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!

Neulii is their own brand, just launched - no one has really had time to review it yet, but soon I'd expect there to be a few bloggers who've completed their testing.

Hi all! I was on a no-buy for Lent but hit Roseroseshop with a vengeance yesterday.

I did some testing over Lent and discovered that my skin loves Skinfood Black Sugar Perfect First Serum, aloe and the TCFS Pumpkin sleeping pack. Am currently trialling CosRx 96 Snail Mucin.

Ooh that gift set looks great mowglik, is History of Whoo one of the more premium brands like Sulwhasoo? I've yet to remember them all, have been a bit about some prices I've come across and wondering if those are really worth their price tags.

I'm only sensitive to synthetic fragrance, usually the reason why I don't get on with a lot of French pharmacy brands, though strangely can be fine with it sometimes. Herbal smelling is usually okay, but I have enough oils at the moment, the serum peaked my interest but AB is a horrible distractant too...

I have seen the DHC for low prices on ebay, but they're often UK sellers and the cost of shipping it across that tiny bit of water to here is often more than the product itself so it never really works out well.

Splat is the Borabit ampoule the Missha Time Revolution one? I'm currently two and a half weeks in with the Red Serum, which is nice but it was sort of sold as a EL ANR type product but I find it very different, is the Borabit more comparable?

Got my DHC oil a couple of days ago and up to now it feels really nice and not stripping at all. On the contrary, my skin feels quite bouncy... But of course I've only tried it a couple of times.

Yes, true the Caudelie oil has quite a strong herbal smell. Like lavender plus something else, but though I'm not crazy about it I've gotten used to it, and it does not linger too long. Personally I don't have a problem with oils, besides coconut oil, argan oil (go figure???) and something in the Darphine Tangarine oil.

Saw a new interesting SPF 50 - Anessa Whitening Essense Facial UV. Came out in February, packed with lovely moisturising and anti occidant ingredients, Shiseido technologies (?) and silicones are not high at all in the INCI list. Not super cheap, but it seems it can be used instead of moisturiser. Anyone have any more info/ opinion on this?
Still haven't ordered. Might just take a chance on this plus a spray for reapplication (though I do doubt if the amount you get from spraying your face does actually supply enough defence on a summer's day).

mowglik wish there was a drool emoticon. You MUST post a review once you have properly tested.

Damn! You got a good price on the DHC oil from ebay. I will set my alert!

Thanks scandichick, that explains a lot! Hope to see some reviews soon.

Mowglik I love the History of Whoo bottles, what a gorgeous set! I was incredibly tempted to buy some of their stuff a while back but needed money for, y'know, food and stuff

The search for a low-silicone, low-alcohol, high SPF mineral sunscreen continues. Tbh I'm tempted to just replace my old bottle and see how my skin reacts, it's that disheartening. I think in terms of my skin at the moment, and my rosacea, mineral trumps high-silicone right now. I know it's different for others but Rosacea is my overwhelming concern. Sorry!

Is the DHC oil good? I've not heard of it before. I use TBS camomile oil because my skin actually likes it and if it ain't broke, etc. But am intrigued now!

PS at Frugal. I totally missed your post up thread, numpty that I am. Am that it's lovely and warm where you are. It's a gorgeous sunny day here but the car was iced up when I went to do the school run! Hope it warms up a bit for later.

scrambled what about German brand Lovea - they have a mineral facial SPF50 probably free of nasties. I used to use their kids SPF50 on my children. Don't know if it leaves a white cast though.

DHC oil still feeling lovely.......

Does anyone know anything about May Coop products?

Been in a self imposed no buy period. But just a heads up for those kb fans in the nth east, a kb shop has opened in Old Eldon Square in Newcastle. Popped in with dd today. Really well stocked, but of course much more expensive than on line. It does give you a good chance to try out stuff and the lovely Young woman running the place is very knowledgable. Dd fell in love with the Tony moly peach hand cream and a panda face sheet mask.

so my skin analyser arrived last week... i used it straight away and was met with a red sad face my skin was not hydrated at all it was at 27.something % i was shocked. I knew my skin felt dry but that was ridiculous. then i grabbed my 2 yr old dd who also has dry skin and tested her in case it was a fault... no hers was fine a green happy face at 40 something% she also has dry skin. Obviously i needed to take some action so then proceeded to sheet mask twice a day for the next 4 days now my skin moisture levels sit around 40 something% most days with a green smiley face.

The LJH tea tree essence definitely doesn't like me. I thought i'd try it once more before i abandoned it but it wasn't to be. The next morning i had 2 new whiteheads . Seems like such a waste of money I only purchased as i thought the tea tree would prevent spots not give them to me!!!

lazy i'm interested in May coop too, would love to find out more! Been reading about their raw sauce and tightening mask, i really want to try but can't seem to find any samples any where!

I've nearly finished my LJH vita propolis ampoule (it's such a teensy bottle) does anyone have any recommendations on similar propolis products to try?

botemp - it is the Missha FTE one, but I have never used the EL ANR so not sure how it compares. I like it, though.

