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Viva Green Tea Face Cleanser & Tonic
Guest Contributor in Budget Friendly, Face Escentials, Tested — March 10th, 2008 (72 views / Print this article )
By Lena
Many, many years ago I read an article in a fashion glossy which confirmed my suspicion that I can skip expensive face cleansers and should, instead, splurge on face moisturizers and eye creams. Since then, I’ve consistently used face milk cleansers and tonics from Viva Cosmetics, produced by PT Vitapharm, which claims to have been making cosmetics in Indonesia for more than 40 years. The line currently includes an extensive skincare and makeup range; one of their star products is the eyebrow pencil, beloved by many FD forum members.
Viva has several variants of milk cleansers and tonics geared toward different skin types, with three variants for oily skin: cucumber, lemon and averrhoa (i.e. star fruit or belimbing in Indonesian). A bottle of cleanser or face tonic cost less than Rp5,000 each, and the fact that they’ve been around forever (it seems) attest to their effectiveness. Since my skin is oily, I’ve mainly used the cucumber variant, sometimes alternating with the other variants. Recently, Viva has released a new variant, Green Tea. A generous FD Forum member gave me a set of the Green Tea milk cleanser and tonic since she found them incompatible with her skin. It’s a welcome gift since the set wasn’t available in my local grocers at the time and I was curious to try it. A bit wary at first given my friend’s experience, I’ve been using the set now for 2 weeks.
The milk cleanser has a thick lotion consistency, similar to the cucumber variant. The ingredients listed includes Camellia Sinensis (green tea) leaf extract, Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil, mineral oil, cetyl alcohol (nothing like rubbing alcohol since it is an emollient made from vegetable oils) and other standard ingredients such as parabens, perfumes and colorants. Green tea is known to have antioxidant properties, and tea tree antibacterial properties, so both are desirable ingredients in a skin cleanser, frequently featured in other brands as well.
As standard with other cleansers, I spread the lotion evenly over my face and remove it with a cotton square. It has a somewhat medium-strong fragrance which, to me, doesn’t resemble a ‘green tea’ smell; rather, it’s tinged with the antiseptic-type fragrance commonly associated with tea tree oil, which I neither like nor dislike. The cleanser takes off makeup, dirt and oil, leaving the face clean and not greasy. Since my skin is oily, I normally follow up with using a gentle foaming cleanser (to remove all residue), face moisturizer and eye cream. The Viva Green Tea cleanser meets all my expectations, and in the future I foresee using it regularly in rotation with my beloved Viva cucumber cleanser.
I don’t usually use face tonics after cleansing with a foam cleanser since I generally find them too drying. However, not so with the Viva Green Tea tonic. Similar with the cleanser, the tonic has green tea and tea tree extracts, and in addition also includes witch hazel distillate and hydrogenated castol oil. I put some tonic on a square of cotton and gently pat all over my face. It actually gives a pleasant cooling effect on the skin, doesn’t sting, and doesn’t leave my face feeling dry and tight after use. I’ve been using the tonic about every other day for two weeks, and am very satisfied with the result. I’ll be using the tonic regularly from now on.
After more than two weeks of using the Viva Green Tea line, my face is still its normal self, with no breakouts, drying, or increased oil activity, which makes the cleanser set a clear winner in my opinion! And at less than Rp10,000 for the set (at least 2 month’s supply), it does the job without breaking the piggy bank. As with other skincare, however, I’d suggest doing a patch test first on a small section of your face, especially if you have sensitive skin.
There are 36 comments for this entry. Add yours
rere
nicely written piece, Lena! gue stop pake viva toner tiap hari krn bikin muka jadi kering (flaky around nose & lips). coba juga green tea body lotion, agak encer tapi wanginya segar.
March 10th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Juleha
Wah len ..loe bikin gw pengen nyobain aaja deh .. dulu pernah nyobain tapi udah rada lupa nih
March 11th, 2008 at 1:03 am
Lena
wah kaget udah dipasang
[b]juleh[/b], cobain deh, kalo cocok kan mayan, hemat bok! *racunku murah kok haha*
March 11th, 2008 at 7:35 am
Lena
re, thank you dear. kayaknya toner memang bikin kering kalo dipake setiap hari, apalagi gue teteup masi pake foaming cleanser…
March 11th, 2008 at 7:38 am
duniaindah
aaah coba aaaah…
March 11th, 2008 at 10:08 am
silvershore
Bagus tulisannya, Lena. Love it. Trus, jadi pengen nyoba.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:44 am
yustin
lena.. nice review..
