Obsessed with Asian/Korean stuff - taking your skincare to level 2!

[FrugalFashionista]

Asian and Korean skincare products seem to be a big thing right now - we are falling in love with quite a few things...

Interested in the following?

• finding a great sunscreen - here's a thread favorite
• tailoring a multi-step ritual to your skincare needs - here are the basics
• talking about geisha beauty rituals - you'll probably need to read this
• 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!

Vol 1 of this thread here

Ooh loving all the things arriving - such intriguing things, and thanks for the pics! And cushions are ace! Although the Missha one is cheap, it is really good. Also very happy that the Holika BB cream is working out for so many of you!

No parcels here but I'm all set anyway... Pretty immersed in work today.

Ilovetosleep how is your face today?

Hi all.
I've been lurking here and bought a couple of things. Mizon sleep mask which I love, and Missha bb cream which I haven't tried yet.

As a dry skinned retin a user, would snail cream suit me better than snail gel? And at what point in your routine do you use it.
Also is starfish cream a moisturiser?

Thanks. I absolutely love this thread.

Envious of all you ladies enjoying bb creams and cushions! I tried to colour match to try an Asian bb cream but the darkest shades were still too light (I'm a medium olive, nc35)

Wonder if there is a sample service for lots of different bb creams..will have a quick look!

OOh thanks for the pics, I love oogling at the lovely packaging. I was just thinking that I have absolutely no room for my new purchases!
I'd love a little dressing table where I could line them up in a pretty little row!

Really happy to see people got on well with the Holika Holika BB Cream.

Could anybody recommend a Retin A cream? I've been using LRP which I know isn't as strong but it's the strongest OTC I can find. Thanks

Mowglik Missha goes up to shade 31, did you try those already? I got some samples from missha.ee! Many others brands have just two shades, light and slightly darker. Korea is ethnically homogenous and many Koreans use a foundation that is lighter than their actual color. I do not recommend that (kind of their version of orange counter ladies, just opposite direction). Some African American AB fans have built pretty incredible cushions with custom mixes of BB creams and their Western foundations but again that is a fairly intensive process.

I have hard to match skin. When I did the BB cream swatches earlier this week, I realized that all my Western foundations are way too pink or way too yellow. I'm somewhere in-between, pretty neutral but a bit on the cool shade, and Dr Jart and Missha are the best color matches I have ever had in liquid foundations. I still like mixing them, a tiny sample jar and a clean manicure stick is all that I need, I usually make enough for a couple of days and this way I can adjust the shade frequently.

no parcels today unless postie in the van is round later on

I've decided to do my whole routine again later on...I couldn't make my mind up what to include/leave out. Sheet mask is in the fridge to cooooool down too.

Thanks for asking frugal, my skin is ok but I do have one new little bump/blocked pore on my cheek. It could be the bb cream or it could be sheer coincidence so am wearing it again today! It's really tiny but I know it's there! It's annoying because in theory I know that bhas should solve this problem but I'm scared to start on the acids again until I know what is causing it.

Wombat - thanks for posting the products you use! Sounds like we have similar skin, I think i'll order some. Had my eye on the mizon stuff anyway - it's just good to know I'm picking the right type of stuff for my dry skin.

There is so much to choose from and other on here have oily/combo skin - it's easy to lose track of what product works best with which skin type!

I tried my missha super aqua trial set last night - was very nice! The snail stuff glides on well, the only one I had trouble with was the mosturiser/emulsion - I couldn't get it out of the small bottle very well, as it is not squeezable! Will try again tonight :-)

wicked I haven't gotten it out of the bottle either... I use an eye dropper to dose the really liquid ones. Etude House have a product that does not come out of the sample bottle either, I store it upside down.

Wombat adding the propolis thing on my list. I love everything beeswax, one of my favorite things, so propolis is probably just my thing.

Ilove oh I'm sorry to her that! I am super acne prone so I sometimes use Effaclar AI just on that specific spot, it usually helps, but can see that you might want to avoid BHA products altogether. I've gotten a couple of tiny whiteheads from Etude House emulsion so definitely not buying a full size product.

Ohohohoh! I have just made postie in a van laugh at me getting all excited Two parcels for me (and water bottle for dp) plus lots of lioele and Tony Moly samples.

I now have Skin Food Black Sugar Cleansing Oil, Tony moly green appletox, holika holika clearing bb and white wine sleeping pack.

Have tried a little of the bb on my hand and the sleeping pack.

