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

CornwallsFinest I have used a few products by Secret Key and have found them really good.

I got their snail essence sheet mask as a sample today, Cornwalls, but otherwise have no experience of their products. Have you tried googling it for reviews? I've found certain bloggers who have similar skin to me and their reviews have been invaluable. Also Reddit Asian Beauty is great, I've lost hours there. Makeup Alley often has reviews too.

lucysmam I think probably something soothing, like green tea, mixed with a squirt of eye serum for active ingredients. I don't need loads of treatments as my eyes are the one thing about my skin that's in good shape (yay for genetics! Thanks Dad for the great eyes and the zits in my late 30s).

Another one still waiting for their Biore sunscreen!

I'm currently using

AM
Bravura clay cleanser or sum 37 rose stick
Bravura calendula toner (nor every day)
C20 vitamin c serum
Corsx BHA power liquid
Hada pano lotion (if my skin feels like it needs a drink)
Benton snail bee essence
Cerave PM

PM
Some form of the above but with the addition of
Superfacialist vitamin c cleansing oil
LRP Redermic R (will replace with a retinaldehyde and the progress up to 0.025% retin a)

Thank you ruby and Scrambled I had a nose around Reddit and Secret Key snail essence appeared on a few 'Best Essence' threads so I'll give it a go. Also whilst looking, Purebess snail cream was mentioned frequently as very good product, looking at ebay, they sell it for around £5 with free delivery for anyone looking for a cheap snail product!

First review of Muji products - the Mild Facial Soap. Doesn't lather much, I presume you get more if you use a net or konjac sponge. Goes on nicely, cleans well, not drying. But - and this is a very big but - it leaves my skin feeling squeaky clean. I don't like that feeling, although it seems from the blogs I've read about it that it's still popular in Japan and Korea. I will use the mini tube for travel and will gift the big one to DH (he likes it) but it won't be my go-to 2nd cleanser and I won't buy it again. That honour goes to Su:m 37 rose cleansing stick, which is fantastic.

Muji Light Toner Sensitive - really lovely and refreshing, not drying but not obviously moisturising either. My skin did feel softer after use. I like the fact that it's described as 'weakly acidic'. And the bonus is that my skin didn't react at all after use, just felt refreshed and soft. It's definitely one I'm going to keep using, and the price was good too so I'll probably buy it again.

Well I tried my first sheet mask last night. Actually dh and I both used one! It was the tony moly avocado one. Omg. Our skin drank it up. Our faces felt so hydrated afterwards. Will defo defo be buying them again and using regularly. I stuck them in the fridge for a few hrs first by the way, for extra zing!

Still loving the cushion, btw! Even though it's on the light side it doesn't make me look dead, I just look fair-skinned and glowy, not at all oily. Frugal, I know the Laneige cushion is quite expensive in comparison with some, but I found it on W2 beauty at a reasonable price. It's probably on the web somewhere cheaper too.

DH is out tonight so I'm trying out my first sheet mask! I know it's odd to wait till he's out but I'd rather he didn't see me trying skincare products with a bottle of Piriton by my side in case of adverse reactions, he'd worry!

Morning all, enjoying my mid morning coffee and AB catch up. Nothing for me today, but I enjoyed using my new HH white wine sleep pack the night before last, I put it over my Retin A and will wait to see what happens, the flakes usually arrive a couple of days after.

I also got in the same parcel and Etude House eyebrow mascara, which was useless because I'm a fool who doesn't know the colour of her own eyebrows! Thought that because my hair is red, that my eyebrows are too and they're not. If anyone wants it it's the light brown shade and I'm happy to post it.

Lovely to hear about the Muji stuff I'm very tempted - hope you had a lovely birthday Scrambled.

I read the 50 shades of snail ladies blog today about CSrx Blackhead toner and like the sheep I am have ordered it, I know I'm supposed to be off acids, but it sounds gentler than the others I've been using.

ILove - glad to hear your skin is improving, have you tried the LRP Serazinc? I got some on offer from Escentuels and spray it after toning and it's really helped with flare-ups. I get far fewer and the one or two I've had go quickly now.

Daftybird, was it you who got the same Laneige cushion as me (pore control, #13 in Light beige)? I found that even though the colour doesn't look too that weird on me, dusting on some non-shimmery bronzer matches a bit more to my natural skin tone. I certainly like the effect more. Currently using the Soap & Glory one, which has an odd sheen in the packaging but not on the skin. And if you like S&G cosmetics they're currently on 3 for 2 at Boots!

