My (somewhat) Korean Skincare Routine

Hello beautiful!

So one day when I was washing my face and looking into the mirror, I suddenly had a thought to do a skincare routine post. I usually (but not as usually as usually) get comments like "your skin is perfect", "your skin is insanely good", "you have good skin", but honestly, I think it can be far far better. I have little bumps on the skin that cannot be seen but can be felt. Nevertheless, I am thankful that I am blessed with okay, more to the better side kind of complexion, because I know a lot of people deal with oily/acne/dry etc skin.

Not everybody has the same type of complexion, what works for me might not work for you but you can always take this as a reference point! Let me share a bit about my story before the routine!

I started out with really dry skin. When I was in secondary school, I did not do skincare at all. It was only when we had to put thick makeup for dance performances that I would use a facial cleanser to clean up after removing the make up. The rest of the days were just water. When I was in Secondary 2, I went on a dance exchange trip to Hong Kong at the end of the year, during winter. Very unfortunately, it was one of the coldest winters, about 8-10 degrees in HK that year as according to the news. FYI, If you haven't been to HK during winter before, winters in HK seldom (although possible) get to a single digit cold. In 2013 I went and it was 15-17 degrees. So during that year, we had a performance in Disneyland and we had to put make-up. I didn't thought dry skin was a bad thing at all until the moment I dab on my foundation. My face started peeling, literally. Lol.

Moving on to upper sec, I however got more conscious and started using a facial cleanser everyday. But without any knowledge in skincare, I thought just a facial cleanser would suffice. And I obviously continued to live with dry and peeling skin.

When I graduated and had more time for myself, I started watching YouTube videos and researched about skincare. Not sure what made me do it but I did it and I'm glad I did. Plus I was working so I had a little bit of money to get myself a full set of what I need.

After about 3 years of changing routines here and there, I finally came down to this one.

The average Korean skincare goes like:

Cleanser > Exfoliator (twice/wk) > first essence/booster > toner > essence > mask (twice/week) > eyecream > lotion > cream > sleeping mask (twice/wk, optional)

So many steps!!! Good skin does not come easy.

But for me, because the weather here is different from Korea, I skip some steps and deduce it to:

Cleanser > Exfoliator (twice/wk) > first essence/booster > toner > essence > mask (twice/week) > eyecream > lotion (morning) > cream (night) > sleeping mask (twice/wk)

Okay not like it makes a lot of difference but if you can see, I only used lotion in the morning and only cream in the night.

What is the difference?

Which also makes the consistencies of these 2 different. In other words, a cream is thicker than a lotion and with the all year round summer here in Singapore, a cream in the morning routine might be too much and uncomfortable for us. At least for me.

Okay now you've understood the routine, I am just gonna show you what I use currently! I always change the products once I empty them but the routine generally is the same.

First, do yourself a favour by keeping your hair out of the way!

Cleanser

I currently use 3 different kind of cleansers, that is a lot but let me explain.

The first one, also the main one is the Innisfree Green Tea Pure Cleansing Foam. I use this both in the morning and night.

The second one is the Etude House Baking Powder B.B Deep Cleansing foam. I use this when I put on any base make up for the day. This product is made to remove all face make up with just one wash, and also mild exfoliation cus there are little beads in there (no doubt it's the best selling product!) but my trainer from a company I used to work with recommends double cleansing, so after I've cleanse with a cleansing tissue/makeup remover, I use this with a pore cleansing brush.

(Still on my trial pack because I haven't been able to finish it)

TIP!

*A pore cleanser brush has super fine bristles that is able to reach deep into your pores where your fingers cannot. Mine is the manual one because I dont have the funds to get an electronic one....yet. *

Normally after this step would suffice but I a bit kiasu so I do a triple cleanse with my main cleanser. Keep in mind that you want your face and pores to be free from any residue you've accumulated for the day so they they won't clog your pores and cause infection when you apply other products later on.

On days when I dont put any make up, I use the main cleanser twice.

The third one is the Etude House Sparkling Toc!s Scrub Foam.

This is a 7 days clarifying skin scrub foam which also means I only pick out a week of the month and replace this with my main cleanser. The reason I do this is to "detox" my skin and it also has whitening/brightening properties. Who doesn't want porcelain skin??

