Obsessed with Asian/Korean Beauty Products Vol 6

[FrustratedFrugal]

Past volumes here.

I tried to post on the previous thread and realized that it was full.

Anyone still around?

I have a parcel from Korea waiting for me at the post office. Can't wait.

I used to go for regular facials every 6-8 weeks. I can't remember what it cost exactly but near the €100 mark but it was interfering with laser hair removal sesssions I was having and found my skin was doing a lot better by not going to the facialist and spending that money on more expensive skincare instead. I also found I was a little less proactive with my own skin as I figured she'd fix blackheads when I got there and things like that. I do miss the massage it came with though and it was helpful whenever my skin was being a pain in the ass.

at retinol in a jar, I thought they were anti-retinol at DD. Their whole philosophy is a little confusing to me, they don't believe in overly aggressive skincare but sell some pretty potent stuff.

Yeah those were the kind of facials I used to get. Not that I was displeased but now my skin looks much better and of course I also enjoy the researching, smearing etc etc.

Yeah retinol in a jar is... Can't remember the brand name but at the time saw it also sells on Amazon.com but obv it was above 100€ for a small jar.
In any case, after the summer when I finish my Skinceuricals retinol I want to try prescription. See if my derm will prescribe it. I have very slight/light melasma above the upper lip (I know I'm the only one that sees it and it looks a bit like lip liner in any case) so I might be able to convince him ;)

Well, our sunny spel is over so my feet can now start peeling in peace!!

I just got my Tony Moly foot peel in and on my feet after a nice soak . I'm wondering what will happen and fear the shedding of the skin . Was a little surprised that the socks only just fit with a little bit of room, I think if you're anything above a EU 40 you'd struggle. Of course they came with more samples... What do you all do with them? I'm tempted to bin the lot as most are of very little interest to me.

I've only ever been to one derm and he's given me whatever I wanted (which was some pretty heavy duty bleaching cream that the pharmacy refused to mix but was willing to sell me in separate parts ) as that was the only thing that would make a hormonal pigmentation budge. I've rarely heard of them being difficult here tbh and figure there's plenty of the cosmeceutical types who will sell retinol to you, I'm still of the too much hassle camp with prescription retinol for now. I use the Verso retinol 8 serums for face and eye and despite the ridiculous costs it suits me well but I use it preventatively. Was a bit of a gamble to buy initially as there were absolutely no reviews on it but I'm really pleased with it.

Haha, are you enjoying it? If found the cooling effect quite relaxing. So much so that I left it on for two whole hours. Mind you my feet are now very cracked and papery but I see no real peeling yet...

I also use retinol preventatively. The melasma I mentioned is practically invisible so it's more to prevent it from getting darker (plus SPF all year round) and to prevent wrinkles as much as possible. I'm also very pleased with the SC retinol but since I'm using 1% I'm curious to check out "the next level".

TBH I also have a stack of neglected Korean samples that I'm either not interested or just afraid to use... I just give them away from time to time.

I'd give samples away but most people around me won't go through the trouble of ordering anything from Korea and as I have no idea what most stuff will do beyond a quick ingredient scan that rules it out for me it's not something you pass around that quickly. I recently received an envelope that contained ten samples of a BHA serum from either Jolse or RoseRoseShop (according to the people on reddit, it's their own brand or something) it was quite random but of absolutely no use to me.

It wasn't that cooling actually, but I put some thick wooly socks on top as it was rather smelly so maybe that's why? I went for about 2hrs too, probably a little but less. There was a bit of liquid left in the socks but not much. Feet are very wrinkly at the moment, did you start shedding within the 3-6 day mark? At least the weather is promising to be crap for many days ahead .

Last time I got a sample with absolutely no English/ Latin letters so I've no idea what it is can't even look for ingredients... Quite absurdly entertaining...

Haven't started peeling yet but read that it can take up to 6-7 days to start. It's pretty bizarre as I keep examining my now extremely dry feet with high hopes. My DS said I look like a snake!

Was in tk maxx yesterday, they had loads of sheet masks, none that I recognised, but packs of 6 for 3.99. Luckily they were at the checkout, so didn't get chance to look too much.

