Buying Korean & Japanese cosmetics TIPS.

1. Kose Softymo Speedy Cleansing Oil.
2. Etude House Wonder Pore Wipping Foaming.
3. Meishoku Bigansui toner.
4. OST Original Pure Vitamin C20 Serum.
5. Innisfree Bija anti trouble lotion.
6. Mizon All in one snail repair cream.
7. SKIN79 White Reviving Skin Radiance Eye Serum
8. Skinfood Salmon Brightening Eye Cream.
9. Skinfood Peach Sake Sunscreen Lotion.
10. Etude House Eye'S Cream Mint Cooling.

This was my daytime skincare routine two years ago. The only product I still use from these is the C20 Vitamin C Serum and Meishoku Bigansui Toner on special occasions, only for drying some pimples if they appear. My routine has changed a lot with the time and it is still changing for better. I will explain some things I've learned from asian skincare products:

1. Ingredients. Ingredients are very important, in the past I didn't pay so much attention to them, I was attracted to a product if it said "Contains snail mucus" and didn't really care if it was 1% or 60% of its composition. Now I always check COSDNA to see the safety of the ingredients, if there are irritants or acne triggers...
This was a fail when I bought the Skinfood Salmon brightening eye cream. I read "salmon" and thought it was a fancy ingredient that any other cream had and went for it, to discover it didn't do nothing for my dark circles...

2. Natural. Go for the most natural and the products that has little but effective ingredients. Stay away from parabens, mineral oil, artificial fragrances or coloring and alcohol. This is why I kept the OST Vitamin C Serum in my list!

3. Reviews. Read maaaaaaany reviews as you can before buying a product. Check for "best sellers" or "most popular products" in asian products seller websites. Also be aware that what works for a reviewer maybe doesn't work for you. I read really good reviews about Skinfood Peach Sake Sunscreen Lotion from people saying it was their holy grial sunscreen and for me it leaves your skin sticky and white.

4. Packaging. I know cute packagings are appealing but it doesn't mean they are good products. Don't let them seduce you!  Etude House Eye'S Cream Mint Cooling is a good example. It doesn't have any effect, I just used as a sunscreen for my undereye skin.

5. Too many products. As you can see when I started my journey into asian skincare I used way too many products.
 - You don't need an emulsion and a cream together. Just one.
 - Buy "ampoules", "essences" or "mask sheets" and apply them when you see a problem has become worse instead of using many different serums. One serum is enough. I was using SKIN79 White Reviving Skin Radiance Eye Serum and apart from it's unfficacy in removing dark spots, you don't need an eye serum till you are 25-30, cream is enough.

6. Some fails.
 - I have combination skin but last winter my face become extremely dry because of the weather. I had dry skin patches on my nose. So I thought it was good to but a dense cream to help it restore it's moisture. What happened? Acne. Big pimples appeared on my skin. This is because dense creams are not suitable for oily/combination skin. Instead of this, I've learnt that in winter I should use of one these: a hydrating serum/ hydrating mask sheets/ hydrating ampoule. And I chosed the last one because I can use it for a week and I resolves the problem.
- Mixing wrong ingredients. Be careful what ingredients you mix! Some ingredients don't work together.
- Some ingredients like Vitamin C needs sunscreen or some dark spots can appear. This happened to me when I used the OST serum...
- If you have oily skin, using too many alcohol products will lead to breakouts. Alcohol deshydrates the skin and it promotes more oil production, so avoid alcohol and too harsh products like Meishoku Bigansui Toner.

DELIA Color Cream Review

Quick Video Review and Tutorial

WHAT IT CLAIMS

Description

I took the description from the Delia website

• Time-tested method for eyebrow colouring
• Classic and economic treatment that can be done at home
• Perfect method for women of any age
• Eliminates everyday use of brow pencil
• Great for filling minor eyebrows defects
• Simply mix the content of two sachets – powder with colourant and activator, and apply the delicate emulsion on brows with a spatula or a brush, shaping them as you like
• After removing henna, shape brows with tweezers in a fashionable or your preffered way
• Colour intensity depends on application length
• The treatment done according to the instruction on the box will give your brows an ideal shape and enhance your eyes
• The colour lasts for up to 14 days, which lets you forget about everyday brow care and you don’t have to take additional products when you travel
• Natural brown colour, recommended for brown and ginger hair
• Safe for your skin, dermatologically tested.

Price 
About 10$ on ebay.