Oh btw I dry my face with a facial tissue because I think there are a lot of germs on the towel. Haha.

Exfoliator

I prefer hard and sandy exfoliators to those with soft beads cus I think it does the job better! But if you have very sensitive* skin, go for the softer beads one. I have mild sensitive skin only beside the nose area so it's pretty okay for me.

*Sensitive as in your skin will sting and feel irritated when you put on unsuitable products or equivalent.

The one I'm using is the FLEBEAUTÉ White Crystal Diamond Peeling from TheFaceShop. It's a brightening scrub (yes I am a fan of whitening/brightening products) which claims to contain diamond powder.

Not sure how true that is but my grandmother said I looked fairer during the time I was on my first bottle. I am on my second bottle now.

TheFaceShop lowered their prices so its definitely worth a check although you can get it online too.

First Essence/Booster

The purpose of a booster (some call it first essence) is to boost your skin's ability to absorb whatever you're gonna put next so you the results are better, and you won't waste money too. Some people prefer to skip this step but I think it really works for me.

The one I'm using is The Smim Fermentation Concentrate Total Treatment (don't have a picture cus I threw away the bottle when I finished it) which is crazy expensive (SGD$66.90 from stores the last time I checked) but I always get it online or from Korea if my friends are going at half the price.

It has a watery consistency so I put on a cotton pad to apply it!

In the past when I had dry peeling skin, I applied a lot of moisturiser, I still had dry peeling skin, until I met this magic water!!

I just used up the last drop of my 5th bottle and I am going to switch to another brand for as long as I take to finish one bottle because I think my skin is getting to immune to this already. But I am definitely going to switch back.

Toner

Traditionally we call this toner but since the Korean skincare craze started, they came out with a gel-based toner where they call it skin. The traditional one is with a watery consistency while the gel-based one is duh, gel and thick consistency. When I was still working as a beauty advisor last year, many seem to dislike the fact that most korean toners are gel-like but did you know that gel-based toners is more moisturising than the traditional ones?

The one that I am currently using is the Innisfree Green Tea Balancing and Moisture Line, given to me by my previous company. It was stated trial kit on the box but I have been using it for 2 months already and halfway there.

TIP!

*Because skins are gel-based, there is no need to pour them on a cotton pad before application. Just pour it on your hands and pat it on. However, if you are not using a booster, then use a cotton pad because from your bathroom to your skincare area, there is sure to be some dust landing on your face.

Also, patting products on your face is extremely important because it helps the skin to absorb the product. *

As far as I have researched, the Innisfree Green Tea line comes in 3 different categories, Fresh (for oily skin), Balancing (for Normal to Combination), Moisture (for dry skin).

Green Tea is extremely beneficial for the skin, generally the human body but I'm not gonna type it out cus this is getting too long. But my point is, if you dont have a specific result for you skin, go for the Green Tea one!

Essence

An essence is different from a toner and a moisturiser such that an essence repairs deep inside the layers of the skin, while a toner and moisturiser works for he surface of the skin.

I am using the Etudé House Moistfull Super Collagen Ampoule essence.

(Also still on my trial kit)

An ampoule is better than a non-ampoule essence because ampoules treat specific skin conditions which in this case, collagen for firming. Because I am not in the recommended age group to use this product yet (recommended is 25 above), I only put on a very thin layer on my jaw line. Firmed jawline means defined jawline! It is also a highly raved product because it absorbs super easily and it actually works!

Mask

The mask sheets I use vary from Etudé House, TheFaceShop and Innisfree but mostly from EH.
I usually skip the previous step (essence) if I was putting on mask for the day.

There are a lot of different "flavours" but I really like Pearl, Acai Berry (or whatever berry), Aloe Vera and Lemon.

Pearl:
Brightening effect

Acai Berry:
Antioxidant effect. Berries generally helps in antioxidant

Aloe Vera:
Soothing effect

Lemon:
Whitening effect. Helps to clarify and reduce dark spots.

TIP!

*Use leftover essence in the bag to apply it in your elbows, knees etc. Essence flowing down from the mask sheet itself can be spread all over the neck. Also, this is not proven effective but I have a habit of refrigerating all my mask sheets because I want the cooling effect, especially in places like Singapore. Then right after application, I will camp in an air conditioned room for the next 10-12 minutes. Pat the remaining essence into the skin. *

Other than mask sheets, I also use the Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask on days when I am not lazy.

