Daiso. If you don’t know what Daiso is, you haven’t lived my friend. Daiso is the Japanese version of the dollar store or poundland- only a million times better. The stores are situated in many countries all over the world (why not the UK yet? I hear you, and I don’t know why, sob), but after Japan, Korea has the highest number of shops. You can literally discover ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING in these stores; one of my most recent useful purchases is a mini toilet brush that curves at the neck to get right into, and clean, the area under the rim of the bowl where the water comes out…yeah they think of all your needs, ever. But the best bit for me? Their beauty section. Here are my top beauty purchases from Daiso- mostly in Korea, but a couple from Japan too, and all of them are under 5000 won (roughly $5/£3.50).
Feel as if you’re free-falling in a world of magical lotions, snail slime and kitty ear headbands?
You’re in the right place. Being a K-Beauty beginner is all fun and games until you’ve spent all your cash on all of the stuff, which doesn’t seem to working, and now you’re left wondering what all the fuss was about that ‘must have’ cream that came in a pink-princess-castle-shaped container.
So here are some dos and don’ts, to try and ensure that you don’t make the same mistakes I, and many along with me, have made when first getting started in the wonderful world of Korean cosmetics.
Call me basic, but I love wine and I love lipstick. So a wine lipstick? Yeah, count me in.
Who the hell are Labiotte?!
I’d never heard about Labiotte until they became famous for these cute little vino products. Turns out they’re actually little sister company of Tony Moly, with a more sophisticated and slightly more expensive vibe. If you want more information on the Labiotte brand story you can check it out here. But to keep it brief, their mission is to combine dermatological research, ‘powerful energy of pure nature’, and the pursuit of healthy skin and beauty to create their products. I also like that (if their actions actually do match their words) they follow eco friendly policies and support environmental campaigns.
I decided it was time to do an updated post about my Korean style skincare routine! (If you’re interested here are the links to my March 2016morning routineandnight time routineposts..some things have changed, some haven’t! I also discuss a little more on the ideas behind a Korean skincare routine in that morning routine post).
In this post, I’ve laid out all of my steps (EDIT: “products I’m currently using” are outdated; my most current routine is available and kept up-to-date on thispage), day and night, and I’ve added some little explanations of each step for those of you who might be new to K-Beauty. I don’t use all of these products all the time. I approach my skincare on a daily basis according to my skins needs (and time restraints), so some days I may use 10 products, and on other days only 3. The most important thing about beginning a skincare routine is knowing your aims, and choosing products to suit those aims. With my skin type (normal-combination, with redness and heat) I’m looking for hydration without heaviness, brightening, calming and evening skintone. Others look for acne solutions, or intense moisturizing. The aims can differ slightly day to day, and I adjust my routine to suit my daily needs. Having a flexible routine to address your needs is what k-skincare philosophy is all about.
Also, remember I’m a skincare blogger and I have waaay more products than the average person honestly needs! This isn’t my whole stash, only the stuff I’m regularly reaching for right now. So let’s get stuck in ‘cos this isn’t gonna be short…
*Some of the products mentioned in this post were provided by individuals or companies for my consideration to review. These will be individually disclosed in the text.
I’ve been finding it pretty hard to sit down and focus on my blog recently…I’ve felt tired and kinda down, January always does this to me. It’s not my month! But enough self wallowing in nothing. I had a great 2016 year in terms of Korean makeup. In 2015, I found a lot of the products I bought to be hit or miss, and a little bland. But with some new fabulous base makeup, and bolder brighter colours in the shops, I discovered some gems for myself and my face in twenty sixteen! Onto my choices.
Some of these products were provided by individuals/companies for my review consideration. These will be specifically disclosed in the text. See my disclaimer for more information on my collaborations.
2016 came to an end (thank the lord I hear you say?), so I thought it was time for a predictable round up post of my skincare favourites.
This is a post on the top skincare products I tested for the first time in the last twelve months. I’m not counting old favourite staples such as my Su:m37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick or Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence. I’ll be doing an updated morning and night time skincare routine post so you can see my full list of skincare choices when I write that! But for now, here’s my top 10 (in no particular order) of my new tries in 2016.
Some of these products were provided by companies/individuals for my consideration to review. Products that I was provided will be specifically disclosed in the text.
Pink and white vintage milk design, plus brightening effects, plus a light watery texture…yep, I was pretty much sold on testing this toner as soon as I received it. Read on to find out how it worked out for me.
Product received as a gift, courtesy of my friend Brenda at Berrisom. See my disclosure for my policies and collaboration information.
I never used to be into eye masks. I found them a little underwhelming because my expectations were kinda ridiculous. I think I expected shadows and wrinkles to miraculously disappear after one time use. In my experience, eye masks will not achieve this.
I began using eye patches almost every morning because I found that they soothed, calmed, and rejuvenated my under eye area, which in turn helped ease puffiness, and temporarily helped with fine lines. Over time I hope they’ll have a preventative aging effect. They’ve become a staple of my morning routine, and I leave them on 10-30 minutes while I make a cup of tea and potter around.
I’ve now tested these three different kinds of eye patches (I’ve also tried many singles in the past from Etude House, Missha etc for reference), and I’m ready to compare them! So I’ll be looking at Shangpree Gold Black Pearl Eye Mask, Shangpree Gold Hydrogel Eye Mask, and Berrisom Placenta Firming Hydrogel Eye Patch. I was gifted all three of these at different times, but all opinions written here are my own, and the masks were not given to me specifically for review (Shangpree masks courtesy of Shangpree, and Berrisom masks courtesy of my friend Brenda, overseas sales director, at Berrisom).
Hey guys, so this isn’t a post as such, but more an update! I’ve had the busiest time recently…I had my family here from the October 31st- November 14th which was wonderful, then I had my birthday celebrations, and just this week I’ve had an unbelievable amount of paperwork and deadlines piled onto me for my daytime teaching job. Thus, no blog posts recently, as you may have noticed. I apologise, and I will be back in action after December 1st (which is my day of six open classes at school). After that, I’m fully back onto writing, and I have a few reviews lined up. I was already working on an eye patch comparison, Shangpree vs Berrisom, and I’ve just about finished testing the G9 Skin White in Milk Toner, so that’s what you can expect to see on here at the beginning of December.
3CE are a popular brand with great marketing and exciting products. Whilst I love browsing their stores, I tend to stay away, as they’re a little pricey and the fun shopping experience means I’m always at risk of dropping a load of cash! But when I finished my last cleansing oil, I remembered how much I’d loved the feel of the cleansing sherbet the last time I was testing in store, and I grabbed it to try.
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