skincare
Korean Beauty Products – Part #1
I mentioned in my previous blog post about the Fresh – Rose Hydrating Gel Cream that there are some new cool kids in the cosmetics world. Algae and those vibrating face scrubbers being two of them I listed, but the third was one was so whimsical, so disgustingly cute – I had to try some. Luckily for me, the magical world of Amazon Prime made my wish come true. I now present to you – straight outta the makeup bags of thousands of squealing K-Pop fan-girls, Ladies and Gentlemen –
Adorable packaging, irresistible marketing, cute and cuddly characters, weird and unorthodox ingredients? Holy cannoli – if this stuff was meth, I wouldn’t have any teeth left. I was once again inspired by Bunny a.k.a Grav3yardgirl when she did a haul from a Korean beauty supplier. Shortly thereafter I stumbled upon the new Korean Beauty Shop on Amazon – with almost 700 blessed products from the promised land, I was in trouble. This. Stuff. Is. Brilliant. I wanted to try everything, and ordered so many products, I’ll have to break this into two parts. Because not only is it adorable, its affordable. (See what I did there?)
TONYMOLY – Egg Pore Nose Pack, 7 Sheets – $5.98
Just yer basic pore strip as far as I could tell, except its made from EGGS! I saw quite a few products that were made with eggs and they were all geared towards pore cleaning and blackhead elimination. The only downside of this guy? It smells AWFUL! Like week old scrambled eggs someone spritzed perfume on. Yuck. And the fact that it sits right on your nose doesn’t make that any easier to handle.
I’d say they work as well as any pore strip I’ve bought stateside, but they’re probably a little cheaper. Pretty good deal if you can stand the smell.
TONYMOLY- I’m real mask, 11 sheets – $14.27
This was a steal. Seriously. If you are inclined to try any of the products I’m showing you, this should be it. The TONYMOLY face masks are sold in the pre-register line traps at Sephora in packs of 2 for $7.50. They also sell them at Urban Outfitters for $4 each. I got 11 of them, one of each kind they make, for $14. So you can buy them at Urban Outfitters for $4 each, Sephora for $3.75 each, or Amazon for $1.29. There should be no question in your mind.
I love all the different kinds, and they each are touted to do different things: Avocado gives you nutrition, rice clears your skin, red wine clears your pores, ect. There’s even a broccoli one (which does NOT smell like broccoli) that gives you “vitality.” I could care less if all that’s true, they make your skin feel great either way and they’re adorably awesome. I definitely will be ordering these guys again.
Innisfree – No Sebum Mineral Pact – $10
I like how these Korean products don’t beat around the bush. They don’t use dainty words like “oil control” or “shine control.” No. Straight up “NO SEBUM.” I like it. And boy, does this little guy deliver.
I’ve been using it to set (that means you put a powder on top of a liquid to make it stick, the more you know) what contouring and/or foundation I put on the oilier parts of my face -see post #1 The Battle of the Moisturizers for a topographical map. It does a fantastic job of keeping those areas matte and leaves my skin feeling very soft. I also carry it around with me when I wear a full face of makeup for periodic re-mattefying. This is another product that I will be purchasing again.
The Face Shop – Chia Seed Sebum Control Moisture Cream – $15.94
And here we have our much anticipated new contestant for the Battle of the Moisturizers! Made with chia seeds (of the chia pet variety), this guy has quite a few positive reviews and is very affordable.
Its currently in line behind the Dior Dreamskin for testing, so I can’t really say much about it, but it sure smells good! I did try it once just to have a whack at it and It made my skin a little tight? It almost made my skin feeling a little squeaky? I dunno, my official opinion will have to wait for after testing.
We’ll be breaking this guy down in the usual way once it gets it turn to do its thing on my face – stay tuned!
The Face Shop – Protect Me Hand Cream – $9.98
I don’t even need to say anything about this one. Just look at it. Freaking look at it. This stuff could smell like week-old mayonnaise and I’d still carry it around with me.
It super doesn’t smell like week old mayonnaise tho, it smells amazing.
LOOK AT IT! I bought 2 and gave one as a gift. I haven’t even used it because I don’t want to. Its too cute for me to use. I got the avocado kind, but there are also cocoa butter and mango scents. I will be purchasing both of those as well. Don’t judge me.
Another thing to note, they did just start carrying the cocoa butter version of this guy (along with a few TONYMOLY and other Korean Beauty products) at Urban Outfitters for $12.
TONYMOLY – Panda’s Dream So Cool Eye Stick – $6.98
Another TONYMOLY product you can get on Amazon for half of what Urban Outfitters is selling it for. I was super expecting this to be menthol-y, like you normally would with any product in the US that is supposed to be “cooling.” WRONG! Zero menthol smell, no awkward stinging feeling, just cooling!
I first tried it on the back of my hand and almost jumped out of my desk chair. I then went around and smudged it on all my male co-workers (I wasn’t discriminating, they’re all male, everyone got smudged fairly) and they were equally taken aback… but that may have been because I was chasing them with a little panda stick. I like to use this when I first get up in the morning. I also imagine it would be rather soothing the next time I get a cold.
Etude House – My Beauty Tool – Lovely Etti Hair Band – $5.36
And I got a hair band. With cat ears.
CAT.
EARS.
OMFGWTFBBQKFC!!!1!!!ONE!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t have to explain myself to you people.
We’ll that’s it for part #1! Stick around for part #2 where I obsess over more adorable products made by the Korean gods of cuteness!
