New Product Excitement!! - MISSHA Thanksgiving Haul

Can it really be called a haul when I only purchased two things?

My Missha Haul came: a Time Revolution Starter Set and SUPER AQUA Cell Renew Snail Sleeping Mask. The samples were stingy, I guess I came to expect much more than just two little night repair ampoule samples. No complaints though, I will use these and check how they work with my skin.

So excited!!! Though my trial period with Freeset's Donkey Milk 3D Moisture Cream is only in the sixth of fourteen days, I have used a mask (ugh, more on that bad choice later) and this is a sleeping pack, so it's an additional to whatever is usual. In twelve days though, I will introduce the Time Revolution Set which will incorporate a toner and a first essence prior to any additional serums and creams.

However, I really do NOT like the Clinique City Block SPF 40 that I have been using. This is probably because I am not used to wearing make-up and it reminds me of wearing make-up. It has this tint to it that I can see pools in the fine lines around my eyes (I am very expressive, so I am not surprised). My biggest turn off to this product would have to be the fact that this color comes off when I blot my face with a wet paper towel, which I often do after I was my hands in the restroom.

Perhaps this is odd, but I do not like to touch the bathroom door handle, or any other door handles really. It is gross and covered in germs. So usually, I go to the bathroom, wash my hands, dry my hands on a paper towel, and with this damp paper towel I blot my face (it's very refreshing) and use that same towel to cover the door handle as I exit.

Today I blotted at my face and it felt like I was just blotting all the SPF away. It made the paper towel so... brown, and I did not like that ONE BIT. Nope! I do not like at all and will probably just stick to my Aveeno SPF 30 instead. Seriously, that's one item I have not lived without. In college I started with their other line of moisturizer with was a cream bottle with a pastel green top dispenser. It only had 15 SPF and that was not enough as I would still suffer from slight bouts of sunburn, even on the least sunny of days. Lots of the reviews complain about it's smell-- I think it's a nice fragrance though I admit it is heavily fragranced.

Anyway! My excitement has carried on long enough. Tomorrow I will divulge my snail sleeping mask experience!! Yay!!

Skincare Routine as of November 23, 2015

1. Oil Cleanser. None. I haven't worn make-up, so I really don't take this step seriously.
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. None! I have the outdated Holika Holika one that I referred to in my last routine check-up. Unfortunately, I am having a slight reaction to the Hada Labo Alpha Lotion that I purchased earlier this month. It did not last me a week because I was tired of all the little bumps and white-heads that I do not normally get. It has been one week since then and my skin is still trying to heal itself.
5. Serum or essence. Right now I have been leeching samples of SK-II Facial Treatment Repair C from Sephora. They have this nifty thing where I can go in and ask for a sample, they give me a few pumps in a small container, and viola, liquid gold! And at the price Sephora is selling it for, ($170 for 1 ounce) it truly is. I keep it in a dark place in my medicine cabinet and one sample usually lasts me almost a week. Mornings and evenings. In the evenings I have also stuck to using my freebie Clinique Smart Custom-Repair Serum.  Usually I place this on the drier patches of my face, the "U" shape that combination skin knows so well. Especially since they're the problem spots the Hada Labo Alpha Lotion had exacerbated.
6. Moisturizer. AM Go to: Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer SPF 30. PM Go to: OH YAS MY DONKEY MILK 3D, where you can read the lovely Fifty Shade's Review on it. I have scoured, found it for 35.99 for a 50g glass tub, and I had purchased it the day after I bought/used the Hada Labo Alpha Lotion for the first time. It took me five days, but I finally gave up what isn't good for me for something better, and that is Freeset's Donkey Milk 3D Moisture Cream.

What's new here? SKII and Donkey Milk.

The tricky thing about the SKII Facial Treatment Repair C is that people are often confused and fooled by the name. Even the Sephora rep told me that it has vitamin C in it. Which I quickly corrected him, "Oh, actually, no, it doesn't." He didn't believe me and had to read the label himself.

"Saccharomycopsis Ferment Filtrate*, Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Methylparaben, Sodium Benzoate. *Pitera."

And that is all there is. No Vitamin C, none of that active culture at all. "C" is supposed to be for "concentrate," but why not create one good product versus a bunch of little ones? The Essence, which another Sephora associate raved has the "highest content of Pitera," is the main-seller and is so watery that I cannot get a sample of it because it's just going to go all over. Hmm, it's about time for me to pick up another sample of liquid gold. Good thing a little of this serum goes a long, long way.

The Donkey Milk 3D Moisture Cream has been making me very happy, but I am going to wait until the two week mark to see if this is just instant gratification or what.

