Obsessed with Asian/Korean stuff - taking your skincare to the next level!

[FrugalFashionista]

Asian and Korean skincare products seem to be a big thing in skincare and beauty right now.

Interested in the following?

• finding a great sunscreen
• tailoring a multi-step ritual to your skincare needs
• talking about geisha beauty rituals
• learning what snail slime, bee venom and starfish have to do with beauty
• plumping up your skin with sheet masks and sleeping masks
• experimenting with essences

Please come here and share your questions, experiences, links and best shopping tips!

lucy do you mean something like this?

the video is amazing. I love the way she explains why she uses what she does and why she applies it like she does. I notice that she is dong a lymph drain movement with her hands. I saw this in the japanese skincare book i have. it seems to be a movement up behind the ears and down the neck.

Thanks Frugal, I sort of stalled after taking off my make-up and haven't done anything since (the mask and my moisturiser are sitting next to me waiting to see what to do next ).

big, sort of...I was trying to find a video of techniques maybe. Maybe I should try youtube rather than google!

lucy the video in the link does show her applying her products. Did you scroll down?

Nope, I didn't see that one! I'll be off for a watch now, thanks big

Thanks bigbuttons adding

I found videos of a Korean version of Clarisonic that tap-tap-taps thousands on times per minute

frugal I am still confused with the Korean products and how that works with what I have and am buying!
Like where does my hada labo lotion and snail gel fit in?

Marking my place

Bigbuttons I am trying to figure out the lotion part tomorrow. I am stuck with two mysterious bottles ('treatment', 'essential moisturiser') and a mysterious leaflet

Some semantics here

Ok, I have watched. I did see it...thought it was an advert & scrolled on by

I get it now, she's pressing it into her skin rather than just smooshing it on. I'll have to stand in front of the mirror to put my cream on in the morning so I can have a go.

Did she not use an eye cream? (it's possible I missed that too...am half watching Phone Booth - I think - with dp).

I forgot to say as well, I haven't looked in a mirror yet but the sheet mask was rather pleasant on my face (once I worked out the cutouts ). It feels all cool and refreshed now.

Thanks for the info and the links Frugal - very interesting!

I have been trying to layer products I have already and I think my skin is looking better already. Can't wait until all my Korean/Japanese stuff arrives

Just made the mistake of googling for the patting technique while waiting to pick dh from work. Unfortunately, I ended up looking at some Korean vibrating foundation machines. Dh was a bit as to why I was looking at vibrating machines while sat in his works car park I do love a good gadget so I'm off to look at them some more

m0gz loving your Lost in Translation moment

DH is unable to make the connection between the Mother's Day box, my improved skin, the K-pop on my iPad, the serial killer look and why I just say mmm-hmmm all the time. Typical man...

Lucysmam sounds great! Figuring out how to unfold the mask is the trickiest part!

applying Bb cream video there's probably a million better videos out there now but this is the first one I came across a few years ago.

I've convinced dh to try the cetaphil and clearasil pads. Not sure he will be keen on snail cream and masks but you never know!

Hey Buttons, I think I get it now. After having cleansed you skin you just organize your skincare by consistency from the most watery to the thickest/ most solid (oils are counted as solids but come before the sleeping mask). If you need pH balancing, that stuff comes first after cleansing no matter what the consistency (it returns the skin pH back to acidic, foaming cleansers that Koreans seem to love can be neutral/slightly alkaline - the pH in normal skin is something like 5.5 and if you want to optimize the use of acids you may need a pH of 3-4). The number of steps is chosen by you, depending on how many product you need. Using several serums at once is fine, and you can also treat just certain parts of your face. Often more steps in winter and less in summer.

I do this: remove makeup/cleanse, [pH balancing step missing], acid pads if using, anti-acne product on key areas if using, serum, cream, sleeping mask.

I've always thought moisturizing is an one-step process, but getting far better results with 2-3 steps. Whatever it takes

I break rules by not doing a morning routine. My dry skin does not love washing and I want to avoid product overload, plus things feel pretty optimal right now. I am considering adding a fermented mist (Missha First Essence) in my morning routine as I have liked the Avene thermal water spray.

I'm still in bed but actually had to snap a selfie because cannot believe how good my skin is looking. Not going to win a modeling contest any time soon but given how awful my skin has been in the past this is pretty incredible. No dry patches or redness, my skin is plumper, my skintone has evened out, and I have a lovely glow

Reddit product order FAQ

Since I have no spends atm, I think I'm going to start looking into skincare from the inside as well as outside - a lot of the posts I've read on Pinterest suggest plenty of water instead of for starters. And there are some useful charts of beneficial fruits/veggies and their properties. I've no idea how to link from app to app so will screenshot anything interesting and post links to any useful websites I come across.

My next purchase will be an oil cleanser to try once I decide which to go with and an eye cream I think. I figure I'll work on product selection roughly in the order they go on and build a routine that way.

