Obsessed with Asian/Korean stuff - taking your skincare to level 4!

[FrugalFashionista]

Asian and Korean skincare products are a big thing right now. We love them!

Tailor your routine here!
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
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
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

Orders from outside the EU: £15 or less are VAT free!

Best blogs and other resources
Reddit Asian Beauty
Fifty Shades of Snail
Snow White & Asian Pear
Skin & Tonics
more resources here...

Vol 3 of this thread here, Vol 2 of here and Vol 1 here

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

Sorry, snail cream after eye cream but before gel as well - missed that one!

amazing I am so, so sorry to hear about your mum.

Goodal testers, I can't wait to hear your reports! I really don't need another essence, but these sound really good!

m0gz the Hada Labo whitening essence you sent me is fab! So far it hasn't broken me out, and I'm noticing a slow change in a bit of acne scarring that I feared might be permanent. For the first time today I realised it might disappear, eventually! Thank you!

No takers for the Mizon Good Night White sleeping pack? Happy to post for free just to get it out the house the kondoing continues apace

After about 6 weeks of continued use, Retin-A is working very well on my fine lines - but I think the cream it's based in is clogging up my pores. Lots of smaller blackheads appearing (nice). Sigh. I am using up plenty of LRP effaclar duo and clearasil pads, but it's not working too well so far. I thought Retinols were supposed to fight acne! Bah!

Wombat, I'd be interested in the sleeping pack if no-one else is. Is there anything you'd like as a swap maybe?

I still have the Holika Clearing BB cream if anyone would like that to try?

Thank you

I ordered another foot peel after the last one worked - it's just arrived & I'm at the declaration on the back...

It's an electronics accessory with a value of $10 . I only paid a quid for it!

Great to hear wombat I like this hada labo toner too, it's nice and moisturising but light enough for summer

Have almost finished my laneige sleep mask so am looking forward to starting the one you sent

I've no more deliveries to look forward to now haven't ordered anything AB since the start of the month and I'm happy with my routine at the moment so don't feel the need to! Stars in my routine atm are LJH propolis ampoule and Cosrx galactomyces white power essence. Also enjoying the Goodal waterest oil and just tried a Tosowoong deap sea sheet mask which was super cheap (£6 for 10) and made my skin look and feel great last night!

Looking forward to ordering some richer creams for autumn at the end of this month - a honey cream and miss flower and Mr honey essence oil which sounds yummy

Any sheet mask recommendations from anyone? I'm looking to try a Benton snail mask next..

Which honey cream are you looking at mowglik? I'm torn between COSRX honey ceramide or the Joseon Dynasty one.

The Lebelage sheet masks I ordered are nice, the royal jelly one has been very soothing for me

I've just discovered that the dropper on my vit c serum bottle doesn't reach to the bottom It's started to oxidise so I'll make some fresh but a bit annoying now I've realised - I'm no good at tipping liquids without over-doing it.

I love the sound and look of the miss flower and Mr honey cream but it's quite ££..the other one I'm looking at it cosrx honey ceramide which looks like it will be good for autumn/winter. I didn't know the joseon one was honey - is that the one recommended by snowhite (the blogger not the fantasy princess lol)

I'll have a look and see if I can get a lebalage sheet mask to try I'm trying out lots of different ones to put together a stash of my favourite masks (so far I have MBD, Tosowoong deep sea, my scheming, miss flower and Mr honey hydrogel on my favourites)

I have the honey and flower essence oil and love it. It smells gorgeous and seems to add a bit of richness to my skin with out needing a heavy rich cream. Two drops is plenty to cover my whole face and I put it on immediately after my hylamide so they absorb together. It also smells amazing and I normally hate scented or fragranced things. I would totally wear a perfume with this scent.

Sorry; that's my appaling use of the English language The Joseon isn't honey...I'm just debating between those two!

I have a pack of miss flower and Mr honey hydrogels, but I haven't yet used them. The only sheet masks I've tried are the Boots green tea one (expensive and meh), and the My Beauty Diary Pearl ones (meh too). I might pluck up the courage to try the honey hydrogels today.

