Skincare Routine Mondays: April 18, 2016

It's official, I am OUT of Missha FTE. Also, introducing a cult favorite foaming face soap. More below.

1. Oil Cleanser: None. Should I bother when I'm fresh-faced (a la sans make-up) everyday? Please advise.
2. Water-based Cleanser: Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. Which is nearing it's end, which bothers me because at $15 for 1.7 ounces, that's a lot of money for a product that lasts... less than three months? My first record of it was from February 1st. It's just past the mid-point of April, meaning that it's getting low at the 2.5 month mark, which concerns me for such a luxury product that I actually LOVE using. Starting using SU:M37's MRCS (aka miracle rose cleansing stick, aka cult favorite). It's literally a cylinder of soap and I write more about it below.
3. Toner: Missha's Clear Toner (in the Time Revolution Starter Set), but will be switching over to The Face Shop's Chia Water 100 toner. (From something similar to this set, though my packaging is different)
4. Serum or essence: "First" Essence-- Missha's The First Treatment Essence (in the Time Revolution Starter Set), which I AM OFFICIALLY OUT OF, so I have been sad. However, I will start using The Face Shop Chia Seed First Essence (10ml sample size), but I am not sure how I feel about this set. I will follow with the set's Lotion, which I cannot tell if the consistency is more or less thick than the Mizon Cream I am using now.
5. Moisturizer:
    AM: Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer SPF 30.
   PM :Mizon - All in One Snail Repair Cream (75ml), which gets absorbed so nicely that it's not bad at all to layer underneath my greasy morning Aveeno SPF moisturizer.
6. Treatment Sheet Mask:My Scheming 我的心機 L-Ascorbic Acid Whitening, which I actually got individually from Poya (which is where I bought the majority of my individually bought masks from). It's a milky serum, that I have been hoarding and using on my face since I don't have a set serum and my Missha FTE is out.

SU:M37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick is not "miraculous" per say, but it is exactly everything else it says it is. Rose, yep!  

It's quite fragrant, so if you don't like the smell of roses, don't even think about this. I bought it at Duty Free in Incheon this past January. Since it's a natural soap, and these things go bad, I decided that I would use it this weekend as I was going to my friend's house and didn't feel like toting around a nearly empty bottle of face wash.

Instructions:

• Wet face.
• Rub stick over face as if your whole face was a pair of lips needing chapstick.
• The label makes it looks like you need to rub on face until foamy but I think
• Rub face with hands after swiping stick over face (it will suds enough itself)
• Rinse

I also tried to method of rubbing it on my hands and then sudsing it up that way, but I felt like I wasted more product that way. It's really up to you.

The first impression I had was concern. Once I rinsed my face, my face felt tight. I think panicked that thought that this is a bar of soap, what if the pH isn't right?!?! Cue mini-internal drama going on inside my head. Why would my skin feel tight? Usually a pH imbalance, too alkali or something. Looked it up, it has an acidic 5.5 pH level, so that should be fine, it's in the right range. So what was it then?

However, I used it several more time over the weekend and it felt nice. I just felt like I was using too much of it, so I worked my way down to wetting my face and giving my face a quick once over before foaming the soap on my skin up. 

I am still not sure how I feel about this, especially after the initial tightness feel. Doesn't seem Holy Grail status, and it seems to be in the same price range as my Fresh Soy Cleanser that I just love so much more. We will see how this goes.

Skincare Routine Mondays: April 11, 2016

Missed the last two weeks because... school. Anyway, not much has changed. Just a bit of anxiety now that my Missha FTE is soon to be OUT.

1. Oil Cleanser: None. Should I bother when I'm fresh-faced (a la sans make-up) everyday? Please advise.
2. Water-based Cleanser: Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. Soon to be out. Thinking of trying out Corsx Low Ph Good Morning Gel Cleanser, which is actually on sale at Jolse, but I already whined about my hesitancy in purchasing from them.
3. Toner: Missha's Clear Toner (in the Time Revolution Starter Set). 
4. Serum or essence: Not quite an essence/serum, but a "First" Essence-- Missha's The First Treatment Essence (in the Time Revolution Starter Set). And WOE is ME, as I am almost out and I realize that I do like this stuff, even though I don't really know what it actually is doing for me. One of those things where you keep doing it for the long haul, you know? I am almost out and I have been skimping on how much product I use because I don't want to be out! 
5. Moisturizer:
    AM: Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer SPF 30.
   PM :Mizon - All in One Snail Repair Cream (75ml), which gets absorbed so nicely that it's not bad at all to layer underneath my greasy morning Aveeno SPF moisturizer.
6. Treatment Sheet Mask: NRK's Collagen Booster Firming Mask, which I actually got individually from Poya (which you can purchase through Poya via Yahoo) 

I actually didn't take a picture the second time around. The first time I used it, I used the snail mask, as seen above. It came with a lot of clear viscous serum, and had a white plastic lining that had to be removed.

Honestly, it was big for my face, though I appreciated that the area between the nose and the upper lip was wide and big enough to be properly covered. However, the edges of my mouth were totally peeking out. It had the cuts in the side so that you can adjust and overlap them properly, which I didn't do such a great job if you can see all the wrinkles hanging out.

Layer that with my Daiso silicon cover and BAM, serum for days. (A good thing, even though I look miserable in that last shot!) The snail mask was unremarkable. Really, I hardly even remembered I did it until I was surfing through my photos trying to find one of the Collagen Booster. The Collagen Booster did not get any pictures taken of, but it had a nice and pleasant smell. It felt great, or maybe it's been a while since I did a mud mask follower by a sheet mask, but either way, it left a better impression than the snail mask (which didn't leave an impression at all, now that I think of it...).