All in due time, my dears, all in due time.

Hello to Myself

It has been a concern of mine, that my personal blog has been garnering attention due to the recent obsession of taking care of my skin.

So, here's another offshoot, another branch, a themed branch, a branch for the ages (literally).

There are already so many skincare blogs out there, but really, I just wanted a place to consolidate all my thoughts without others accidentally reading about other aspects of my life that I do not wish to share as much.

Cheers!

Review: Hada Labo Alpha Lotion (Rating: Crestfallen)

I wanted so badly to like this. Purchased on Saturday night I instantly incorporated it into my routine. After all, I hadn't used toner in a while and this is precisely what it is.

It's a viscous liquid, and it comes out of the bottle in sticky drops. In all honesty, I reminds me of really watery sperm, maybe a little creamier. It spreads nicely, and goes on easily. However, today is the sixth day I am using it (for both morning and evening routines) and these pesky little white-head pimples just won't go away.

Ingredients: Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Beta Carotene, BHT, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Carbomer, Disodium EDTA, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Methylparaben, PEG-20 Sorbitan Isostearate, PPG-10 Methyl Glucose Ether, Retinyl Palmitate, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Thioctic Acid, Tocopherol, Triethanolamine, Zea Mays (Corn) Oil

On COSDNA.com the ingredients do note that some are acne triggers. I can spread virgin coconut oil, a well known comedogenic, all over my face and never get a single pimple. However, I use this light, but sticky lotion/toner on my face and my cheeks are just dappled in acne. They're lining the undersides of my cheeks and my skin has never been this bumpy before.

Tonight marks the last night I use this lotion. To ease it's ill effects and to introduce a new product, I am started to use Donkey Milk 3D Moisture Cream at night.  My skin is still irritated with pimples, but feels nice and plump with this cream on.

Also, very excited, bought Missha's Time Revolution Starter Set because it was 40% off. Getting the First Time Essence is exciting! But I am also excited to get the clear toner because I have been trying to incorporate a toner into my routine and just can't find the right one. However, I erroneously thought I needed to spend over $50 to get free shipping (I realize that this is for SOKOGLAM and not Missha US, Missha US is $40 for free shipping, ugh, stupid me), I got a snail sleeping pack to make my total to be $60.

Snail goo, who knew? Going to hop on the bandwagon while I'm here. :)

Skincare Routine as of November 16, 2015

This just in: I am no spring chicken. Obviously looks fade, youth dissipates like the sand in an hourglass. Fine lines build into deep valleys, and one day you wake up old.

However, I am a spring chicken compared to the me that exists in five years, ten years, twenty years. By then age will be only a facade, and I hope my heart stays a bright and peppy, even with the possible kids that will cause great joy accompanied with great anxiety.

The cliches are all coming true. It scares me to know how much more wisdom they hold and how much less original I become.

Back in my days in Taiwan (I have half as spent as much time "back" home as my entire Asian life abroad) I was told by a young mother (who was my age back then) to use 保養品. What is that she is talking about? Oh, only but the money making scheme that is called skincare. But not just any skincare, this is anti-aging and youth preserving skincare. In Asia, they not only have different standards of beauty, but another way of perceiving how to maintain such beauty.

The naturally beautiful look is revered, but believe you me, it's a process that lies far from natural. To have great skin and to look young, to stay looking young? The soft dewy skin that goes, "q" which is the slight bounce your fingers have against such great collagen-filled skin. Soft brows, long lashes, light rose cheeks and lips. To imitate the complexion of a porcelain doll, that is the beauty they strive for.

Sure, I might have the alabaster white look down, but my skin is not faring as well as I thought it would have. My neck is losing it's youth and I have rings akin to those that tell the age of a tree. Faint smears of forehead wrinkles for those faces I always make but don't realize how much it alters my fave. Skin that breaks out, and even more when my hormones are in flux.

The Western ideal of skincare is good for someone like me: lazy. However, the Asian skincare routine is better for someone like me: people who want to take care of their skin without hurting it.

There will be no Sonicares (though I really did want one for Christmas last year, I am counting my lucky stars that I or someone else did not waste $200 on something I would probably stop using within the year.) There will be no alcohol-filled toners, witch hazel just seems so barbaric and an ancient way of approaching things, like blood-letting with leeches.

Therefore I plan on adopting a routine that consists of a East Meets West sort of ordeal and hope it all works for the best.

There will be double cleansing on days where my face feels gross. Maybe twice a week if I feel I need it.

