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!

Ruby I'm loving your routine!

Here is mine

AM
Rinse off sleeping mask with water
Hydrate with snail/starfish
Neutrogena Clear Face Sunscreen
BB cream (Missha #13 + Dr Jart Premium)

PM
Bioderma Micellar
Castile soap/ cream cleanser
Nip + Fab glycolic acid pads 2-3x per week or Effaclar or Noxzema for salicylates
Mizon snail or starfish cream
Mizon or Dr Jart+ Sleeping mask

My skin is very pale, cool/neutral, dry and sensitive: acne/perioral/rosacea prone. I avoid oils, foaming face washes, abrasive cleansers and hot cloth cleansing because these tend to irritate my skin. Because my skin is quite reactive, I introduce new products one by one.

A really useful resource for sensitive or acne prone skin is
www.cosdna.com
You basically type any product into the box and it brings up a list of ingredients, with any potentially breakout/sensitivity-triggering ingredients flagged out of 5. It's awesome!

Thanks for the Cosdna link Wombat! I ran a few products through it, really useful!

Just read all this thread and I'm loving the sound of all these goodies! I already have a lengthy CH-inspired routine but there are a couple of things I'd love to try if anyone can make a recommendation...

Firstly are there any good sheet masks for eyes? I wear contacts so often have a tired eye area, and it's the driest area of my face so needs an extra boost.

Secondly I'm wondering if I should give a Korean BB a go. I've only ever tried one BB cream and it was awful, so full of gunk it brought my usually-clear skin out in massive spots. It was a decleor one and bad enough to put me off BB creams! I've never really cracked a good face base though, I look worse with foundation than without as it sort of settles into the fine lines around my eyes and makes them more prominent. I like some coverage (especially my pink nose!! God I'm sounding gorgeous) but look best in just bronzer I think. Tinted moisturiser disappears after five minutes. My skin is dry/dehydrated. Could BB cream be the answer do you think?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

Ruby that routine sounds such fun!

This is all really interesting, thanks for sharing your routines. I've been eyeing up the cleansing oils but notice none of you use them (or maybe I just didn't notice). I have a creamy wash from Wilko (oh the 95p glamour ) atm, no toner, a superdrug serum and wilko moisturiser.

I'm going to look up reviews for the oils and toners on my list tonight and try and work out properly which will suit best.

Frugal, I did indeed find some products to suit and have a nice little list of not too pricey ones to try - snail gel and sheet masks at the top (snail and starfish both sound really good actually, snail is more within my budget though).

I came across horse oil handcream earlier on bunged it in my ebay basket to go back and look up tonight out of interest.

The cosdna website looks interesting...I might stick a few of my existing products in and see what it comes up with too.

Was inspired after this thread and looked through my stash.

Used these Cel Derma under eye masks last night - gel-like translucent pads for under the eye.

Lovely & cool and eyes look fine today.

I was given these by a Korean friend & I've used the Cel Derma mask too (from same friend) - must find an online seller.

Rojak this goes straight to my shopping list! And Ruby thanks for the Etude House link! My DDs would never want to leave that shop

I'm returning home on Wednesday and hope that my Missha delivery has arrived by then. Can't wait!

Untamed if you look at the links to online stores and look up the eBay sellers that have been mentioned up thread, there are lots of eye masks available. Also, what about the Mizon snail eye cream? I've not tried it but the write-up is good I'm a terrible enabler me

Also, re foundation sinking in to the fine lines around your eyes; I don't apply mine anywhere near my eyes, except for a tiny bit on my brow bone. As far up I go near my eyes is up to the top of my cheek-bones. Or am I misunderstanding?

Thanks Stevie - and sorry yes I mean the ones on my upper cheekbones. I want to cover dark circles but not make my wrinkles look worse

I've ordered a Missha 21 BB cream (such a good price it's rude not to) and am looking at eye masks with and without snails now

I have the Mizon snail eye cream. I tend to get milia from eye creams and am not 100% sure yet about this cream. Will let you know how I get on with it. The All-in-one snail goo is fsb though!

