One of my goals this year has been to finish up using products & to give away things that I’m not going to use and one of the ways I’ve been doing this is to use a separate day and night item for steps that you probably don’t need 2 products for (ie. toner, eye cream, facial oil, etc.) Please don’t be alarmed by how many products there are and keep in mind that it’s not necessary to use all of these things. Also! I really wanted to talk about every item in detail, but ended up trying to cut it down. This is still a whopping 4000 word post so kudos to anyone who reads it all the way through.

PS: Splitting makeup & beauty so you’ll see my everyday makeup routine in a following post

Since this post is so wordy, I brought back the star-rating system from the old post in case someone wants a TLDR version:

TONER

Kiehl’s Cucumber Herbal Alcohol Free Toner ★★★☆☆ I bought this toner just a day after I told my friend “I don’t know if I really need a toner.” The sale staff at the Kiehl’s counter caught me and sunk their fancy claws in me and I went home with a bottle of this wonderfully medicinal and herbal green toner. What I liked about this is that it’s alcohol-free when most toners on the market are alcohol-based and alcohol in skincare is a nightmare for dry skin. It gets points in that category! To be honest, my overall impression with this toner was “meh.” I’m not sure it made my skin any better, but it hasn’t had any detrimental effects on it either. I did love the smell and really relished in putting it on, but at the end of the day I was still asking myself I needed a toner. Son & Park Beauty Water ★★★★☆ I think the Son & Park Beauty Water was so expensive that I am convincing myself that it’s doing something amazing for my skin. I don’t need a separate night time toner and I promise that I’m not posh enough to have actually bought this to be used exclusively in my night routine. Son & Park is the namesake brand of Korean makeup artists Son Dae-Sik and Park Tae-Yun, who have worked on artists like Jeon Jihyun and if I can get even a foot closer to having beautiful skin then I WANT IT. The Beauty Water is a purposefully vague name because it supposedly tones, exfoliates, and hydrates. I would lump it into the same category as Bioderma except that the Beauty Water is very heavily fragranced and I don’t feel nearly as “cleansed” using it (and definitely would not use it near my eyes). I use this at night on days that I’ve worn makeup as a final FINAL cleansing step and …. I may be deluding myself, but …. my skin looks nicer the next day …. There was a period in which I stopped using it in lieu of re-testing the Etude House Wonder Pore and I swear that my skin didn’t look as great. It wasn’t even a difference that I could put my finger on, but my skin just looked smoother. Hm….

MIST

Avène Thermal Spring Water ★★★★☆ I know it’s water in a can, but it’s water in a can that makes me feel like a Luxurious Lady. I recently finished my entire stock of the Evian spray (at one point I had the 10oz bottle & at least 6 of the travel sized) and opened up the Avene to try it out. I’m on a mission to compare the big three (Evian, Avène, La Roche Posay), but for starters, the Evian had denser droplets so the “cooling” effect was more apparent, but the Avene spray has a much denser mist and distributes more evenly. The Avène is much more readily available for me so I would definitely consider getting it again.

ESSENCE/TREATMENT

HadaLabo Gokujyun Lotion ★★★★★ I’m going to buy this “lotion” until the day they stop making it! It saved my skin in my late teens and I swear by it for anyone with dry skin. It has the consistency of an essence (slightly thickened water texture) more so than lotion and it dries to a tacky finish which can be off putting for some people, but seriously give it a try. Since it’s a humectant, I’ve taken to spraying a mist on right after and that sequence of steps has made my skin so much softer. It’s one of Japan’s best-selling items and you have to try this if you’re struggling with dry skin! Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Lotion Exfoliant ★★★☆☆ I hopped onto chemical exfoliants just like everyone else and ended up with the this BHA lotion from a friend’s recommendation. I loved the sample so much I got a a full-sized product, but it doesn’t seem to be working as well for me anymore. When I tried it, the lotion made my blackheads appear less dark the following day, but these days my blackheads just… look… the same. I am however, doing a crap job about using it daily – when I do a mask, I often just go to sleep post mask and skip the rest of my routine so to be fair, I should probably try to use it more regularly before I make up my mind. REN AHA Resurfacing Concentrate ★★★☆☆ This AHA concentrate is one of the strangest things I’ve smelled – it’s like an orange peel after it’s been soaked overnight in alcohol. Not exactly unpleasant, but it catches you off guard when you forget. Again, this is one of those products that I need to be better at using regularly because I remember it doing some great things for my Glow at the start, but with less regular use has become kind of a whatever step. I have read that you can use AHAs near the eye area and I’m considering tapping a bit underneath where I have fine lines! I bought this from Sephora during the AHA/BHA kick, but it looks like it’s been discontinued.

BLEMISH CARE

Eurocin-A 1% Gel ★★★★★ I’m sure I’ve talked about this before, but I bought this to fight an enormous monster zit when I was in Hong Kong some years ago and it was the only that’s worked. I’ve asked for extra tubes of it every time a friend or relative travels to Asia. Etude House AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot Kit ★★★★☆ Originally reviewed in my Etude House brand collection post. My quickest way to get rid of a pimple is to cover it in the pink powder lotion and watch it dry out in the next few days.

