have someone introduce the products more in depth to you and answer any of your queries about the brand or products, visiting the counters is recommended.
Try-out period	N/A
Personal take	Comparing this to the men’s edition, I feel that this focuses more on hydration of the skin.
Will I recommend it?	Yes for Normal to Dry skin users. No for Combination to Oily skin users. Or you can fall back on the recommendation from the brand: this for women, and the men’s edition for men.

Skin Cell Activation and Regeneration Essence for Men

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Roaring review for [Skin Cell Activation and Regeneration Essence for Men]

Product’s packaging	Tall, black plastic bottle with a clear bottle cap and pump dispenser
Product’s texture	Watery
Product’s scent	Faint herbaceous scent
Price point	Product was kindly sponsored by the kind folks at UNI-® Singapore; however, the Skin Cell Activation and Regeneration Essence for Men retails for $168/80ml To find out more about this product, or to purchase it, visit the product page here.
Try-out period	5 weeks; twice a day
Personal take	This is designed to be used as a first step immediately after wash. I was told that each of the product within the range can be used by its own, with the other UNI-® products, or in conjunction with other skin care products you may be using at the time. The idea of allowing the skin to heal by itself is sound. Irregular skin conditions will affect the skin’s healing ability, resulting in skin issues like acne, pimple scars that takes a long time to heal, dehydrated skin, dull complexion, wrinkles and lines formation etc etc. The revolutionary and patented ingredient complex, MIRA®, is said to aid in the restoration and accelerate skin’s own natural ability to self-heal. It is almost like it directs your “confused/irregular” skin cells to their normal function. Almost like a reset button for your skin. Thus, the idea is to use these MIRA®-infused products consistently and routinely to bring a fresh start and balance back to the skin. The lightweight, watery Regeneration Essence for Men absorbs into the skin very easily and quickly. Unlike other brand’s serum or essence, this does not give an instant gratification like what other brand’s serum and essence. You will not see any instant plumpness and suppleness like a, say, Hyaluronic acid serum. You will not observe any dewiness or that hydrated glow. In fact, you probably will not even quite notice any instant differences to your complexion, but hear me out. Since this entire line work on the basis of allowing your skin to self-heal by way of resetting/restoring itself back to its fundamental state, it then make sense that the products will not offer instant gratifying results that may or may not disappear, instead, it works for the long run. Your skin gets better and better with each use so that even if you switch out the products after the skin renewal cycle, your skin condition should likely be in a healthier state already. In the weeks that I am using the men’s essence, I do notice a slight improvement in its condition towards the middle of the 2nd week. What I observed and noticed is the improvement in suppleness and hydration. Pimples I have started to heal much faster with redness and soreness reducing with each passing day. This, I assume, is because of MIRA® working on a cellular level to accelerate skin recovery and regeneration. The fact that the formula is free of preservatives, hormones, fungicides, fragrance, colorants, mineral oils, silicones or parabens make this product suitable for even those with sensitive skin. Cost wise, I would say it is definitely higher than what I would usually pay for, however, after using it for almost 5 weeks now, and seeing the sort of positive results it achieved, this is the sort of product I would use intermittently throughout the year. Of course, sticking to them would be a lot more productive and effective, but if cost is a main deciding factor then my suggestion of using it at intervals (or when your skin is acting up) might be a good consideration.
Will I recommend it?	Yes, and religious usage is paramount. The brand advocates the use of simple but proven ingredients, without adding any additives, preservatives, fragrances or colorants into the formula so as to allow the key ingredient, MIRA®, to restore the skin to its fundamental state and allowing it to heal itself, by itself like any healthy skin condition normally would.

