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!

Btw, the Reddit Paula's Choice threads are hilarious I totally agree with the general consensus on her brand, that the constant bashing of other products does her no favours. Plus the lack of common sense with their grading system is just plan daft.

Yes Lucy's it cleared up quite quickly! I admit I'm like you too, feeling out for new lumps on my face. DP tells me off to not do it but its almost ingrained in my daily routine - get home > play with DS > feel face for new spots. I'm hoping the cosrx patches will stop me feeling around!

Phantom I adore my Missha Magic Cushion. It's now an official must-have for me!

Smegs I'm doing the pat pat technique too. After receiving my BB cushion, I decided to incorporate it into the rest of my routine and finding it works really well.

That hair Mayo is seriously odd.

I went for the 8 hour cream and glove trick last night and they feel better so might keep doing that. The patting rather then rubbing seems to work well, much better product distribution too.

DH has commented over the past few days that skin looks brighter which is nice to hear.....then I caught him applying my snail cream again and raving about how he needs some.

Top of my gimmicky wish-list - Strawberry hair rollers

Too cute!

Someone asked for a vitamin C serum Rec unthread, sorry I can't remember who it was but the OST c20 serum is supposed to be good and is very popular so lots of reviews. You can get it on eBay for ~£11 ish. I have just finished my old C serum and will order this to try next month

Thanks frugal for the pH and layering link, made for very interesting reading, have taken notes and will be jiggling my cleansing and actives steps around

*upthread!

Oo also quick review - just used a tony moly floria whitening sheet mask and wasn't very impressed with it, the sheet wasn't very wet or soft and didn't adhere as well as previous sheet masks I've tried. Also minimal serum left in the packet which was a bit disappointing as I like to slather the stuff all over!

So far used a bioessence and watson mask and preferred those, my skin was a lot brighter after
using these 2. I have another 2 floria masks so will update if this was a fluke.

frugal good luck with the move. It must be really hard. Let us know when you have arrived safely x

Last night DP was complaining about dry skin on his forehead so I lent him my peeling gel, tony moly essence and snail cream. All he could talk about this morning was his 'super soft skin'. He's already making noises about getting himself some stuff

GERTI I've been using the cosrx a-sol toner and my cystic monsters clear up pretty quick - flat, less inflammation and they don't hang around for as long. Would definitely recommend!

GERTI I'm the same. Oils = acne for me, always. Even in something as innocuos as lip balm. Layering non-oily hydration works super well for me, as do sleeping masks. Hyaluronic acid is nice, and I love starfish too.

The Tony Moly sleeping pack was nice but not different enough from what I already own, so not purchasing a full size.

For congested pores, CosRx Blackhead Power is definitely worth a try!

Oh and I'm loving the Southern TV evangelist part and husbands raiding your makeup pouches

Grrrr, went to take the girls to school, left dp sat on the sofa waiting for my redelivery...postie's shoved a card through the door without even knocking so now I have to wait for Saturday to find out what Tuesday's parcel was

Cornwall, my dp is similarly impressed with the bits he keeps pinching from me

I tried the Holika white wine sleeping pack last night - smells lovely, absorbs quickly, only need a teeny bit so the pot will last forever (this is unfortunate - I want to try everything ). Can't say I noticed a huge difference this morning but will use again tonight and pay attention in the morning.

GERTI, I second the COSRX Blackhead power liquid/A-sol recommendation. Have only had samples so far but have been impressed enough for them to be on my "definitely buy" list . If you look them up on reddit's AB forum, you'll get a wider range of views on their effectiveness.

Only just catching up on this now.

Frugal best of luck with the move. I hope everything goes smoothly. It's difficult but you will get there Keep us updated.

Re the Paula's Choice article. I think it comes across as a little self serving. She didn't actually really give any skin care line or country of origin any merits, just vague mentions that France might be good. But mentioned that her skincare line is well sought after.

I think we all understand that some AB is a bit of a folly and are happy with that. The only reason I bought some Tony Moly products is for the packaging

For me anyway it's the cost mostly. I can get a product shipped all the way from South Korea that equals or surpasses any western product I have tried for a quarter of the price. The reason why I looked into AB initially was because I was sick of spending £50 of products per month to make my skin look 'just ok'. I have a long way to go yet but I can hand on heart say that AB is the way forward for me.

The Holika Holika Jelly BB is by far the best BB or CC cream I have used and I do feel it actually helps my skin.

To sum up: I think she's a bit snarky because she feels threatened and is not the 'latest' thing!

Gerti I've been introducing the Skin Returning Asol into my routine. Initially it did make my skin really dry and flaky but I'm now using every second day in the morning - this will change when my VIT C serum arrives (been over a month now, thing will be gone off by the time I get it). I would defiantly recommend it from results so far, just go easy introducing it.

I think fun packaging and texture are important too. There is far too much Gwyneth Paltrow skincare

OOOH but I've just been looking at the AHA/BHA clarifying toner and that looks great. Another one to the list

I can't really tell what the difference between that and ASol is?

Le us know which one you choose Gerti!

One of you will know - instead of me flicking through blogs for recent updates and a gazillion favourited pages on my phone to scroll through - is there a way to keep them all together?

I'm going to have a look at instagram at some point today & see if that's the sort of thing I want - although I think that's more pics.

Gertrude, iirc, the bha in the a-sol is a lower % than in the blackhead liquid so not as effective as that. Also, it's not salicylic acid...but off the top of my head, I can't remember what it is this morning

I'm going to order samples of the benton snail bee essence and steam cream later on. Plus something random (there's a fiver ish left each). Any suggestions for my spare change?

Ah ok thanks Lucysmam. I remember researching and deciding on the Asol but cannot remember for the life of me why I chose it over the AHA/BHA. Probably because it might irritate less perhaps. No clue.

That Benton pack on ebay looks a great find. I ended up just ordering some sample sachets.

I have the returning starfish cream, unopened. My skin doesn't seem to need a layer of cream moisturiser at the moment, with the moisturising toner, essence and Ren serum I'm using (although that's almost all gone - sob! Wondering whether to buy more or just) I'm wondering whether to open it at all, or just give it to my mum as a birthday present.

If you use it, could you please give me a mini-review? As in what's your skin type, a rough age range (i.e. I am late 30's) when do you use it, and what effect has it had on your skin? Thank you!

Hmm. Part of my post about the Ren serum vanished.

(...Wondering whether to buy more or just take the plunge with more k-beauty. At £28 a bottle it's pretty expensive).

I am impressed with my cosrx patches. I had a big, red lump at side of nose last night. One very subtle clear patch later it's been brought to a head. About half an hour after applying patch I could feel the area throbbing. I'm not going anywhere today so tempted to put another one on. Allegedly you can apply make up over them but they are shiny so I have my doubts. Waiting on some liquid bandage for hiding spots on nights out