SKINCARE
This is mainly for my own note - these past few months I've been trying a lot of Korean beauty products, some I love, some not so much, some went straight to the bin (or I gave it away for someone more suited to the product). So I think it would be good to keep track of what I like and hate for future reference. This is not limited to Korean or AB products, but all skincare products in general. And before you freak out, of course I don't wear all of them all at once, depending on what I like to wear that day, I use that product :)
In general, my skin is pretty good, its a bit dry since the weather in Australia is a little cold even though we already hit summer. I used to have oily skin but I think its because I don't wear heavy moisturiser/cream plus the weather, my face gets a little dry nowadays. I get 2-3 zits popping up during that time of the month, and sometimes 1 randomly appear out of nowhere (I'm guessing its due to stress/what I eat, but I never really keep track of that). My skin is quite strong, in a sense, a product rarely breaks me out. Having said that, there are products that cause irritation/allergic reaction to my skin.
Cleanser:
My opinion so far - remember all skin is different and react differently to certain ingredients:
In general, my skin is pretty good, its a bit dry since the weather in Australia is a little cold even though we already hit summer. I used to have oily skin but I think its because I don't wear heavy moisturiser/cream plus the weather, my face gets a little dry nowadays. I get 2-3 zits popping up during that time of the month, and sometimes 1 randomly appear out of nowhere (I'm guessing its due to stress/what I eat, but I never really keep track of that). My skin is quite strong, in a sense, a product rarely breaks me out. Having said that, there are products that cause irritation/allergic reaction to my skin.
Cleanser:
- Banila&Co Clean It Zero
- Burt's Bee Soap Bark and Chamomille Deep Cleansing Cream
- Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution
- Shiseido IBUKI Gentle Cleanser
- Shu Uemura Blanc:Chroma Cleansing Oil
- Shiseido Ibuki Softening Concentrate
- Shiseido White Lucent Softening Concentrate (discontinued)
- Missha First Treatment Essence Intensive (2nd Edition)
- Lancome Adcanced Genefique Youth Activating Concentrate Serum
- Lancome Vissionaire Advanced Skin Corrector Serum
- Haku Melanofocus 3D
- Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair
- Shiseido Micro Targetting Spot Corrector
- Missha Time Revolution Night Repair Science Activator Ampoule
- Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum
- Shiseido Ibuki Protective Moisturiser SPF15
- Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturiser
- Burt's Bee Sensitive Night Cream
- Shiseido White Lucent Brigtening Moisturizing Emulsion (discontinued)
- Hera Aquabolic Moisturizing Emulsion
- Shiseido Ibuki Eye Correcting Cream
- Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Eye Concentrate
- Innisfree Eco-Science Eye Cream
- Shiseido Multi-Defense UV Protector SPF50/PA+++
- Dr.G Medi UV Ultra Sun SPF50/PA+++
- Nivea Sun Protect Water Gel SPF50/PA+++
- Skinfood Black Sugar Wash-Off Mask
- Etude House Sheet Masks (varies)
- Lululun Sheet Masks (varies)
- Shiseido Pureness Blemish Targeting Gel
- COSRX Centella Blemish Cream
- COSRX Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol
- COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid
- Lancome Energie de Vie Overnight Recovery Sleeping Mask
- Evian Facial Spray
- Yojiya Face Mist
- COSRX Acne Patch
- Missha Speedy Solution Anti Trouble Patch
- Nature Republic Super Aqua Max Soft Peeling Gel
- Elizavecca Milky Piggy Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask
- COSRX Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask
- Burt's Bee Lip Balm
- Sierra Bees Lip Balm
- The Body Shop Born Lippy
- Skinfood Avocado Lip Balm
- Yojiya Yuzu-tsuyaya Lip Balm
- Lancome Juicy Shaker
- Kiehl's Actively Correcting & Beautifying BB Cream FAIR
- Missha Signature Essence Cushion 23
- Laneige BB Cushion Whitening 21
- Tonymoly BCDation Water Pact 01
- Etude House Face Blur
- Etude House Baby Choux Base Mint
- La Roche Posay Uvidea XL BB Cream 01
- Prior Cool BB Spray Foundation
- Shiseido Baby Powder Pressed Medicated
My opinion so far - remember all skin is different and react differently to certain ingredients:
- Both MISSHA and COSRX have been quite disappointing. Anything Missha (except their Signature Essence Cushion) caused terrible irritation to my skin. After wearing them, my skin is just so itchy and red. The COSRX hasn't really do anything much for my skin. Their holy grail Centella Blemish Cream is probably the only one I'm OK with. The overnight rice mask gave me tiny bumps and made my pimples around my chin worse. The acne patch is too thick and NOT really doing anything to my acne other than helping me not to touch it. I think I prefer the MISSHA trouble patch because its cheaper, also the film is thinner and more flexible.
- Overall I hate sleeping mask (or mask in general?). I'm still trying to figure out if I actually love sheet masks or I'm just doing it because it seems to be the trend nowadays. To be honest, they are quite pricey and their effect is temporary (hours at best) and unless I have some extra time where I can just lie down for 15 minutes, its quite impractical. The lancome overnight mask is so sticky, I feel like there's a layer of film on top of my face the whole night. I didn't notice anything significant (like radiance) in the morning, so ....
- AB wise, I prefer Japanese skincare! PERIOD! Not that I hate Korean skincare, but so far those Korean skincare I purchased (and they are deemed Holy Grail by a lot of bloggers) didn't work on me. I don't really mind if it does nothing (like Nivea cream) but they totally destroyed my skin. After my Missha fiasco, I had to go to my GP twice to get a corticosteroid cream to calm the itch and redness :( Whereas all those random skincare products I picked up in Japan's drug store (without proper research), never cause any negative effect on me. The worst they did was making my skin dry, but it was mainly because the cleanser was meant for acne-oily skin, so that's understandable. The reaction I got from Japanese skincare is never severe enough that I loathe it like Missha (and almost to COSRX, but their centella cream so far is doing ok). This is very frustrating for me because Korean products are more easily accessible compare to Japanese products, and cost wise its cheaper too.
- Unlike the majority of people, I don't like my makeup to be very pigmented - I prefer to retouch them rathen than them lasting the whole day - WEIRD I know. That's why I love cushion. Its very easy to apply and you can carry it in your bag and retouch your makeup later. I have a few BB creams that I need to finish, so I think I will be mixing the two depending on the kind of look I want to have.
- Exfolliating - is this really necessary? I found this step end up irritating my face (not too bad but I feel like my skin layer is getting thinner each time I do this).