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!

Does anyone here use retin-A?

I do

I don't use retin-A. It's side effects pull all the tricks my skin does at its worst, and I'm enjoying a relatively calm moment now. I don't want to hex it. Don't get me wrong, it can be super effective, but you have to weigh the pros and cons based on your individual preferences.

I've looked how my relatives age. We develop hyperpigmentation (age spots) and rosacea rather than lines, so I'm going to focus on preventing the two. It should not be super difficult, my family has never bothered with sunscreen. My father has major laughter lines and I'm developing them too, but he looks rather charismatic

Just wanted to send a love letter to my cushion. It's incredible how little I need but how well it covers the breakouts. A really great summer option!

Hi everyone, I'm back and ready to join in again, I think! Good to read everyones updates and tales of fab skin. I have really enjoyed keeping up with the thread (mostly) and have lots of new ideas to add to my wish list, but have been trying to hold back and not get sucked in while my skin has been getting back to normal over the last few weeks (over use of new products I think, and acids/retinol.)

Really tempted by some of the make up products that have been mentioned, and cosrx for actives. But first of all I think I need some help in deciding which products to re introduce and in what order, and which bits are most important for my skin. I have so many in the drawer! Would anyone be able to help me sort through this lot?! Its a mix of AB and western products.

At the moment I have managed to build up to this :
Cleanse with LRP physiological (feels a bit drying?)
followed by Eve Lom cleanser (PM)
LRP serozinc spray
Hada Labo lotion
Boots serum
Balance Me eye cream
REN daily moisturiser (AM)
Cerave PM (PM)
Biore sunscreen (AM)
BB Cream/makeup
Clinique moisture surge spray over make up

I also love a sheet mask once or twice a week and I have on the odd occasion used a clearasil pad but no more than twice a week, not routinely. That lot is all pretty moisture heavy and while I do seem to have repaired the damage and dryness, I also feel a little congested on my cheeks and seem to always have one or two tiny bumps/pimples there. They're not acne by any means but just small little pimples that could be mistaken for insect bites. I also have one persistent milia under my eye. I wonder if its that I need an active thrown in, or that I am using too many moisture heavy products?

Left in the drawer to try is:

Missha longer name night ampoule
Mizon Snail Gel (possibly culprit for spots?)
Mizon Good Night mask (most likely culprit for breakout)
Mizon Starfish cream
LRP Redermic R retinol
Nip & Fab glycolic fix pads
Nip &Fab Dragons blood pads
Clearasil Pads
REN AHA concentrate treatment
Tony Moly Intense repair night mask samples
CosRX all in one snail cream samples
Benton snail bee essence and steam cream samples en route from Korea

No idea where to start. I don't know whether to go straight in and get my skin used to some retinol before attempting anything else, or whether to do that last? And which is more important, retinol or aha? I think introducing both together is what did me last time. I'm 33 and do have generally pretty good skin but a hormonal chin, sebacous filaments on nose, tendency to dehydration and dryness and general lacklustre and dullness since becoming totally sleep deprived around 4 years ago and ever since (thanks DC) And I'm turning out to be pretty sensitive too! And obviously there are some signs of aging and pigmentation and unfortunately some melasma on upper lip and forehead.

Sorry for such an epic post. I just don't know where to start. I get the basics of what order my routine should be in, and the PH wait times and everything, I just don't know what is most important for my skin at the moment and how to get my sensitive skin used to these new products!

Also I need some BB cream recommendations but I'll save that for another post!

Been reading up on it. big what strength so you use and do you mind saying how you use it, your full routine? Thanks

Ilovetosleep fantastic to have you back here, your routine looks great as is - good hydration is half the battle for me! If your concern is congestion and SFs, might start by adding one of your BHAs, either Clearasil or Dragon's blood. Did you ever try these yet, did they cause you any trouble previously?

I'd place it after your evening cleanse, and wait for half an hour after before continuing with the rest of your routine. If you want to be extra careful, only do it every second evening, building up slowly and discontinuing if it irritates you? With your super reactive skin, I'd proceed very slowly!

