Korean Facial Mask Recommendations!

I'm an fanatic of facial packs so I bought some while I was in Korea. Some Korean facial packs that I really recommend are : 

1. Innisfree Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask:

   I used this last time with my aunt while I was in Korea studying abroad but found out I bought just the Volcanic Pore Clay Mask and not the SUPER Volcanic Pore Clay Mask. I find there to be a really big difference between the two. This one work super well. I don't really have big pores but my face feels so smooth and the small bumps/ sebum balls seem to shrink in size after using this. I apply a generous amount all over my face and as I wash it off, there are minuscule "beads" that exfoliates your skin. 

2. Innisfree Green Barley Gommage Peeling: 

    This was again another product I used while I was studying abroad in Korea. I got it as a sample and it was so gentle on my skin. I wasn't able to buy it previously because I literally had no room in my suitcase. However, went I went to Korea this past winter, I was able to buy myself two of these. I knew this worked well, so why not buy two? You leave the product to dry after application and then once it's dried, you wet your fingers and softly peel away your dead skin. I really recommend this to anyone with sensitive skin. It's seriously super gentle! 

3. Innisfree Green Tea Sleeping Pack 

    

   While I was in Korea this winter (2014), I couldn't leave without buying a sleeping pack. I didn't want to buy the Laneige Water Sleeping Pack because I felt it didn't do much for my face after using two containers of it. I knew how popular the green tea line was at Innisfree so I ended up buying this sleeping pack! The lady who worked there recommended that I put it in the refrigerator for soothing effects and I have been doing so. I like the product and apply it once/twice a week when my face looks dry. There are small white little beads in the product that dissolve once you massage it in--I don't really know what it does but I feel there's too much of it. 

4. Lastly, I asked my mom to buy me the Skin Foods Black Sugar Mask because she stayed two week longer than I did. I was contemplating on buying it because I thought the Innisfree Green Barley Gommage Peeling would be enough, but I wanted something a little "rough" for days when I want heavy exfoliation around my nose (for blackheads). I do like it and it works well to get rid of blackheads, but it doesn't do anything drastic. 

Hope you enjoyed!

Updated Morning/ Night Skincare Routine

As I stated below in the post about my experience with the Clarisonic, I changed up my skin routine and wanted to share!

Morning Routine:

In the morning, I don't wash my face with water or facial soap but instead use flat cotton sheets with toner to wipe my face.  I just finished using the Clarins Camomile Toning Lotion and moved on to the Mamonde Rose Water Daily Skin Toner. I really recommend the Clarins toner (the yellow bottle) for anyone with dry skin! As I mentioned previously in my other post, it smells so sweet and works really well. While I was in Korea, I bought the Mamonde Rose Water Toner because it was raved about a lot among Korean beauty bloggers. The toner is very gentle and smells literally like... rose water. Supposedly rose water makes up 90.89% of this product. It claims to be moisturizing, but I recommend the Clarins Toning Lotion if you have extremely dry skin. Apparently, skin specialists (in Korea) state that toners should be used up within about 2-3 months--so pretty much, the toner should be used "wastefully" to dampen the cotton pad in order to prevent the cotton pad from scratching your face.

After wiping my face with the Mamonde Rose Water Toner, I use my holy grail product--the Bobbi Brown Face Oil. I LOVE this oil to DEATH! I neglected this oil by leaving in the cabinet but discovered the amazing results it provides once I began using it again. A very small amount goes a long way. I cover my palm on the small circle opening and flip the oil quickly and tap the product all over my face. In Korea, many people literally tap/ slap their face products on because supposedly your skin will soak the product better. It works wonders with the NARS Tinted Moisturizer. I find it to be the perfect combination. While I was in Korea, I was walking around in mid 20 degree weather and this combination protected my face so well! I also received comments about how my face had a healthy glow.

Then I finish up my morning skin care routine with the Mario Badescu Hyaluronic Eye Cream, which I've been using for quite a while now. It doesn't do anything noticeably drastic but it is very moisturizing--because of the hyaluronic acid.

These are the three product I use every morning. Now to my night time~~

Night Time Routine 

Firstly, I always wipe my face with makeup wipes. I just use the Kirkland Daily Facial Towelettes as always because it's convenient to buy in bulks at Costco heh. Then I use the Etude House Real Art Cleaning Oil. I bought this oil the day I stopped using the Clarisonic because I heard cleaning oils were the next best option to cleansing the face with makeup while being gentle. I bought this specific cleaning oil because it was chosen as the number one cleansing oils among higher-ends brands such as Bobbi Brown in a blind test on Get it Beauty. I really like how gentle the cleansing oil is while cleansing my skin effectively. I can't say if it removes waterproof eye makeup because I always wipe my eyes off with a separate eye makeup remover but it does get rid of the residue that is left. I use about three pumps and massage my face for about a minute  and a half on a dry face. Then, I add a little water to my hands and continue to massage my face as the oil turn into a white formula for about 45 seconds and then completely wash it off with lukewarm water. I like using warm water to wash down my face to open up all my pores.

Then I use the Keraclean Enzyme Powder soap that the nurse in Korea gave me for my sebum balls. I really think this enzyme powder had a significant impact in improving my face (decreasing the sebum balls). I forgot what skin type the dermatologist said I had, but she said I need to use enzyme (powder-like) soap. I've been searching everywhere for the Keraclean Enzyme Powder but can't seem to find it anywhere. It's made by Japan but Korean websites, amazon, etc don't sell it... I've tried a sample of the IOPE Enzyme Powder Treatment Wash and it works as well but if anyone knows a place that sells the Keraclean Enzyme Powder, please let me know!