The Battle of the Moisturizers
Apparently moisturizers are important. Very important. So much so that there’s a gazillion of them and they can cost an obscene amount of money. The only piece of cosmetic advice my grandmother ever gave me is “be sure you’re moisturizing every night,” and my childhood was awash with the smells of Neutrogena and Aveeno facial moisturizer with SPF – my mother wore that stuff religiously, rain or shine. The combination of her painfully fair and delicate complexion and my father’s invincible olive skin of the gods has left my face very confused.
So when I started running dangerously low on my current weapon of choice (LUSH’S Vanishing Cream ), I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something out there that was better for me. Something magical and medicinal and … slightly cheaper perhaps, and I decided to embark on a journey. A journey full of countless little tinctures of what is essentially silicone and plant goop. A journey to bring justice to those who adorn their product in a veil of empty promises, and vindication to those whose promises are kept. An adventure where in I, not unlike Magellan, will circumvent the vast sea of modern cosmetics and do battle with their exotic ingredients, their clever marketing, and their outrageous claims.
I have many names… the most legal one being Marina (Hello!), and in the ripe old age of my late 20’s, with my career obtained and a tiny disposable income at the ready, I have decided to learn…
How to : “Girl.”
So come, be the Lewis to my Clarke – the Spock to my Kirk – the Chewie to my Han as we brave the depths of modern femininity and document our failures epically. We start at the most basic level, the foundation of the foundation (that’ll be a whole ‘nother post, i’m sure), the moisturizer.
And like any journey, one of the most important things you need is a map –
Sexy. And, like I said – confused. In my research I have discovered that my skin situation is what is referred to as “combination.” I fit under the great miscellaneous category of “well… you’re screwed.” My eyelids could provide enough crude to power a small town in Texas, my chin is a sebum-filled minefield dwarfed only by the no man zone that is my nose, and my jawline is dryer than the British version of “The Office.” It is because I have so many things going on that I don’t have a lot of faith that there is going to be a single product capable of addressing all my issues, but ain’t nobody got time to use two different moisturizers on their face. I got sh*t to do.
As I mentioned before, the product I have been using for the last year is Vanishing Cream by LUSH. Its pretty safe to say that I know a little but about LUSH’s products, when it comes to moisturizers alone I have also used Imperialis , Full of Grace, Enzymion, and Gorgeous. The problem is none of them have every wowed me… except for Gorgeous.
This thing is allegedly “the finest quality moisturizer on the market.” A whole mess of cold-pressed, organic oils from a large list of things that sound like they’d taste pretty good in a salad together go into this puppy. Its reportedly great for every skin type, age, tone, whatever. I’ve sampled it extensively and I really like it. Its light, it makes my skin feel fresh and clean and elasticky and young, it smells kind of like tortillas (its supposed to be orange blossom scented, don’t ask me why my nose translates orange blossom into tortillas, its probably brain cancer), and its wonderful and I love it. Its apparently the cold pressed part that makes it so effective… and expensive.
How expensive, you ask? 1.5 ounces will run you $89.95 US + tax. That’s right, $60 an ounce! I can’t do it, I just can’t. There are so many other things I could do with $90 bucks. That’s gas for a month (I don’t get out much). That is A LOT of yarn. That’s 22.5 lattes. 13 Publix Deli subs. I could get TWO new Filofaxes with $90! (Oh, more on those later)
But I am not sure its worth it. Can a bunch of plant oils, some emulsifiers, and preserving parabens all mixed together really be the absolute best thing for me? And can 1.5 ounces of it really be worth more than I made in a whole week while I was working in college, all because the oils are “cold pressed?” Imma find out.
Now, I’ve got nothing against LUSH. I basically have a mini-LUSH store in my bathroom, its a problem. If it turns out that Gorgeous is better than everything else – great, and i’ll know EXACTLY why, right down to the chemical level. And if its not? I’ll still know exactly why, and maybe save myself some money while I’m at it.
So I had no idea what moisturizers to try, but it turns out there is a place called Sephora , and in the very back of this mystical place there is a giant computer that knows all, the Skincare IQ Computer. I told HAL 9000 the Computer that I wanted a moisturizer, that I had the “combination” skins, and that my primary concerns were Acne/Blemishes and Oiliness. I actually tried several different things in combination with “Acne/Blemishes” and it pretty much kept returning the same results. It then printed them on a little slip of paper and the nice Sephora Skincare IQ Computer slave Lady gave me free samples! I also purchased the Sephora Favorites Customized Skincare Favorites Bag that got me 2 more moisturizers to try, along with 3 other “deluxe size” samples and a cool bag for $25. I was pleased.
So that leaves us with 4 contestants! I’ll most likely be adding more as I find ones to try and rule others out. I am going to closely analyze how each effects my skin as well as break down their ingredients to see if they are really all they’re cracked up to be and maybe even try to find some dupes. Without any further adoo – here they are:
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Fresh – Rose Hydrating Gel Cream : A daily moisturizer proven to provide up to 24 hours of significant hydration.
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Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+ : A luxurious moisturizer that promotes smooth, healthy-looking skin.
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Kate Somerville Oil Free Moisturizer : An antiaging hydrator for combination and oily skin.
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Dr. Dennis Gross SkincareHydra-Pure® Oil-Free Moisture with Chelating Complex™ : A lightweight, oil-free moisturizer with an exclusive Chelating Complex.
How 2: "Girl" 