Reverse Skin Regeneration Essence

Roaring review for [Reverse Skin Regeneration Essence]

Product’s packaging	Tall plastic bottle with an ombré design with a clear bottle cap and pump dispenser
Product’s texture	Watery
Product’s scent	Faint herbaceous scent
Price point	Product was kindly sponsored by the kind folks at UNI-® Singapore; however, the Reverse Skin Regeneration Essence retails for $298/80ml To find out more about this product, or to purchase it, visit the product page here.
Try-out period	N/A
Personal take	Comparing this to the men and standard edition, I feel that this focuses on tackling signs of aging. Ingredient wise, this has added Placental Protein and Acetyl Hexapeptide-8.
Will I recommend it?	If you have mature, aging skin, then without a doubt, this is something you can consider.

Sensitive Skin Treatment Essence

Roaring review for [Sensitive Skin Treatment Essence]

Product’s packaging	Sleek, long metal packaging with a swivel cap and a roller-ball dispenser
Product’s texture	Watery
Product’s scent	Faint herbaceous scent
Price point	Product was kindly sponsored by the kind folks at UNI-® Singapore; however, the Sensitive Skin Treatment Essence retails for $58/10ml To find out more about this product, or to purchase it, visit the product page here. Or visit their beauty counters at Robinsons, The Heeren, and Robinsons, Rafflescity. There are testers at their beauty counter so if you’d like to test the texture, the smell, or have someone introduce the products more in depth to you and answer any of your queries about the brand or products, visiting the counters is recommended.
Try-out period	N/A
Personal take	As this treatment essence is designed for those with sensitive skin/patch or eczema, I am unable to test the efficacy of it in terms of gentle or soothing it is actually. I did, however, rolled it around my eyes and it did not burn nor had any unusual sensation.
Will I recommend it?	N/A

Acne Skin Treatment Essence

Roaring review for [Acne Skin Treatment Essence]

Product’s packaging	Sleek, long metal packaging with a swivel cap and a roller-ball dispenser
Product’s texture	Watery
Product’s scent	Faint herbaceous scent
Price point	Product was kindly sponsored by the kind folks at UNI-® Singapore; however, the Acne Skin Treatment Essence retails for $68/10ml. To find out more about this product, or to purchase it, visit the product page here. Or visit their beauty counters at Robinsons, The Heeren, and Robinsons, Rafflescity. There are testers at their beauty counter so if you’d like to test the texture, the smell, or have someone introduce the products more in depth to you and answer any of your queries about the brand or products, visiting the counters is recommended.
Try-out period	As and when required within the 5 weeks of try-out.
Personal take	Oh, I am so conflicted with this one. Firstly, I have never quite liked my product in a roller-ball format because of hygiene issue. And this specifically designed for acnes? What if I popped a zit and it is still oozing blood? Would I risk contaminating the product if I were to roll it over the zit? My subconscious was telling me no, but then the enthusiast side of me told me to try it at least so that you have an experience to share. And that is what I did. I disregarded my…paranoia(?) and used it. Now, this treatment essence pen is meant to be used immediately on dry skin after cleansing. No toner required. To use, just roll it, roll it, roll it directly over problematic spot(s), whether it is a popped zit or not. Over popped zit, of course there would be a tingling sensation since we are applying over broken skin. I find it most beneficial when I roll it in circles directly over the zit 3 times. Right after this step, you should apply the “Skin Cell Activation and Regeneration Essence” to help boost the skin. These 2 steps are interchangeable from what I understand from the marketing materials. I do it in my above mentioned way because I think it works for me. Using a targeted spot treatment on cleansed skin and then applying a general essence over it. But don’t worry too much about the sequence because according to the brand, either way is fine. My way: 1st: Acne Skin Treatment Essence 2nd: Acne Skin Intensive Healing Mask (skip if you do not mask) 3rd: Skin Cell Activation and Regeneration Essence Brand recommended way: 1st: Skin Cell Activation and Regeneration Essence 2nd: Acne Skin Treatment Essence 3rd: Acne Skin Intensive Healing Mask (skip if you do not mask) In regards to its effect, I really quite like it! It provides a treatment effect right away as you roll it in circular motion directly on the pimple. I always notice that the inflammation and the soreness often reduce greatly overnight. As for freshly popped pimple, it helps to speed up the healing of it. Okay, I have to add on here that for freshly popped pimples, I do use a seperate post-acne spot treatment at the last stage of my routine. You need to use a post-acne spot treatment that is not drying to the skin. It is very important to note this. I really, really like this pen so much so that I forgotten what my paranoia/hesitancy to roller pen was. I am still apprehensive about using such roller product type, but I have used this acne roller ball pen for 5 weeks now and never had an issue with it – no new pimples growing on the unblemished area where I might have applied unintentionally. Yes, I am raving about this product, but this is not a miracle giving product. I still get pimples here and there, but this Acne Skin Treatment Essence always seemed to bring it to a more manageable condition, resulting in a quicker pimple-busting progress.
Will I recommend it?	Yes! Though I still recommend the paring of another non-drying pimple cream used only at the last step of your routine at night.

