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

Ilovetosleep, one more thing, please google image search perioral eczema. Pimples on marionette lines are a classical symptom. Mine was nowhere as bad as most pics you'll see but I had a few stubborn tingly pimples on my laughter lines and chin. CH has had this too, heavy use of cosmetics is a risk factor. If this matches what you have, you should see a GP or a dermatologist.

delurking to say that I got the Holika Watery BB cream and it is AMAZING. best BB I've ever used - I looked fresh faced at bedtime yesterday. It is very matt but not drying. I think the different versions are all slightly different shades so best to check for reviews online before ordering. It was £3.41 for 30 mls on ebay (from jolse) so dirt cheap. Honestly, I'll be binning the remainder of my Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua and stocking up on this.

Gertrude I haven't tried CosRx stuff yet but a lot of people have found it helpful for acne - perhaps alternating it with LRP would help to maintain the efficacy of salicylics?

My acne is under control so I am focusing on oil-free hydration - when my skin is plumper, the fine lines disappear. But I am not a retinoid user. The blog Skin&Tonics is one of the best intros to these products, she uses isotretinoin. Wombat migh also have some great ideas. With tricky skin, it is a good idea to go slowly and thoroughly test just one new product! If you like cute stuff, start with an adorable Etude House or Tony Moly hand cream or lip balm!

Gertrude, I'm no expert by miles but the Clearasil pads (used 3x a week) recommended on the first thread have helped with my acne and the appearance of blackheads (mainly on my chin with the odd acne cyst appearing on my cheeks every now and again ). They're dirt cheap if you have a Bargain Buys or 99p shop local to you.

Also, the snail gel here was having a calming and healing effect as well - my dp has pinched my tube since I talked him into letting me experiment on grazes from coming off his new bike a couple of weeks ago. I think it would be good for sunburns etc (seems a good all-rounder to me).

And I sampled COSRX BHA Skin Returning A-Sol a couple of weeks ago when I had a cystic monster brewing. It vanished without a trace after only a couple of days .

I'm not saying buy them all at once! but they seem to be working well for my oily/acne prone face. Just be sure to do some research and review reading before you commit to anything - reddit is good for finding similar skinned folks using these products & giving their opinions (curse you lot for introducing me to it )

I started with the snail gel (mainly based on price tbh but it gets lots of good write ups if you have a google) as a proper product and then just ordered some bits and bobs that the names/look of appealed to me

I'm currently waiting on Skin Food Black Sugar cleansing oil and Missha Green Tea Latte as the next steps in my routine.

Frugal, thanks. I think I will try a full size when I settle on a shade - tempted by the cushion though. And they have some nice looking liquid blush too hoping for a windfall

Crikey that was long! ...I'm meant to be mopping but keep scrolling on here instead

Update:

Ok so my cart is not at $150 on beautykorea.ent and I haven't even found what I'm looking for yet. Help please!

Eeek! Gertrude slow dooooown

Seriously, only introduce one product at a time or if something causes a reaction, you've no way of knowing what it was.

If you want variety in there, chuck in a couple of nice, relaxing sheet masks too.

Sorry everyone cross post.

Thanks a mil lucysmam. I actually have the snail gel in my cart - it's not expensive so worth a whirl I reckon. Thanks on the recommendation for the COSRX BHA Skin Returning A-Sol. I might try that and see if it's any good.

I'm like a child at Christmas scrolling through the websites!!

Etude House is soooo cute! I'd buy them just to keep them on display!

Thanks a mill everyone, off I go back down this rabbithole.

Lucysmam don't feel bad about leaving the mopping - I'm supposed to be working!

Haha don't worry I'm going to filter it out and just pick up one or two items for now. I just can't decide and with it being Monday and everything, I'm feeling generous :D

There is another COSRX Blackhead BHA - can't remember the name but google should throw it up - that gets good reviews too so might be worth a look at both or just samples to try out and see which you prefer

I intend to go back and read through the first thread but would it be too cheeky of me to ask in the meantime which the star products are?

I've spent ages lurking on these threads, such a revelation!! I've ordered a few Tony Moly products and some sheet masks but I wondered if anyone knows a good product for the upper chest area? Mine is looking somewhat crepey and in need of attention!

Another de-lurker - I've got a couple of things coming in the post that I thought sounded good for my skin, and a Selfridges trip this wednesday to buy some of the Muji sensitive skincare range plus their cotton pads. This thread is terribly enabling.

I really want to get some Cosrx Acne patches as I had a few gifted by a friend and they are AMAZING (cystic acne sufferer) and have found a fantastic deal on Wishtrend. Does anyone use that shop? I've read a mention of there being high shipping costs unless you spend enough to get free shipping, and I don't have £££ to spare right now.

Also, having very reactive skin I would prefer to get more samples, and my sample haul has been a bit hit and miss so far. Has anyone bought from TesterKorea, they sell lots of sample sizes I think? Any good?