I found a new blog, it has a really great intro to Korean Beauty. Fifty Shades of Snail also has a fabulous mega post for beginners.

vegan I use the strongest gel .1%. My skin is quite robust though. I would not recommend starting with that strength though.
I started off every other night. I peeled like crazy but I liked that as the skin underneath was amazing and if made me look very fresh faced. Took years off me. I slowly upped the usage and now I do 3 nights on 1 off. I still peel a little. If my skin becomes very sensitive I give it a rest for a couple of days.

Your skin does need to acclimatise to it and sometimes you have to push on through the peely stage.

When I use it I cleanse, acid tone as usual, then wait a good 30 mins, apply the retin and wait a good hour for it to do its thing, then before bed I do the seems and moisturise eye. Sometimes I forget and just go to bed! I also put if on my hands, I put everything that I put on my face on my hands though and they are also much improved.

Some people might find their skin cannot take an acid on the days they use retin. As I said my skin is quite tough.

I had quite pronounce NL folds, very aging and depressing . My mum has them to. I just assumed they were hereditary and that there was nothing that could be done. The retin had done wonders for them though as has the acid toning.

Hope that helps

I'm reading Reddit (missed a lot last week because I was too busy) - came across this, it sounded a lot like a reaction someone here (sorry not sure who...) was having:

"I recently had a reaction that was a ton of tiny red splotches on my cheeks. Turned out to be a reaction to niacinamide. Check the ingredients."

Where do you get your retin a cream from? I've been looking at these but not sure if cheap ebay ones (from Thailand) are and good.

My chin is a spotty mess, every where is totally clear. I haven't changed anything recently but it's much worse then the one or two I normally get at this time.

I accidentally got asmudge of retin a on my ear the other night and it's been a peely mess ever since!

I'm retin a-ing, my skin isn't very reactive but I do flake with the Retin a, so I would go very slowly. Start with the lowest strength 0.025 one night in three until your skin stops flaking then move to alternate nights and then nightly. I made the mistake of doing acids and retin a and found my skin was very sore so I wouldn't introduce the acids initially.

However I'm really seeing a difference and I now feel after about three months that im over the worst and heading more towards better skin. I received a Thai retin a order this week and it was fine.

Any ideas about scaring? My sisters DS has some cuts on his leg and she asked if there's anything that he could use to minimise future scars.

Thanks big i have ordered the .025 and will start with that. What acid toner do you use, and what spf? Also what morning rountine do you do, sorry for all the questions!

Thanks Frugal I think you're right, start with salicylic. I have so many lovely products its so hard restraining myself and introducing one at a time. I used both clearasil and dragons blood before but I was stupid and went pretty much straight in with DB in the morning, Glycolic fix in the evening and retinol every 3 days, so I don't know if it was the combination or one specific product that made my skin so sore and reactive and sensitive.

I also really want to start using the star fish cream but I don't really need it at the moment as Cerave is really good for me at the moment. I'm also eager to use the longer name ampoule, I think I'll try that after I've been ok with BHA for a week. That or the LRP retinol. Argh too many choices.

I am a bit apprehensive about the clearasil as they are so full of alcohol, so I'm tempted by the cosrx. But I'm a bit confused. I know the A-Sol is meant as a prep for other acids, but would it do as an acid tone in itself, for someone who needs a v mild and gentle BHA? Or the other one is the BHA/AHA toner, (which appeals to me as I don't need to think about whether I need an aha or a bha and means I only need one product!) but I read a review, I think maybe snow white and the asian pear, which wasn't impressed by the overly low PH and she reacted to it. I'm also attracted to paula's choice but don't really want to buy into the brand, it annoys me!

Onto BB creams... I have been using the moisturising Holika Holika petit bb but its way too pale for me. I am NC20-25 if that helps, I think the petit will be ok in winter but my body is quite tanned and at the moment it looks weird putting on such a white face. Any suggestions? I'm really loving the sound of CC creams as I feel the BB creams are a bit thick for me and even the moisture one is not really very dewy. Maybe its just the lighter colour that makes it look too thick. I like the sound of the aqua petit but I suspect even the no2 colour would be too light.

Ilovetosleep I know it's hard to take it slow as you have lots of lovely stuff but my skin would definitely freak out with lots of acids and retinoids - building it slowly has worked for me, now I'm able to use BHA 5x per week and AHA 2x per week. I just got a weird reaction to CosRx and have retreated back to my Western salicylic (very old and scratchy acne pads that I am using up, I tap rather than scratch my face with them), and my skin seems to have calmed down (the acne cysts have totally dried up, fab). I found the Longer Name ampoule nice and soothing so it might be a gentle choice too. With warm weather, I want much less stuff on my face.