MY REVIEW

How to use it
1. Pour a centimeter of the cream into the plastic bowl.
2. Pour 12 drops of the activator into the plastic bowl and mix it.
3. Brush your eyebrows in the direction of the hair growth.
4. Apply the cream (I use two colors, the lighter for the beggining of the eyebrow and the darker for the middle and the tail).
5. Clean the mistakes with a cotton swab.
6. Wait for 10 minutes.
7. Remove the paste with a milky or oily makeup remover.
8. Enjoy!


Effectivity

I like this product a lot. It's very easy to use and doesn't requiere much time. I use it to fill the gaps resulting from overplucking. I use the dark brown color in the begining of my eyebrow because that part is usually lighter because it has less hair and the black for the rest. The black is very intense, so I don't recommend it to people who has fair hair or fair eyebrows, it works for me since my eyebrows and lashes are very dark. Also, if you want to go lighter this won't work for you because it only adds color, doesn't bleach. It isn't harmful for your hair. It only lasts for 4 or 5 days that's the only bad thing I can say about it.



Pros 
- Easy and safe to use.
- Natural color.
- Cheap.


Cons
- Doesn't last long.

KOSE Softymo Speedy Cleansing Oil Review

Quick Video Review

 

WHAT IT CLAIMS 

Description

This description is from alphabeautyuk on Ebay, I got it from there.

This cleansing oil remover efficiently getting rid of daily makeup in seconds, with the special 'keratin-clear' formula, not only removes dirts deep from your pores, but also the old keratins & any other harmful substances to skin which may lead to the later formation of black pigment (melanin).

No coloring. No fragrance
 

Size
230 ml

Price
9$-15$

Ingredients

Here you have its ingredients analyzed: COSDNA ingredients analysis

MY REVIEW

Packaging

The packaging is pretty simple. It's made of plastic, and has a holder for the cap not to pour out when transporting, so it is convenient. It's the pump type, so it's hygienic and you can control how much you need. It's 230 ml. and last 2 or 3 months using it regularly 2 times everyday.

Texture/Color/Smell
The texture is light, it's not a thick oil. Also it's non-greasy, the oil becomes a white liquid when combined with water and then dissapears. It has no smell. 


How to use it
You can wet both your hands or your face to apply it. I prefer applying it directly to my face, rub it, and then wet it, rub again and wash it away. 

Effectivity

I have used this oil for a long time, I've bought like 6 bottles and really like it. It does its job which is clean. I have pretty oily skin and it hasn't make it oilier. Still, it has as mineral oil, and one ingredient (Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil) can lead to breakouts and is a bit irritant, but again, I haven't experienced any breakout or redness when I use it.  

Pros

- Affordable price
- Big size

- Effectively and quickly removes makeup and dirt.
- Non-fragance and non-colouring.
- Easily transportable. 

Cons

- Mineral oil

- One ingredient can give you breakouts

THE FACE SHOP Lovely ME:EX Mini Pet Perfume Hand Cream 01 Baby Powder Review

Video Review (NOT AVAILABLE YET)

DESCRIPTION

This is the description from Thefacesshop website:

• A cute and lovable design

          - Cute characters that you can only find in Lovely ME:EX

• High moisture! Zero stickiness! Excellent absorbance!

          - Light texture but contains high moisture, high nutrition that cares for hands keeping them soft and silky.

How to use:
Use as often as needed

These are the varieties: (I chose 01 Baby Powder)







01 Baby Powder

02 Sweet Fruits

03 White Floral

04  Fruity Floral

MY REVIEW

Packaging
 The packaging is the most fabulous of this cream. It is a super-cute packagin of a little bear coming out from the pot. I expected it to be bigger when I bought it, but you can see it's size is very little compared with a pen. It's pretty hygienic because it comes with a little cap so it doesn't get dirty, still you have to put your hands on the product so be sure to clean them before using it.

 

Texture/Color/Smell

The color is white and becomes transparent when you rub it. It's a very light texture and gets absorbed easily in your skin, doesn't leave it greasy or oily. The smell is the best part. It's a really soft smell, still I feel it is amazing. I can't really describe it, it is like talk.

Effectivity

This hydrates your hands but doesn't have any other function. If you expect a whitening cream or a anti-winkle cream, this one is not for you.  It just moisturizes and leaves your hands smelling really good. So, just does the function.

Pros  

- Super-cute packeging

-  Light-weight

- Easily absorbed and non-greasy

- Great smell

- Little and convenient to carry with you

- Good present for a friend!

Cons 

- Don't have any function apart from moisturizing your hands