I also use the lotion instead of cream in the night if I did mask before that.

Eye Cream

I honestly have been diligently skipping this step because my previous one expired and I wana get the duo whitening eye cream from Innisfree. But it costs a bomb here so I am waiting till my korea trip to get one there.

The previous one I was using is the Etude House Moistfull Collagen Firming Eye Cream. It is a good eye cream and does whatever it claims to do but I have bad under eye circles so I wana go for the whitening one!

TIP!

*It is very important that your eye cream is absorbed by your skin completely, or else unsightly oil bags will form around your eyes. Use your index finger's knuckles to massage around the eye socket and pat it in until no product is left on the surface of the skin. To reduce eyebags, use the index finger to hold on the inner corner area (near the nose bridge), and use the knuckles of the other index finger to massage the eyebag from an inner to outer directiom towards the temples until no product is left on the surface of the skin. *

Lotion/Cream

The ones I'm using is also from the same line as my toner! They gave it in a set. Not gonna say much about it because I already in the previous (toner) point.

Lotion for the day

Cream for the night

I am not sure what is the normal way of applying a lotion/cream but I rub it on my palms then cup my face with it before patting it in.

TIP!

*Heat from your palms can help to absorb the product better too. You can try rubbing your palms till a little heated before cupping the face. *

Sleeping Mask

Not a big fan of sleeping masks at all but the other day I went into TheFaceShop and saw this Whitening Capsule Sleeping Mask. "Whitening" totally caught me, and it wasn't extremely expensive so why not?

On my second week of using this and I haven't really took note of the effects but so far it hasn't been giving me any problems. It absorbs very easily and does not leave any sticky residue so thumbs up for that.

As the product name already states, "mask", so twice a week, before bed time obviously. No need to wash off, go to bed with it, wash off the next day.

Okay that is all for this post~ I hoped I helped you in one way or another. You can always leave a comment or send me an email if you have any other queries!!

Thank you, now go have good skin! x

"If the skin is not cared for, your skin will get mad at you." -Park Min Young

Just in case you're wondering....

Hello beautiful! Woah I'm sorry I left this space dead for pretty long because I lost my previous camera (actually I just don't know which bag I put it in) and also because I have been pretty tied up with work - I hold a non-office job so that means I have no weekends too, that I don't have time to take pictures for this space. And also I have been gaining weight tremendously since like..... forever so during my free time I usually hit the gym and by the time I get home I am pretty much restless already lol. But I did update at my main lifestyle blog so I hope you guys could follow me there hehe. I thank you in advance.

Just to let you know, I'm still into this whole beauty thing. I even held a job as a beauty advisor from July- December 2014 so no worries =)) I have explored a lot into the beauty products world within these 5 months, much more than I used to and I am even splurging on items that I don't even used to use... like eyeshadows and blushers.

I will be moving to a new place by end March so I hope when I sort out my beauty stash by this month I will have lots and lots of my favourite products to share with you guys.

Also got myself a new camera about a month ago and I have been pretty satisfied with it! Plus it has a.. what do you call that... erm........ 180 degree turnable LCD lol. So it'll be easier if I wan a show you the products on myself.

Already having a few categories in mind that I wan a tell you guys about! Please don't give up on me haha.

The next post.. most probably will be on hair products!! Most probably... I might change my mind though, update you guys again.

See ya lovelies x.

"Makeup can't solve all my problems, but it's a pretty fab start!"

Beauty Scenario Tag!

Alright, nobody tagged me but I needed something to keep this space alive but I couldn't think of anything that I could share so yup, the Beauty Scenario tag! Saw it on Bubz's channel and decided to do it in a post.

Here we go...

1. You have to get rid of all your foundations and you can only keep one high end and one drugstore, which do you keep?

Ermm. I sure do have a few foundations, but I don't have any high end nor drugstore ones cus all I have are from different Korean stores. But if I could only keep one I would choose the Innisfree Water Glow Cushion because that one gives a healthy glow and it doesn't feel at all heavy even if I pile it up a lot, and it is not drying to the skin.