I've now tried the FTE essence, ampoule, bee snail sheet mask and the TM Snail essence sample - all very nice, no reactions, and appear to have sorted out my pre-Easter grody looking tired grey skin.

The Biore UV was also a good match for the lovely sunny (but v windy) weather i was exposed to down in Sandbanks last week too! DH's head has gone pink, but I still look like I crept out of the crypt. In a good way !

Thanks for the info splat, I'll order some samples when my Red Serum is looking low (which is quite a while away).

Speaking of all things red, completely bought these on a whim but the Lululun Precious Red masks (which come by 7 or 32 in a sealable pack) are brilliant and full of rice infused extracts. Was really surprised since the Lululuns aren't regarded all that favourably but it was really hydrating and I'm still basking in the afterglow days later. The fact that they're fragrance and alcohol free was a real bonus. They come in pretty cheap and compared to the few Taiwanese ones (L'Herboflore and My Scheming) I've tried so far I prefer these ones.

For those also intrigued by the workings of those skincare devices that measure hydration levels, an expert gives some insight on how reliable they are in this new blog post.

aaaw botemp i was so impressed with my scientific device till now . oh well at least my dd likes it, she's demanded "check my face please" every morning
The lululun masks sound fab, i am still on the lookout for a mask that i can still feel the effects of the next day -might need to invest in better masks-
Also what is this red serum you keep talking about?

Oh sorry, it's the Skin & Lab Dr. Color Effect Red Serum, it was the bestselling serum/product in S. Korea (or with the exclusive retailer Wishtrend) last year but I've only had it for 2-3 weeks so the verdict is still out. I did see a lot of improvement in skin tone within a few days and my skin is definitely loving the niacinamide. I like it but it's quite pricey for a Korean serum though I did pick it up for a low price on one of Wishtrend's ebay listings where it's priced in AUD instead of USD. I don't know if I'd pay full price for it, in a sense it is kind of like EL ANR, it's a lovely maintenance serum but it doesn't bowl you over on a daily basis but you'd notice it if it's gone from your routine. It does have a cleaner ingredient list than the Missha Time Revolution one so that's what made me take the plunge on this one in the end even though I could only find one or two reviews in English about it. As far as gambles go, not the worst one I've ever made.

Hello! I am very late to the party but have at last received some
Korean goodies and am looking forward to developing a proper routine. Loving the black sugar cleansing oil and whitehead power stuff so far. I'm just wondering if anyone can shed some light on one of my samples, all I know is it's Sulwhasoo but can't figure out exactly what it is. Any ideas?

Ignore me- it's not Sulwhasoo at all but Missha MISA first essence booster. Trying hard not to try all the samples

I'm a newbie too and loving double cleansing, the Konjac sponge and the sheet masks!

On week two and my face is breaking out a bit on my forehead but I'm pretty sure this is a good thing as its getting rid of all the crud in my pores.

Taken delivery of the hado labo toner today to try too.

Otherwise does this seem OK?

Oil then foaming cleanse, tone, treat serum, moisturise. Itseems to be working as my skin us plumper, better hydrated and seems brighter.

Twice weekly rota mask and scrub (different nights!) using old dry French clay powder and Elemis products but I'm sure they're fine?

Next on list: foundation cushion.

Aurora and Scrambled I just read Clinique is about to launch (or has launched) two new mineral sunscreens, SPF 30/SPF50 Mineral Sunscreen Fluid For Face, sounds very promising and hopefully it's without silicones for you two too? I can find it for sale here in NL online (seems to have launched late March) but can't find an ingredient list yet unfortunately.

Hey, just thought I would let you all know that I went to SF recently and went to Japantown. All the asian beauty products I saw there were HUGELY expensive compared to RoseRoseShop. Sheet masks for £5 EACH. Wut.

Also, the dutyfree magazine was advertising a Bee Venom product for £300 for a few ounces. It was this one so I suppose if it is usually £375 that is quite a bargain.

Can I get a cushion recommendation - which one is your favorite these days? Looking for medium coverage and a slightly glowy finish.

Hi Frugal, I'm testing Missha signature real complete bb cream and am very impressed. It does a good job of toning down my crows feet and dark circles and seems radiant without being shiny. I can't find a cushion equivalent of the signature line on Missha.ee but there are a few versions on Jolse that I may give a whirl (may be a few weeks before I can try them though as pay day isn't till next week)

I'll have to look into the sunscreens. I have a mega allergy to many (certain chemical ingredients) so have to buy carefully.

I'm a bit unsure about bee venom products in that it's inherently bee murder as after stinging the bee will die.

I'm not sure that's something i can go gor even if it does work

MrsT I was NOT recommending the bee venom product! What a huge waste of money!

The cruelty aspect of Asian beauty does get discussed on reddit from time to time. Some of the ingredients are very, um, yeah. Not sure about horse oil, for instance.