Etude House Dust Cut

Pollution is surely everybody's concern nowadays. By now, I am sure most of us are aware that pollution wont do our skin any good. It is always a good idea to give our skin extra protection, dont you think? 

etude.co.kr

Etude House of Korea obviously agrees with this too! This year they launched Dust Cut series. The series consists of Facial Mist, Mask Sheet, Fresh Cream and, of course, Micro Foam Cleanser. 

I am interested in the Facial Mist. What about you?

The Face Shop Lovely Me:Ex Magic Pink Powder Mask

Ah… who can say no to packaging as cute as this. Just like my other purchases from The Face Shop or any Korean cosmetic brands … they were largely on impulse, courtesy of the super cute packaging. Dang… I don’t even have extra space in my sink to place this cute tub! Winking blue thing with a band aid on its forehead… how cute! Not to mention the plastic tub looks and feels sturdy too!

Ahem, yes... the product… the mask is a trio… one in smiley coral (Waterful Grapefruit), freckly yellow (Pore purifying Gasshoul) and mine: winking blue Magic Pink Powder. Magic Pink contains calamine and alicyclic acid to ease various skin problems.

I have been fond of calamine based stuff since I tried Lush’s Aqua Marina cleanser and Dreamwash. Especially Dreamwash… I just love the feeling it leaves my skin after sudsing up with it! Back to the mask, the color and texture is light non-dense cream, almost mousse like. The thick mousse mask does smell fresh, making it enjoyable to use.

My skin feels fresh after using this baby. Cooling and refreshing, especially on humid days. The nice thing is, it doesn’t make my skin feel taut after using. Unfortunately, for the easing skin problems claim, I couldn’t verify it, as right now, my skin is having its good skin days…

Bottomline,

Fun mask for summers and humid days. Plus the cute packaging, this is irresistible for me, yet it is not essential. I am happy to have it, yet not dying without it. Repurchase? Most probably yes, if I couldn’t find better calamine based mask when I run out. 

Skinfood Kiwi Yoghurt Wash Off Mask

Skinfood of Korea always has this yummy sounding, prettily packaged stuff... like this one... Kiwi Yoghurt. How can I miss that?

The product is supposed to contain...well, Kiwi Yoghurt, of course! all to balance pH, tighten pores and brighten skin. sounds good...

The texture is just like thick milky gel with green beads suspended. I usually applied it on my face and massaged it in a little bit, then just watch those re runs or grab a DVD. heck, sometimes I do laundry in between too!

after washing the mask off, my skin does feel more fresh and supple. brighter... not so much... tighter pores...definitely didnt see that.

Bottomline,
It's an okay mask. not a must. I will wear it when it is there, but wont specifically repurchase.

My Beauty Diary Orange Blossom & White Lotus Sleep Concentrate

My Beauty Diary is one famous Taiwanese brand for its sheet mask. They truly offer good quality wide range of cute sheet masks! And cuteness is one of the main factor I grabbed this Sleep concentrate from Sasa Taipei.

Sleep Concentrate is said to be highly moisturizing and soothing, also protecting your skin from environmental damage. They come in Orange Blossom & White Lotus (peach box), Rose and White Peony (pink one) and green one (I forgot the extract they are using here). Orange blossom & lotus promises me translucent, 'sleek' skin.

This baby is a versatile one! You can apply thinly in the morning as moisturizer, then apply more generously at night as overnight mask. 

The peach colored gel is housed in plastic tub with a tiny plastic spatula for hygienic scooping. I totally enjoyed the fragrance of this mask... it is sweet (not candy sweet) refreshing floral.

It gives cooling effect when applied. I totally enjoyed it during hot humid summer days... be it in the morning or afternoon on in-house lazy days. But it doesnt provide enough moisture for drier days or the air conditioned office. As overnight mask, I find it fun to use, but doenst give me much benefit.

Bottomline,
cute, fun addition in my mask/overnight treatment collection during hot summer days-if you can get it at retail price. but it is not really worth it if you are looking for very moisturizing product, especially if you need to pay for the jacked up online prices!

Nature Republic Fruits Mousse Therapy Pore Tightening Orange Mousse Pack

Nature republic is Korean brand that loves it's fruits. I have a few of their fruits themed products! This one included.