SCRUB / MASK

Skinfood Strawberry Black Sugar Mask ★★★★★ Oh my god this is the best smelling scrub I’ve ever come across!! It smells exactly like strawberry jam and I think I’ve always been a little bit disappointed that I can’t actually eat it! The scrub is a mix of Brazilian black sugar, strawberry seeds, and strawberry oil, the latter of which you can actually see when you open up the container. The sugar grains give it a nice scrub-ability while the oil keeps it from scratching or drying out your skin too much. I love it so much that I’ve already bought a backup. Glossier Moisturizing Moon Mask ★★★★☆ I talked about the Moon Mask in my Glossier review post and mentioned that I loved how simple it was. I use it whenever my skin feels dry & sensitive because I’m confident that it will hydrate my skin without causing any additional irritation. However in the winter time I think I need something much heavier and so while I’ve liked it all these months and think it’ll be great for the coming spring season, I may be in the market for something next winter. The YEON Jeju Hallabong Energy Pore Ghassoul Pack ★★★★★ One of the best masks discoveries I’ve come across in the last year is the Jeju Hallabong Energy Pore Ghassoul Pack from The YEON whose store in Flushing is one of my most frequent beauty haunts. The Pore Ghassoul pack is a clay mask, but it smells & feels nothing like a traditional clay mask. There’s no charcoal or mud scent at all and instead it smells like fresh citrus – hallabong is a variety of the mandarin orange – and it doesn’t dry down to a cracked tight finish. The Yeon sells their masks in a trial kit and the pore mask never dried up in the 2 weeks it took for me to finish using it. I’m always recommending this to friends with dry skin who want a clearing mask. J.ONE Jelly Pack ☆☆☆☆☆ (UNRATED) My newest mask purchase is an overnight Jelly Pack, the flagship product of J.ONE, a cosmetic brand founded by Korean actress Ha Jiwon, and voted a top item on Get It Beauty. I recently FOUND A WRINKLE between my eyebrows so when I saw this this promised firming and pore-smoothing, I threw it into a Memebox order immediately. I’ve only used it about 8 times so far and have only seen results 50/50 of the time so perhaps my review is premature, but I like how quickly it sinks into the skin without doesn’t leave my skin sticky throughout the night. The strangest thing about this is the texture. It’s a gel, but with oddly enough it has the consistency of the cornstarch mix that you might have played with in elementary school??? It’s takes some getting used to, but if you pat the product in instead of “massaging” it as directed, it’ll work much better. Anyway – interesting product enough for me to continue using and I’ll check in with a full review if it works some magic. Lululun Face Mask (Regular Type) ★★★☆☆ I’ve had these for quite a while and still haven’t gotten around to finishing them! Lululun is a Japanese face mask brand and they’ve become very popular because of how extensive their product line is and how cute the illustrative packaging is. I picked up the Regular/Everyday type in the large quantity packaging. There are 42 sheets in each re-closeable package and the masks are fragrance-free and also free of any artificial dyes. Not sure how often I see colored masks (I know those cartoon/animal ones exist, but I feel like they are a niche in the scope of the face mask market), but it’s definitely nice to see something unscented. These are paper-thin, but as I understood it, this type was meant for everyday use and each sheet costs only about $0.50 in the long run so it’s not bad. Whenever I can spare the time, I’ll use one of them in the morning before makeup and it makes my skin look great! Innisfree It’s Real Squeeze Sheet Mask ★★★☆☆ I’m always testing a different sheet mask in addition to the Lululun face masks and this month it was finishing up the Innisfree sheet masks I purchased when I was in Guangzhou. I go a little bit more in depth in the Innisfree brand collection post.

Phew!

I think I’m in a comfortable place with the products that I’ve been using and I’ve found a few keepers that I would definitely be repurchasing. There were a few duds along the way, but that’s all part of the experimenting process. Lucky & grateful that my skin puts up with all of it lmao

Beauty routine on the way!

Flushing has an abundance of Asian beauty stockists, but it’s still short of a few brands including a retail shop that carries Innisfree products. Last year, I took a trip to Guangzhou for a family matter and towards the end of my time there, decided to see if I could hunt down an Innisfree so I could try some things in person. I’m sure people who have easy access to Innisfree will think it pretty lame of me, but it was so exciting!!! Not nearly as soul-ascending an experience as Etude House, but exciting nonetheless.

Founded in 2000 by Amore Pacific, Innisfree promotes eco-friendly all-natural skincare and cosmetic products. In Korea, it’s considered a “road-shop brand” (think drugstore for those of us in the states) with products in the low to medium price point. Their most popular & recognizable spokesmodel in recent years is Yoona of Girl’s Generation . My experience with Innisfree has been limited for a lack of availability, but overall my first impression going into this was a positive one!

Here is the extent of the damage I inflicted on my wallet! Again, because I had only heard a bit about what was popular and what was not, I ended up making Mistakes by buying too much of what I already had and missing out on a few star products! I spent approximately 500 RMB, roughly $75 USD, on what turned out to be largely face masks. Literally what the hell. The one good thing is that in general, liked most of what I got, and also because I received a TON of freebies (at the end of the post!)

Innisfree It’s Real Squeeze Sheet Masks ($16.25 for 15 on Amazon)

I indulged first by asking the sales associate in the shop to grab me a full collection of the It’s Real Squeeze sheet mask line! This is the cheapest sheet mask line that Innisfree carries at $1.20 per sheet, with the most expensive Second Skin masks coming in at $5.00 each.

These are the thinnest sheet masks that I’ve ever tried! Much thinner than anything I’ve used from My Beauty Diary, The Face Shop, etc. They’re the most similar to a pack of the ‘Everyday’ type sheet masks from Lululun that I have which are also very thin, but tend to be sold in bulk quantities. At one point I accidentally tore the Innisfree mask just by unfolding it, but the thinness wasn’t surprising given the price. I can see the reasoning in making them flimsier for the price – these also happen to be the cheapest masks I’ve bought at retail price. One positive regarding the lack of thickness is that the thin mask was actually easier to wear because it clung so firmly to my skin that I was able to walk around and run errands without any danger of it slipping off!

As for scent & fit – I didn’t include an on-face photo for fear of scaring everyone, but the fit for my face was about average with WAY too much fabric in the jaw/chin area and not enough for my fivehead forehead. The scents were nice! I can’t recall any of them being particularly offensive, but there were a few whose scents didn’t quite match. The raspberry, for example, had a bit of an alcohol scent to it… so they’re hit or miss, but it’s still worth a try for $1.20 each.

Innisfree Super Volcanic Clay Mousse Mask ($17)

One thing that I did hear about prior to this shopping madness was that Innisfree’s volcanic clay line was great for targeting clogged pores and eliminating blackheads. I had read some review online that unfortunately said both the Super Volcanic Clay Mask (for normal to oily skin) and the Jeju Volcanic Clay Mask (for normal to dry skin) were very drying so I had dropped these two to the bottom of my to-try lst. While I was in the store, the associate pointed out the Super Volcanic Clay mousse mask, which he said was a new (at the time) formula for dry skin customers so I made sure to add it to my basket.

