Obsessed with Asian/Korean stuff - taking your skincare to level 5!

[FrustratedFrugal]

Are you curious about Asian/Korean beauty products?
Please join us and share your experiences and questions!

Check out past threads for product and vendor recommendations.

Remember, orders of £15 or less are VAT free!

mowglik thank you! What do you like about holika holika white wine therapy? What kind of skin do you have?

Also, can anyone suggest a good BHA gel?

Guys, is Mizon Snail Repairing Foam Cleanser any good?

Frowns i have one of those silicone things! feels weird one but keeps my sheet mask in place also keeps it "moist" for such a long time. I'm sure the instructions it came with said to use it in the bath on its own and just sweat into it sounds a bit gross to me

mowglik i'd like to know more about the wine therapy too sounds fab

ooooh the scinic aqua all in one ampoule is fab, been testing it last week. I love the way those weird blue spheres just vanish when i rub them and it definitely plumps my face so much so that i didn't even need a sleeping mask nothing to do with the fact that i probably used a teaspoon full too much shame its in a tub with spatula its just too fiddly, i really must invest in some pumpy jars

I've just started testing this It accidentally fell into my basket when i was buying all the LJH things. Its a bit weirdy brown colour. Not really sure what possessed me to buy it or what its supposed to do but it hasn't broken me out so thats good. Has anyone tried it?

I also "accidentally" bought a skin tester machine thingy, oooops! but now that i have i'm super excited to test everything. Does anyone have one? I can't wait till it gets here!!!!

Has anyone tried the silk scarf hair treatment? I think I might give it a bash today.

lelf do you mean the skin analyser? I've got one and was obsessed with testing it on everyone for about a week.

geordie that mizon cleanser has a high ph. I would avoid. Re bha gels I still don't think AB is as good as western products for acids. As much as I hate the prices Paula's choice products are very well formulated.

mowglik testing schedule (we will loosely call it a schedule because I get too excited to try new things):

Illi anti aging cleansing oil Really like this. Smells like baby powder and is a nice light oil. Doesn't strip me like the DHC but I just cannot give up my love affair with the DHC cleansing oil. I think I will keep both in my routine and use the DHC for make up days and the illi for other days.

Banilla clean it zero. Not loving this. I thought it would be like the clinque cleansing balm but it doesn't rinse as nicely. Considering selling this on AB exchange or palming off on dh (so he can stop nicking my illi oil).

Guerrison 9 complex Way too rich for my skin and felt like I was being suffocated. Bought it when my skin was peeling from retinol. Have sold via AB exchange. Oh and it has a really odd smell. It makes me slightly nauseous.

Skinceuticals vit c serum sorry guys but this stuff is a lot better than OST c20 - for me anyway. Way gentler on the skin and I'm definitely beginning to see brightening results (but now any breakouts really stand out. Grr). Only drawback is it STINKS. It's like a hot dog smell. Oh and it's £££ but I bought some samples off of ebay.

Sum37 secret programming concentrate Woah this is heavily fragranced. Although I think it's the essential oils in it. I wonder if they do that to cover up the smell of the fermented stuff? Anyway a very thick serum for me. I like my serums thinner. Also felt very rich for a serum. Not a keeper for me as I think it's better suited to dry skins (my skin is not as dry as it has been). I've also got some of the essence on order to try but the serum has kinda put me off it now.

Currently testing:

Graymelin beta glucan ampoule Saw some reviews on AB for this so took the plunge. Only been testing a couple of days but quite like the consistency and hydration effect so far (meant to be better than HA at holding moisture). Will report back.

Whamisa eye essence again, saw quite a few recs on reddit so thought I would try. Early days but jeez this stuff reeks of lavender. No irritation for me though (which I get from the mizon snail eye cream). Will report back.

Went on a mini mamonde haul which I'm waiting to arrive. Haven't tried much from this brand. Only a serum which I wasn't wowed by. Have ordered sheet masks and the rose honey sleeping back.

Does anyone know how long shipping takes from RoseRose to UK?
Also could someone please take a look at my thread - help me decipher Korean skincare - and help me out with your wisdom.

lelf and mintiscuit I'm curious about those skin analysers, are they any good? Do they work for checking on (de)hydration too or is it just oils?

mintbiscuit I have a long standing love affair with the DHC cleansing oil too but when it recently ran out and was unavailable at the discounted price I usually got it for I ended up taking a gamble on the Muji Sensitive Skin Cleansing Oil and I'm really enjoying it so far. I find it works as well as DHC if not better with makeup, doesn't have the strippy feel of DHC and I prefer the consistency, less of a heady olive oil smell too.

Sorry if this has been discussed earlier in the thread but it's a little long to read through it all, has anyone tried the Blithe Pressed Serum Tundra Chaga? I'm intrigued but a little cautious considering the price and limited availability.

Oh mint, you're so right about BHA and Paulas Choice. Boooo.

But how about this one: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BENTON-Aloe-Bha-Skin-Toner-200ml-korea-cosmetics-/271285808105?hash=item3f29e4ebe9:g:r9gAAOSweW5U3GFC

Btw, what's AB exchange? I googled it but I got a bank!

