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!

littlechinapig El corte ingles also sell it , just wasn't one in easy reach.

Phew. Home at last ok I had a lie down before logging on

I swear the entire Korean ex-pat community in the UK was in Trafalgar Square today, plus vast numbers of hipsters, families and it was just awesome. Didn't bump into Phantom but hardly surprising. Queues allegedly over an hour long for food. Couldn't get near the 'Lifestyle' tents to see if there was any K-beauty in there. This was mostly due to me having 2 small children and a buggy to manhandle but I've only ever seen it that busy on NYE before.

However before we gave in and went to the South Bank instead -- cos it was so much quieter... NOT - we saw a fantastic B-boy display and some lovely traditional dancing. Dds loved it! And I got my fave fusion food as well - Vietnamese style confit duck in a brioche bun. Man it was gooooood.

Sounds like you had a fun afternoon out Scrambled! Nothing so interesting happens round here.

Oh no! I appear to have an unexpected breakthrough bleed and a random selection of chin/jawline based acne to go with it .

My face was looking so clear as well! Just hope I can calm them down before Saturday!

Oh no lucysmam, how do you normally tackle jawline/hormonal spots? I seem to be able to tackle smaller ones effectively with effaclar duo and snail gel but the one off monsters (always in the same place) are more resistant :(

I'm on a cushion mission. My skin (bar the one fading monster) is looking OK and bb creams applied with a brush are looking great so I want to try a cushion. Has anyone ordered from testerkorea? I have seen a few on there I am tempted by but its just working out the shipping.

Also, has anyone tried both the missha 21 & 23? I'm trying to figure out if 23 is going to be too dark.

I also need to find a new budget balm cleanser. My diy ultrabland failed :( broke out in really painful tiny hard red spots on my nose. I'm using up the almond oil as the first cleanse followed by cerave at the moment.

A bleed? Oh no! What do you think caused it? Too much acid? Hope it clears up soon.

I've received my Avène ultra-light mineral sunscreen today, a bit later than expected. There was a problem with supply so lovely seller sent a couple of tester sachets with it too (US based so was not expecting that). I'm testing it today, will report back properly after a couple of weeks use, unless I have to stop wearing it outright for any reason.

First impressions - small bottle! Very light indeed, it's similar in texture to LRP, although less greasy IMO. No alcohol so doesn't do the quick drying thing that Bioré does, but equally doesn't make my eyes water on application. Lightly moisturising I think. It's physical sunscreen so the lack of white cast is very impressive. So far so good, but will report back properly in a few weeks.

And I'm tempted to do a compare and contrast with the Club Clio physical sunscreen for face as well, now that I know it exists! Although will probably wait for Snow White's review first.

m0gz, none of them look, or feel, deep rooted like cysts thankfully - just a hormonal breakout where I usually get the cystic ones. Propolis and snail worked well last time on the cystic ones so I've used those this morning & will see how they go through the day. They already look less red around the edges so fingers crossed. I'll stick on hydrocolloid patches overnight too.

Scrambled I meant as in unexpected period type bleed! The pill I'm on is supposed to stop them - typical it chose this week to take a break

Doh! Sorry, massive lack of sleep has led to some comprehension issues!

Hi all, sorry to hijack the thread but I was hoping for advice.

I've skimmed through the thread and am interested in trying the double cleansing method and was wondering if anybody could recommend an oil cleanser to try? I have an oily t-zone with dry and slightly sensitive cheeks. The pores on my nose and chin are on the large side and every couple of weeks I steam my face and extract with a blackhead remover (although I've just read that this is bad for your skin). I get the occasional spot but it's mostly hormonal.

I was also wondering if I could use my current cleanser (Garnier micellar water) for the second stage or if I'd have to change it?

I have been googling (in between garage sorting looking for a balloon blower). It seems chin/jawline are a common sign of periods being imminent, temples = hair product too close to that area, cheeks = dirty phone, forehead = puberty, and I can't remember the other one. That's from a Good Housekeeping (US) link I clicked.

Mine are looking much calmer this afternoon so will hopefully not leave too much redness behind!

LadyErrant, it might not be suitable because of the scent if your cheeks are sensitive, but I have an oily forehead (think proper oil slick!) and have been using the Skinfood Black Sugar Cleansing oil. It's about £8 ish on ebay.

Takes off most make up no problems (apart from my poundworld waterproof mascara that sticks like superglue )and emulsifies well

Hi Lady Errant, and welcome! There are a lot of oil cleansers out there and to be honest I think most of them are probably ok, even good. You don't even need to buy K-beauty as several of us (alright, squoosh and I) really rate the Body Shop Silky Camomile Cleansing oil. It gets off everything in one go. Even gooey eyeliner and the Revlon colorstay foundation which is practically bomb-proof.

The k-beauty blogger Fanserviced-b has done a review of several different oil and balm cleansers, plus some others. Pretty helpful. I would say that although the Skinfood oil that lucysmam has a lot of love online, it has a lot of detractors too thanks to the scent. Some have likened it to lemon toilet bleach .

When I've used up my TBS oil I'm going to try the Bioré Kao oil, it's meant to practically not need 2nd cleansing because it rinses away so cleanly.

Scrambled...it smells like lovely lemon drizzle cake

Of course it does, lucysmam

LadyE the best first cleanser I've ever used is the Emma Hardy cleansing balm, it's available in M&S but not cheap or AB. I'm eating out the last of mine, it smells amazing and has really helped with my pores, I sometimes use Micellar water as a second cleanse.

I would throw away the blackhead remover, it does much more long term harm than good, I have the scars to prove it. If you are worried about keeping your pores or sebaceous filliaments clean then go for a BHa toner, lots of people rave about the Cosrx one or you could try the clerasil pads that have BHa in them.

In further news I've been finally testing the Benton snail bee essence and I love it so have ordered a full size. I have noticed a lot of tingling when I put a moisturiser on top, I'm only using Cerave PM so fairly innocuous do think this is ok? I'm not sure if it's just the thought of bee's that's frying my mind.

Mmmmm lemon drizzle cake.

I'm eking out, certainly not eating it that won't help my face!

Thanks for the advice, I'll chuck out my blackhead tool and look at the recommendations

spots are much calmer this morning.

Have any of you tried Purederm sheet masks? I'm just mooching about ebay at some 'value' brands recommended on reddit. They're just under a tenner for 17 masks (all the same flavour though) and a pack of 30 undereye masks afaI can work out.

Is anyone using the Benton snail bee lotion? I accidently bought it instead of the essence. Do you think it will work the same?

I see what done of you meant by done cushions giving your skin a grey tinge. I bought an a'pieu one and it makes my sallow and dingy. I'll still to hand holika holika one.

Now for my little boast...one of the young men at work today asked me what makeup I wore as my skin looked great and younger then normal. I had mascara on only!!

Grin boast away
Which shade of the apieu have you been using? I ordered one yesterday and a missha one. They had the missha one with two refills for such a low price I couldn't resist!

I've just used my bubble mask for the first time since I overdid it. My pores look soooo small & face so smooth, I wish I'd waited now for Saturday morning!

That's lovely Grin, I had a sales assistant guess my age at late thirties last week, I'm 45 and it made my day.

I found some mist spray bottles on eBay that arrived today, they work perfectly and are sort of travel size (pack of 10). I'm going to put my FTE in one, do you think a DIY Vit c would work too?

M0gz I bought the #23 which was horrible on me. My skin looked dull. I might try the #21 as it's cheap.
The hollika holika bubble cream is great though.