I love it! It comes in an aerosol can that dispenses a mousse version of the volcanic mask which, true to the associate’s word, is really comfortable to wear. I’m not a huge fan of clay masks because I find that the tightness as they dry down irritates my face, but the mousse texture of this mask makes it easy to spread a thin layer all over my face that dries down comfortably without cracking. I realize in retrospect that I purchased the Super Volcanic Mousse which is for oilier skin types, but it’s really such an airy formula that it’s not noticeable for a different skin profile than my own. As for effectiveness… I can’t say that it’s done much for my blackheads to be honest, but it’s a nice cleansing mask to use because it feels like it’s really drawing the impurities and buildup out.

(PS: The mousse versions of the Volcanic Clay masks are not sold on the Innisfree World website, but it’s likely due to shipping restrictions regarding aerosol cans. Your best bet is to try a local distributor & I’ve linked to a listing on Amazon above!)

Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Blackhead 3-Step Program ($3)

To celebrate the launch of the new mousse masks, the Innisfree shop was promoting a special kit that came with 2 sets of the Jeju Volcanic Blackhead 3-Step Program (and 2 pack of tissues lol). I’m going to do a much more in depth review comparing these to the Holika Holika Pig Nose Clear Blackhead, but this was a cool experience! The 3-Step Program is a 3-part blackhead treatment that involves 1. a nose sheet soaked in an essence for expanding the pore, 2. rrrrrippppinggg out the clogged bits with a sticky charcoal sheet, and 3. tightening the pores up again with a jelly-like essence sheet ~

Overall consensus… it sort of… works? I think it might be difficult to see in the above photo, but it DID actually make about 30% of my blackheads less noticeable. It didn’t make them any less dark, but a few of them do appear smaller! Unclogging was around 50/50 – perhaps I didn’t leave the first step on for long enough or I should have prepped with a hot cloth. I think I was also quite impatient with the process – each part takes 20 minutes so you have to set aside an entire HOUR’s worth of time to finish all 3 steps. Still, with a few adjustments & a few more sessions, it might actually make a significant difference so I’m willing to try it again~

Innisfree Capsule Recipe Sleeping Pack
Versions: Green Persimmon, White Fungus, Tangerine & Lemon, Bija

(WHY DID I GET SO MANY MASKS????) Now these I’ve definitely heard a lot about! I love capsule masks because they’re a great way to try a mask without having to commit to a full-sized container’s worth of product. I don’t believe Innisfree carries any of the capsule masks in full-size, but each capsule has about 2-3 uses worth of product so it’s not a bad tradeoff for the price. Each capsule also comes with a unique packaging feature that lets you tuck the corner into the container so you can keep it for future uses.

The masks come in regular wash off type and sleeping type. I didn’t realize that I had picked all sleeping masks until I checked afterwards; I was only picking scents and ingredients that I had not seen before in other masks and these smell so good! My favorite was the green persimmon for how fresh and fruity it smelled. In case you’re wondering, white fungus is nothing like you’d expect (probably because white fungus doesn’t smell like anything) – it’s more of a light generic floral scent. The bija mask is like a watery nondescript fruit scent – as if you were smelling the skin of a freshly washed fruit. Weird I know.

As you can see, each mask also has a slightly different consistency although I would describe all of them as gel-type masks. They sink into the skin fairly well and are not particularly sticky, but if I’m being honest, as much as I liked using them I realized they didn’t do much for me in terms of moisturizing or brightening although it did leave my face pretty soft. I think my skin is far too dry to accept just a gel mask at night and it wouldn’t make sense to double up on cream & oil on top of a sleeping pack.

Innisfree Color Glow Lipstick
Shade: #3 Romantic Autumn Rose

Real Talk – I was originally in the store looking for the Cream Mellow lipstick line, but the store hadn’t received a shipment yet so I ended up settling for something in the Color Glow lipstick line. I love the color range at Innisfree! All the shades are so lovely and wearable even for people who may not be brave enough to wear a super pigmented color. The staff recommended a fairly safe shade for me, but I was missing a rose pink so I was very happy with the choice.

I used it as soon as I got it, (which is why the photo shows a used product U_U), because it was so pretty and such a nice everyday color. I found that the color came across pinker on my lips than it was in the tube perhaps due to the yellow undertones in my skin. The hydration of the formula is not worth writing home about, but it didn’t cause excessive drying or flaking so it’s a win in my book. The wear time is decent around 4 hours and I’m a chronic lip-licker at that. Despite the “glow” in the name, the Color Glow line has a satin finish.

It seems from perusing the Innisfree website that this particular line may be getting discontinued in lieu of expanding the Cream Mellow line which has nearly identical packaging, but with slightly more vibrant shades. The Cream Mellow is the high-gloss counterpart of the Color Glow line, which I’m stilly really excited to try, but I do hope they bring the Color Glow line back simply for the shades & for fans who like a more muted cream look. In case you DO like the Cream Mellow look, the equivalent shade is #3 Cream Coral.

I want to briefly mention here that the lipstick I bought is almost identical in name, packaging material, shade & finish to one that I spotted (and purchased) at Nature Republic! The similarity is much more uncanny in person when you’re actually holding each brand’s lipstick in your hands, but even from a distance, they look oddly similar.