March 11th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
missplatform
review yg menarik.
gwe nggak pernah nyobain produk Viva selain pinsil alisnya.. .
penasaran…lapaaeer mata nih jadinya sayah…:P
March 11th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
piscanilie
gw juga baru nyoba viva milk cleanser .. tapi bukan dari varian apa2 .. original one maybe?? *sotoy* .. so far muka gw baik2 ajah, seperti yg lena bilang, thick lotion dan wangi nya agak lebay .. but it did a great job to carry out all of the make up and dirts .. nice blog len!!
March 11th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
tari
Sayangya hanya bisa di dapetin di tanah air..
Thanks Lena for the post..
March 11th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
kembang gula
nice post, lena! gue udah nyoba 2 cleansers yang murmer, ponds sama sari ayu. menurut gue, ponds lebih enak dan enggak lengket di muka. kalo sari ayu, hmm IMHO, baunya terlalu nyengat dan agak encer. just my 2 cents
March 11th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Lena
gals, makasih ya complimentnya
tari, perlu cp nih? kita sambung lewat pm yak!
silver and miss-p, coba aja. mana tau cocok, kan mayan jadi hemat, bisa buat beli MAC
kembul, eke blum pernah coba pond’s. kalo sari ayu i agree, baunya lebih nyengat, dan buat gue ga lebi bagus dari viva hasilnya…
March 11th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
ijoli
waaaa udah direview ama lena.
cocok yah len ? duh, asik banget… seneng deh gw soalnya cocok & berguna.
lumayan bo buat menghemat, bener kata loe bisa buat beli MAC hihihihi….
ngomong2 udah nemu blm yg jual viva green tea di bgr ?
March 11th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Indrya
Bagus y apalagi buat yg gampang jerawatan kayak dakyu….cobain ah besok….btw wangi green tea jg gk Len?
Buka MP aza bo’ buat yg di luar Indo hi hi hi *ratjoeeen yg murah y ‘nek*
March 12th, 2008 at 12:51 am
Hanzky
setujuuu…memang cleanser nggak perlu yang mahal, kalo mau beli yang mahal, mendingan untuk produk yang sit/stay on our face for hours (moisturizers, foundation, concealer, powder, etc)
March 12th, 2008 at 7:17 am
ndutyke
wow! it’s quite a surprise for me that many people from kalangan-menengah-keatas menggunakan produknya Viva (kecuali pensil aslinya ya. itu mah emang jagoan bgt!). Bukan apa2 sih, cuma saya pernah baca di suatu majalah, dah lama bgt. jd si owner/salah satu manajernya viva ini diwawancarai dan ditanyain, mengapa kok viva ini produknya bagus dan laku abis, tapi kemasannya…kok.. ehm… yaaa kurang sophisticated lah gitu.
trus beliau menjawab bahwa produk viva ini memang ditujukan untuk kalangan-menengah-kebawah. dan kalo kemasannya dibagus’in, dibikin lebih lux gitu, ntar konsumen dari kalangan tsb diatas jd ragu untuk membeli.
karena kalo desain kemasannya dibikin lbh bagus, kan kesannya jadi lebih lux dan lebih MAHAL harganya gitu.
