K-Beauty straight from South Korea
Piibu are a relatively new sheet mask subscription box, currently available in the US. As the website states “you will receive 8-10 korean skincare face masks in each box. The masks range from sheet masks, wash off masks, hand masks, feet masks, and eye masks.” They very kindly sent me their September box free of charge for review, and I was happy to give an honest review in exchange! (See my Disclaimer tab for more collaboration information- all opinions expressed here are my own)
I recently wrote a review of the first Purpletale product I tried (you can read that here), and I really enjoyed it. Purpletale are a relevantly new K-Beauty brand, and I was pleased to get the chance to try their products. Young-ji, creator of Purpletale, was lovely to chat with, and I liked her story and brand idea about the importance of our own personal beauty. Another product I picked from their selection was this Setting the Scene Treatment Essence (product provided free of charge in exchange for 100% my own, honest reviews). I was a little dubious about one of the ingredients, but I’ll explain that later… I loved the name of the product, I saw niacinamide as a fifth ingredient, and as first treatment essences are one of my favourite steps of skincare, I decided to give it a go regardless.
Purpletale was not a brand I had heard of until Young-ji, creator of the company, reached out to me. I love hearing about new brands and seeing what they have to offer, so I picked a couple of their products to try out and to let you guys know how they worked out for me! See my disclaimer if you have any questions about my collaborations with brands- I accepted this product free of charge from Purpletale in exchange for my own, honest review.
Who are Purpletale?
They are a K-Beauty brand based in South Korea. If you visit the website you can get a good understanding of Young-ji’s mission- to empower, and celebrate beauty.
When I received an email from Shangpree Spa in Seoul saying they had read my articles in the Korean journal I write for, and wanted to invite me for a facial treatment at their renowned spa in Seoul, I jumped at the opportunity. Skincare in Seoul is among the best in the world, and with mentions in the likes of The New York Times, Vogue and Forbes, Shangpree Spa sounded like the best place to try my first (shocking I know?!) facial in Korea. I went there with an open mind, and ready to get my glow on.
(This experience was provided courtesy of Shangpree Spa. This does not affect my review- see disclaimer for policies)
The spa is in the beautiful Apujeong area. As soon as you walk in you can feel the luxury- lovely black lockers for your shoes; a gold couch area where you can take a seat with refreshments; a water feature in front of the desk; and a wooden sculpted back wall where the reception desk stands. The spa is incredibly chic, yet not decadent or tacky.
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I feel like I talk about the weather a lot in my skincare posts, but it’s because I’m a pale red head from the Northeast of England who IS NOT MADE FOR HUMIDITY AND HEAT. So yeah, Korean summer is a tricky time for me to get to grips with. But thankfully this is my second summer in Korea, and this time I’m way more prepared. These are the products that I tend to use most days, particularly in the mornings. I might mix it up and pick other things on different days, but these are my basics post-cleanse.
I really really wanted to write this post with an excited review of how I fell in love with the first Belif product I tried. Buuuut I’m not sure I can. Let’s see.
Purpose: Hydration station. This essence is purely to increase skin moisture levels and prevent moisture loss after cleansing and washing.
Who’s it for? All skin types.
How to use: Belif states that you should apply 2-3 pumps to a moist face within 10 seconds of washing (gonna be honest, although I tried for within 10 seconds, sometimes it may have been up to a minute 😉 )
I’m a little late with last weeks Seoul Selections. When I originally drafted this, I was feeling exhausted after a stressful week at work, a slight stomach bug, and very little sleep. After the tragedy of Orlando, my minor troubles have really been put into perspective. I feel so deeply saddened by the events in Florida, and I’m praying for the victims and also the community as we come together to support LGBTQ. I attended Seoul Pride this past Saturday, and instead of feeling deflated at the hatred/ignorance of the counter marchers, I felt truly inspired by the love and happiness of all the Pride supporters, and the sense of togetherness. I just hope that every person in the LGBTQ community knows that for all the hate and ignorance, there are SO many people worldwide in support of equality and happiness for all. I’m thinking of the Orlando victims and their families, and for all of those affected by this terrorist act.
I’m off to Vietnam for the weekend and I am SO excited. This means that I won’t be around to post my week’s favourites at the weekend, so here they are a day early. It’s been a busy one, and these are the products that have been getting me through the past five days.
So new plan for the blog! Each weekend I’m going to post my weekly favourites from the past seven days- my Seoul selections. I want to share what I enjoy through the week in cosmetics, skincare and other cute bits and bobs I manage to get hold of. Here we go, my favourites from this week…
I haaaate my voice. I’m originally from North of newcastle in England, and yet my accent is a very bizarre mix of some northern language, general Southern english, Bristolian, and Mancunian (thanks to my uni housemates). After over a year of teaching American English here in Korea, I have now managed to throw a big dollop of American twang in to the mix. So yeah, I don’t like making videos for this reason. HOWEVER, I do see that videos have a place in beauty blogging, and so on a random weeknight, sat in my gross green pyjama polo top, with my bathroom door open so you guys get a lovely view of my toilet (whoops), I decided to film my night time routine for that evening!