NRK is sold in Taiwan, and it's pricer, too. Honestly, though I paid 27 NTD for it, which is just under a dollar, the LOVEMORE masks are a much better investment. I raved about them last time, and still, it's number one in my book. NRK is also thicker than the My Beauty Diary masks, which are also cheaper and a better bang for your buck. 

Skincare Routine as of December 14, 2015

1. Oil Cleanser. None. No make-up = no oil.
2. Water-based Cleanser (Foaming Cleanser). None, see above.
3. Water rinse. My actual step 1. Water is at a neutral ph of 7. Check.
4. Toner. Missha Time Revolution Clear Toner. It goes one light, and you can feel it dry on your face in a very nice and refreshing way. Don't know if I am supposed to have it dry before I put on the first essence.
5. First Essence: Missha Time Revolution First Treatment Essence. It has the same water consistency of the Clear Toner, however it smells more yeasty. Due to the fact that often do my routine without my glasses on or my contacts in, I have been very nervous about getting the toner and the first treatment mixed up. Good thing the Clear Toner comes in a cheap plastic bottle with a round screw-off top, whereas the FTE comes in a glass bottle with an oval screw-off top. Also, the smell would be an indicator, but I don't usually realize until I slap it on my face. This watery essence does leave my face a little stickier than the toner. 
6. Serum or essence. MY LIQUID GOLD samples of SK-II Facial Treatment Repair C from Sephora.  Then, as of yesterday, I have had sample of Amore Pacific MOISTURE BOUND Rejuvenating Serum which I am using after the SKII is absorbed a bit into my skin due to it's thicker texture. The SKII glides on and leaves my face a little sticky, whereas Amore Pacific is light and gets absorbed almost instantaneously. 
7. Moisturizer. AM: Still using my holy grail of moisturizer meets SPF of Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer SPF 30. It really makes me feel moisutrized and happy to know that I am also getting SPF 30 out of it. It's heavier, so many people might feel it's greasy, but with my combination skin, it works like a charm. PM: Freeset's Donkey Milk 3D Moisture Cream, been using this for a while, and while it's not a holy grail, I am very content with its results. Each morning my skin feels plump and more balanced. My t-zone remains greasier than the rest of my face, but it really is not bad at all when using this cream.

What's new here? Amore Pacific and Missha Time Revolution Clear Toner and First Treatment Essence.

Wrote about my New Sample Excitement with Amore Pacific.

Wrote about my disappointment with Missha's Super Aqua Cell Renw Snail Sleeping pack.

Pretty darn happy with my Time Revolution set so far. Should also note that I have been suffering from acne on my chin/chin jawlin/upper lip since last Wednesday. Though I don't usually get pimples on my chin's part of the jawline, they have subsided quickly and I hardly know the difference now.

My period arrived yesterday, which is usually the factor to blame when I get mouth/chin area pimples. Jawline though? That's a bit weird, but no one can tell, just me.

Got a compliment on my skin on Sunday. My friend who hasn't seen me in a couple of months (she moved cross-country for her career) said my skin looked fantastic.

In another unrelated comment about my skin, someone noted that I looked "paler," which I didn't really think was possible considering how ghostly pale I am already. Here's the hoping that this "paler" comment is in regards to my skin's cells balancing and renewing themselves.

Also have to think of how much long I am going to go around to random Sephoras that carry the SKII line and ask for samples of my liquid gold. I cannot live on samples forever, but $170 for a single ounce really is beyond my means. I am already so stoked that I got the Missha Time Revolution set for 46 bucks during the Black Friday weekend, and I am going to use that for at least the next year.

Nervous though, because I am pretty sure I am going to do a Duty Free Incheon Airport haul in the next month and those products will bring so much excitement that I just might switch around my routine. As someone said, your skincare products are more of a wardrobe. You can't wear all of your clothes at once, but you can pick and choose what you want for the time being.

First Impressions Fridays: Missha Time Revolution's Clear Toner and FTE

There is one thing that I just don't really get, what is the difference between dewy and greasy?

Dewy means your skin is plump, but is there a hint of sheen to it? Greasy is synonymous with bad things like pimples and smelly hair, but when is sheen too much sheen and just greasy looking?

My first impressions after using the toner and FTE is that it does make a difference. Even though I feel like I am splashing my face with a yeasty smelling water, and then splashing it with some more water (FTE's consistency), I do feel like my skin is lighter and more supple than when I had no used it prior.

This morning though, when I put on the Nature Republic sunscreen I felt like my skin was not taking it as well. It was TOO supple, TOO moisturized. Is that when it becomes greasy? Maybe I never noticed it before, but I felt like after putting on my moisturizer, my face had had enough. Like it didn't want any more layers to it.

Anyway, this is day one, second use, and at night it's fine (though I do still wake up with an oily-ish T-zone, my U-zone is properly hydrated). We will see what happens as the two weeks wear on.

Add a Product Thursday! Missha FTE

It's late, and I really shouldn't but I am going to. Today marks the second week of using Freeset's Donkey Milk 3D Moisture Cream. More detailed review later.

My friend got me a sample of Nude's face oil, which is in a small dispenser that I will check out later.

The last two or three days I have been using the Nature Republic Sunscreen, more on that later as well.

Today I am excited because I am not introducing one, but TWO new products. Usually I would be hesitant, but they came in a set and I want to use both the toner and first essence.

Day one of using Missha's Time Revolution Starter Set's Clear Toner and First Treatment Essence "Intensive." Let's see how it goes.