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!

Ooh loving your research efforts! Lots of interesting stuff! Please report back how you are getting on with products! Very intrigued by Holika Holika!

We've had a pretty tough day - major bad news, nothing personal but just something that will shape our foreseeable future quite a bit. But an Innisfree strawberry mask and a bottle of delicious Trentino wine and having a great friend visiting us have definitely helped!

MoominMamma it's nice to have a fellow BBaholic here!
MrsGuyGarvey don't know how it is going to be with you but the snail stuff feels really soothing when my skin is irritated.
AmazingDisgrace please tell me more about the bee stuff - I have ordered some from Jolse but the package hasn't arrived yet!
Wombat I may have to try MBD masks. Hope yours was enjoyable!
Buttons Turkish delight nails it, except the Innisfree red wine jelly is slightly less sweet. Really liking their products, their strawberry smells a bit fermented, more like some strawberry puree from the freezer rather than bubble gum, and the wine stuff has also a fairly credible smell, sweet but still somehow realistic. Have just spred some more red wine jelly on my face, this stuff is addictive!

I've just noticed that we've made it onto the 'Mumsnet Swears By' email - imagine the snails and starfish on the faces of mumsnetters worldwide... Do you think we're now allowed to request a MN snail smiley?

Imperial Birds Nest update: this sheet mask is lovely. Slightly less essence than was on the pearl one (but that just means it's not constantly dripping down my neck), it stays on well and has a fairly mild (fruity/chemically) smell. I think it's supposed to have brightening / antioxidant properties, but I'll wait until tomorrow to see how my skin has reacted.

That is really exciting Wombat!

Just saw this on Reddit and wanted to share - 50 Snails Lady on
How to find a Korean sheet mask for every skin issue

You lot should never introduced me to reddit...I have spent the entire evening mooching about on there.

They have helped me decide on the Holika Holika Soda Deep Pore Cleansing oil though, or the Skin Food Black Sugar one...and I've just watched a fascinating video of a Korean woman taking off her eye make up. Her eye went from HUGE to just a normal little eye. Very impressive make up skills. I have no idea how to link from app to app to show you all though

The SnailBee essence definitely seems to brighten, tighten and smooth my skin Frugal Fashionista its a thinner consistency to the ampoule but on first application I like it!

I'm still umming and aahing over Mizon Collagen cream vs Returning Starfish but I had a sample of Missha snail cream so used that tonight and it felt lovely. Just looked on EBay and its about £39 which I can't justify at the moment

yazzy get all of it , cheap as chips ;)

hmmm, I've just gone back for another read of the beginners guide on reddit - In there; essences, serums and ampoules come after toning BUT, I have just read in a post that vit c should go on bare skin after cleansing...then toner.

If I go for the COSRX, would the vit c go before or after it?

(just when I thought I had an idea about what goes where )

lucy I had this very chat with frugal. What I worked out is that the ph of your skin must be low enough for the c serum to work efficiently. I lower mine with an acid toner then apply the c serum, then everything else.

I am loving the Holika Holika bb cream! Would highly recommend it. I use the clearing one because my skin is oily and spot prone hut there are at least 4 in the range to suit all skin types.

I have since ordered some sheet masks, a hand mask and a couple more bb creams to try. Cant get over how cheap the bb creams are. The Holika Holika ones are the cheapest and brill so i thought maybe I'd try a Missha M one and a Tony Moly one for good measure . And a facial sun cream called Secret Key, spf 50. Promises no white caste. We'll see!

I must have missed all the posts but what's the big deal about snails and starfish? Snail cream sounds disgusting to me if I'm honest but lots of posters seem to rave about it. I'm intrigued!

Frugal so sorry to hear you had some bad news. Beauty products don't really change anything but they are a very good distraction! Plus I'm sure the routine is stress-busting.

Lucysmam I do as bigbuttons suggests, and do actives like AHAs and/or Vit C before the other stuff.

Thanks bigbuttons, I think it was those posts that had me looking in the first place (and confused me at the time).

In other news, monster on my chin has gone down loads, I can still feel it a bit but it isn't sore at all and I don't think it's going to turn into an everlasting cystic spot now.

Not sure what to credit that to though tbh - I've been trying that much (with no breakouts, thankfully) a bit willy-nilly.

I'll continue with what I'm doing for now and look more at the COSRX, assuming no break outs over the next few days.

I'm itching for the rest of my diy stuff now - I have glycerine and green tea but no blank sheet masks to try them out!

Here is a really good quick intro to different Korean brands from Reddit - each line and its strengths are quickly outlined.

Love hearing your experiences about different things! There are so many things that I haven't tried!

My routine this week is quite simple as there is so much else going on: cleansing, acid pads, sheet mask, eye serum, sleep mask. My skin has never looked prettier.

