Obsessed with Asian/Korean stuff - taking your skincare to level 3!

[FrugalFashionista]

Asian and Korean skincare products are big thing right now. We love them!
Tailor your multistep skincare routine here! (or see this pic)

Some of our favorite products so far...
Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF 50 Sunscreen
Missha Magic Cushion BB Cream #21
Lioele Dollish Veil Vita in Purple
Holika Holika Petit Jelly BB Cream
CosRx Returning A-sol
Scinic Propolis Serum
Mizon Hyaluronic Acid Serum
Missha Time Revolution Night Repair Science Activator Ampoule
Missha Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail products & trial kit
Mizon Snail Repair Cream
Mizon Returning Starfish Cream
Mizon Good Night White Sleep Mask
Innisfree Wine Jelly Sleeping Pack
My Beauty Diary Imperial Birds Nest and Hyaluronic Sheet Masks
Innisfree Trouble Care Sheet Masks
Innisfree Real Squeeze Sheet Masks
Tony Moly Avocado Mask
Nexcare Acne Patches

Our favorite sellers:
UK-based Bits and Bobs of Beauty
EU-based Missha.ee, Missha.de
Korean Innisfree
On eBay f2plus1, sing-sing girl, Iamlove, blueprint21
Orders from outside the EU: £15 or less are VAT free!

Blogs and other resources
Reddit Asian Beauty, Fifty Shades of Snail, Snow White & Asian Pear, Skin & Tonics
more resources here...
Vol 2 of this thread here and Vol 1 of here

Please come and share your questions, experiences, links and best shopping tips!

lucysmam can you explain about the konjac sponge/how to use?
I just looked them up and it seems there are different types like charcoal etc for diff skin types?
Do you remove make up first then use it for the 2nd cleanse? Alone or with a cleanser?

Vegan, as far as I could work out - the charcoal ones are better for oily/troublesome skin.

The instructions on the packet say -

Soak in water for a while & press to expell excess water before using.
Massage gently in circular motions on face or body.
Rinse and press with hands to expell excess water after use.
Hang to dry properly.

It also says it gently exfoliates, kills acne causing bacteria (not sure how it does this), and naturally moisturises the skin.

And yes, it says you can add your foaming cleanser to use with it if you want to

Morning all

I popped into The body shop yesterday and had a squirt of the camomile cleansing oil and once again it smelt to me of chip fat, just like the Innisfree one. I think it's me, cleansing oils just don't seem to be my thing. I'm looking for a replacement for the Emma Hardy balm, which is going to run out in a couple of weeks. I'm not keen on the smell of Rose so don't fancy the sum 37 one.

In other news two packages arrived from Jolse complete with samples, Etude House sebum control mist and Cosrx blackhead toner. I'm looking forward to trying the blackhead toner to replace the clerasil pads.

I plan to use it for my second cleanse with my Missha green tea foaming wash, and on a morning just on it's own & see how I get on.

Hi, I'm new to this thread and have something to recommend if it hasn't been already. Missha FTE (the First treatment essence). I use it kind of as a serum (you're meant to put it on with a cotton pad but I use my fingers) before moisturiser and it makes my skin very soft and clearer. I am not acne-prone, but have dry skin. So I think I am seeing some effects! I got it from Ebay and I think it was around £14.

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a serum, preferably Vitamin C?

Today I received the last of my June orders some Cosrx acne patches. A combination of time of month and a self tan mask have caused a cystic acne breakout. I can't wait to get to bed tonight to put some on. They were bought from iamloveshop on eBay and despite costing under £3 I got 3 samples. Dr Ampoule serum for troubled skin and two BB creams. Really didn't expect anything with such a small order.

Newsreader, I bought some samples of Banila Clean It Zero balm from ebay for about £3.75 recently. Maybe you should do the same if you have issues with the smell of products? I want them for travelling but also to see if I like it enough to buy a full size jar. Supposedly it smells very faintly of cherry blossom but the scent fades quickly when you use it. Good for me as very sweet smells make me

Lucysmam I use TBS Hemp hand cream. It's fantastic, exceptionally moisturising (my DH swears by it and he gets horribly cracked hands from climbing) but the scent is a bit divisive - it's an odd herbal smell. Doesn't smell like my pot-smoking neighbour though, which is positive. I buy it when it's on offer, which is pretty often.

Mowglik - I'm with you on the light layering of water-based products. I used a sample of Benton Steam cream yesterday and was surprised by the thickness of it and the greasiness of my skin after using, despite the wonderful ingredients. Lo and behold, I have 2 spots today - one pimple and one angry-looking cystic beast in the making. Admittedly it could be because I'm also hormonal and very tired, but it's a bit of a coincidence.