Innisfree Eco Nail Color
Shade: #21 Birthday Party (Korea) / #162 Rainbow (China)

This is my favorite color in the whole entire world!!!!!!!! I wanted everyone I know to have this nail color so badly that I spent 30 minutes scouring the internet to find somewhere to buy it. Alas, the only place it’s still available is on the Chinese website and it’s already been removed even from the Korean site :(

The shade is known by 2 different names depending on where you got your bottle, but it seems like the color is the same regardless of the label. It is a creamy white (slightly lavender-tinged) base with suspended pink, teal, yellow, gold, silver, holographic square/circle/hexagonal glitters and it’s the LOVELIEST POLISH IN THE WORLD. I’ve been looking for a “milky” type nail polish for ages and nothing I came across had a complimentary base & glitter combination. I’ve worn it this shade a bunch of times and have gotten so many compliments on it! The application was a breeze and the polish wasn’t particularly poisonous in scent. Wear time was at least a 4 days without a top-coat. I really think Innisfree has some of the prettiest glitter coats I’ve ever seen. If you ever come across another bottle of #21/162, get one for yourself and then also GET ME ONE.

The Innisfree World website doesn’t stock the nail polishes, again probably due to shipping restrictions, but you can try the Yesstyle website.

Innisfree Jeju Peach Hand Cream ($4.50)

Innisfree recently rebranded their entire hand cream line by trading in the illustrated packaging for a more minimal design aesthetic. I’ve linked to the new peach version of the hand cream, but I haven’t had a chance to try the new formulation so I can’t say for certain whether the product itself was reworked, but I think the scents are very likely the same as they were before. I’m sad to see that the fig scent isn’t available – it was the hand cream I actually wanted to buy, but was unfortunately sold out in store.

Here’s another shoutout to the Innisfree v Nature Republic situation. If you’ve ever used the Nature Republic hand creams, you’ve basically used the Innisfree ones as well. They are both incredibly similar in terms of the (original) packaging and also the actual formula of the hand cream itself. Both smell nice, are non-greasy, and sink into the skin without leaving a film over them. I believe Innisfree has more floral-centric scents in their collection, while Nature Republic’s hand cream line has an equal mix of both (I find their florals to be slightly more heavy & perfumed).

I like both the Innisfree & Nature Republic hand creams multitudes more than the very expensive hand creams from L’Occitane which never dry down for me (so I walk around with claw hands the entire time I have it on). I do however, prefer my personal favorite, the Crabtree & Evelyn hand creams, because they absorb quicker than Innisfree/NR, but since C&E has one retail shop in the city, I usually content with my Innisfree & Nature Republic Hand Creams. TLDR: Innisfree for the floral scents if you can get it, otherwise just get something from Nature Republic which is more readily available in the states.

Innisfree Bija Anti-Trouble Lotion ($15)

The penultimate in this collection post was actually sent to me by my friend Catherine! It’s a watery lotion that’s part of Innisfree’s bija line for acne-prone troubled skin. I currently use this on my back where I have a lot of breakouts and it seems to do an okay job. I haven’t run into any issues of it causing more breakouts, but it is a pretty light lotion. It dries down well and absorbs quickly into the skin. I can’t say that it’s very moisturizing, which is fine for me since I use it on my back only, but it may be a better fit for someone who has an oily skintype and plans to use it on their face.

My biggest complaint about this lotion is the scent! The website describes it as an herbal citrus smell which sounds like it would totally be up my alley, but instead the herbal factor is more of a spicy pepper if anything… The bija fruit in the trouble skin line smells nothing like the bija capsule mask which was a light watery fruit smell. Bija is actually a fruit/nut born by the Torreya tree which is sometimes known as a nutmeg-yew and the spiciness I smell is likely due to its similarity with nutmeg. Fortunately because I don’t use this on my face, I can avoid smelling it too much, but you might want to reconsider if you’re not a big fan of spicy scents.

Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Special Kit ($10)
Green Tea Balancing Skin (15ml)
Green Tea Seed Serum (1ml) x 3
Green Tea Balancing Lotion (15ml)
Green Tea Balancing Cream (5ml)

The final item in the collection is a freebie that I received for exceeding a total purchase value – a Green Tea Balancing Line kit! The kit includes travel sized samples of the Green Tea Balancing Skin, Lotion, and Cream, as well as 3 satchel samples of the Green Tea Seed Serum.

The Green Tea Balancing line is Innisfree’s best-selling and most popular skincare line focusing on the idea of “balanced” moisture for normal to combination skin. Essentially, it’s moisturizing without being too heavy for the oily parts of the face and it performs just as the name suggests. All the products were heavily water-based and very light including, surprisingly, the serum! It’s the runniest serum I’ve ever come across and so it absorbed incredibly quickly into my skin – I can understand why this is a fan favorite. The “skin” product is similar to what we’re more accustomed to thinking of as a softener/toner, but this one is surprisingly thick. It slips very easily on the skin, but it also wasn’t as liquid as expected. The lotion is a basic emulsion and probably the one I was least excited about. The cream comes in second place because despite it being similarly water-based, it actually had some drag when I applied it so there was some texture to it after all.

What I wasn’t cool with was the smell of this entire line! It smells nothing like green tea or leaves or anything remotely similar. It’s more perfumed than anything and although the scent fades, it’s disarming when you’re exposed to it. I didn’t find the balancing line to be effective enough for my dry skin and I know that there’s a similar green tea seed line for higher moisture, but I don’t think I’ll check it out if they all smell like this. Considering checking the nutri-moisturizing olive line instead.

And speaking of freebies, here’s the full loot which included a tote bag, a USB powered fan, a fluffy hairband, two bonus It’s Real Squeeze sheet masks, and the aforementioned green tea trial kit.

I found a lot of use out of the tote bag – I basically carried my lunch & laptop around in it all of last year. I unfortunately left the headband behind in my hotel room so that sucked, but I LOVED THE USB FAN. It was useful in the summer when I didn’t want to turn on my overhead fan or use the AC. I only wish it were in any other color but brown so it could better match my decor .

Some final conclusions regarding the brand!

I started my experience with a positive outlook and I think my impressions thus far remains positive. To be more specific, I am now tentatively neutral – positive simply because I think that while the products are great, it feels as if a majority of the products I tried weren’t moisturizing enough for my skin type. To be fair, I did get products without any prior research and made purchases at a store located in Guangzhou which has a warmer and more humid climate than here in New York – you wouldn’t expect heavy creams to be stocked locally when it’s averaging 90°F with 80% humidity. I hope I’ll have a chance to try some of their heavier moisture products and see how I feel then. My takeaway is that I’m still looking forward to try more from Innisfree! I’d love to get my hands on either the Ampoule Intense or Water Glow cushion and I think their lip products are so lovely and pretty that I’d definitely buy some more!