just an info related to viva. my mom use viva too btw, for years.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Saigolady
ndutyke,
)
gw salut sama si owner/manajernya yg bilang gitu. dia bisa konsisten sama positioning produknya tanpa hawatir dibilang produk murah. (lha emang murah ya hehe…tapi murah kan belon tentu murahan
March 12th, 2008 at 11:57 am
*bunga_jeruk*
Setuju…
Aku juga pengguna cleanser dan toner Viva (cucumber). Menurutku hasilnya lumayan OK kok buat wajah, ga jauh beda lah dibanding merk produksi Indonesia lain (tapi lebih mahal dan eksklusif gituw..ga usah nyebut merk lah yaa..). Awalnya aku tuh KKS (semacam KKN gitu, tapi ini buat fak. Kedokteran) di desa-desa gituw, kita kerja di Puskesmasnya..jadi segala sesuatu serba terbatas bow..salah satunya air! Ga hanya terbatas, air nya pun nyaris ga layak pakai, karena berwarna keabu-abuan, bahkan kekuningan (!), ada pula endapannya! Tapi gimana pun ga mungkin ga mandi sebulan kan ? Jadi dengan hati pasrah plus senjata Dettol cair, kita mandi juga. Tapi kasian juga wajah aku, jadi aku ga tega nyuci muka pake air itu hehe..Jadilah aku selalu bersihkan muka pake Viva. Setelah 2 minggu, terasa banget perbedaannya. Kulit lebih halus dan pori-pori terlihat lebih merapat. W o W. Surprise ajah..sebelumnya hanya merk2 mahal yang bisa doing wonders to my skin hehe…Sejak saat itu, cleanser dan toner Viva jadi kesayangankuw..hehe..Bahkan nyetok ampe berbotol-botol karena 1 botol tuh abis 2 minggu di aku, tonernya malah abis 2 botol! Hehe..Okeh, itu deh testimony ttg Viva dari aku…makasih udah dibaca hehe..
March 12th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
ChiQue
bener juga yah… ngapain cleanser mahal2… toh tar di cuci.. and no one can see… tapi ini viva kira2 ngapus semua make up ga ya,,, tapi mesti nyoba juga nih… save my money in my piggy bank!
March 13th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
tje2p
gw klo cleansernya belum make, krn pas smp make tapi kayanya lengket banget, skr, prefer yg praktis2 aja, tinggal kocok trus bersihin
tapi teteup pake viva skin food… jagoan deeeh…
March 13th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
vanya
akyu ga perna pake cleanser
tapi nampak penting, so I might as well try this viva stuff.
ten thousand sounds good for a new beginning :p
March 13th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Lena
ijoli: cocok secocokcocoknya hehe :thumbup: thank you ya bu. gue belum cari lagi di kampung tercinta, nanti aja klo dah abis hehe. jangan sedih say, yang murah kan nggak hanya viva, yang laen juga ada, mungkin yg itu cocok kan…
indri, kalo menurut gue wanginya lebih menjurus ke tea tree…
hanzky and chique, tul banget, palagi eye cream tuh, mahal bangeuttt…
ndutyke n saigolady, peribahasa ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ berlaku juga buat skincare/kosmetik kali yeee, hehe
bunga jeruk, wah testinya bu dokter pasti semakin mendongkrak viva…i love cucumber tuh, bersahaja tapi bagoes :twothumbup:
tjep, nih gue baru pake viva skin food, tempatnya juga enak kecil untuk travelling hihi
vanya, kulitmu normal kan, coba aja deh yang original formula (tuh yang dipake piscanillie). test first a few days on a small part of your face, jad kalo ga cocok akibatnya nggak parah. apalagi kalo muka kena debu, manjoer dah. gudlak bu…
March 14th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
sofara
wah, dah tahunan pake viva cleanser and toner..dg bermacam2 varian, mulai dari cucumber, averhoa,dll.Ga pernah ada masalah pake viva (padahal kulit gw cenderung sensi) Pernah nyoba2 merk lain,ga pernah cocok karna ‘nyengat’ gtu di kulit wajah dan malah bikin jerawatan. Masalah kemasan yg biasa aja menurut gw udah ga jd masalah. Ntar klo dibagusin malah naik harganya..hihi..
March 15th, 2008 at 11:43 am
putri_bramantyo
mbak lena, beneran efektif ya?? soalnya selama ini aku bersihin muka cm pake sabun lifebuoy yg utk muka, kan kulit aku gampang banget jerawatan n bruntusan, takut ndak cocok..nanti aku test drive deh (siap2 jalan ke supermarket belakang kantor)
March 26th, 2008 at 10:27 am
mskellybag
Lenaaa…good review. Beneran loh jd pengen nyobain. Whaduya think Lena…utk muka kombinasi, mendingan green tea or cucumber?