Mini Review: Whamisa Deep Rich Toner is nice :) It seems to provide the extra hydration that I've been missing, even with the Hada Labo Gokujyun Toner. I don't see any other effects.

Mini Review: Shara shara AIO Honey Ampoule came from that seller, and it did leak a tiny bit. That jar is definitely not designed for travelling. The ampoule was a bit sticky on me, so I mix it with a couple of drops of
Hada Labo Gokujyun Lotion and it sinks in nicely. It smells of honey and caramel, and because it comes in such a large jar, I use it all the way down my neck. Again, I don't see any effects other then hydration.

I have a bottle of Soyadodem mist, it's a mix of honey, aloe and jojoba oil. I hope it works to seal in all this hydration.

Overall I'm really pleased with my forage into AB. The hydrating aspects work really well. My actives are still US/UK/French (Vit C, Retin A, and glycolic and salicylic acids, sunscreen), and overall, I think it's a good combo for me.

Oh god Mowglik, I'm sorry I got your name wrong - that's unforgivable! But really I am so happy with the Hada Labo! It's unusual for a product to not break me out, and my skin feels lovely and soft in the morning (I find it works really well under Mizon snail gel). Massive huge thanks.

proteins can I ask how you combine your acids/actives and Retin-a? Do you use them in the same routine or use one in the morning/one in the evening?

Lucysmam I'm happy to send you the Mizon good night white - PM me your address

I am so impressed with everyone's DIY-ing. Once we've moved house (finally) I might indulge in some shark sauce ingredients?

Thanks Wombat, I'll pm you shortly

I came back to ask those who are diy-ing for links to their dropper bottles, if they're using them, please

Aaaaaand, to tell you all that I've just cleaned the bathroom...that's not the important bit . The important bit is the five mins I spent studying myself in the mirror in there. The red mark under my eye from God knows what is fading really well, and; my rather long and deep forehead wrinkle line (just the one super deep one ) appears to have more blurred edges further into my forehead rather than stretching the length of it iyswim? Oh, and, my pores are definitely looking smaller and less obvious. Especially on my cheeks under my eyes. (lots of "and's" there ).

I'm having a good face day in case no-one guessed

TheWombat

I currently use the acid product (a combination of 5% glycolic + 2% salicylic) in the same routine as the Retin-A, but in the past I have used the acids in the morning, and retin-a in the evening.

Both worked for me, now I space my retina-a a good half hour after I've finished the rest of the routine. Basically I have the tube next to my bed, and before I turn the lights off, I put on a pea sized dollop.

Can I just say that I am loving the Mizon all in one snail cream. My skin is so soft in the morning. Even softer then before.

What else do I love right now? The innisfree real squeeze tick sheet mask makes my face feel like it's made from baby skin. I will buy more.

Oh and I accidentally bought the Benton high content snail bee lotion instead of the essence. Where would you put it in a routine? I'm hoping it takes away some redness.

Thank you proteins that is very interesting. I've been using my Retin-a after cleansing, and then adding another step or so after an hour if I can be bothered at the moment my evenings are a bit hectic and all the waiting between steps is just preventing the routine from happening. Do you do your moisturiser etc first before? I might do it your way and see what happens!

I've had a bit of a haul the past few days - some lovely products arriving with loads of samples, some of which I may actually use! I'll list them all, sorry if I've already told you about some of these but I've forgotten what I've told you about!

So far I've received -

Tosowoong Bee Venom essence (it's a gel, like Benton snail bee, I love it)
Tosowoong Enzyme Powder Wash
Goodal Waterest First Essence
Peripera Cushion Blusher in Lavender
Holika Holika Bubble Mask
Cosrx AHA & BHA from the Rose Rose shop sale

Plus so many samples that I seriously don't know what to do with them all.

I'm actually a bit sad about the Cosrx acids arriving because after I bought them my skin became very sensitive with lots of cystic spots, and I took the decision to ease off the use of acids for a little as it wasn't helping. I will probably use them maybe once or twice a week now. Will let you know how I get on.