(For anyone curious, I visited two Innisfree shops both of which were in Tianhe District. The first is on the ground floor (B1) of TeeMall [广州市天河区天河路天环城B136号商铺] across from Sephora. The second location is a few blocks away at Grandview Mall in Tianhe District [广州市天河区天河路228号正佳广场西北门1F-1C069铺]. There are a BUNCH of locations though including one in Liwan and Haizhu Districts & on Beijing Road, but if you’re going to be a posh shopping lady then you’ll probably be in TianHe district anyway~)

I did some damage with my friend Victoria for Black Friday. Etude had a 30% off sale similar to the one currently on the site with the exception of the new winter sweets collection which wasn’t yet available. As you can see, I got another box of my favorite AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot, but the star of the show today are the Play 101 Pencils ♡

Beauty Shot Face Blur SPA15/PA+ 35 – $18

Sorry for starting off with such a closeup of my face…. I’m wearing the Beauty Shot Face Blur in a large photo later so I wanted to introduce it first. This was a last minute addition to my order because I spotted it in the bestsellers category. It’s a base product / makeup primer that supposedly contains Baby Pixel Powder (I! KNOW!) which supposedly smooths & covers the skin so you for The Photoshop Look. It can be worn on top of your regular skincare routine or topped off with a foundation.

I seem to have lost the shot of the how the product itself looks, but it’s a light baby pink cream that has a noticeable white cast when it’s first blended out. Once it’s on my face, the white isn’t so detectable, but then again I don’t know if the effect of Face Blur itself is detectable. What do you guys think? Some of the pores on either side of my nose look smoother, but it’s pretty subtle. I think I would wear this if I want people to think my bare skin actually looks like this. When it’s underneath makeup, as you’ll see in the Play 101 #15 section, it actually does give a nice glow even before highlighter etc, but again, very subtle.

The bottle comes with a pump which is great. There is a lingering powder scent which may not be for everyone, but the fact that it’s a cream primer is a positive for people who have trouble with silicone primers like the ones Smashbox makes. I’ve read mixed reviews about it causing oily skin, but my skin is rather dry so I don’t see a big change. Overall I like it and I will finish it, but I personally like a bit more glow (I wear a glowing base, cream highlighter, and a light diffusing/glow powder…)

I was hoping it would be a nice alternative to the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector that I’m currently using, but it doesn’t have nearly the same glow finish. The only thing I can compare it to is the Baby Choux Base in Berry Pink – similar finish, but the Baby Choux Base has no noticeable glow. It brightens by literally putting a layer of light pink underneath your makeup.

PS: I have no idea what “SPA” is and I’m only hoping it’s a typo for SPF.

I’ve been wanting to try the Play 101 pencils ever since Pony began featuring them in her Play 101 tutorials. The Play 101 pencils are twist-up products in a pencil type packaging in a variety of waterproof colors and formulations for use on the eyes, cheeks, and lips. (Some products are only for use on the eyes, some only for lips, etc, and the site specifies that 11 – 26 are not safe for the eyes) The pencil type design makes it really easy to apply color with precision and each pencil comes with a sharpener at the bottom of the pencil.

I picked out four shades this time out of a selection of 38. As I understand it, there are 50 shades in total in the collection with a few seasonal limited edition shades popping up from time to time. The four colors I got were:

No. 06: Shimmer Finish / Eyes / Champagne Pink
No. 07: Matte Finish / Base / Light Yellow
No. 15: Glossy Finish / Lips & Cheeks / Peach Coral
No. 48: Glitter Finish / Eyes / Warm Dark Brown

I swatched the shades out of order in the above picture, but let’s go in order~

Etude House Play 101 Pencil – No. 6 (Shimmering)

Play 101 #6 is a shimmering neutral champagne pink shade that’s safe for use on the eyes. I love shades like this and whenever I care enough to use eyeshadow, I always use either a combination of this color & another or just this type of color all over the lids. My favorite version of this color has been the Stila eyeshadow/pigment/liner/smudgepot in the shade Kitten and I previously owned it in eyeshadow form and in one of their smudgesticks. Unfortunately I had to get rid of it because it dried up and fortunately I think #6 comes pretty close. I wear it mostly along my lower lashline (a little sparkle when I blink hehe) and I found that it applied smoothly with no tugging on my eyes. I did feel silly applying it over my eyelid because I have an eyeshadow pot and I felt like I was wasting my time coloring my eyelid in haha. I do think that with a more vivid color, the pencil shape would be really helpful in getting placement correct. Love it!

Etude House Play 101 Pencil – No. 7 (Matte)

Play 101 #7 is a matte yellow pencil that’s meant to be used as a base product. I currently use along my inner waterline to make the whites of my eyes seem brighter and occasionally use it as a concealer when my skin is doing well. This shade was released with 8, 9 & 10 as part of a concealer collection, but I found that it’s a little bit too dry to be used as a concealer. It dries fairly quickly and is tough to smudge so I’m going to pass on using it a concealer, but I really like it on my waterline. It lasts all day even and doesn’t budge even when my eyes water.

Etude House Play 101 Pencil – No. 15 (Glossy)

No. 15 is a peach pink coral shade with a glossy finish that’s for use on the lips and cheeks. I love corals and was excited to try this one out, but simultaneously worried that I’d added another color to a collection that I already have plenty of. I thiiiink I can maybe talk my way out of this one. I actually don’t have anything that is this particular shade of peach pink either for lips or cheeks. Everything is either more pink or more orange although tbh it doesn’t look all the different once it’s on my face. Because of the glossy finish, this shade applies buttery smooth and blending it in is a breeze. I like it a lot on the cheeks and it is such a pretty lip color, but I think I have to admit that this might not be the most flattering color on me. It’s either the bad foundation I’m wearing (curse the cushion) or just my overall Look? I’ll definitely try again with a brown eyeliner one of these days.