The sheet masks were really expensive at my TK Maxx, probably double that. I remember that the foot mask is about £6 in there as well.

They did have a holika holika honey sleeping pack for £8, but I still have my Mizon one that works really well for me. DP noticed it and wondered why there's a jar of honey with the beauty products .

In my TK Maxx sorry.

Yeah, my feet have finally began peeling after 7 days. Very curious what the final outcome will be...

Hello all- just jumping on the thread- Ive been lurking a long time!

I received a steam mask that I ordered today from TonyMoly to try and sort out my hair- they included two samples- one for goats milk and one for green tea. They look like a cream maybe? the one for goats milk has an spf but of course I cant understand the writing!

PS. this is my first foray into the asian skincare. If there is a way to try samples, is there a website for this?

I spotted (and bought) pure heals propolis 90 ampoule in TK Maxx today for £12

Hi IcyTea! They sell samples in a lot of Korean online stores, TesterKorea has the most choice I think. Jolse, beautynetkorea, etc. also sell them, and if you're looking for a specific product ebay has the more popular items and you'll get a whole bundle of them for relatively low cost, in fact for certain brands like Sulwhasoo it's cheaper to buy a whole bunch of samples than the full sized product.

I started peeling around the toes and ball of the feet on day 3 with the shiny feet but it wasn't until this morning (day 5) that the rest of the foot and heel started peeling away. Didn't have the snakeskin appearance like you did Aurora just a bit of a dull grey tone to the soles for the first few days. It's really tempting to peel away at them but have simply shoved them into socks for now, let's see how long I last...

Hope you haven't given in to the temptation to peel botemp
I'm now in the very serious peeling stage (TMI?). I soaked my feet again earlier and rubbed them in the water and OMG!! It's so entertaining..... Almost like magic!

The Casmara gold mask is back in stock in Easypharmacie!

My kawaii box is on the way! And I discovered a hydrating spray I forgot about

I have not peeled and my feet look very ehm... interesting. They look even crazier after a soak, socks is definitely the place for them. I shall persevere and continue to not peel and reward myself with more Casmara masks if I make it!

My faux Sigma brush cleaning mat from ebay came in today... turns out it's an actual Sigma one just wasn't advertised as such . I guess the factory is just selling them cheaply on the side. I tried it out tonight and it worked brilliantly and super quick with little fuss, even did a good job on some really dense brushes. I'll dig out the ebay link if anyone is interested, I think it was around £7 shipped from China.

I have to make a big order from easypharmacie tomorrow (emphasis on have, cause it does include some stuff for the rest of the family) and I think I will order one of those double gold mask kits. No point in ordering just one, right?

I got the doubles, made much economical sense , btw is the DHL/UPS shipping quicker with them? Chose Collisimo last time which usually is quick but was v. slow with them (over a week).

Hello! I'm very new to Korean/Asian skincare and have a question I'm hoping someone could help me with... Are there any products you would/would not recommend during pregnancy?

I'm 13w atm and have just got the Tony Moly sheet masks and the Snail Recovery Gel to try. But interested to know if there's anything I should look out for, or more importantly, avoid!

Thanks so much :)

botemp it only offered me postal delivery or fedex Eco. I think it depends on the size of your order. I'm making a very big order with hair stuff, shower gels, SPF for holidays, my Caudelie moisturizer, Serozinc, Bioderma etc etc... And of course the Casmara mask(s). I've done a few very big orders from them the past couple of years of stuff we regularly use. The price difference is pretty shocking actually but it does take about 10-14 days as far as I remember.

hollin which mist did you order? Always on the lookout for good mists...

I ended up not ordering (luckily!) because I found a hydrogel spray pack mist in the cupboard
Then my kawaii panda box arrived! I have 3W clinic Aqua glow mist in that

Would anyone like to swap two things or wants these? I have tony moly luminous goddess aura crystal light bronzing glam (that's a mouthful!) and mizon collagen power firming eye cream. Both full size but not my thing (pale and don't use eye cream!)