1. Oil Cleanser. I have my Shu Umera oil cleanser from ages ago, and though it works, I really only use it when I wear make-up. It looks like this, and I need a new one PRONTO. Not using it often really backfires when you have no idea how long it's been and if these things expire and if expired will it still be ok to use? Oh, but I don't want to waste it, so I end up using old products. It's not a good cycle, but it's one I am very guilty of. Especially when I am very attached to the product, or the fact that I do not want to waste something I spent my hard earned money on. This is why I will never run out of hand cream (I never end up using them up in time!)
2. Water rinse. Which will actually be step 1 if I did not wear make-up. The water is at a neutral ph of 7, so I am hoping that this is ok as it not too alkaline, because I read that alkaline products are no good.
3. Face Wash. Using a "Hydro Boost" product I got from Neutrogena. I honestly feel like I am in the minority when I say I do not like ANY of their products. However, this one is not only made in Korea, bought in a Watson's in Taiwan, but it also does not leave my skin feeling tight. Which is what most face cleansers tend to do. Except for things like Cetaphil which feels like I am just rubbing ooze over my face and then straight into the sink. (More about this Neutrogena cleanser here.)
4. Toner. Not Western toner that is used to shock the pores into shrinking or some crazy thing like that. Koreans call it toners, some call it skin refiners, Japanese call it lotion (they sound the most lost in translation). They products ready the skin to absorb products better than without, they also remove excess gunk that is possibly leftover. I have been using either samples from Sephora (usually too strong!) or this old Holika Holika Praha toner that I put into another pump dispenser because you couldn't get anything out of the original glass bottle. (I know, I know, I really should stop using it especially because it has a short shelf life and is past due, but it smells the same as I remember it...)
5. Serum or essence. Right now I have a freebie Clinique Smart Custom-Repair Serum. It has been a few days and I use it once a day instead of the directed twice a day. Custom-repair sounds like a whole like of advertising hocus pocus. As if a chemically engineered product would truly be able to tell where you need help most. I highly doubt it, which is going to be why I don't spend $70 on it myself. Freebies will just have to do. Or there must be a Koran alternative that is not as ridiculous, though advertising makes almost everything ridiculous.
6. Moisturizer. Currently I have been moisturizing twice daily. My go to is Aveeno's overly fragranced two-in-one SPF 30  moisturizer. It comes in a yellow bottle where you never know how much product you have left. For the lazy girl in me, I love that it combines two steps of two things I ALWAYS have to do. Since coming back home my skin has been dry. I am also deathly pale and need to maintain this Wednesday Addams look for the sake of avoiding skin damage. However, this presents a problem at night because I do not want to waste my SPF during the hours the sun doesn't shine. For this, if I have the time and will to put in the effort, I take out a small chip of cold solidified virgin coconut oil. Note that I had no idea that coconut oil is comedogenic, meaning it has the tendency to block pores and create pimples. Though I had always thought of myself as a sensitive skin type of person, it is not quite the truth. Sure, I am prone to turn red easily, whether it's by scratching at my face absent-mindly or otherwise. However, coconut oil really has been lovely for my skin. It feel so nice and though greasy, I wake up the next day with soft skin that has absorbed it (or maybe it's my pillow doing all the hard work?). Sometimes Clinique gives out freebie Moisture Surge, which is gel-based and works really neat if you need a matte surface quick. Your skin feels soft and I like it a lot, however, my friend had an issue where it just wasn't absorbing the same for her and left her sticky for a while, which was rather unpleasant. To each their own, you know. You must find what is right for you.

This is the skincare regime that I am hoping to adopt to maintain my youth appearances into less than spring chicken times. This is a complete change compared to my usual of 1. Splash water on face. 2. Pat dry. 3. Lather Aveeno stuff all over my face and neck. Feel a bit greasy, but WHOOPS you're five minutes later than planned and you get better get out that front door or your lateness will exponentially be worse. Which is actually just two steps if you don't count me patting my face dry.

Ah, what has happened to me?!!?!?!? My friend mails me some face masks, and I feel so pampered and luxurious when I used them once a week that I go out on a limb, research Asian Beauty all over the world wide web, and end up here. Slathered in layers of product.

I can't wait to go to the Lotte Duty Free shop in Incheon and swipe my credit card like it doesn't have a limit! There are some "holy grail" (aka really popular cool kids use this on their faces) products that are cheaper there than if I bought them elsewhere and had them shipped out of South Korea. Then Duty Free also sells in bulk, so lots of faces masks for much less than what it would cost otherwise. 

Already went through many pages of skincare products on their website and will definitely be getting my hands on some sum:37. Sum Sam-ship-chil. I got this. I want that cleansing stick. Even if it costs twenty bucks, I NEED IT, right?!