Etude House Play 101 Pencil – No. 48 (Glitter)

Speaking of brown eyeliner, I picked up No. 48, a warm dark brown with gold glitter, to replace a brown eyeliner that I had to toss after discovering that it had disintegrated. No. 48 is safe for use on the eyes and despite the glitter, applies easily without any tugging at all. I don’t use it very often on my upper lashline (apologies for the lack of a picture) since I use liquid eyeliner most of the time, but I wanted a dark brown liner for my lower lashline that wouldn’t smudge or transfer during the day. Despite the glitter in No. 48, I don’t see any fall out from it and after a full day of wear, it’s still there!

Wearing Etude House Beauty Shot Face Blur, Etude House Previous Mineral Any Cushion W13, The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Design My Eyebrow (Dark Grey), Isehan Kiss Me Heroine Make Liquid Eyeliner, Etude House House Play 101 #7 (waterline), Etude House Play 101 #6 (inner 2/3 lower lashline), Etude House Play 101 #48 (outher 1/3 lower lashline), Etude House Play 101 #15 on cheeks and lips.

By the way, this is how waterproof they are:

My Beauty Tool Portable Remover Bottle
Picked up a small pump bottle for nail polish during the sale. It’s a great size and the pump locks to prevent spills.

My Beauty Tool Brush #352 Eyebrow Screw

Also picked up a eyebrow … screw (?). I /know/ you can get these for free from Sephora or any other makeup counter and the eyebrow pencil I use has one on the back, buuuut mine are often covered in powder from brushing my eyebrows so I really wanted something that I could keep separate from when I’m trimming/plucking. Quality is not bad! The spoolie is firmly attached even though the handle and ferrule are definitely made of plastic. It makes for a very cute addition to my (almost) all pink brush collection ^~^

And that’s a wrap! That’s all of the Etude House products that I’ve acquired in the last year. Overall, I would recommend the AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot, their sheet masks, the Dear My Wish Talk lipstick line, and the Play 101 pencils.

And if you missed it, Part 1 is here.

I’ve made 3 Etude House purchases in the last year so I’ve split them up into two posts. Part two should be up in a few hours!

Now that I think about it, I think my first Etude purchase was back in late late 2014. IIRC my friend Catherine, the #1 enabler and fellow Etude House fanatic, told me about a sale and free shipping on a $30 order so I got a little bit of something in each beauty category & a free mini cleansing oil to try as well.

AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot – $13.20

This is my #1 Etude House product of all time and it’s the one I recommend everyone to try if they don’t see much success with typical drugstore pimple creams. It’s very similar to the Mario Badescue Drying Lotion ($13) and the Ciracle Pimple Solution Pink Powder (~$25) which use a mix of salicylic acid and calamine lotion to dry out pimples and reduce redness & swelling.

The kit comes with the AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot (the square bottle), the AC Clinic Pink Powder Water (the cylindrical bottle), and a pack of double-ended cotton buds. Both of the bottles in the kit are used for spot treatment, but only the square bottle is referenced in the name and it’s the only item that actually has pink powder. A sales associate once explained to me that the Pink Powder Water and the cotton buds were just gifts that become a permanent feature.

The difference between both bottles is that the Pink Powder Spot is opaque so it’s best used at night or for when you plan to lounge around in pajamas indoors. The Pink Powder Water on the other hand can be used during the day since it dries down to a satin-y clear finish.

I use this when a pimple has defeated my first line defense pimple cream and has risen from the depths of hell becoming swollen and painful. Personally, I find that the pink powder spot works so effectively that I forget to apply the water the next morning so I’m usually left with much more of the pink powder water than I am with the pink powder spot.

Silk Scarf Hair Treatment – $9.10

I was deciding back and forth about picking up one of Etude House’s Bubble Hair Coloring to try dyeing my hair and I kept coming across rave reviews for the conditioner that is packaged along with the hair dye. I unfortunately couldn’t find it as a standalone product on the site, but review searches brought up the Silk Scarf Hair Treatment as an alternative.

I used the entire bottle in a month before realizing that I never took some product photos – sorry! It’s was a light pink gel like consistency and it SMELLED SO LOVELY. Unfortunately, my hair is just too unruly and while it smelled very nice for a few hours, the scent would fade and I wouldn’t get much softness out of it either. I’d only recommend this to someone who has fairly straight hair (mine is wavy and very frizzy). There are some other nice hair products on the site which I may check out later.

Dear My Wish Lips Talk – $12.40
Shade: RD302

My #2 favorite Etude House product of ALL TIME. I don’t need more lipsticks, but I want more Etude House lipsticks because the formula, color selection, color payoff, and packaging is fantastic. The finish is slightly glossy which you can blot out if you like, but it applies so smoothly and pigmentation is seriously A+. I picked up the darkest shade, a deep burgundy/wine color because Catherine and I have a sort of similar skin tone and it looks amazing on her. I put this on when I want to Intimidate and to tell people not to talk to me.

(I look very unimpressed, but it’s because of the foundation and not my lipstick)

I Need You! Sheet Mask (2014) – $1.20
Type: Aloe, Collagen, Hyaluronic Acid, Royal Jelly, Pearl, Green Tea, Lemon, Pomegranate, Tea Trea, Vita Complex, Olive, Coenzyme Q10, Mugwort, Korean Ginseng, Mango, Acai Berry, Bamboo, Rice, Honey

I KNOW…. Whenever I discover a new brand, I like to try out the entirety of at least one of their sheet mask lines. The I Need You sheet masks were on sale for $0.48 each so I got all 20 of them … lmao.

They smell GREAT. My favorite was mango and I love the more unusual versions like mugwort and bamboo. The sheets are of average thickness – nothing to write home about – but my biggest issue with these is that they just didn’t fit my face. I had a lot of trouble getting it to fit around my jaw area and ended up making some cuts in the mask to get the fabric to sit better. That said, I find a out of sheet masks are a bad fit for my weird face so it may be just a issue people like me with zero jawline have. They were a great value for 60% off and worth picking up if you’re running low.