Gertrude what is this sleeping mask of which you speak? It sounds fab-u-lous! I love the scent of rose. And lavender. And violets. I'm a Victorian grandmother in my tastes, clearly

Oh, and Mowglik, I'm desperately trying to find the Lee Ji Ham (LJH) tea tree essence cheaper elsewhere. It's half price on Memebox Korea at the moment, retailing at about £9 per bottle. HOWEVER - they only ship to Korean addresses. I've been investigating the Avecko buying site but currently the cost of shipping would outweigh the savings I'd be making. That includes customs duty too of course.

Well, this could make no-spend July a whole lot harder -

reddit's Asian beauty exchange

Thanks Gertrude and Scrambled, I'll look at L'Occitane and TBS Hemp handcreams. Not been in TBS for years. Do they still sell strawberry shaped soaps and the like? Used to love a good mooch in there as a teen

dafty, I may have misread but...all that for less than £3!? I shall be off to investigate if so.

No, they've gone all up-market(ish)! They don't even sell those bizarre bath oil pearls any more. Did anyone ever use them?

Oooh, I remember those! Used to love them...my dad complained they made the bath slippery. Made me feel all grown up

Lucysmam yes the patches were £2.83 and I got 3 samples. The cosrx patches get great reviews. My own review will be posted tomorrow morning

I'll await your review in the morning then -guess who has pinched the remainer of the Nexcare ones for his bag . I'm having to pinch them back one at a time though for this beast on my chest - not good at all, it looks a like a third (rather sore) nipple

If anyone has large pores (me!) then I've seen some rave reviews of this product -

Pore Corset Serum

Is this the only one of its type, or is there anything comparable? I would have to wait till later in the year to buy, if it's any good.

Scrambled. It's this:

uk.strawberrynet.com/skincare/sisley/black-rose-cream-mask/132075/?CatgId=p#DETAIL

It is ridiculously expensive - although this is cheap here. I paid £90 for mine in John Lewis last Christmas. It's good value in the sense a little goes a long way. You can use it as a normal mask or sleeping mask.
TBH I never seen the merit in it until it last night. My skin was destroyed irritated and looks, dare I say it, great today!

On Cosdna there are some acne causing ingredients but this doesn't break me out at all.

I too am a fiend for the granny smells, this is lovely, smells like natural rose, not synthetic at all.

Sorry, I know it's quite the spend!!

Cheap at £67! I didn't realise it was Sisley though, it explains both why it's so good and the price.

Think I'll stick with my Innisfree grape juice red wine pack for now.

I know, the price is crazy! I seem to have a serious problem to only like/ respond to expensive things. I genuinely will always pick the most expensive product even though I when I can't see the prices... and I work in marketing! It's a running joke in my family, but the bank manager doesn't think it's so funny

Well, I spent my three quid that dp pinched the other day sensibly I got the blue one - I might collect them all and then start on some of the other cute containers (I will repurpose them for earrings or similar when they're empty). Only spent the £3 though but can't find it now to link

Naicecuppa - I've got some samples of FTE on order so am keen to try it. A lot of us are using did Vit c serums, you can buy a kit from active formulas or have a look for recipes. The advantage is you can make a fresh batch weekly/fortnightly so don't have to worry about it oxidising.

Lucysmam - a very sensible option!

Scrambled I am very tempted by the Pore Corset serum - there's another great name, but will hold off and see what the Cosrx blackhead stuff does first before spending any more.

I really like the CosRx stuff. My skin was smooth and nonirritated afterward, and the small area on my chin where I had a breakout has calmed down.

It's been a difficult day, saying goodbye to some of the most important people and places here. We all feel a bit emotionally exhausted. So I cleansed my face and am relaxing with a hyaluronic sheet mask. DC are taking a bath. We seem to go through these cleansing rituals because they correspond to what is happening inside.

Sangria yes we are leaving, heading back home up North for a while. It's great to be closer to our families but it is also a big change. Somehow I feel we are about to enter a new phase in life, after many years spent at home with DC the focus is more on my career, making my mark. That feels both liberating and really scary. I am looking forward to many great things, being closer to my fantastic team and colleagues, booking trips and accepting invitations and planning my new office. But the transition phase is just really messy and painful.

Naicecuppa I've been using the Missha FTE for several weeks now, I spray it on after my morning cleanse and really like it. Haven't tried vitamin C yet,

Newsreader we all perceive smells in our own way (I'm a major perfume fan and have done lots of systematic smelling, I know I cannot smell certain substances and I also perceive some unpleasant smells differently from my friends). You are probably able to smell the oily or rancid part much better than the rest of us, or have formed unpleasant associations with certain oily smells. Nothing wrong with you, your nose is just more in focus hat ours I am getting really good results without any oils and balms, so hoping that you'll find a cleaning procedure that works for you!

Lucysmam your DH is welcome to join us

Sorry, meant DP