2. You go for an interview and the lady interviewing you has lipstick on her teeth. Do you approach the subject or ignore it completely?

I think I will tell her given my straightforward personality?

3. You’re not feeling yourself and you need a pick me up lipstick, which one do you go for?

Lip Tint can? Cus I don't really use lipsticks lolol. Anyway it's the Etude House Color Pop Tint in Passion Pop! It's a bright red colour and I only go for red/orange lip colours.

4. You go back in time for a day to your teenage years, how would you do your hair and makeup differently?

No fake lashes, No thick eyeliner, EYEBROWS (I used to not do my eyebrows). Then if you're referring to my second phase where I started doing the brows, THINNER BROWS PLEASE. Most importantly, no layered hair and no red hair.

5. You ask your hairdresser for a shoulder length Pixie Lott hair cut, but they hear you wrong and give you a pixie haircut. Do you, 
a) Smile, say thank you, leave, call your mum and cry hysterically, 
b) Cry in the chair and things get awkward, or 
c) Complain to the manager and demand a refund?

None of the above cus I'll cry at home and get hair extensions.

6. Your friend surprises you with a 4-day city break and you have 1 hour to pack. Which ‘do it all’ palette do you pack in your makeup bag?

I don't really have a palette with all the needed colours and I usually don't do any full makeup unless I am going to work so, I think I'll only bring along my Water Glow Cushion?

7. Your house has been robbed, don’t worry everyone is safe, but your beauty stash has been raided. What’s the product you really hope is safe?

Again, it's the Water Glow Cushion (go check it out already please)

8. Your friend borrows your makeup and returns it in awful condition. Do you, a) Just pretend you haven’t noticed, 
b) Ask them to repurchase it, or 
c) Secretly do the same to something of theirs?

Depending on what it is, I usually have backups of products that I really really like and use the most often. So if I have backups I'll just reprimand them and then let it go. If not, ask them to repurchase (tell me am I a very bad friend?)

Courtesy of Bubz's video! I'm sorry if this went really boring for you but thanks for reading. Till next time, x.

Top 10 Beauty Products!

Hey hello there beautiful. I finally got the time to take proper photos, edit them and write this blog post. But first you could take the time to visit my main blog at http://pink-comics.blogspot.sg!! Haha thank you. 

Since it's my first blogpost here, I shall tell you a little bit about myself. Actually you can just read the right column. But anyway I used to do beauty blogging back in 2012, then I stopped for a while, and now I'm back here again! I am a big fan of Korean beauty and if you love 'em too then yup, read on!

Okay straight to the topic.. My 10 favourite products for the 1st quarter of 2014! No swatches will be done (cuz I wanna do it in a separate full review post) in this post. If you've any requests on reviews you can tweet/FB PM/email me, whichever is good for you!

**All prices quoted are from Etude House retail stores. It will be much cheaper online but I prefer retail stores because I can try out the samples!**

1&2) BB Cushion

Yerp, you've seen it, you've heard it. If you've been following the Korean Beauty trend then this is a must have of all K-Beauty fans! Btw I put it under 1 and 2 cuz' its the same product from different stores. The left one is from Etude House and the right one is from Innisfree! Both works the same but its usage depends on the weather! Because the Etude House one feels a tad bit heavier on the skin, I tend to use it only when the weather is not so hot (Singapore has summer all year round) so I would not sweat too much and mess it all up then feel sticky, gooey etc. The Innisfree one on the other hand feels lighter and smells like.... herbs. Both have SPF50+/PA+++ so yup, great for outdoors~ Price range.... Both costs about the same! I got my Etude house on one in a bundle (Case + Cushion + Refill) for SGD$42 and the Innisfree one I can't remember cuz I got it in China. If you're a frequent Korea visitor, then just get it from there cuz it's much cheaper. But then again, if I were in Korea, I would have gotten the better ones from Laneige and Iope!

3) Etude House CC Cream in Glow

This one comes in another one called "silky" which gives you a baby-like smooth matte finish. However I am a super big fan of dewy skin so I went for the glow one! It does really gives you a glowy, dewy finish. So much love! I use this alone usually on normal days when I'm going to school/work. Just this alone (plus concealer) will give you a healthy glowing face already! But I think the price is a bit high for the amount of product. SGD$25.90 for 35g of product.