Does anyone know of any cheaper sheet mask sellers? I imagine dp will give me many 's if I start placing a weekly ish order of those & one of the blog posts I've read mentioned they can be picked up dirt cheap (19cents for some mentioned, I think - although it was an American blog).

I also wondered if my local Asian supermarket might be worth a look in once I get this a bit more figured out - possibly only for diy stuff though.

That's brilliant frugal thanks.
So then I would cleanse, acid tone, hydrating mist (if I use,) serums with actives, something like hada labo, snail stuff, oil, sun screen.

I like the idea of layering serums, however,I'm think we need to be careful with Vit c, being such a low ph I'm worried how it will layer with other stuff. As I said I'm no chemist!
I'm so pleased you woke up happy with your skin, yay!,
Now my face is getting paler I have an interesting look. My dark circles ( due primarily to not enough sleep and other bad habits) look worse. Ilook like bela lugosi now

lucy get dry masks and use your own serum. You can easily water down some moisturiser in water , mix it together and rehydrate the mask in that.
That is what I have been doing. Yesterday I used some of my home made c serum in rose water and home made HA gel.
The day before I used an aldi serum in rose water and some glycerine.
Today I am going to try may home made nacinamide serum with HA gel.
I also intend to try dipping the mask in matcha tea, green tea, oatmeal porridge! I think the list of possibilities are endless.

Blimey according to the ph layering info on the your link frugal!i have been doin it wrong!
I have always cleAnsed, used aha/bah the used Vit c. I thought the acids were taking my ph low enough for the vit c to work.the blog says to use a ph lowering toner,,then Vit c then aha/bha.

Any chemists around please who can explain this to me? Do the acids lower the ph too much then?
I have 2 bravura toners and I'm sure they are a higher ph than my Vit c serum. Very very

big, I think diy is my answer and just buy one occasionally. Last nights was very pleasant & no visible reaction to it this morning.

I was reading something about using green tea earlier but the tab kept crashing on my phone. I'll get the tablet out later on and try to link from there.

Bigbuttons I did a year of biochemistry circa 1993 (we used to laugh at skincare ads in class - the suggested mechanisms often defied the laws of physics ) but am not a chemist. I'm still not totally sure about pH balancing. I don't follow the rules either, but the acids I use definitely slough layers of dead cells off my face, I'm actually more worried about potential chemical burns! The only thing I know for sure is that based on basic protein chemistry, you should never slap on active peptide ingredients right after putting on acid - the acids denature proteins (=make them change shape). This is why an acid peel works but also why a collagen drink won't help you - the pH in your stomach is 1-2, so it basically destroys all proteins (this is called digestion). This is also the reason why people with juvenile diabetes need insulin shots - insulin is a protein and in a pill form it would be twisted out of shape and rendered biologically inactive (=it won't fit the shape-specific receptor slots any more).

Sorry about the geeky stuff, I don't know the correct answer If there are any chemists on the thread, you could really help us out

Lucysmam there are so many great ideas for DIY masks! Let us know what you come up with!

Oh, one more thing. I've posted a lot of shopping links because I'm super excited about finding so many great new products, but please don't feel like you should buy them! I've bought many new new skincare items because I have used up almost all of my old skincare products (4 jars of creams this spring, and more coming up!!!). I've also gotten really great results by pairing my old stash with the new items. For example, old sunscreen + new BB cream = works like a treat. Or trusty old Eucerin + new sleeping mask = baby soft skin. And I like my old jar of Noxzema salicylic pads as much as the new Nip + Fab pads. So it's totally okay to go slow! You know your skin, you know what it takes!

I received this bb cream yesterday. Have used it twice and it is lovely, not as shiny as some bb creams, dries to a fairly matt, but slight dewy (not at all oily) finish so great for combo skin. I ordered the no.1 Aqua Beige which I would say is around Mac nw10-Nw15 or Revlon Colorstay Buff 150 shades, so fairly lightish. if you are Mac NW20 or above, order the no2 Aqua neutral shade.

Some of you were interested in facial sunscreen?
With my bb cream yesterday I received a sample (you always get sent samples from Korea with everything you order on Ebay so its a great way to try stuff out) of a Lioele sunscreen and tried it out before the bb cream and was surprised that it was not greasy at all so a fab make up base here and if you want to read a really good in depth review on it with pictures read this

The thing I love about Asian skin stuff and make up, is that not only are they around 12 years ahead of us, the stuff is so much higher quality and cheaper. For either of the 2 bb creams I have mentioned (Lioele Triple The Solution in a previous post) and the Holika Holika petit one I just mentioned, PLUS the sunscreen, cost around £20 delivered. The bb creams are either spf 20 or spf 30 so fairly good without additional sunscreen but if you wanted to be extra sure then use both.

The sleeping packs, masks, toners etc are usually under £10 and are very very good. Compare these to the shitty over hyped Loreal and Garnier crap, even the more expensive highly advertised Estee lauder, Clinique, Clarins etc are far, far behind and twice or 3 times as expensive.