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!

Back in Italy, and a box of goodies from Missha Germany has arrived while I was gone

Have energy just for these links tonight:

If you want to include Asian acid toners into your regime (I haven't done this yet because I'm happy with Nip+Fab and my salicylates, but will probably try these in the future), here is that part of the Reddit Asian Beauty HG list.

Lots of bloggers really rate CosRx so here is a brand profile.

And just for he fun of it, here are Paula Begoun's acerbic views on Korean beauty.
Do everything she says there, then buy some K-Beauty products just to piss her off

Bustle holika and missha colour swatches for nw20

I need to order something, anything as I can't wait for the snail gel to arrive. I think we all need to club together and start an importing business

Thanks Wombat, I'll take a look at that in the morning now - just off to bed.

I've spent the whole evening browsing Skinfood products - am rather taken by their packaging really. I ordered their tomato suncream even though I just bought one - I just fancied it & am intrigued by the tomato-ness of it. And mandarin honeypot lip balm just 'cos it's cute.

I'll do some proper research over the next few days into oil cleansers and toners - I have plenty winging it's way to me to be going on with.

ilovetosleep I have tried the panda cream and I really did not like it, I have dry to normal skin and this just felt like applying sudocrem to my face. It left horrible so I washed it straight off.
I think I have got some samples left (ordered samples to try) so if you want message me your address and I will post them to you.

I'd just ordered some Benton snail bee serum, Missha Time Revolution night treatment samples (20 for under a fiver ) and Mizon snail eye cream this week and was studiously avoiding this thread being a product junkie. I'd been eyeing up a CosRx toner and thanks to it being mentioned on here I've ordered that too

Hello BTW, I'm AmazingDisgrace and I have a beauty product addiction. My SIL who used to work for a big brand was my chief enabler with her freebies and massive staff discount across all brands in the group. She left there to go and be a big head honcho across the pond for another well known brand and keeps me in cosmetics with regular 'care packages'. Its never enough I have a huge addiction to Korean skincare. You would have to prise my cold dead hands from my Tony Moly Pure Aura CC cream and I really love Mizon's collagen moisturiser and eye cream

bigbuttons I love the honey face masks from The Face People (I think!)

Ooh AmazingDiscrace welcome, I feel we have a lot in common... Loving your suggestions! By coincidence I think I tried one of the products you like.

I'm confused by the wealth of products too. I love doing research and comparing and contrasting reviews, so if it is helpful, I will describe the products I am trying. The main thing in getting started is to pinpoint a need (UV protection? More hydration? Anti acne? Aging? Hyperpigmentation? Oil control? A lack of cute objects on your nightstand?) and get started with that. I've found I've learned a lot about products in a short time and my hydration problems have definitely been solved!

I opened the Missha Germany package last night. It felt like Christmas, and it was super difficult to decide what to try first. I decided to stick with two items from HG lists, a sample of Missha Time Revolution Night Repair Science Activator Borabit Ampoule (people call this the Missha Longer Name Ampoule). It's a purple bottle with a dropper but I only had a sample, a few drops of water/gelly stuff, the smell was nothing conspicuous, perhaps a tad fermented. I slapped ot on my face, it left a slightly sticky feel. The longer-name ampoule is like a serum I think. I could see no difference overnight, but it did not break me out and I would be very happy to try this for a full month. I actually expected to have a full-size product in the package but they had accidentally sent me an eye serum (very similar long name and packaging). I checked my order and it was their mistake, so I'll have to write them and explain. However, if you are confused with these products, so are the people who sell them

I waited around for a bit and then added the Missha Super Snail Sleeping Mask. Thick white paste, not unlike toothpaste, a strong smell of cucumbers (not my favorite I have to say), absorbed immediately. In itself it was not super hydrating, so would probably suit anyone with oily skin. As usual, I woke up to baby soft skin and when I washed off the product my skin felt very smooth and I had no breakouts. The mask is different from my Dr Jart Mask (not green/brown, no herby flecks, less moisturizing), and Mizon Good Night (thicker texture, not translucent; neither is super hydrating on its own). All three give you fabulously silky skin in the morning. The Missha sleeping mask would not be moisturizing enough for seriously dry skin but this may change if you layer it with a cream (will try this tonight). The role of a sleeping mask is like a lid in a kettle, first you put in your treatment(s) and moisturizers, and as a final step the mask seals everyhing in.

Longer reviews here, Missha long-name serum (the formulation has changed slightly this year) and Missha Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail Sleeping Mask. I'll try the cream featured in the first part of the review tonight.

Two new products, no breakouts! This stuff really suits my skin

Thanks Mogz! Off to purchase now!

Annarose, that is the most annoying thing about the skin79 alright.I'm torn between loving how sanitary the pump is and fearing I'll run out any day now! You can prise the pump open to get a few extra applications out though.

Bustle our skin type sounds really similar, I am pink-toned too, but no freckles, just blotches of hyperpigmentation...

Just now testing a new Missha BB cream and have a sample of another coming up. Might do a swatch pic later on as those really helped me to get started! Also wearing a new Korean sunscreen, super excited!

I love the Missha perfect cover BB as does my 18yr old daughter. The different shades are ace, I'm very pale cool toned -level 1 Cool when Prescriptives still existed in the UK and she's darker with golden warm tones. The Missha one works on its own for me on a good skin day with some concealer and Bare Minerals Well Rested.

The other product I'm really liking is Etude House Baby sugar powder. Once you get past the cutesy name its a really good finishing powder. Keeps my oily bits at bay and is really finely milled so you don't get that chalky powdery look.

Let us know how you get on with the Time Revolution stuff FF

This thread is very naughty indeed! I've been looking up every. single. product. you have all linked & want everything.