Have never worn a foundation or BB before that's so light and glowy yet doesn't budge. Love it.

Scrambled I use #13 BBs a lot and I find I also need some light bronzer with them as my neck is whiter than my cheeks. Otherwise it is too gothic. I am normally too pale for bronzers but Lily Lolo did a stripy Rose Glow bronzer last summer that is very pale and just right for my cool-toned skin. Bobbi Brown seem to have a similar product. Cushions are pretty fab, I don't think I will ever go back to regular liquid foundations unless they experience some major technologiacl breakthoughs. I use a Chanel foundation every day to neutralize my undereyes and every time I dab it on I am reminded how crap it is. Gertrude your trick of applying undereye concealer in diagonal stripes is sheer magic, I get good results even with a crap product!

Oh and squaky clean has something to do with pH balancing, I think? The higher the pH the squekier you'll feel? I'm not a fan of super squaky either.

Coconut so happy you liked your sheet mask and fantastic that your DH was willing to experiment too. They are my absolute favorite thing this summer!

Loving the routines!

Good afternoon ladies

Nothing exciting to report here. Probably a good thing since I now have 4 products lined up to test before plunging head first into them

Coconut I love that your dh tried a sheet mask with you, mine just chuckles at me

Skin Food cleansing oil is lush, I'm looking forward to taking my make up off later on just for the smell of it

The Holika Holika Clearing BB is quite pale, do any of you have any of the other ones? I'm wondering if one of the others may be a tad darker...not by much mind. & I discovered this morning that you only need a teeeeny bit of it. I put it on without really looking properly, went to the bathroom to wash my hands & Casper the Friendly Ghost was staring back at me

Does anyone here use a foundation brush to apply their base? I'm thinking about trying one from Primark for a couple of quid - not sure how to use it though if I do

bigbuttons, I did not know eyelash curlers came in different shapes/sizes! Will read your links from last night once the girls go to bed tonight.

News, I didn't know eyebrow mascara existed! I'm terrible with brow make up - wonder if one of those might make life easier maybe.

Scrambled what size pack of cotton pads did you buy, and how much are they? Looks bigger than what I normally buy from Wilko's

Scrambled - yes it was me. I will give some bronzer a try thanks. It doesn't look so pale today but I will brush some BM warm stuff I have on.
Mine was £23 but it did include a refill and I don't need much. The compact looks so expensive too. I can't wait to whip it out in a public loo. I have been eyeing up their cushion brightening concealer for my undereye. If I get my bonus at work it will be mine!

Where's the best place to buy the Laneige cushion?

The Returning Starfish cream just arrived, at long last! Haven't had a chance to try it yet but I was a bit at the Mizon placenta serum samples

I think they use sheep's placenta cream in these products. I had to google lithospermum but it turns out it's just a plant rather than anything sperm related.

(would probably have slapped it on my face regardless if I'm being honest!)

I tried the Laneige cushion but the #23 was still too light for me the compact does look lovely though!

Btw does anyone know if the shades are the same across brands e.g is #23 the same shade everywhere? Would make it a bit easier to order samples

Mowglik Sulwhasoo (part of the same company than Laneige) do a cushion in #31, see shade chart at the end of this post, quite pricey but you could try a refill first.

lucysmam I bought the unbleached cotton pads for £1.95. I'm not sure how many there are in the pack but it looks huge.

Don't know about the best place to buy the Laneige cushion Mitzi, but W2 beauty have been great for me and they stock 5 different tones. I think you can get a refill for £14.95 or the compact for £24.

However, Laneige is NOT the only cushion. It's just the one that after a bit of research, I decided would suit my skin best. Iope, Missha, Etude House, Amore Pacific, Hera and many many more brands do cushions in a variety of finishes. I found vlogs very helpful, she did several on different cushions. Also comparison review from another vlogger.

Ha, I had a look on ebay...super pricey (might be my bad search skills though ). I'll see if my sister's going anywhere with a Muji store in the near ish future & would get me some.

(I only looked on ebay trying to avoid postage costs btw - will get their website up for a nose later on)

They probably have a store locator on their website. However, they are only cotton pads! Very nice ones, but they won't change your life or anything. I wouldn't make a special trip for them, I live just down the road from a large Muji and haven't nipped in to buy them before because I still have loads of the last 3 for 2 offer from superdrug in my cupboard.

True...they'd have gone nicely in my rather large getting stash though. There definitely isn't one near me for a mooch at their storage either. I currently have a (very glam ) box that some of my stash was sent in as storage for sheet masks, spot patches, samples etc. Think I need something better than that.