DH has announced today another trip to Korea end of August, so i shall use this thread to make my next shopping list

Am extremely jealous of all those with upcoming travels to Asia or whose DHs are planning business trips! I am dreading the customs cost of any purchases I order online - does anyone have experience with that? Is there a maximum spend for avoiding customs charges?

frugal we must indeed be skin twins, I tend to get milia around my eyes as well. Am v tempted by the Mizon snail eye cream and snail BB cream. Never thought I would enjoy anything snail related, I seem to have spent the rest of my life removing them from my vegetable garden! (Not a euphemism).

Lucysmum I have used a oil cleanser before and loved it as makeup just melts off no need to pull or rub the skin.

Frugal I also love Etude house products, first I thought they were too girly for me but after trying their Conditioning cream I am converted. Their Colour in liquid lips #pp502 is such a lovely shade. Their make up is cheap so its fun to buy colours I would not normally buy to test.

Thewombat I think it is £15 MAx for goods imported and £36 if it marked as a gift. So even if you go a few pounds over and you get a charge you have to pay a fixed £8 to Royal mail. So it will always be over £8. I know Innisfree world and Etude house global declare the true vslue on parcels so you always get customs fees on them.
This is why I use beautynetkorea.com as they have free shipping so I place orders around the £15 mark.

Fab tip Ruby, thank you I'll be checking beautynetkorea out now!

Someone stop me! I'm a £1 over my spends for tomorrow but now eyeing up these in their snazzy lookin' little pots.

I shall behave for the moment and wait until next time it's my turn. Will give me plenty of time to thoroughly research my next purchase (cleansing oil and toner possibly if it'll stretch that far).

I'm still going to hang around though, I'm enjoying this thread very much

Packaging is so cute on Korean goods, that half the products I buy are just because of the package and I don't even need half of the products I buy. I have a serious problem with shopping.

Lucysmam the blueberry balm is hyper cute! No wonder that you are a bit over budget!

Ruby thanks for the makeup tips! Itching to try some but will keep the rest of the month shopping free (I've had overshopping problems im the past). So anything tempting goes on my shopping list. The positive thing about Korean stuff is that you can get a lot of bang for your buck - I've always loved sampling.

My skin continues to be soft, smooth and glowy and breakout free. This is a miracle, I

And Ruby thanks for the detailed and very useful customs info! The VAT free sum varies by country, usually it is low, luckily these products are cheap! In Italy it is more complicated, long delays and paperwork for a 'sanitary examination'. That's why I tend to buy a lot on my trips.

How do you work out, on beautynetkorea, roughly how much you're spending in pounds rather than dollars?

Please help me, I am ridiculously overwhelmed! I really want to try some of this stuff but I just don't know where to start or even if my skin is right for it all . I have just started a ch routine and all I have learnt is that my skin is more sensitive than I thought. It is prone to dryness on my cheeks, I to my nose crease, shininess in my forehead but otherwise quite normal. Rarely breakout but when I do it's a whopper on my chin. Occasionally get pimples around my hairline. I have v dehydrated skin (lots of crepey lines when I pinch my cheeks) and visible pores on my nose/cheeks. A few fine lines around my eyes and frown lines on my forehead, and a few small pigmentation marks around my eyes and v dark circles, I'm pale but with middle eastern heritage so don't burn easily. So I'm pretty combination I guess! Would you read on my epic post and make some suggestions please?

My new CH routine is this:
Am
Wash REN centifolia gel
Nip&fab glycolic pads
Protect and perfect serum
reN vita mineral day cream
City block SPF
Make up

Pm
Double cleanse
Currently using sample of balance me balm which I like, followed by superfacialist cream (meh)
Nip &fab salicylic/hyuralonic pads
Protect and perfect
REN frankincense night cream

I tried adding in redermic retinol but it makes my cheeks really dry and sore after even juT one night, not sure whether to persevere. Since this routine I have had sensitivity and stinging under my eyes and soreness under/either side my nose. I think that is from the redermic and it's lingering a few days later. Also I feel much shinier. I think my skin is softer however which I'm happy with.