Afterwards, I use the Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum. I bought this in Korea because there were very good reviews about this products and was quite raved about by Korean bloggers but I don't like or dislike the product. It's a product I have and therefore, I'm using it. The product (serum) is supposed to help your skin soak up other products well but I can't really tell the difference. 

Then, I use my ultimate favorite Nature Republic Aloe Vera. While my skin was breaking out from the Clarisonic, I relied a lot on this aloe vera. I still apply a thin layer on my face for its soothing, calming, and moisturizing effects. My face is very prone to redness but this works really well too soothe the redness. 

Next, I use my FAVORITE moisturizer, the Dior Hydra Life Youth Essential Hydrating Essence-in-Creme. I've tried quite a few higher end moisturizers, but this one is my favorite. As soon as I put it on, my face feels super moisturized without feeling heavy. The product claims to have this "smooth-satin" finish and it really does. To put it in my terms, it almost feels glossy after massaging it on your face--some people may not like it, but it makes your face glow and really locks in the moisture. The Dior skin technician who helped me pick out this product recommended the Creme one for dry skin and the Youth Essential Hydrating Essence in-Gel for people with normal skin. 

After tapping/slapping the product into my face for a good thirty second or so, I put on a generous layer of the Nature Republic Aloe Vera. And finally, I use the Mario Badescu Hyaluronic Eye Cream to finish up my night time skin routine! 

To finish my post, I wanted to share the MD Complete Breakout Spot Treatment. For pimple spot treatments, I've always relied on the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion but my face got used to it and stopped working. I always research products before going out and buying them and upon researching, I found the MD Spot Treatment. My skin does not work well with salicylic acid so I wanted to try something with Benzoyl Peroxide. This product works REALLY REALLY well. My pimples shrink significantly overnight. However, this product is extremely strong. The directions even tell you to apply it every other day for the first two week. I dab a very small amount on my pimple right before I sleep and it does wonder overnight. 

When I first bought this product, I wasn't aware of how strong it was so I applied it on my cheek and the next day I had a huge dry patch on my cheek that looked as if I got sunburnt. I had to put heap loads of aloe vera on my face for about a week and a half for it to go away. After that horrible experience, I only spot the product on my face every other day. It does however cause peeling and quite a good amount of people are allergic to Benzoyl Peroxide so be careful! 

My Experience with the Clarisonic Mia 1

I'm back after being very MIA with my blog! In this post, I will be sharing my experience with the Clarisonic. One reason I decided to write about my experience is because upon looking up reviews before buying the Clarisonic, I only read reviews that urged me to invest in a hundred dollar facial cleanser--none that provided me with another aspect. 

Upon purchasing the Clarisonic, I was in a hurry to try it out because as the reviews stated, in a few weeks I believed I would have  flawless skin. Amidst the excitement, I was a bit worried because I read numerous reviews about the "purging" stage, where my skin would break out because the Clarisonic would bring all the dirt in my skin to the surface before giving me my flawless skin. Despite my fear of the purging phase, I used the Clarisonic (sensitive brush head) every night, and for the first week or two, I noticed that my face would get "squeaky" clean--little did I know, my face was not supposed to be that clean (I needed to get rid of the bad oil but keep the good/natural oil in my skin). During the first and second weeks, I started to get pimples on areas of my face I never broke out in prior to using the Clarisonic (chin, philtrum). I let it pass because I thought I was experiencing the purging phase to a lesser degree. I was actually glad I wasn't getting a crazy breakout as others mentioned. 

About the third to fourth week of using the Clarisonic daily, I continued to get random pimples all over my face that would NOT go away. And to make it worse, I began to get small little bumps all over my forehead--something I like to refer to as sebum balls. These sebum balls were literally scattered all over my forehead (near the center and T-zone area). Despite stressing over the sudden appearance of these nasty sebum balls, I continued to use the Clarisonic. After about seven weeks, my face was not improving at all--I still continued to get pimples - quite a lot - and the sebum balls on my forehead continued to increase. My mom, who bought the Clarisonic around the time I did, constantly complained about how she got random pimples and sebum balls over her face after using the Clarisonic. Finally, around the eighth week I decided to stop using the Clarisonic and see how my skin would react. 

One reason I kept using the Clarisonic, despite knowing that it might not actually be working for me, was because I thought it was the most effective way to really clean my face well. I didn't think cleansing oils or face washes would be able to get rid of all my makeup, dirt, and bad oil. By this time, my skin was at its worst point and these sebum balls were not going away. I was in Korea during this time for a family vacation and had the chance to visit a dermatologist. Upon hearing what the dermatologist said and doing further research, the Clarisonic was cleaning my face all too much --it was taking out the bad and good (natural) oils in my face. Therefore, my skin produced more oil to make up for the natural oil I was constantly washing away--producing the sebum balls. She suggested that I do a skin laser treatment becauase the sebum balls were not going to go away even with time. Although I really wanted to do the skin laser treatment, I was leaving Korean in two days (the laser treatment required several sessions). Because I was unable to do the treatment, the nurse recommended an enzyme soap to use after cleansing my face. The enzyme soap was pretty much a powder wash form that foamed up as soon as you added water and lathered it up.

So upon coming back home to LA and changing up my skin care routine, my skin improved a lot. The sebum balls on my forehead have shrunk significantly and my skin improved from when I was using the Clarisonic.

This is not to say the Clarisonic is a horrible product. There are just specific skin types that work well with the Clarisonic and some that do not. According to the dermatologist, her explanation was that many electronic facial washes makes "your skin thin and very sensitive." People who had amazing experiences with the Clarisonic had tough enough skin but apparently my skin was thin and too sensitive for the Clarisonic. 

This pretty much wraps up my experience with the Clarisonic. Despite being very sensitive about my skin, I got the courage to share my experience just to provide light onto a possible side effect that may occur to someone with a similar skin type as me. 

Thanks so much for reading!