Necks and the City: purpletale Once Upon a Neck Cream Review

Let’s talk about necks, ba-by! Let’s talk about you and me.  -Salt-N-Pepa

I don’t think I’m sticking my neck out when I say that most people overlook theirs. Not enough moisture or anti-aging ingredients, and too many lines from looking down at your phone for Neko Atsume updates.  (When will I spot Guy Furry?!)

Well, purpletale’s neck cream may be just what giraffe-ter.

purpletale Once Upon a Neck Cream Review

Once Upon a Neck Cream ($40 for 1.7 fl. oz. + free shipping on purpletale site; provided for consideration by the brand) is a whipped yet heavy cream that feels silky and rich. 

It’s dense enough that it requires several seconds of massaging to fully absorb. Once it does, skin feels soft without feeling greasy or tacky.

After 3 weeks of regular use, I haven’t noticed dramatic changes to my neck lines–probably because I haven’t stopped Instagramming!–but neck lines are a long-term game. Honestly, I’m just happy to have a dedicated neck cream because using face cream for double duty was depleting my face cream supplies.  Plus, my face cream usually just moisturizes–so having anti-aging peptides, ginseng saponin, and adenosine built in is a huge bonus.

On the downside, the perfume scent might be too much for some.  The delicate scent is barely noticeable on my neck, but when I applied it under my nose, it was strong enough to bother me.  (I wanted to see whether the cream could double as face cream but it’s too heavy for that and the founder of purpletale cautioned that it’s too strong for the face.)  So I just reserve it for use as it was intended: on the neck, where it works wonderfully.

Btw: purpletale might seem to be a completely Western brand with its smart copywriting and clever product names.  But it’s made in Korea and features products such as treatment essence and a ready-made 5-step routine that includes ampoule and a sheet mask (and the neck cream!).  So I’m counting it as K-beauty.

Ingredients (pasted from the official product page):

Water, Panthenol, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Isohexadecane, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Stearic Acid, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Phytosqualane, Sorbitan Olivate, Cetearyl Glucoside, Beeswax, Beta-Glucan, Arginine, Carbomer, Allantoin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Alcohol Denat., Pueraria Mirifica Root Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Copper Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Ethylhexylglycerin, Adenosine, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Fragrance

Necks Ed

As long as we’re on the subject, I’ll share some of my tips for cheap & fast necks–I mean inexpensive and easy skincare practices of course.

Necks are a funny thing: they can betray your true age or mislead about your real age (example: tech neck on young folks), yet despite knowing that, I cheap out when it comes to caring for my neck.

Acid: Several times a week, I swipe on a Pixi Glow Tonic To-Go pad before applying the purpletale neck cream.  Anything that might help buff away those neck lines.

SPF: I like to use up mediocre sunscreens on my neck (and chest).  My current go-to is Naruko NRK All-in-One High Potency Sunscreen Complex, which pills badly when layered with skincare or foundation–unusable on my face but perfect for my neck.  (Pssst…have you seen my roundup of Japanese SPF 50 PA++++ sunscreens?)

Sheet masks: A few brands make neck-specific masks, either alone or paired with a face mask like these by Ostia.  (Renee, the good friend that she is, saved all the neck parts for me to use heh heh.)

Serum: I sometimes mix my own basic moisturizing serum in my hand before applying neck cream.  Typically, it’s a mix of Hada Labo Gokujyun Lotion and 3-4 drops of a facial oil.  (Read more about other things I like to mix up here.)  Simple albeit lacking any specific wrinkle fighters.

What are your tips for hot necks?