Skincare

Best Korean Skincare Products of 2019

6th January 2020 5 Comments

Wowwww I can’t believe we’re already into 2020. 2019 was wild. So many changes and a new home in the USA with Mikey, finally. In between all the madness, I’ve had the privilege of trying a lot of Korean skincare from both well known brands and emerging companies. This is my fourth year of doing end of year favorites and how the time has flown! Here are my previous picks:

Best Korean Skincare Products of 2018

Best Korean Skincare Products of 2017

Best Korean Skincare Products of 2016

As always, my 2019 picks will only be products I’ve tried for the first time this year, and will not include long time favorites. Next to each product, I will label if it was PR gifted and from whom. PR or not PR has not effected these selections. I haven’t bought much this year due to my finances being focused on my visa costs and international move (and the prospect of months of job hunting), so most of this happens to be PR, FYI.

Let’s see which products have captured my heart this year.

Skincare

The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% Review

12th December 2019 25 Comments

So guys, this review is the first in a while that I’ve been quite so excited to write and share. Why? Because this is the biggest change I’ve seen in my skin in a longgggg time. Let’s get straight into my thoughts on The Ordinary Niacinamide & Zinc.

Skincare

Cosrx Calming Liquid Intensive Review

22nd October 2019 No Comments

Cosrx are easily one of my favorite K-beauty brands. I’ve been using their products continually for 5 years, love their formulas, get on well with the Cosrx staff (I even interviewed Hye-Young back in the day), and I will always recommend the Cosrx Snail Essence to anyone who will listen.

Two of their other products I love the most are their BHA Blackhead Power Liquid and their AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid. So when they released this newest acid formulations and sent the Calming Liquid Intensive to me in PR, I was totally down to test it out. After 3 months of use, I’m happy to now share my full review.

Skincare

Dear Klairs Fundamental Ampule Mist

2nd September 2019 1 Comment

Over the past year I have slowly become MIST. OBSESSED. I cannot get enough of them- spritzing after cleansing, between skincare layers, at any time of the day, and as a makeup setting spray. I’m absolutely loving them. But after years of trying so many different mists, I’ve come to learn my distinct preferences. Jin at Tonic15 kindly gifted me the new Klairs Fundamental Ampule Mist a few months ago and I haven’t put it down since. Here’s why.

Skincare

Hanyul Brand Introduction with Kōsame Beauty

10th July 2019 No Comments

Hey guys! Today’s post is a sampler just to let you know about some writing I’ve started doing for “the house of Korean beauty”, Kōsame Beauty. Based out of London with a direct sourcing team in Seoul, Kōsame Beauty sell a luxurious selection of some of the best, most high quality Korean products. I’ve loved working with them so far and Hanyul are a brand both they and I love, so it seemed fitting to share some info about them via the Hanyul brand introduction I wrote for their blog. You can follow all of my posts on their blog here. Let’s get into this one!

* This is not a sponsored post and the links are not affiliate, although I do have a business relationship with Kōsame Beauty.

Skincare

Review: By Wishtrend Polyphenols in Propolis 15% Ampoule

30th June 2019 No Comments

Yes, yes I am about to review yet another propolis product, and I’m not sorry about it! Propolis seems to make my skin glow like no other ingredient, and I’ll forever continue to use it. I’m a huge fan of the Iunik Propolis Serum, reviewed here, and very excited to see how the Wishtrend Polyphenols in Propolis 15% Ampoule squares up. The product was kindly gifted to me by Jin at Tonic15. She’s the owner of this fantastic K-beauty store based in the UK and she has some gorgeous products. Let’s see how this one worked out!

Skincare

Commleaf Surely Green 100 Face Oil Review

14th May 2019 2 Comments

Commleaf are a brand that truly won my heart last year, and have been a firm favourite ever since! I even discussed my love for them with Maree on Beauty & Seoul and I’m very pleased they are now available here in the UK. A couple of months ago, I received two of their newest products directly from Commleaf (PR gifted), and the Surely Green 100 Face Oil immediately got my interest. Let’s see what it is and how it worked for me.

Skincare

A’pieu Madecassoside Cream Review

13th April 2019 1 Comment

I mentioned this cream on my IG recently, and a lot of you replied with interest or telling me you also really liked it! What an under-discussed product, and I suddenly felt the need to share my full review with you. I bought the cream over a year ago in Myeongdong, and I’ve used it on and off ever since. Here are my thoughts!

Skincare

Bonair Premier Aloe Real Squeeze Toner Review

5th April 2019 No Comments

I’ve been away for a while – there’s been a lot going on. BUT I’m back and ready to upload regular reviews and routines to share with you guys. Please subscribe to my newsletter (on the right) if you’d like emails when I post new reviews. Today we’re discussing this gorgeous Bonair Aloe Toner. Let’s get stuck in…

This product was gifted to me by Mask House UK, with no request for review.

Skincare

My 5 Steps to Glowy Skin

31st March 2019 8 Comments

Most of the time these days, I genuinely love my skin. This has not always been the case, and whilst I still deal with normal skin issues such as redness and occasional breakouts, transforming my skincare routine and attitude has resulted in a glow I never thought was possible. I can assuredly say the changes happened because of my move to Seoul, South Korea, in 2014 and the influence of the “Korean skincare routine”. I say this in quotation marks because I don’t believe there’s a definitive “Korean skincare routine”, more a way of thinking about skincare in Korea. Over the past four years my skin has become the best it’s ever been, and I wanted to share what has worked for me. When I began my journey my skin was dull, very uneven in tone, and- without me knowing or understanding this- extremely dehydrated. Here’s how I overcame those problems and got the glow.