Who was it that bought the Holika Holika Aqua petit jelly bb cream? I'm going to order it but not sure what shade. I'm a neutral toned nc15-20 and thinking I need shade 1.

I'm also going to click order on the Skin Food Salmon Concealer for my undereyes.

Can I make a confession? I keep telling DH I'm replacing empty products, but I have been pouring things I'm not keen on down the sink so I have empties to show him to justify my shopping. In my defence they are things that I really don't like.

Oh and in further defence my Bourjois CC cream and Collection Concealer are nearly all used up.

Haven't read very much of this thread as it got very big, so please don't be if I am asking a question that was answered above. I'm going to Singapore, Bali and Australia next month and was planning to buy toiletries and skin care locally on arrival (with small amounts packed for 1-2 days). Starting in Singapore, what should I try/buy? Will I find the Korean brands FF mentions there?

I'm almost 60 with goodish if dryish skin (especially after a long flight), some fairly faint pigment spots are appearing, but skin tone is olive and I've always liked Japanese foundation colour. Using the Watery Essence sunscreen following a recommendation on here... what other products? And for DS, 16, with teenage breakouts? Any thoughts wise ones?

forsale I am looking at that bb too and am nc20, pale but olive toned skin. I have been known to wear nc25 but not sure if it's a little dark. My body is always way browner than my face, I was thinking shade 2? It's so tricky!

marking my place - too knackered to get through all 30 pages right now.

cresset, I'm not sure for you but think Frugal mentioned having quite dry skin so she might be able to make some recommendations for you.

For your ds, a green tea wash followed by the clearasil pads (maybe just once a day rather than am&pm though - they never did me any good using constantly at that age) and then something soothing, healing and calming like the snail gel would be good.

Something with aloe would be soothing too if he doesn't fancy the snail gel I'm not sure of the healing properties of aloe though

I'm quite taken with the snail gel - dd's spot still looked a little red but nothing major yesterday so I put a little on. It's almost completely gone today, just a little flaky skin and no redness which will probably come off when she eventually hauls herself off the sofa for a wash.

Dp's scrape from coming off his bike doesn't look so red and angry this morning either. I should have photographed it really to see the difference.

My chin monster is also gone! Still not sure what to credit that to but will keep up with my experiment on dp to see the result

Chester, your tipping away products to justify spending is naughty but made me giggle I have done that in the past when I had more spends...these days I tend to use up even if I'm not keen

Cresset I'll be back tonight for shopping suggestions. But just have to say right now that I fly a lot and sleeping packs are heavenly on long-haul flights.

lucysmam super pleased that snails or your magic potions are working!

Coconut the snail and starfish products I have don't seem very organic iyswim so there is no yuk factor. They are all about weightless hydration and making your skin feel smoother.

Chester I'll keep your secret! I've been using up stuff that I no longer like for over a year now and it is immensely pleasurable to replace ugh lackluster empties with lovely new things! But I am getting near a phase where I have to face the facts and bin certain cosmetics. I have been repurposing pore-clogging face and eye creams as body creams and harsh face washes as shower gels, but may have to bin a couple of foundations that turn me orange. I am using up a rubbish Chanel foundation that is too yellow as an under eye corrector but because I only need a minute quantity every day it is taking forever...

Lilacmamacat welcome!

In my defence they really were crap. It was a neutrogena face wash and some rubbish toner.

My Missha Magic BB Cushion just arrived from missha.ee - the total value of the order incl shipping was £10 (-50% offer) but they had included 16 (!!!) samples - sunscreens, serums, BB creams (a full range of shades from #13 to #31), Longer Name Ampoule and FTE samples and something called "Time Revolution Immortal Youth Cream"

So if you need some new things to play with, do use Missha Estonia, it's easier to register and shop with them than with than Missha Germany! Shipping to Italy took exactly a week and the stuff was meticulously packed. The cushion looks intriguing, much bigger than I thought (not a slim compact), will play with it tomorrow. They seem to have special offers and sales every now and then, worth keeping an eye on them as Missha products tend to be a bit pricey otherwise.

Finding it really hard to focus on work with all these goodies waiting...

Here is a product to try on missha.ee - a pomegranate sleeping mask. I absolutely cannot order it before I have some empties but if someone wants to try one, this looks great (they also do a cucumber sleeping mask). I have their snail sleeping mask and it is excellent.

Sounds like a fun parcel to receive Frugal.

My LAA powder and pearl sheet masks have just arrived. Just need my little brown bottle and blank sheet masks now & I can do some diy

Just seen on reddit - Primark are stocking sheet masks as part of their P.S. I love range...will investigate tomorrow and report back

chester I think the holika petit bb cream ice ace. i only have the clearing one. i am crap with colouring matches so i couldn't tell you anything. Only that a little goes a vey long way and the coverage is excellent and it doesn't settle into my lines ( unlike the mac foundation put on my yesterday which made me look at least 10 years older!)