Can't decide what to properly test first now

Boyfriend managed to sneak home for lunch and rubbed off all my foundation with beard. TMI sorry. So I got to road test the BB cushion
It goes on very nice and not runny at all. Light Beige my be a tad too pale but I did self tan last night so will see later in week. So far lasted well and it's actually warm here in Scotland. Not melting off my face at all. The stick blusher is so nice and has a handy little brush at other end. It is subtle but if I keep playing with it I'm going to end up like Aunt Sally.

I've just visited Selfridges and spent loads on Muji skincare. Well, it IS my birthday

Happy birthday scrambled.

I have to store the Missha bottles upside down too! Missha.de is so slow at delivery - I swear the stuff comes from Korea faster and I'm in France too, so it's not that far to travel. I really want my parcels to arrive - I'm waiting for stuff from Missha.de and the collagen eye masks from Korea. Can't order anything else now because I go on holiday at the end of June so don't want it arriving when I'm not here.

Can anyone remind what is the super rehydrating serum you use was it Avene or Caudalie? I popped into the pharmacy in town today and was going to treat myself but when I got there I couldn't remember which one it was.

Thanks frugal I did find a missha no. 27 that looks like it may be a match, or prob need to mix with a lighter shade to get a good match.

There are some blog posts on darker bb shades so will scour those and make a list (for next month maybe as am not spending anymore this month! ) will just look forward to my eBay mizon purchases arriving

My retinol burns are better today so I tried out the shu uemera waterfit foundation - quite light coverage so will try it with a heavier layer tomorrow and see how it feels. Seems to be wearing well, though i still prefer the ysl inkfusion which is also watery but gives more coverage

Oh and happy birthday scrambled, nothing like a little birthday spend

Happy birthday to you Scrambled . What goodies did you get?

I'm going to take a risk on trying both the bb and oil. The oil smells lush...lemon drizzle cake yummy and it washes off soooo easily. Can't believe I've never tried an oil cleanser before I'm impressed with it.

Just in the middle of sorting dd2 and my second go at my routine for the day!

Dp is working overtime Thursday and Friday for some spendy cash for us each so I'm going back to looking at hydrating toners (any suggestions?) and the COSRX and will use anything left for clothes I think.

Brittany missha.de took a full week to Central Italy, missha.ee actually beat them by 24 hrs although they are much further away! For me, some Korean shipments may never arrive (I sent in custom clearance forms ten days ago) - I've lost a couple of a couple of non-AB orders at this stage in the past so I am much happier with EU based sellers, but yes, it can be frustratingly slow. I have four missing parcels atm, all are Korean orders. But bloggers say it takes about a month to Italy, so I'm hoping for the best.

Scrambled please tell us about your first impressions with the Muji stuff - I am really interested. The Laneige cushion sounds dreamy...

Sheree my snail gel is still in the mail but the snail cream is not super moisturizing, just a light hydrating layer. Starfish has a jello texture and it makes my skin super smooth, but it is not a moisture bomb. Neither are oily/creamy, they are light gel-creams. I have never tried retin-A so not sure what type of moisturizer would be right. Some people on Reddit put on the cream before applying isotretinoin.

Lucysmam If I go out at night, I do a very short evening routine, cleanse, something hydration + sleeping product.

Oh and totally forgot to wish happy birthday to Scrambled! Your presents are really nice

Yes, I think that's what I'll do tonight Frugal, it'll be fairly late when we get in & I imagine everyone will be tired.

Thanks everyone! I've taken a quick photo of my haul - they don't have some of the products I wanted (ie cleansing oil) but I still went slightly nuts. Excuse the dead plant in the background!

Will come back and tell you what I bought properly later, after I collect the DDs.

this tutorial on finding the right eyelash curler for your specific eye shape is a revelation! it ties in with this

Totally unrelated and OT but lucysmam I love how you and your DH seem to share spendy cash and go evens on everything.. It's lovely!

Yesterday I received the Innisfree Bija Cleanser and Mizon Goodnight White Sleep Mask - skin has been gorgeously soft today! Sadly, still getting spots but today I received the Mizon Apple Peeling Gel so fingers crossed this will start to help tackle those. And still waiting on Cosrx BHA toner which should help too.

My haul is getting bigger and I love it! I'm so used to slathering on a load of heavy western moisturising cream to combat the dryness, it's nice to have a change and use lighter products but with even better results. And its making me use SPF on my face. I'm completely converted!

Wow Buttons I've never understood why my eyelash curler feels such utter rubbish - this is probably the reason!

Happy happy birthday scrambled! Daftyburd i am going to order one of those stick blushers, they look fab! Think the coral one would suit me as I'm a red head.

This thread is bloody great, so addictive. Just when i think im done buying, i read about another product i need!!