Real Art Cleansing Oil (Moist) – $16.60 Full Sized

Freebie! Etude House was running a promotion at the time where all orders would receive a free mini of their Real Art Cleansing Oil. I love cleansing oils and this one was not bad! I finished it up this year while I was out of the country and thought that it was a very nice light cleansing oil. I can’t recall if it had a scent, but I do remember that it couldn’t put up a fight against waterproof eye makeup which isn’t a deal breaker if you use a separate remover.

My second Etude House purchase was in July of this year. I was in Guangzhou this summer for a personal matter and at the end of my trip, I wanted to stop by a Etude House retail store since we don’t have one in North America. After Struggling with the Chinese website, I finally found one in Grandview Mall in Tianhe District (广州市天河区天河路228号正佳广场西北门1F-1C070铺) and it was so dreamy. Everything inside was lovely and pink and white. It’s the most beautiful place.

Look at all the free stuff! I spent approximately $70.00 USD in total. The prices in China are much more expensive in comparison to how much it costs to place an order here online. Some were already marked down for a 50% off sale. Still, it was a pretty good deal for me since the same items purchased online would have been around $75.00 before taxes and without any freebies.

Wonder Pore Freshner (500ml) – $18.00

I grabbed a HUGE bottle of the Wonder Pore Freshner and paid for it before realizing it was a rookie traveling mistake. I spent the day carrying it around and then had to find a way to pack it securely in my luggage so it wouldn’t spill during the flight. The store was doing a promo with the item so NGL I had my eyes on the freebies.

My pores need some serious work (see below cushion review) and I was willing to try anything/everything. The Wonder Pore Freshner is a toner that’s supposed to be a “7-in-1 Solution” to deep cleanse and tighten pores, control sebum, maintain ph, provide elasticity, moisture, and clear skin. Does it work? I don’t know yet. It’s such a huge bottle that I’m only really starting to make a dent in it, but it’s one of their bestselling items and has great reviews. I do like that it’s fragrance-free and it does feel very refreshing on my skin. The larger bottle also happens to have a reverse pump which is very useful.

With the Wonder Pore Purchase, I received two boxes of cotton pads, a 10ml bottle of Wonder Pore Freshner, and a travel sized tube of the Happy Essential Foam with Hyaluronic Acid. I have far too many cleansers so I gave the foam to a friend, but the reviews online are fairly positive.

Precious Mineral MOIST Any Cushion – $21.60 / $12.00 (Refill)
Shade: W13 Natural Beige

I really wanted to try the Etude House Cushion since I’ve heard rave reviews about it online and I was extra excited when I realized they had a moisturizing option as well for dry skin folks.

I tested this in store and really liked the finish & shade, but I definitely made a mistake. I didn’t take into account the store lighting and that Guangzhou was H O T. Where is the MOIST (ew I know) because all I see is a Very Dry Face. To be fair, the cushion does apply with a really nice glowing finish, but it fades pretty quickly and my skin is Too Dry to deal with it. The closeup photo is about 2 minutes after application (bathroom break) and you can already tell where it’s drying between my eyebrows and my laugh lines. The picture of me looking very unimpressed is about half an hour after applying and I just look bad.

One major reason for looking so terrible is because it’s obvious that my face doesn’t match my neck! To be fair, I’ve applied sunscreen liberally to my face over the last few years and neglected neck care so my face actually is lighter than my neck. The natural beige shade is a good match for the my face, but what I need to be doing is purchasing bases one shade darker and not matching to my face. Unfortunately, I think all of the shades have a white cast so even the darker shade (Honey Beige) might not work for anyone who doesn’t fall into the “fair/light” category. My skintone irl is …ghostly and I purchased the second shade which is too light! What! The one thing that saves it is that it will oxidize slightly during the day (about 6-8 hour staying power) and become slightly more natural so I can get away with wearing it with a lot of bronzer.

It has light coverage which you can maybe build to a low medium coverage, but the more you apply, the heavier it looks. From the full face shot, you can tell that it doesn’t cover up hyper pigmentation or dark circles too well so you’ll need to use a separate concealer. There is some fragrance in it, but the scent is very light and clean.

Go for it if you are fair-skinned and have normal to oily skin!

The cushion & refill came with a mini version of the Baby Choux Base in berry pink & mint green as well as a mini version of their Dream On Loose Powder which oddly is not available for online purchase from the global website.

Baby Choux Base – $13.20 Full Sized
Shade: Berry Pink, Mint Green

The Baby Choux bases came out in 2013, back when the beautiful Sulli was Etude House’s spokesperson, and I’ve been wanting to try them since. They’re supposed to work the same way that Make Up Forever’s colored bases work – use a different colored base to counter skin discoloration so your foundation is one uniform color. Unlike the MUFE bases, these have a white cast so have more of a brightening/whitening objective behind them. Using them under foundation will take your skin tone down an entire shade so I only ever use them sparingly underneath foundations that are either too dark or ones that I know will oxidize during the day.

The Berry Pink tube is used for brightening dull skin and has a berry/strawberry scent while the Mint Green is used for redness and smells like springtime laundry (I don’t know …). As you can see, when they’re blended in, they’re imperceptible, but if you look long enough you can see a faint glow from where it’s been applied. The scent does linger so if you’re sensitive to smells then it may be a pass.

Dream On Loose Face Powder – 128RMB FULL SIZED

If you clicked the link above you’ll realize that I sent you to the Etude House China website. I didn’t realize that this item wasn’t sold on the global site or even listed on the Korean site until the writing of this post. I’m not sure if it’s simply part of the local product availability or if it’s discontinued and still being phased out in some countries. The Etude House Global site only has the Baby Sweet Sugar Powder available.

