As in all reviews I do, the proof lies in the testing. Cor helpfully sent me two small round slices of Cor Silver Soap to test. The small samples are considered a week or month's worth (depending on how thickly one lathers their face) of cleansing. I gave one to my mother to get a larger test sample than just myself.
The Cor Testers
At 41, my skin is olive-toned, prone to getting dark freckles and evidence of hyperpigmented sun damage, but few wrinkles. I have normal skin with a tendency to get spot breakouts when I use products containing irritants on my face.
My mother is 62, has light crows feet, slight nose to mouth lines, and very few wrinkles overall. She has lighter colored skin with blue-pink undertones, and also gets dark freckles in the sun. Her skin type is normal to dry.
We each used the soap twice daily for a week.
The Cor Test
We both found the Cor Silver Soap very pleasant to use. It has a light, barely there clean scent, goes on silky and washes off cleanly. This is a low-lather product, which I prefer in a face cleanser.
Cor Silver soap removes the dirt from the day and most of the makeup, and doesn't leave us with that dry, tight skin feeling which we've come to realize means the skin is stripped. In other words, we felt comfortable, soft and clean. We both followed up use with our normal moisturizers. We did not experience irritation or breakouts. Wrinkles, though - sadly - remained right were we'd left them.
Negatives for this product center mainly squarely on price point. As one would expect. A full bar of Cor Silver Soap at 125 grams will set you back $125. Our tiny "cucumber slice" samples cost $14 each in retail. At either size, we consider that pretty darned expensive for, what is, in essence, a pH balanced soap for sensitive skin. Many lovely drugstore facial cleansers for perform the same task at a fraction of the price.
The Reality for Cor Silver Soap
This is clearly an elegant formulation, presumably due to the silica, collagen and silk protein ingredients. The pomegranate extracts and avocado oil are also helpful ingredients - with antioxidant and soothing benefits respectively.
Silver, the most salubrious ingredient on the menu, is an unusual choice for face cleanser on several levels:
Silver has been studied and proven as an antibacterial agent, as with most metals. But is there enough silver in the solution to approach antimicrobial levels? I can see right through the soap sliver and while it does have a mild metallic sheen, I cannot say just how much silver is needed to fight bacteria in a product applied to surface skin.
In another vein, a cleanser is made to wash on and wash off. This isn't a moisturizer or serum whereby strong active ingredients are applied facially and left to soak in. Thus, having silver and collagen in a largely glycerin soap product seems a bit precious: how will something you wash right away (or even away after a few spare minutes, as they suggest for deep cleansing) encourage healing and cell growth?
Cor's touted answer is that the active ingredients penetrate deeply into the dermis layer of skin. I would like to see studies proving that - from my research we aren't there just yet, and don't know exactly what the effects of such nano-technology are for the body in the long term.
The ingredient Chitosen I have no issue with, as that helps provide a fibrous mechanical type of mild exfoliation, leaving skin smoother overall. Mixed with the silica and silk proteins, Cor really does offer a lovely formulation to cleanse, exfoliate and add moisture-binding ingredients in one pleasant step.
The Recommendation for Cor Silver Soap
This a nice product for facial cleansing: with mild exoliation in a a non-drying forumla. It is easily rinsed, and matched with a very slight scent of lemon verbena and fresh melon.
If this is what you seek in a cleanser, I'd suggest purchasing the sample size at $14 and seeing if you can't live without it. An expensive price tag doesn't always translate to a miracle product, so I'd take the claims of reviving, plumping, luminizing, brightening, toning, balancing and healing with a grain of salt. Or in this case, with a grain of soap!
Validity of claims aside, the cleanser IS simply lovely to use and left both mine and my mother's faces fresh, clean, soft and fully prepped for moisturizer. If you don't mind the price tag, this may be the right facial cleanser for you, and you will certainly feel luxurious indulging in it.
Recommended as a gift for the woman who has everything - she will be impressed and pleased with both product and you - or for a luxury 'reward' purchase for your indubitably deserving self.
