Review: Follow Me Oil Control + Whitening

As a chronic sebum-producing girl, I’m on the constant lookout for anything that has the following phrases: “oil control” and “mattifying effect”. I was walking in Watsons a few months back when I saw the Follow Me Oil Control + Whitening range. My curiosity was piqued, and I bought the cute starter kit that had the following items:

Anti Shine Cleanser, Purifying Toner, Mattifying Moisturizer - Photo: Author's Own.

The Oil Control + Whitening range (hereby abbreviated to OCW)  is purported to have the following active ingredients:

• Sea algae, to reduce excess sebum + unclog pores
• Tea tree oil, to reduce blemishes + appearance of large pores
• Solar white-C, for fairer skin + minimize pigmentation
• Prebiotics, to stimulate + maintain balance of freindly bacteria on the skin

Cleanser
The cleanser is a cream cleanser, what I’d call a ‘firm’ cream cleanser because when you squeeze it out, it stays in its strip-like shape. It reminded me of the old school Shiseido cream cleansers – white with a little sparkle. It lathers up very well and you don’t need to use a lot of it. I think it does a good job of cleansing, but I have a problem with it – it’s too drying! Even on my oily skin, I get the super squeaky clean feel when your skin’s moisture is totally stripped away. Remember the soap bars you’d use on your body? After trying to wash off, your hand doesn’t glide smoothly on your skin, right? It’s exactly like that. I feel like I’m creating more sag in my skin as I’m cleaning off. So, I probably will not get it again. A 100ml tube retails for RM9.90.

Toner
The toner feels quite nice and doesn’t have a strong frangrance. Personally I don’t feel like there’s anything spectacular about this toner. However, I feel like it’s slightly exfoliating as my cotton pad feels a lot rougher. In fact, it’s supposed to be formulated with ingredients that visibly reduce the appearance of pores for a smoother and more refined skin texture. I didn’t find that my pores were reduced, but for a simple toner, I wouldn’t mind spending RM12.90 for 150ml.

Moisturizer
This one is probably my favorite out of the lot. It reminds me of Clinique’s DDMG (dare I say that!) and feels slightly powdery as it sets in. I was seriously considering getting this because it’s RM9.90 for 100ml BUT it’s so full of silicone-y stuff that I don’t think it’s that good for my skin. I’m still on the fence about this; it’s got a pleasant smell and texture, very gel-creme like, but I’m not too sure about its ingredients.

All in all, as a range, I don’t think it did much for me in terms of the oil control. If anything, I probably felt a tad oilier because the cleanser already stripped most of the natural moisture and oils away. As most of you probably know, stripping away oil may potentially create more oil because your skin’s dehydrated, so the layer of sebum comes up to help protect the skin somewhat.

I definitely saw a difference in my skin tone though – I was a little fairer than normal, so if you’re looking for a whitening range, this literally might be good for you. On the whole though, I felt very ‘meh’ about this range despite its affordability and I wouldn’t buy it again because it didn’t do what it promised. I also found myself with small clogged pores, probably due to the cleanser type and moisturizer as well.

This range can be found in all major pharmacies. I strongly suggest you get the trial pack at RM9.90. See how you like it. It can last you for about 3 weeks to a month, depending on how much you use.