Also need toner, Laneige Ex Water pack (so I can sleep on the job and make it do its work for me), face masks for more weekly pampering, collagen eye patches, new cleansing oil, serums/essences and more. This is only the beginning......

New Product Excitement! - DONKEY MILK 3D MOISTURE CREAM

To be honest, I capitalized the title to be obnoxious.

So, yesterday, which I got the Japanese toner, the nice lady there also introduced Freeset's (Korean brand) product. Donkey Milk is all the rage these days, no? It was forty dollars and the sale associate even said it was really popular and they're only down to one even though it's rather expensive.

Either way, in my extensive research (re: reading fifty shades of snail's review where she gave it a 4.5 our of 5, very high satisfaction rate!) I saw a pharmacy named dropped somewhere within the comments. Asian beauty products sold in an Asian pharmacy? I had to say I was a bit surprised, but then not too surprised at all. So today I went scouted and found that it indeed was sold there for 35.99. The box was a bit dusty, but since there was only one I got the fear of missing out of purchasing opportunities and just bought it.

When I brought it up to the cashier, she remarked to herself in Chinese, "wow, why are so many people buying this?" I asked back in English, "yeah, I don't know." Then I asked in Chinese, "have a lot of people been buying this?" To the extent of which she did not recoil at my Chinese (in shock not disgust) and replied in Chinese, "yeah, a lot of people lately, but they're all foreigners." May I remark that "foreigners" usually imply non-Asian of a Caucasian variety. Like me. Which is what I replied, "ah, hmm yes, just like me" and sheepishly walked out of there.

Sheepishly because, yes, I feel like such a sheep jumping on an expensive cream bandwagon. I hadn't even researched the Hada Labo Alpha Lotion (aka Japanese for toner) before buying it, but I did it anyway. Turns out I made a good purchase decision as I looked it up online, and price checked the pharma where I got the Donkey Milk cream, and where I got it was the cheapest I saw the Hada Labo toner. Fist pump for getting a good price. Saving the world five to ten dollars at a time.

Which also is to say that I am saving my pocket by getting liquid gold samples of SKII from Sephora. This weekend was just crazy!! So many people in the stores because VIB get 20% off. This was written about already, hasn't it? OH WELL.

One thing I've learned in my skin care research is that we get too excited to try on ALL THE PRODUCTS and yet we never let a product fully take it turn. So I AM SO EXCITED about donkey milk....but will have to practice self restraint before I use it. Beauty bloggers have noted around two to three weeks before introducing a new product into your routine. That is to say that you have a "wardrobe" of products, but you can't wear all of them at the same time. Therefore, since the Hada Labo Alpha Lotion is my latest new product I've been using, I have to keep using it for at least two weeks and then I can change my routine and incorporate the Donkey Milk into my regimen. I still have my little samples of SKII Repair C (the "C" is not for Vitamin C which even the Sephora associate thought and informed me it was. The "C" is for concentrate, how misleading!).

Testing Hada Labo Alpha Lotion

Went shopping in the neighborhood and found that upstairs had a plethora of Asian beauty products.

They had Hada Labo line of products, and after using a Kate Somerville toner that made my face feel hot and unpleasant, I decided to stick to my Asian guns and go with Hada Labo Gokyujyun Alpha Lotion. I was tempted to get the regular moist product that beauty bloggers either rave or say it's overrated, but at 16 dollars I really did not mind trying the anti-aging one that I have seen less reviews of. Basically there is hyaluronic acid in the white bottle one that people usually review, whereas there are several additional ingredients in the Alpha Lotion like collagen to promote new skin growth. However, as I plug away the ingredients, I realize that the original has much fewer ingredients and also no irritants and less problems. Where the Alpha anti-aging toner that I purchased comes with a slew of irritants and not so safe chemicals. Less is more when it comes to many things in life and I am beginning to believe this about beauty products as well.

Used this product tonight and have a pimple forming on my cheek. Just one not so nice pimple. We will see if it gets better or worse as times progressed. Still using SKII Repair C serum that I ask for every time I am at Sephora. Ain't nobody got time for a $170 for 1 oz product. Sephora gives me a couple days worth at a time and in two weeks I can reevaluate if I like it enough at that price (hint: probably not).

Did try out a Donkey Milk 3D cream that smells great and puts one back of my hand to shame. (I always test there for some odd reason.) $40 later I think I am going to get it, but shop around in case I can save five bucks.

Let's see how my skincare wardrobe pans out. Can't wait to get to Lotte Duty Free in Incheon!!! I've been dying to get my hands on sum37's rose stick cleanser.