Someone here had a great CC cream suggestion, what was it, Aura something? And I find cushions give a sheerer finish that seems to breathe more. Korean shade range is sadly often quite limited, only a few brands seem to make a couple of darker shades.

vegan I currently use clearasil as my, BHA, but have ordered a costa to try. I am finishing my nip and fab pads for the aha but want to find something a bit more powerful. Actually I have watered down a glycolic peel as well!
On my face I use Biore watery essence spf 50. I love it as it is completely non greasy.

Not directly related but I noticed that the Missha Germany FB page has some good swatches of their cushions and BB creams. I have cool/neutral toned skin and their BB creams match me pretty well but warm-toned people might prefer something else.

Newsreader some scarring treatment ideas here, plus I'd look into Mizon snails.

frugal I'll have a look at those thanks. Find the whole. By cream thing so confusing.
Sorry for the blooming auto correct stuff vegan' it drives me crazy. I have ordered the cosrx blackhead stuff.

ilove yes bb creams are mostly pale, I am pale so can use most, and if they are a bit too light, once they have oxidised (wait ten mins for the shade to settle before deciding if its too light or not as it can darken in that time) and a bit of bronze and blush I am fine...but I reckon Missha Perfect Cover would be great for you.

I am shade 21, and there are two darker. The darkest is for nc30 and up so i think the second to darkest would be great for you. If I remember rightly, frugal is a fan of this bb cream?

Have a look at the shades here

That's interesting Vegan, the bb I'm using is really pale when it goes on but by the time I've poured brekky, added milk and sorted (usually) stroppy dd2, it looks absolutely fine. I wondered why it was & now I know.

Am heading up to bed in just a moment, but thought I'd check in. Had a very busy day running a stall at the school fair, my first ever experience of doing that and blimey it was exhausting!

Lucysmam, thanks for the tip. I used my fingers last time but will use an old clean foundation brush next time.

Ilovetosleep I have the Paula's Choice, but I'm not hugely sold on it. It does work well, but it leaves a kind of greasy film on my face that I have to wipe off with a gentle toner (Muji Sensitive) after 20-30 minutes otherwise none of my essence or serum gets absorbed properly.

Just finishing off my Sunday night pore-declogging routine. I love the fact that my pores look smaller afterwards. Doesn't last long of course, but it is great while it lasts!

news thanks for the retin-a tips, when mine arrives I will follow that.

big have you tried the Stridex pads? I have the nip and fab and the Stridex and prefer the Stridex, plus they are cheaper. Am not sure about aha and bha thing, can anyone explain, and where they should be in the routine? I have just been using the one .
I cleanse then use the Stridex, then Hadalabo then a night cream followed by red wine sleeping pack, sometimes no night cream and just the sleeping pack. In the morning I cleanse then use the pads then usually straight onto bb cream with a light foundation on top.

No probs Scrambled, you can just squeeze a little from the tube at once using a brush - I find it makes them last longer & you don't end up with patches with loads of mask taking ages to dry while other bits are dry in seconds iyswim

Scrambled I did a school stall a week ago, yep very exhausting.

I'm feeling great tonight, I decluttered the kitchen, went through the cupboards and took out bags and bags of recycling, the room seems so much nicer now. Plus we went out to the hills earlier today and had a leisurely early afternoon in Tivoli, one of my favorite places: the sweltering heat has returned and it was much cooler there, we sat on the hilltop under shady plane trees. And somehow I even had time to prepare two decent meals. Hoping to continue the clearout tomorrow, we are leaving for the beach on Wednesday and I'd be able to relax more knowing that we have already tackled the most difficult parts.

I'm all for a bit of de-cluttering, Frugal. Such a lovely and productive sounding day you've had! I need to do something similar, although sadly only in N London and not Tivoli.

My bedtime reading is Marie Kondo, I'm going to get into the right mindset before we move and then keep on. It's hard with young children but no one needs that much stuff! KonMari sounds a bit cult-like at first, but I like it. DH needs to read it too, he needs to let go of old tat more than I do.