Pics (bottom two are available for whoever wants them)

botemp, would love the link to the brush cleanser, please! Would also, in a very non-stalker way, love to know what Scandinavian products you like - home for a visit without my usual routine and promptly got a spot, so may as well check out any local talent.

I did apply Mizon Snail cream I only use for travel to the spot and it went down straight away. Almost regret ordering the cosrx one for my normal routine now, but snail is snail I suppose...

Fedex was the one I meant Aurora, Collisimo is their international post I think. If it takes two weeks with you normally I guess I was quick with just over a week. If the price difference is small I'll try the Fedex option next time and see how quick it arrives not patient at all. I've been waiting for the Bioderma SPF water spray to come back in stock for forever now, though LRP Anthelios is supposedly launching an SPF50 version at the end of May so might just hold out for that.

Coppergrey I think it's the same as all other skincare, avoid retinoids, etc. Though you could become susceptible to pregnancy mask/melasma so I'd stay away from all photosensitising actives like AHA, BHA, etc. too just in case. Chemical sunscreens are tricky too. Beyond that I can't really think of anything AB specific to avoid during pregnancy. EGF (sometimes listed as rh-Oligopeptide-1) possibly since it's not as heavily regulated in AB as it is here in the EU.

Stalk away scandichick but be warned I'm not that interesting... this was the brush cleansing mat listing I ordered but the seller has ended it and not relisted but there's a couple of identical listings from different sellers here, here, and here I just picked the cheapest one at the time and they're not priced that far apart.

As for the Scandi's:

Verso Skincare - high end super fancy unique retinol that doesn't irritate and keeps my sensitive skin v. happy. I have the eye serum (don't think I'll be buying anything else ever again) which is decent value for money for a high end product since it's 30ml. I also have the Super Facial Serum which is equally great. Day and night cream are fab too but overkill in conjunction w/ serums. It's 'cheaper' in Sweden.

Estelle & Thild - have some great serums (Bioactive age control and Rose Otto) and oils (Rose Otto again), their 3-in-1 cleanser is really popular but I haven't tried it. I like the tinted moisturiser as well which is full of hyaluronic acid and has a surprisingly decent amount of coverage.

Maria Åkerberg - I really like their olive cleansing as a morning cleanser and the clay cleanser on the rare occasion I'm spotty or have a breakout. I love that they basically sell everything in travel sizes for really low prices. The brand in general is quite affordable. Sage & Rose hydrating water is v. nice also.

&other Stories- I love their Madapollam cotton care body scrub, it leaves skin epically soft, the Flannel body lotion from the same line is good too. The Push balm makes for a nice multitasker if you can find it, it's always sold out. I like some of their makeup stuff too, cream blushes and powder products are great from them.

L:A Bruket - for hand soap (liquid) and I was obsessed with their lemongrass candles but I think they stopped making them but they are hiding in some physical shops in Scandinavia somewhere...

True Organic of Sweden - make this natural/organic non mineral oil version of Elizabeth Arden's 8 hour cream which is great for arctic winters, random dry patches, etc. They also launched a deodorant that I'm curious about.

Sachajuan- I'm deeply devoted to their dry shampoo, it doesn't reek of nastiness or choke me out of the bathroom, it has a vaguely oceany smell that dissipates quickly. Their ocean spray is beyond brilliant, it gives my hair beautiful beachy waves with a nice amount of volume while still being quite put together and holds all day. The hairspray is great too (the root lift one). The shampoos are decent too but I abandoned them as they have SLS. It's significantly cheaper in Sweden.

Bioeffect (Iceland counts too right?)- Still to this day the most effective serum I've ever tried but really only to be used if your skin is down in the dumps and only needs to be used once till the bottle is finished.

Brands that I've recently been looking into but have yet to buy anything from are; JorgObé, Björk & Berries, Björn Axén - The Legacy, Face Stockholm, Meraki, Idun, and IsaDora (can't remember if you or Frugal mentioned that one). I may or may not have an international beauty obsession . Though I really want to get some shoes and a bag from Yvonne Koné too so it's not even limited to that...

Apologies for the lengthy non-AB deviation everyone else.