So here's where I need help! I want to be less shiny, I feel like I'm using too many products but maybe it's that they are too greasy.

I am looking to replace both morning and night creams. I want to add a sleeping mask and until I saw this thread was going to buy TBS bouncy sleep mask. Totally overwhelmed by the sheer number of Korean goodies. Am tempted by snail repair gel and starfish cream but no idea what's in them, whether I'm happy not knowing if they're tested on animals etc, will I fact - so many unknowns! But I'm so tempted by all your positive stories.

I also like the sound of sheet masks but my his where do I start choosing on of those there are hundreds, and what the hell is in them (all inci lists in Korean!) I like to stay quite natural but am beginning to embrace chemicals more so these days! I definitely need plumping action as calming too, and although I don't get spots I suppose I should address the shininess I am experiencing.

Oh and I don't even know what Korean Bb cream really is (is it different to Uk bb cream?) but I think I need it ;) again why are they so many hundreds to choose from!? Tell me which one to buy! I tried No7 and hated it, far to shiny for me.

Thanks so much in advance!

Ilove, I don't know enough about the products (yet...am enjoying researching them though ) to recommend them but I spent all day yesterday following links and looking stuff up on ebay/amazon (amazon has some better descriptions of what's for what) & found it really useful.

I'd discontinue using the product that's causing you discomfort though rather than persevere with it. The discomfort will be your face's way of telling you it doesn't like it!(I can't scroll on the app to see what it was, sorry).

I have some scars and often get cystic acne around my chin so am starting with the snail gel M0gz linked ^^up there somewhere. According to the reading I did yesterday it can help fade scars but is a bit goooey (but then, snails do leave a trail of goo).

I've also put in my basket a couple of different sheet masks and some under eye ones - I just clicked the ones that appealed really, there were that many of those to choose from.

Those lip balms are still really tempting me - I found a little honey pot shaped one after I posted last night.

I've been thinking about the products that help fade scars actually...I have a huge scar all down my front (under right breast to belly button ish), I was wondering if there's a body oil/lotion or something that might help fade that a bit so am going to spend a while today looking into that as well as start looking at oil cleansers and toners (and avoid cutely packaged lip balms ).

Hi there Ilovetosleep and welcome to the confusion of Asian skincare.. It is massively overwhelming, there is so much choice, I'm like OMG BUY ALL THE THINGS. I have a Caroline Hirons-based routine that is quite similar to yours (see upthread). I bought the Mizon snail repair cream and Starfish cream - the last of which was positively reviewed by Ms Hirons herself. That's what got me interested in Asian skincare!

Anyway, I have combination/dehydrated/acne prone/pigmentation problems/starting to get wrinkly skin (nice) and these two products work really, really well for me. In fact better than any other moisturisers I've tried - and so cheap off ebay! If I was you, I'd start with adding just one product at a time, especially if your skin is sensitive. Both the moisturisers I've tried have been very calming and not overly rich. The starfish one is a bit richer, but absolutely not greasy (more jelly-like IYSWIM) and takes slightly longer to sink in - but in my experience makes a great base for makeup. The snail one is much lighter, sinks in quickly, and very calming but less effective if my skin is feeling dry.

My next investments will (I think) be some sheet masks, and possibly an essence. Niacinamide works well on reducing acne and pigmentation on me, so I will look for products with this in. But I already have a lot of products in my stash so am trying not to add to it unnecessarily.

I have the LRP redermic R cream - my skin has become less sensitive to it over time but I never reacted to it like you have. Maybe make sure that you are not using acids / retinols on the same day as I think both can be quite drying and sensitising if your skin isn't used to them. I also like the Caudalie SOS serum for dry and irritated skin.

Lucysmam I love the look of the blueberry lip balm! So CUTE. Not my usual aesthetic at all but somehow its all so very appealing. My resolve to not purchase anything this month is weakening by the hour...