Acne Skin Intensive Healing Mask

Roaring review for [Acne Skin Intensive Healing Mask]

Product’s packaging	Two-part plastic packaging with a two separated thin, cotton mask.
Product’s texture	Watery, with a tad viscosity
Product’s scent	Faint herbaceous scent
Price point	Product was kindly sponsored by the kind folks at UNI-® Singapore; however, the Acne Skin Intensive Healing Mask retails for $128/7*25ml. To find out more about this product, or to purchase it, visit the product page here. Or visit their beauty counters at Robinsons, The Heeren, and Robinsons, Rafflescity. There are testers at their beauty counter so if you’d like to test the texture, the smell, or have someone introduce the products more in depth to you and answer any of your queries about the brand or products, visiting the counters is recommended.
Try-out period	5 weeks, on and off
Personal take	The treatment mask is a 2-part mask. There is one for your T-zone, and one for the lower part of your skin. Each zone mask is packed separately with the T-zone part in the black portion of the mask pack, and the lower part in the white portion of the mask pack. On my first try of the mask, I used it like I would with any other sheet masks. Open, apply, adjust, rest, remove, and pat to absorb. But just before the recommended time is up, I could feel the mask getting drier by the minute and I did not appreciate it. To my surprise, there were still plenty of mask serum left in the mask pack. Oh wait, I should clarify that when you take the mask sheet out of the pack, the mask itself is soaked with the serum. There were more than enough serum to soak the mask in, but in my first try, the mask got drier towards the end of the recommend time. Obviously it should not be the case so on my second try, I decided to adopt another way of masking. Instead of directly applying the sheet mask onto my face, I decided to “empty” the mask serum and slather it over my face before applying the sheet mask over. It is wayyyyy better this way. What I like about this mask is how thin it is, and because of that, it conforms to the facial contour so fittingly. It is also nice how the mask can provide the necessary treatment actions that when you wake up the next morning, the redness, the soreness, the size even, seems to have reduced quite a bit. Plus, according to the brand’s direction, if you use all 7 pieces consecutively, the condition of your troubled skin will improve leaps and bounds. This is a great S.O.S mask in my opinion.
Will I recommend it?	A little costly at an average cost of $18.30/pc, it is an investment. With the kind of immediate targeted action it has, I would buy it. However, if you find the cost a little hard to digest, may I recommend my favorite product of the bunch – Acne Skin Treatment Essence

You guys might also be interested to see what one of the customers has to say about her acne condition after using the acne-specific products here:

Also, a video demonstrating the effectiveness of the products in a clinical test:

We have finally come to the end of this #theLIONtryit campaign for
UNI-® and just before we go, I want to leave a parting note from a quote from the brand founder, Mr. Garie Goh.

In the process of developing UNI- ®, I have found that simplicity is key.
Just as an excessive intake of food can put undue stress to our digestive system and weaken it, our skin will experience fatigue when bombarded with excessive nutrients from complex skincare products, reducing the overall absorption of nutrients that may be vital for cellular growth and regeneration.

– UNI-® Press Release, 17 September 2018

Thank you all for reading! See you back on Ryanraroar.com next time.