4) Etude House Nymph Aura Volumer

As a big fan of dewy skin, this is a must have! It helps to achieve an even glowier in addition to what the CC cream can do. I usually mix this with the CC Cream! It gives you a glowy skin finish but at the same time not too oily-looking! I got this on a 50% sale so its around SGD$16++ close to SGD$17.

5) THEFACESHOP Dual Concealer

This one comes in both stick and liquid form! I got this online for around SGD$11.00 registered mailed. I am not very sure about the prices in retail stores though. Hardly patronise TFS these days since Kim Hyun Joong is out of the picture already T_T. I got this in the lightest shad (NB 17) and because I was afraid that the normal shade (even tho I have the normal skin tone) will enhance my dark circles even more. At first I thought it would be too light for me, but it worked out just fine! This one never creases or sink into fine lines unlike the other cream concealers and does its' job without feel in heavy at all! Happy with it =))

6) Etude House Collagen Moistfull Enriched Cream

Not a big fan of moisturisers at all but I got this during my China trip when my face was wayyyy to dry and the moisturisers I brought were useless. And I've been using it a lot since then (as you can already see...) It gives you a natural dewy look from the inside of your skin together with moisturised bouncy skin! In love with the smell and most importantly it does its' job =)) It retails for SGD$38.90 for this, but if you have normal skin, you can get the normal one (means its not enriched) at SGD$32.90 from stores!

7) Eco Windy Lip Scrub

Sadly I cannot find this in Singapore stores. Someone tell me if you do. The only lip scrub I can find in Innisfree here is the non-green tea one :( I know I can get it online but my mails always gets lost so I am quite against online shopping. I got this back in China's Innisfree. The number of Innisfree stores in China is like the number of Etude Houses here in Singapore.... and the number of Etude Houses there is like the number of Innisfrees here in Singapore.. I love this lip scrub a lot because it not only does its' job (scrubbing and removing dead skin), brightens the natural lip colour, and..... its delicious!!!! Previously, I was using the Etude House's lip scrub which smells like heaven but it tastes wayyyyy too bitter. This one tastes like.. Pokka Green Tea.

8) Etude House Lip Balm

Probably the only lip balm that I'm gonna finish using! Because this is is colourless and has no smell, I can use it whenever I want! Lip balms with smells often leaves me with bad headaches because I am very sensitive to smells. They have 3 other flavours in this series and I own one of the coloured and smell-full ones, but I still prefer this because its smell-less! Moisturises your lips especially when I was back in China, I literally applied this every 30 mins because it is that dry in the winter. SGD$9 from stores!

9) Etude House Dear Girls Lip Tint

I haven't seen any lip tint in the K-Beauty industry that works better than this! It does not feel heavy/sticky at all. You know when you use pen ink and draw on your skin, then it doesn't come off easily even if you've tried to erased it? Exactly the same concept! Does not transfer whatsoever too. Only disappears if you're having a heavy meal. And its the secret to the Korean gradient lips without going through the hassle of applying concealer, base colour etc.! It looks like blood but it definitely comes off the way you want it to be. I have quite dark lips but this still is quite noticeable even on my dark lips with no lip concealer. On the other side is a lip balm which I do not frequently use. Oh I have one in pink tint too, but not opened yet. SGD$15 from stores!

10) Etude House Colour POP Lip Tint

I got this just 2 days ago but in love with it already because its bright coloured and noticeable! I got mine in Sunny Pop (a bright orange colour). Compared to the other pink tints, this is so much more noticeable. It feels a little bit sticky but definitely does not sink into the lines on your lips whereas the Dear Girls one sometimes does. No need for lip balms, it does the moisturising job. But it doesn't last as long as I'd like it to be =(( By the way orange lips makes you look fairer! So yup, try investing in an orange lip product. They have a few other colours in this line, but I am currently satisfied with this colour already (: SGD$17.90 from stores, but I only paid $4.90 yesterday cuz I redeemed all my points.

That's all I have for now! Do feel free to contact me either by FB/ Twitter/ Email for any full review requests, or I will do a review of any product I have when I have the time! 

Hoped this post helped you girls in one way or another! 

Till next time, x.