I got a generous travel sized version of this powder along with my cushion purchase. I received shade #2 which has pigmentation whereas #1 looks like it’s a white/translucent powder. When blended in, it doesn’t really look like anything which is why I haven’t included a picture. I don’t believe the shades matter all that much. It has a natural finish and is a fairly nice setting powder if you can live with the smell which is very perfume-y.

I Need You! Sheet Mask (2013)
Scents: Xylitol, Korean Ginseng, Dandelion

I don’t really know why I bought more face masks when I already knew that I wasn’t a big fan of how the Etude House ones fit. The alphabet line was part of their 2013 I Need You! collection and I think I just fell for the cute packaging. I bought two pack of 10 masks each and received one free pack of 10. They smell great though – none of them are overwhelming strong and in case you’re wondering, xylitol smells just clean and fresh. There are a few scents that were available in the 2013-2014 edition that are not in the 2014-2015 masks, but they’re not being made anymore so you will have to look around for them.

I also got a few satchel samples from the Baking Soda and Moistfull Line. I’ve used the moistfull line before and liked the quality (especially the eye cream!) so I distributed those samples to friends. I did however, keep the lego calendar! Look how cute!

Okay! Shipping from Etude House from the global website is free on purchases $50+ and arrives via USPS from Korea to New York in approximately 7-10 calendar days. I usually get my order by the 8th day. Heads up! You will need to sign for your package so make sure someone is at home to open the door.

There are some other great promotional events so make sure you check them out!

Part 2 is here!

PS: No affiliate links / bought everything myself.

The focus of Glossier is that beauty = healthy happy skin; “skin first, makeup second, smile always” is printed inside of all the boxes that the products are shipped in. The product line is fairly small and the focus is on simple products that are good for you. A majority of their products are paraben-free, fragrance-free, not tested on animals, and either hypoallergenic or allergy tested for sensitive skin.

I picked up most of the skincare line – the moisturizer, face mist, both versions of the balm, and one of the two masks. I passed on the face tint because it didn’t seem to offer enough coverage for me.

Priming Moisturizer – $18

The product I was most excited to try was the Glossier Priming Moisturizer… because I was under the misimpression that it was also a makeup primer. HAHA OOPS. It’s a moisturizer that features ingredients that calm, soothe, and hydrate so your skin is “primed” for the day. Ah… I get it. Despite my misunderstanding I still like this a lot! It’s super lightweight, sinks into the skin quickly and leaves no residue. I use a separate sunscreen and it’s light enough so that I can wear both without my face feeling heavy. It’s advertised as a morning & night moisturizer, but people with dry skin might want to try something else for nighttime moisture.

Soothing Face Mist – $18.00

I really didn’t need this, but I bought it anyway because I’m a slave to consumerism!!!! The Soothing Face Mist is a ~*skin refresher*~ made with rosewater, aloe, and glycerin to tone, calm, and moisturize with every spray. It’s got some great ingredients, but I realized that I don’t reach for it nearly as often as I reach for my Evian Facial Spray, which by all accounts is just pressurized water in a can. Part of it has to do with the spray itself which dispenses more like a spritz than a mist – I kind of get a blob on my forehead and nose rather than an overall mist. I just didn’t seem to get any soothing or moisturizing out of it. I did confirmed that my eyes are sensitive to aloe vera in high concentrations, which is .. unexpected but the_more_you_know.gif I guess.

Moisturizing Moon Mask – $22

Ya’ll know I bought this because it said MOON MASK. ✧ Moon Goddess Dreams ✧ The Moisturizing Moon Mask uses sweet almond oil, shea butter, and hyaluronic acid to hydrate and brighten the skin. It’s ACTUALLY fragrance free! I often find that when products say they’re fragrance free they still faintly smell synthetic, but the Moisturizing Moon Mask doesn’t smell like anything. It’s creamy and soft on and my skin feels lovely afterwards. I liked tossing it in the fridge so it’s extra refreshing when I put it on. I like that it doesn’t dry the way a standard clay mask would so it’s comfortable the entire time you have it on. A few times, I forgot that I had it on because it felt just like a moisturizer. Love it.

Balm Dotcom – $12

The star of the show for me is the Glossier Balm Dotcom, a all-in-one product for dry, irritated, rough skin. The wax base is a mix of beeswax and lanolin and the moisturizing agents are seed oils and plant extracts. It have petrolatum in it, which isn’t great for everyone, but it’s worth a try if you haven’t had any trouble with it. I’ve been using it all summer on my lips and cuticles and it’s seriously great. I have an occasional tough time squeezing it out of the tube and I don’t think it’s the best packaging for it, but I get that it makes it more sanitary to use. Once you manage to get it out of the tube, it spreads easily without any greasiness or stickiness. Go for it!!

Coconut Balm Dotcom – $12

This summer, Glossier released the Coconut Balm Dotcom to add to their permanent collection. I picked one up during a contest and was surprised by how much I like it. Coconut is generally a hit or miss for me, but this SMELLS. SO. GOOD. Every time I use it, I’m disappointed that it doesn’t taste like it smells because it’s heavenly. Formula wise, it’s the same as the original, but if you love coconut you definitely need to give it a try.

One very noticeable difference between the Coconut Balm Dotcom and the original is that the Coconut is sold at a smaller size for the same price. At 13ml, it’s nearly 30% smaller than the 20ml original. To make things more confusing – Glossier also repacked the original balm to 15ml .. for the same price. So customers who buy the original balm dotcom now are getting 5ml less than what they would have gotten a few months ago. If they get the coconut, they’re regularly getting 2ml less.

Overall I’m excited about this brand! I love the concept and the quirky style & chill factor about it. I’m in love with the packaging, but I’m on the fence as to what value it provides the customer – my package arrived in two boxes banded together because just one box was too shallow to hold all the items. Instead of plain plastic wrap, everything is zipped into their “it bag” which just … seems .. excessive. Just give me a regular sized box, some standard bubble wrap, and knock a few dollars off your production costs. :[ Fortunately, I think the products are good and I especially like the curated catalog which makes it much easier to try a new brand. I’m looking forward to what they come out with next!