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!

Lucysmam - woops, good point!! A cleanser would be helpful! I will get something to decant my skinfood sugar oil into! It's the pump which I don't think can be locked into position?

Don't want that leaking all over the place! thanks

Mine came with a clip thingy that stops the pump from pumping oil everywhere. I put it back after use in case dd2 gets ideas (will never forget the day she "took off her eye make up" )

ilove, no white cast with the no sebum powder & it smelled nice. I did still have to blot with the oil blotting papers this afternoon but am not sure whether I used enough powder or should have reapplied so will try reapplying tomorrow and see how it goes then.

Hello all, I've been lurking for a while, and I've had a read of the Reddit FAQs and other info but I still feel a bit lost as there seem to be so many options to choose from. Would anyone be able to recommend a cleanser, toner, moisturiser, serum, face mask and anything else I might need for a beginner please?
I have dry, dull and slightly greying skin, my skin is currently drier than ever thanks to chemo and multiple surgeries. I only get spots once in a blue moon and my skin is usually fair but we own a ranch (we're not in the UK) so I'm usually tanned and a bit weather-beaten. My skin can be sensitive but is usually OK, but at the minute I look easily ten years older than I am (I'm in my thirties if that makes a difference). I used to love Clinique purple clarifying lotion as I liked the harshness of it, and I usually use heavy anti wrinkle creams as nothing else seems to moisturise for long enough.
Anything to make me look glowy and radiant would be nothing short of a miracle wonderful, I'm just a bit lost as to where to start . Any help would be greatly appreciated as I feel pretty rubbish about my appearance at the minute.

Hi again, thanks for your recommendations on the last thread for my visit to KL - I bought a few biore products for myself and dd and all have been a success ( and lovely and cheap!). I got the spf 50 sun cream (lovely and will repurchase) a exfoliating cleanser for dd, plus another cleanser and acne spot patches - which were very good. Sorry don't have names of products as dd has them in her room. I was going to ask if anyone has found any good hand creams? Also have seen lots of hado lada products - are any particularly good?

Over the past week, I've been ordering

1. Banila Miss Flower & Mr Honey Hydrogel Sheet Mask
2. Whamisa Flowers Deep Rich Toner
3. Soyedodam Red Ginseng Facial Mist
4. Whamisa Flowers Nourishing Cream (this was a mistake, I meant to get the Water cream )
5. Shara shara AIO Honey Bomb

They're all supposed to arrive by the 28th August, so I have a very long wait..

The Hada Labo Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion is nice! I use it as a hydrating step after washing, it's such a big bottle I can slather it on my neck and chest too.

StarsInTheNightSky Sorry to hear about the chemo and surgeries. I hope you heal well.

I'm not much of an expert myself so hopefully some of the others will be along to chat. In the meantime, have you read the SnowWhiteAndThePear blog? I understand that she has dry skin like you and lives in an arid climate too. She has some posts about taking beginning steps and is one my favourite AB bloggers out there.

ilove, quick update about the powder - I've looked in the mirror at home, without the harsh pub lighting since posting before & actually, I don't look oily at all so maybe it was the lights in the pub iyswim that made me look shiny.

proteins thanks I'm due another blasting soon as last lot didn't work but I'm trying to focus on looking and feeling better generally. No I haven't had a look yet, I'd seen her blog mentioned so I'll have a snout, thanks very much

NewsreaderChic I ordered it from www.missha-deutschland.de. They were v helpful (emailed me to check the delivery address cos we have a house name but no number) Delivery was quick and trackable. I ordered it on Sat 11th July and it was delivered to my home in rural UK this morning. Had free gift and extra samples so altogether a positive experience.

(Gives new meaning to phrase "snail mail")

Lucysmam - mine came with that clip thing too and I chucked it out. Muppet...., oh well, that will teach me!

Stars if you are in the US, Laneige products are quite nourishing and available at Target. Not AB, but I bought my Nip+Fab glycolic pads in CVS. Sephora has some Asian product lines too.

Allpassion welcome, hope you'll like your trial kits!