I'm dying to use the Powder Enzyme wash and the Bubble Mask soon, will wait until my skin is less reactive and sensitized and then choose which one to use first. Decisions decisions!

Goodal is a different story. Seperate post because I think it deserves a mini review all of its own.

I like the Waterest Oil a lot, but using it in conjunction with the First Essence has been a revelation. It has a very softening and moisturising effect on my dehydrated skin . I use the First Essence straight after cleansing, and the Oil after it. THEN Hadalabo lotion plus other products in their usual order. The First Essence smells gorgeous (IMO) and contains fermented Lotus flower extract, which like green tea is supposed to inhibit the production of sebum (yes, there are studies on the internet, I've read them!).

It also seems to make other skincare more effective and sink in quickly, and yet when I wake up I no longer have a greasy sheen on my face, it's matt and peachy apart from the spots but they're going. This is particularly incredible because I'm using REN Evercalm Moisturiser to calm my sensitised skin, and it normally turns my face into an oil slick. I still get a little oily on my t-zone during the day but I think that's the fault of my current sunscreen.

So, Goodal range, for us dehydrated/troubled/oily skin types - big THUMBS UP.

Tell me more about the Bee Venom essence Scrambled .

Be careful with the bubble mask - I used mine twice in a week when I got it & my face was a tad sore . No reaction to it, just twice a week is too much I think!

My 5yo is definitely a fan of the skincaretainment aspect of AB . I caught her yesterday, sat on my bed, reading a story to Appletox, Castle handcream and Snail gel! And having a jolly chat with the snail on the gel

She also likes the ghost masks (sheet masks to the rest of us!). The compressed ones are actually a decent fit for her little face.

OK! Can always be persuaded to talk about AB stuff lucysmam .

Bee venom essence - it's a clear gel in a pump bottle,texturally a lot like Benton Snail Bee. Obviously no snail though. What it does contain is their base essence of niacinamide, some natural ferments, antioxidants, hyaluronic acid, adenosine (ant-aging) and Bee venom. Lots of good ingredients basically. No smell. Sinks in quickly. Pump action bottle, you only need one pump. No skincaretainment aspect sadly but I can live with that.

I like it because no nasties apart from the ubiquitous Butylene Glycol per CosDna, it's hydrating and light, and it works! Bee venom is great for 'troubled' skin and is very healing.

TheWombat

Yes, I do all my hydration steps, add Vit C and a light moisturiser. Then I follow it up before bedtime with Retin A. In the past I have layered a heavier moisturiser on top, but I don't bother anymore. This routine works for me because I'm able to relax and enjoy all the steps earlier in the evening, and I just crash into bed when I want while maximising the time between the other products and Retin A.

As an aside, this is a link from Reddit, with a Cosmetic Chemist taking questions and providing answers. Lots of details about ingredients, wait times, formulations, retinoids etc.

www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/3g050z/i_am_a_cosmetic_chemist_and_skin_care_expert_and/

Hi all, a question for anyone using retinoids - are you using retinoid every night or is every other night sufficient? Just wondering if it would be worth bumping up the frequency from every night - I do less steps on retinoid nights though so don't want to miss out on the extra steps every other night if theres no huge difference

lucysmam thanks for the information about the bubble mask. Do you know what's in them to make your skin sore? And what brand do you have? I got the holika holika one, can't even remember my original reasoning! Still amused that the brand is all WOW about it containing sparkling water from Harrogate. It's on 2 for £1.50 at Waitrose right now, I wonder if I should tell them?

That's such an interesting Q&A on reddit, btw! I've bookmarked it so I can have a good read with a later.

Loving the mini product reviews! Lots of intiguing products!

My Benton Snail bee mask (a freebie from RRS) the other day was fantastic, it really made my skin glow the following day. Definitely on my shopping list!

Have spent all day today on the beach, it was fabulous, DD2 is taking a bubble bath now and I will cleanse my face and do a sheet mask.