Pre-dc I was a product junkie but since having 8yo dd1, I just haven't bothered that much. I can see me having a very well stocked (and pretty!) dressing table soon as a result of this

Wombat thank you for the link. She sounds like she has similar skin to mine as well.

I'm off to see how much the Goodal Waterest stuff is in £'s...have a feeling it may be out of my price range but it gives me a starting point

Lucysmam this stuff is so dangerous as it is totally addictive
I am super happy that you got a bonus budget and can get some extra goodies!

AmazingDisgrace Missha is fab isn't it? I've really liked Perfect Cover but found it a tad too sheer (my skin is clear but I still have some hyperpigmentation) so I have mixed it with some Dr Jart and the mix has been just right. I tried Missha M Signature Real Complete in #13 today and so far the color match is perfect on its own - but need to wear this for a few days to see how longwearing it is and whether it breaks me out. I've always struggled with foundation and it's amazing suddenly to have several wearable alternatives! My skin is improving too, I used to like full coverage, now I get away with medium (no concealer needed, except for the undereye area, and that's totally new for me) and my aim is to get to sheer and super sheer! And it's lovely to be able to choose between more glowy and more velvety matte finishes depending what I am wearing and where I am going.

Sorry if I'm gushing but I'm so excited that I have finally found a bunch of products that help my tricky skin!

m0gz have you seen Dallas Buyers' Club? We could set up something similar I'll have Jared Leto's hair

Wombat how did your blackhead experiment go?

Samhain good luck with the order!

Bustle Benton snail bee is in my Jolse trial order! If you see a doganiere with glowy skin and a smug face you know where it is from

I have a challenge for all you Korean product loving ladies . I have trawled the links here in search of a high spf hand cream and the nearest one I found was a hand cream with sof 25. I ideally want one with a min spf of 30 has Zi am a buggy pushing red haired freckly lady who needs high protection!
Ive ordered the Holika Holika bb cream from this thread (so addictive i have to tear myself away from it)

hmmm, the Goodal Waterest is slightly out of my usual spends (Usually around a tenner a week) so I'd have to save for that but it does sound good.

Holika Holika Soda Pore Cleansing BB Deep Cleansing Oil

Frugal it is indeed addictive! But! it's kept me busy reading on an evening & I've been enjoying myself. I usually just buy random face wash & moisturiser and that's it then moan that I look or feel meh. Hopefully this lot will perk me up

Blackhead / pore experiment update!
The other night I carried out this routine from Snow White's blog: fiftyshadesofsnail.com/2015/03/28/how-to-shrink-pores-temporarily-plus-3-pore-myths/
I used different products, which I had just lying around - first I used the Clearasil Salicylic acid pads, then I waited a bit and applied an Alpha H clay mask, then I rinsed that off and applied Emma Hardie cleansing balm, which I left on for about 10 minutes before massaging and rinsing off with a flannel.

After all that my skin felt a bit flushed and sensitive so I went for Caudalie SOS serum and starfish cream. BUT: when I woke up the next morning - OMG brightest skin ever. I was actually really, seriously impressed. I'll be doing this again once a week or so, it was lovely! I doubt anything would ever reduce pore size, but this did make my skin look good..

That said, it hasn't prevented two spots from arriving today - but I've put those down to hormones, I always break out during my TOM.

Ooh, the longer name ampoule sounds good - I heard it was like a cheaper version of Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair.

I am still holding to my 'buy nothing except sunscreen' rule, but am wavering and my Ebay wish list is about a foot long.. Tbh it's only the fear of massive customs charges plus the knowledge that I have had issues with overshopping in the past that are making me hold back...

Sorry meant this as a PM - of course meant sharing details via a private message, not on the thread.

Have any of you tried Sulwahsoo gentle cleansing oil? The reviews I've read look good...might try that one. Bit more hunting and reading first though

I have been buying korean stuff for ages now, skincare as well as make up.

heres some of the stuff I use.

this bb cream is bloody great, better than any foundation, a league apart from western bb creams and has decent spf as well

this brightening mask is great

and so is this sleeping mask

the BEST waterproof eyeliners and cheap too

Thank you so much for the offer ruby but it doesn't sound that pleasant so don't waste them on me. I'm so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of hints I want to try that I want to narrow down even the selections of samples I want to try!

wombat thank you so much for the recommendation, my wallet and DH not so impressed but Caudalie SOS serum is top of my to buy list. It's lovely! I woke up feeling a million times better, I think I'm going to keep using it while my skin gets used to all the new products and certainly when I re introduce the redermic retinol.

I received my 3 sheet masks in the post today so will let you know what I think if them. Think I'll start with the aloe one while my face is still in recovery mode.

I've written a list of bb creams that supposedly match my MAC nc20 so I'm going to order a selection of samples later today.

This is getting a bit out of hand ;)

THank you for starting this thread.

I lived in Japan for 11 years (just returned!) My hair and skin in are fair/blonde but Asian skin care routines and products are suitable for me. The only difference is that white skin is a lot dryer and more prone to ageing but you can also get Asian skincare to deal with this.

They ingest supplements and drink for the skin. COllagen is the big one. I've found this drink in boots. It's a kind of tonic for the skin. Masks usually contain collagen too.

You can get cheap Korean and Japanese face masks from e-bay that work very effectively, as good as the expensive brands in my opinion. I've found these face masks to work wonderfully if your skin errs towards the dry side.

Important Japan brands are: SKII, SHISEIDO among others. Depends how much you want to spend really. My next buy will be SKI Facial Treatment Essence

Also,Estee Lauder caters for the Asian market with different products. Adverts for this product Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair were plastered all over the airports in Korea and Japan last year. It is really good for my skin type.