I'm supposed to be working too but it is not going too well. Too hot

FallenAngel I'm just spreading whatever I am using on my face to my neck and decollete. The sheet masks usually have a ton of extra liquid and because the products are not mega expensive, you can slosh around a bit I spread the sleeping products liberally too and rinse them off in the shower.

Squoosh Korean routines are different for each person, anyone can tailor these to their specific needs. The most popular gateway drugs in this thread have been the Biore Watery Essence Sunscreen, Holika Petit BB Cream, and perhaps Missha BB creams. Plus some snail stuff - the Mizon snail AIO or the Mizon snail gel.

My personal holy trinity is perhaps sheet masks (faves: My Beauty Diary and Innisfree Real Squeeze), sleeping masks (faves: Innisfree Red Wine and Dr Jart Firming, but I haven't yet tried one I didn't like) and non-greasy moisturizers (every line I have tried has several watery essences, liquid treatments and emulsions, and light gel creams, plus I love Hada Labo Gokujyun lotion for a boost of hyaluronic goodness). I am still in the early phases of experimenting with serums (bee snail stuck at customs!) but really like the Missha Borabit ampoule.

But listen to Lucysmam - it's smart to slow down and try just one or two products first. These products are not a panacea and a few people have reacted badly to new products. I've also found that looking at other people's routines, reading reviews (esp the negative ones to learn what worst case scenarios can be!) and following bloggers who have a similar skin type helps a lot. Reddit Asian Beauty is fabulous, you can search it and Redditors are super knowledgeful and helpful. And you can mix these with your current Western products. I still use LRP, Eucerin, Nuxe, Badger Balm, Neutrogena...

Gertrude, another thing that has helped my skin is dropping the cleanser on a morning. I've been just using warm water and a flannel to wash off my evening products.

I saw mention in a blog post (that I can't remember, I've read that many) that your face isn't really going to get dirty overnight - just needs the night's products taking off so water should be enough. And then carry on your routine as normal.

squoosh the snail gel cream I linked a bit further upthread seems popular and the Biore sunscreen is very popular with the folks who have tried it here.

Starfish sounded interesting too...

Welcome all delurkers, great to have new faces here. The first post has some links, the most important one is the basics link. Read it first! And no need to create a zillion new steps, a short routine can be very good too if it meets your needs!

Scrambled lots of Bloggers use Wishtrend, I haven't! Please remember that £15 and under orders are duty/VAT free, bigger ones can incur extra costs and delays. I'm in Italy, customs are a nightmare, so I prefer EU based shops, missha.ee and missha.de plus a couple of UK and NL based BB cream shops, but their selection is very limited. Check eBay and Amazon too.

Thanks Frugal, I think I'm well over that limit already! I discovered that Wishtrend has a Wishbox at the moment for problem skin which includes the patches and some other lovely looking products and I'm really tempted. The only thing I don't need from it is a comedone remover evil things that they are. Big pack of patches, or 1 sheet plus lots of other lovely stuff? Aargh!

Would really like to get some makeup too when I'm a bit more flush and my skin is better, but that may be some way off.

I've already 'Korea-ified' my skincare routine in some respects already (double cleansing and added serums, basically more steps but more gentle too, and lots of sunscreen) and am seeing the benefit but am looking forward to trying out some asian skincare products too.

Thanks frugal that's useful info. It's overwhelming at the start to say the least!

I've successfully managed to whittle down my basket. It was an arduous task, but I got there

I've settled with some COSRX, Benton Bee & Snail Sleeping masks and a mascara thrown in for fun.

I've been eyeing up the IOPE air cushion for pay day, it looks lovely!

Thanks for the recommendations Frugal and Lucysmam!

I've just bought some Mizon sleep mask and snail repair cream. Will look forward to giving them a whirl. I'm already a sheet mask and sun block devotee so eager to extend my Asian skincare repertoire.

Lucysmam I tried not washing my face in the morning.. just a quick rinse with water but I broke out terribly. So I switched to using a gentle cleanser in the morning and double cleansing in the evening and that helps. I try all the tricks of the trade, even changing and washing my pillows and towels every other day, cutting out dairy etc.

There's not much I can do about it unfortunately, I've yet to find that holy grail product. It's hormone related, I was on the pill for about ten years, stopped taking it and BOOM; hello acne! I used to stress so much about it but nowadays I would like it gone obviously but I can at least look at myself in the mirror. I still do get pangs of jealousy when I see women who use just babywipes and have the most marvelous skin, swines!

Weird isn't it, how something that works for one of us with the same sort of problems doesn't work for others

Hi Gertrude, and that's exactly why there is no universals and it is difficult just to go and copy someone else's routines.

But it sounds like all new people here are well on their way, just sending you good postal karma and speedy deliveries!

Frugal, where was the good postal karma earlier! I've just opened a parcel addressed to me to find that it is bull bars for dp's bike Not the exciting parcel I was hoping for

I think more bike karma for him -> more Korean karma for you in the long run. He has already been lured by the snails, now a Korean order is 'indispensable biking gear'

No parcels for me either. I am still waiting for four parcels, I think they all were shipped from Korea sometime last month but it can take a month or longer for them to reach Italy.