aqualabel slightly stronger...very slightly.

freshel one claims that it can be used as a quick 1 minute clay mask....i dun use it this way tho as its wasteful

freshel one is thicker out of the tube n produces more foam. the aqualabel one kinda irritating when the tube is gonna finish...when u squeeze d air inside produces a fart like effect, so sometimes more than wat u want comes out LOL

sometimes i feel the initial effectiveness we perceive might be just a mental thing. i have tried a number of brands n it usually starts off like u described. after a while they end up a bit meh.

In terms of cleansers, more expensive dun mean stronger cleansing power. the Shiseido Men cleanser that cost 3 times more than Aqualabel is actually milder n gentler.

1st time using Japanese brand foaming cleanser ? coz most r similar to the Aqualabel cleanser. last time i used Cetaphil n gel type cleansers. d 1st time i used a Japanese foaming cleanser i was shocked how clean my face felt LOL.

only average a tube of Aqualabel White Clear Foam lasts me 2 months. i use it two times sometimes 3 times a day.

hard to say best product but my current fav is the Aqualabel Whitening Jelly Essence. its a lotion, essence, astringent n emulsion all in one bottle. contains menthol so has cooling effect which i really like.

The Aqualabel line when it 1st entered d malaysian market had many products. i think got 30 different products. but i never liked the fragrance of the line so i ignored it for yrs. last year i decided to give d cleanser a try n was shocked to see that the line has been cut to less than half. the stock also kinda old n slow moving. the Jelly Essence I bought mid of last year was made in early 2014. went to the same Guardian i bought it from and the stock is still fr that same batch 

Aqualabel seems to be a brand ignored by Shiseido Malaysia. small product line, bad shelf location n old stock. in Japan the product range is huge. the local FB page is quite sad looking LOL.

so dun be surprised if Aqualabel disappears fr the local market.

im not sure wat better products out there but back in 2008 when Aqualabel entered d market, they had like a whole shelf for the brand. top to bottom aqualabel stuff. Watsons 1U had a huge selection. n sales were good. now its only one pathetic corner at the bottom LOL.

i think Shiseido Malaysia concentrating on the high end stuff. they have another lower budget brand called Hada Senka n looks like more priority given to that brand coz it usually occupies the top shelf space n Aqualabel takes d bottom space. 

I was in a similar dilemma last year, i contacted d Aqualabel FB admin n was told that they only import the products that sell well. that's why d product range is so small now. i was assured that there r no plans to discontinue the brand here. dun take the admin's word for it tho LOL.

try the Kanebo Freshel Clear Soap, its on par if not better than the Aqualabel.