It's a reddit sub GeordieBadger people sell an exchange products on there. www.reddit.com/r/asianbeautyexchange/

geordie the benton product isn't a bha for exfoliating. It's a hydrating toner (which I use and like). Ph is too high for the acids to exfoliate. The bha is in there as an anti inflammatory. There is the cosrx blackhead power liquid which is bha. A lot of people like it over on AB reddit. It doesn't work well for me. (Another one that I will be putting up for sale on AB exchange)

Jmangel roseroseshop for k packet shipping is around 2 weeks. Dhl option gets to you in less than a week.

You might be better posting your questions on this thread as we all get email alerts so you will probably get more traffic. (Others might not see you original post)

botemp I just placed a muju order and looked at that cleansing oil and decided against it! Grr.... wish I gone for it now. Does it smell of anything?

My DHC is running out but it pains me to pay that much for it again. Where have you found discounts for it in the past?

mint why doesn't the cosrx work for you?

It has betaine salicylate (sp? ) instead of salicylic acid as korean regulations restricts the latter in skincare I think. The bha is gentler and I don't find it as effective. The formula is also at the top end of the ph range where the acid can exfoliate. I think that is too high for it to effectively work on my skin.

It doesn't smell of much, a hint of olive oil and little else mintbiscuit. Although this review by Vanity Rex thought it smelt strongly of olive oil so I guess it's a matter of opinion, but it's far less 'fragrant' than the DHC. Which Muji website did you order from since it's not available on the EU or UK one?

I get DHC here locally (in the Netherlands) at iciparisxl who always have some sort of 25% off on all skincare and often 40% on cleansers which is already 10-20% off RRP but I think they only deliver locally. Last time I ordered it was around 17.50 euros for the 200ml with free shipping. The British online retailers came in at twice that amount for me and importing it from Japan still came out pretty pricey due to shipping. I might consider buying through Thesaem on the AB beauty exchange if I'm in need of a few more items at once (wielding my way through Japanese SPF possibilities at the moment) but I might not be wanting to go back to DHC at all if I'm honest.

geordie I have oily skin and find the holika sleeping pack really light but not siliconey and still it feels very nourishing. Always get good skin the day after (apart from retinol flakes which nothing is helping atm )

mint I am well jel you have a great line up of products to test - I read about the whamisa eye essence too but am holding off on more full size purchases til I get through my current stuff. I have been using my hada labo arbutin essence under my eye cream though and not seen great things yet but am hopeful

I love DHC btw, tried a few oil cleansers but this is the biz for me - I do have oily skin though so the slightly drying effect is great for me

Also agree re the cosrx BHA, I haven't found it to be that helpful for me so have been alternating it with nip fab dragons blood pads

I got serious acne from CosRx. No problems with Nip+Fab. And in the 1999s, I loved Noczema salicylic acid pads.

9->0 obvs

Can I ask how you know you've found a HG item?

I love Innisfree Bija Trouble Facial Foam and it's time to order another cleanser.
Do I play it safe or try something else? My skin is dehydrated if anyone has any recommendations?

Frustrated re the cosrx bha liquid every time I've used it I get horrible breakouts. I bought the aha/bha toner a while back but I'm too scared to use it! And I get clogged pores on my cheeks from their honey and rice creams. I do like their aloe soothing sun cream though.

botemp I'm clearly going mad. I thought I had seen the muji oil in their sensitive skin section. Hm... might have to have a browse on ebay to see how costs stack up.

mowglik ah.... the good 'ole retinol flakes. I'm just getting past that stage. I'm not wowed by the arbutin essence tbh. The skinceuticals vit c done more in a few weeks than that did in months. I wish I had your willpower re purchases. Although I might try and resist and put some requests out on AB exchange for decants that I'm looking to try instead. You've made me want to try the holika sleeping pack now!

My Tony Moly shiny foot peeling liquid has arrived today! i was going to try it but chickened out. Has anyone used this before? Just read the footner thread, i wonder how it compares... I really need something to sort my hooves out before the weather warms up for Easter

the cosrx bha doesn't seem to be doing much for me either but at least it doesn't break me out. Have just run out of my pixi glow tonic which i quite liked but it was my first acid toner so i don't have anything to compare it to. I did find that random spots didn't appear as often since i started acid toning so that's a major benefit, are there any AB substitutes? In the meantime, i've stocked up on some nip+fix dragons blood pads (thanks mowglik) superdrug doin em half price right now

mint yes i meant the skin analyser! Does it work well? i'm very excited about it. botemp only just ordered it and its coming from HK so doubt its going to be here before easter but i'll keep you updated when it arrives!

cheese i'd like to know about holy grails too! What are everybodys AB holy grails so far then?

Good question lelf and cheese. For me I guess HG status is awarded when I've tried at least a few things to compare to and nothing comes close. I don't really have many HGs because I always think there is something around the corner that's better

However, current HGs:

Cleanser: Sulwhasoo snowise ex foaming
Sleep pack Dr Jart premium firming pack
sheet mask My scheming mandelic acid

lelf not sure how accurate the analyser is but you can definitely see how different products affect your skin's moisture balance.

I actually like the pixi glow tonic. It hasn't irritated my skin. I use it as a ph adjuster for my vit c serum. The ph is not low enough to exfoliate so I wasn't expecting any exfoliating results. The only drawback is the price. It's way overpriced for what it is imo.