March 27th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
putri_bramantyo
Mbak lenaaaaaa…makasiiiiih bgt udah nge-review viva ini, akhirnya aku beli 1 set botol sedang yg cucumber seharga Rp. 5400, murmer gila, udah 2 hari ini aku pake (abis baca review, siangnya aku langsung beli :P) muka aku jd lebih kinclong trus bekas2 jerawat yg annoying mulai pudar, pdhal baru 2 hari pake lho!! very very big hug untuk mbak lena
March 28th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Indeez
waaa lenaaa… nice review.. aku uda coba yg cucumber, tp yg green tea ini belom. Masi belum mau ganti yang lain. masi ok ama yg cucumber, ok bangetz ^.^
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:44 am
zahraa
nice review!!
tul juga yah, buat cleanser ga perlu yang mahal.. yang penting gak bikin alergi, jerawatan, n iritasi
sementara moisturizer boleh.. s’hubungan dengan khasiatnya yang dahsyat itu lho..
viva tuh dah dipake nyokap dari jaman purba.. n kulit nyokap biasa aja..gak pernah bmasalah..
milk cleanser n toner yang gw pake murmer juga lho.. walopun gak senendang viva harganya.. gw pake nivea.. wanginya lembut, n gak bikin iritasi.. gak berminyak juga..
April 4th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Santy Hutajulu
Aku juga salah seorang pemakain Viva Cleanser, biasanya sih yang bengkuang.
Tapi tanpa toner, cukup dibasuh sama air biasa
so far untuk pemakaian yang udah menahun ga ada efek apa2 tuch.
Btw…coba juga deh beberapa produk Viva lainnya dari sekedar coba2 kok gw ngerasa viva itu emang murah meriah bagus yah. Nih beberapa yg gw pernah pakai dan hasilnya bagus : 1. milk cleanser (-Rp.5rb) 2. blush on (Rp.2500 - 10.000) 3. compact powder (Rp. 7500 - 15000). Silahkan dicoba kalau tertarik
April 4th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Nina
whuaa.. kbtulan aku lag nyoba yg bengkoang.
tp ga rutin dipake sih.. =p
jd lom keliatan efeknya..
Aku sering pake tonik nya doank..
tp lom ada keliatan apa2.. hehe
June 13th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
malloy
ampuh buat apus mascara gak mbak??
kalo enggak..ada saran gak produk yang bagus buat apus mascara waterproof??
selama ini pakenya revlon “THE REMOVER” oke2 aja sih..tapi termasuk mahal yah buat hapus mascara aja…
thx yah
June 26th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
dewar
salam sejahtera… saya ingin mencari supplier bagi parfume yang benar banar original yang ada defaulted atau kecacatan that we call rejected.
Saya ingin bertanyakan pernahkah anda beurusan dagangan luar indonesia seperti di malaysia.
I really looking for a supplier where i can order 500 to 1000 bot …
Terima kasih
de4war@yahoo.com
June 29th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
nita
Totally true!! Gue pakai Viva satu set, plus Olay Total Effect yang blemish prone, dan berasa banget kulit muka gue kenyal dan glowing (gak berminyak)
July 8th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
demodeboutiqe
gw pake biotherm, muka beruntusan masih juga. jadi pengen coba viva. (udah dicatet ni, masuk daftar belanja besok)
July 8th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
carline
udh bc nih smua posts ttg viva… sbrapa bener si ttg pembersih muka gk perlu yg bagus n mahal (aka branded) .. dulu, mang pernah denger… last week dngr2 dr make up artist shu uemura, biggest investment harusnya di pembersih muka… logikanya, muka yg super bersih akan nerima lotion dkk dgn lbh baik. jadi bingung..
August 1st, 2008 at 3:30 pm
disti
yaaaakk stujuuu.. udah skitar 5 taun gue make cleanser+tonic cucumber kluaran mustika ratu. simply because it has more appealing packaging. di oz juga gue tetep make itu, no complaints whatsoever and pastinya jauh lebih murah compared to regular drugstore products ie l’oreal which costs about AU$25 for toner+cleanser compared to less thn $8 for a set of mustika ratu’s!!
August 28th, 2008 at 1:30 am