The idea of this stuff is pretty cool...mousse textured mask (or pack, as the Koreans like to call it). This mousse is said to contain orange and made with water from alps Matterhorn glacier water. Nature republic really love to mention wher does their water comes from. I am not sure if the souce of the water really matters as much....but, let's see when i tried this one on!

Of course, as the name suggests, this also contains vitamins and nutrients extracted from fresh fruits. This mousse is supposed to revitalize oily and combination skin. They also throw cooling and sebum regulation too. Sounds like exactly what need.

You use this just like regular mousse- shake the bottle, dispense the white soft bouncy orange fragrances mousse and poly on your face. Don't forget to massage! Leave it on for 10 minutes or so, and then wash with warm water.

It is certainly cooling and fun to use. Makes my skin feel soft and fresh after application. Sebum regulation... Not so much.... My skin gets oily again as usual...

Bottomline....
This is a fun mask to use to refresh yournskin mid week. However dont expect much of sebum regulating action here. Don't think it is worth it if you have to pay so much to it shipped to your country,if your country dosnt have nature republic around.

My Beauty Diary - 2 Step Autumn Repair Pack

Yes, Spring is coming… but I still own few mask from Autumn by My Beauty Diary. I am so loving sheet masks from this Taiwanese brand. 

This 2 step repair pack contains of 1 Snail Mask and 1 Snail Repair Cream. This mask set is supposed to make my skin more moisturized and plump. 

I have to admit, those snails on the package are cute… yet again, every time I open this pack- I cant help but imagining having slimy snails running around to get their slime harvested! Ha!...

So, naturally, I dig the ingredient list and the synthetics aside- I saw arnica monatana flower extract, mushroom extract, hydrolyzed milk protein sweet almond oil, sambucus nigra flower extract, soluble collagen, grapefruit extract, sugar maple extract, aloe leaf juice, cantella asiatica extract, orange fruit extract, leon extract, gentian lutea root extract, licorice root extract, rice protein, laminaria digitata extract, mallow extract and sugar cane extract. Sooo glad I didn’t see any thing that sounds like snails in the list.

The cream attached also looks like it doesn’t any snail in it…but it does contain mineral oil.

The snail mask has soft fragrance, not strong at all. I cant smell it anymore once I put the mask on. The essence got absorbed nicely on my drier skin area, but it got sticky on my more oily T zone. I end up rinsing my face with water to lighten up the stickiness. While it is not so suitable for my skin now, I think this would be wonderful for autumn or winter.

The Snail Repair Cream included is rich and creamy without any discernible fragrance. It gets absorbed easily, yet it feels slightly slick… may be it’s the mineral oil in it… may be it is just the whole formula. 

Bottomline…

I don’t like this…too moisturizing for me, especially the cream.

Innisfree Strawberry Yoghurt Pack

It looks like strawberry yoghurt, smells like one and feels like one...

I am loving the smell, texture and look of this one. This pack or mask, comes from Innisfree, a Korean brand famous for its green, natural, eco-friendly approach.

Don’t read Korean, don’t know Korean too... so i don’t have any idea what is this mask supposed to help my skin for. Anyways, it is housed in small plastic container with foil cover, this is meant for single use. But I find the amount included more than enough for me and mom...

this one is simple to use, just apply on clean face and relax. Enjoy the strawberry smell and try not to lick the mask off... wash off after that episode of Glee or True Blood finishes. Voila ... soft, nicely moisturized face. I don’t use extra helping of moisturizer after this mask, as i feel my skin is moist enough.

Highly recommended for mid-week pick me up! If you don’t have to pay extra for the jacked up outside-of-Korea price...

Nature Republic Real Flower Sleeping Pack Rose

Staring at the big pink rose bud shaped jar made of plastic... at times I wonder, why did I picked this one up?

Needless to say, I don’t fancy the jar. For once, I don’t really like packaging of something I like. I think it is the fact that the pink plastic is rather sheer and I can see the outline of the tube inside. However, it is still a decent strong jar which does its job to keep the stuff inside , inside.  Not like Baviphat’s peach shaped gel cleanser which manage to spill its liquid inside my luggage.

Anyways...back to nature republic... just like many Korean stuff, it has plastic lid to hold the mask inside after you open the jar. Stuff inside is looks & feel like strawberry jell-o with bits of dried rose petal. Obviously it has serious powdery rose smell going on. Smells like dried tea roses I usually bought for my tea.  The scent definitely lingers sometime after application.