I was going to ask lurkers to delurk, lovely to have new faces here!

Cardi it sounds like you found some terrific products. I have the Hada Labo Gokujyun lotion for face and it is a moisture booster. I still have two Western hand creams that I need to use up so haven't explored Asian alternatives but some of them have super cute packaging (Tony Moly fruits, Etude House houses).

Buttons Holysnails' shark sauce sounds intriguing, good luck, you reallt are our resident Walter White!

I've washed lots of windows today and celebrated a friend's birthday. Totally wiped out again but looking forward to the evening routine.

Stars - a hydrating toner? The Hada Labo gokujyun lotion is about £8.50 for a big bottle & you only need a few drops so will last ages, if you're after hydration. (I lurve it - my skins all silky and soft after using it ).

Or a chemical exfoliant toner? They help with things like blackheads/sebaceous filaments/closed comedones (the little bumps that never do anything but sit there being...well...bumpy ). For both those the COSRX Blackhead and whitehead products are highly rated by pretty much everyone it seems. I have the whitehead one on the way atm as I have a new pot of clearasil and the benton bha (also popular) to use before I buy the blackhead one.

I'll be back shortly with more, let me know if you need links and I'll find them for you, just icing 200 buns for tomorrow

wicked, do you want me to post you my clip tomorrow on the way to a birthday party? I can easy enough hide my oil from dd2

Frugal were in the depths of South American I'm afraid, but I have a friend in Texas who's a sephora junkie and happy to post stuff to me so I'll ask her to have a look and I'll see what I can find online too. Thank you.

lucysmam I should probably go for a hydrating toner, but I just prefer the exfoliating ones, if you have a chance links would be wonderful thanks. 200 buns sounds like a nightmare!! I'm supposed to be doing our ranch accounts but I'm skiving!

I am nearly recovered from a massive chin breakout. The two culprits being either Benton snail bee or cerave cleanser :( I went back to basics for a while and then at the start of this week tried the snail bee essence again without the steam cream. Got home after a long day and hey presto lots of dark blocked pores and more red bumps and lumps :(

I have that miserable sinking feeling when you have such high hopes for a product but it turns out to be crap for you. I am making another batch of vitamin c serum tonight and sticking with the mizon snail gel from now on. I do however have that itch to buy something new on eBay. I tried to stick to just buying yarn but I still want a new skincare product to try! Does anyone know if there is anything in the Benton stuff that may be a trigger?

Stars I lived in Brazil for many years! We traveled to the US regularly to buy decent clothes and consumer goods... I loved South America, hope to be back one day!

m0gz so sorry the snail bee is not working for you, I love it. You can sell it to me if you want to get rid of it as I would not mind a backup! I hope your chin heals quickly!

proteins your new orders sound fabulous, can't wait!

Will stop spamming the thread soon but after my barefaced morning put on some Missha peachy sunscreen (my Korean stuff is in two different addresses atm) and it is great stuff too. I'll probably buy the pink Missha sunscreen at some point as it has an added physical block.

Frugal I love Brazil, I lived there (for work) for two years. We're in Argentina, I've lived here previously but it's new (well, not so new anymore) for poor DH and he's having to learn fast! I also lived in Cuba for work for several years (was engaged to a Cuban), and I became a Cuban citizen. I'm a sahm now, although I do the overall management of our ranch. I love South America too, and yy to the lack of decent clothes, or places to wear them. Our nearest hairdresser is five hours drive away, still, I love our life here more than anywhere I've ever lived.

Lucysmam that is really kind of you, but it's ok thanks! I will get a little travel bottle with a screw top lid!

You keep your clip, it would be grim if you did post it to me and your little one got her hands on it. I will be more thoughtful about such things the next time

Thanks again though

Stars I have wonderful memories from our many trips to Argentina (Bs As was great for consumer goods and culture and only four hours away - by plane ). We lived in a remote city - once we decided to drive to a 'nearby' city and it took just two days. But yes, hoping to be back one day!

Am off on hols - see you all when I get back. Roll on spendy August