Sleeping pack is just like regular mask, but you apply it before you sleep and. Leave it on while you sleep. I do enjoy applying it, as it feels cooling & refreshing, like after I applied mist, but much more fun. Take it off when you woke up and enjoy your newly revitalized, nourished skin. Just apply the pack light-handedly, I find applying too much will (logicially) my face little sticky.

Just wash the pack with warm water to cleanse it off. I don’t read and speak Korean, so I don’t know what does Real Flower promises to make my skin. I get smooth moisturized skin, even though it doesn’t last long.

The only bummer is the fact that is sticky when it is semi-dry, because this stuff doesn’t dry.

This stuff is fun, if you are used with using sleeping pack and you enjoy tea rose scent. And, considering the only temporary effect I got, I do think it is only worth it if you pay retail price or close to retail price.

Baviphat Snail Cure Mask Sheet

I do think this is the latest beauty fad (or may be trend?) in Korea recently. Not sure how recent is the snail wave started, but judging from the ubiquity of snail creams, mask and other stuff… this snail wave is going to stick for sometime…

Now, if I were not to receive this as a sample when I purchased other Baviphat stuff, I don’t think I would voluntarily slap on something snail slime related on my face or body or anywhere near me. Especially with that innocent looking snail happily sitting on aloe plant on the packaging illustration.

First… how the heck do they get so much snail slime from? I never heard of any snail farm except for those destined for chic French restaurants.

That aside… snail slime is said to contain many many good stuff for skin. Ho hum….

Baviphat’s mask contains snail slime and aloe vera leaves to recover skin’s balance and increase moisture retaining capacity of the skin. Honestly, I am having hard time not to scratch my head while trying to understand what does Baviphat means with this statement slapped on the back of packaging:

‘the contents of snail slime leached substances and aloe vera leaves abstracts which recover the stability of unbalanced troubled skin due to the stress, increases the moisture retaining capacity of skin and keeps moisturizing skin long-lasting’

Confusing English aside… the instruction to use is pretty much similar with all other sheet masks… clean your face, then carefully open … carefully… not to tear the mask sheet. The mask is cotton/paper sheet, pre-soaked with essence/serum. They varies from just nicely wet to dripping wet, depending on the brand.

Then unfold it… also carefully, as some masks are pretty thin and tears easily if you handle it roughly. This Baviphat one is made of non woven material which is pretty tough. There’s hole for your eyes, nose and mouth. So far, I haven’t found any mask which suits my small face nicely…most are too big. When it happen, just move it around to make the sheet. Now, sit back and relax for 15-20 minutes. Read your magazine, continue watching TV just don’t do anything that require too much movement… it might fall off. At times I left mine on for an hour or two…

When done, just take off the mask and pat your skin so the left serum/essence get absorbed. You can continue with your regular moisturizer. Most of the time, I wont, at times some brands proves too sticky or too moisturizing for another helping of moisturizer.

Back to Baviphat… I was half expecting funny smell of snail of this one. Thank God … I am wrong. The mask smell more like aloe vera leaves than anything snail. The essence on this one is pretty slimey compared to other masks I’ve used. Is that the snail slime? Considering the other content is aloe vera, this slimey stuff might as well be aloe vera gel. Thick fresh Aloe vera leaves are simply filled with gel-like substance when cut.

Beside refreshing feeling (which is totally expected after wearing sheet masks), my skin don’t feel better. It just feel moisturized… moisturized by loadz of aloe vera gel to be exact. You know that slightly sticky feeling after slapping aloe vera gel- yeah… like that.

Bottom line… I don’t think I would purchase this one.

For those interested…here’s the ingredient list…

Water, glycerin, butylene glycol, portulaca oleracea extract, carbomer, triethanolamine, collagen, betaine, polysorbate 80, sodium hyaluronate, methyl parabe, hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) water, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, allantoin, sodium pca, snail secretion filtrate, sodium polyacrylate, hydrolyzed elastin, disodium edta, natto gum, dipotassium glycyrrhizate, tocopheryl acetate, perfume, propylparaben.

Eeppsss!!! Snanail Secretion is really part of the mask!!!