SERUM | Shiseido Vital Perfection LiftDefine serum

The pump gets residue from the serum which they can definitely improve on

Wow it’s been a minute since I used Shiseido products. One of my friends who has great skin recommended this to me. Ofc we all know at this point skincare is probably 80% genetics, but we can always try to look slightly better!

This serum has a very nice scent which is against all skincare education that is popular right now, the serum itself is pretty moisturizing and I use it every morning. Haven’t noticed a huge difference but at least this was on sale at Costco. I think if you don’t currently use a serum this might make a minor difference – for me I notice the most difference when using a salicylic acid cleanser, clay mask, a retinol and my red light treatments!

Price: $154.99 for 2.7 oz at Costco ($225 retail otherwise)

Ingredients

Water (Aqua/Eau), Dipropylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Behenyl Alcohol, Maltitol, Triethylhexanoin, Potassium Methoxysalicylate, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Peg/Ppg-14/7 Dimethyl Ether, Phenoxyethanol, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Batyl Alcohol, Behenic Acid, Peg-60 Glyceryl Isostearate, Peg-10 Dimethicone, Fragrance (Parfum), Phytosteryl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Disodium Edta, Myristyl Myristate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Citrate, 2-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Alcohol, Caffeine, Citric Acid, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Sodium Metaphosphate, Ppg-3 Dipivalate, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Tocopherol, Glucosamine Hcl, Citronellol, Lilium Candidum Bulb Extract, Sodium Metabisulfite, Angelica Acutiloba Root Extract, Angelica Keiskei Leaf/Stem Extract, Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract, Lamium Album Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Inositol, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Flower Extract, Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Ziziphus Jujuba Fruit Extract, Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract (Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract), Cellulose, Nasturtium Officinale Leaf/Stem Extract, Cinnamomum Cassia Bark Extract, Bupleurum Falcatum Root Extract

Do you have a favorite anti-aging serum? I have been eyeing the La Prairie one but I feel like anything over $300 you might as well get skin treatments in Korea or Taiwan.

RETINOL | Skinceuticals 0.3

Ingredients: Aqua/Water/Eau, Propanediol, Dimethicone, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Alcohol Denat., Dipropylene Glycol, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Allyl Methacrylates Crosspolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Isopropyl Myristate, Retinol, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Citrate, Boswellia Serrata Resin Extract, Dimethiconol, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Bisabolol, Citric Acid, Bht, Propyl Gallate.

Dermstore description

Recommended for first-time retinol users, Retinol 0.3 from SkinCeuticals corrects past damage on your skin while you sleep, penetrating more deeply to give it a youthful-looking glow. Powered by encapsulated retinol and botanical extracts, this nighttime formula exfoliates skin to reduce the appearance of blemishes while also alleviating irritation and inflammation. Once skin is tolerated, use it at least three times a week for optimal results.

Key Ingredients:

• 0.3% Retinol: a derivative of vitamin A, this powerful molecule promotes cell turnover to help improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and discoloration. It’s also proven to help minimize blemishes and refine the appearance of pores.
• Soothing complex: this skin-calming blend of bisabolol (derived from the chamomile plant) and boswellia serrata extract (derived from frankincense) provides soothing benefits and helps comfort the skin.

Key Benefits:

• Promotes cellular turnover.
• Improves the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, discoloration, pores and blemishes.
• Formulated to minimize irritation commonly associated with the use of retinol creams.
• Optimized delivery system and protective packaging to ensure stability and efficacy of pure retinol.
• Non-comedogenic; paraben-, fragrance and gluten-free
• Ideal for skin new to retinol use

This is not my first time using retinol, as I have tried the Peter Thomas Roth (post here) and Inkey List (post here). I do find this to be more drying than the other 2 initially (for 1-2 weeks I use it every other day to build tolerance), then I started using it everyday. I think it could be due to higher retinol content. The biggest difference I noticed is that I barely breakout now, which is a big deal for me as I usually get a few pimples due to hormones once a month. I haven’t seen noticeable anti-aging benefits yet, but I’m sure it helps some. Although this is a “cream”, it’s more a of a gel, and if you have anything less than super oily skin, you’d probably need a moisturizer. According to Dr. Dray, retinol and be applied under or over moisturizer, so you can choose which one is more comfortable. I personally applied underneath moisturizer as I believe it to be “more effective” but apparently it doesn’t matter. Unfortunately, as someone who “suffers” from large pores and blackheads, this didn’t help too much with that.

I liked this so much that I bought a 2nd one during Dermstore’s 15% off sale to gift to my friend, who’s 1 year younger than me. Unfortunately SkinCeuticals is owned by L’Oreal so it is not cruelty free.

Price: $67 for 1 oz – this is definitely on the pricier side. I think I like the PTR one more bc it was less drying. I incidentally got the Avene Retinal 1.0 recently, so that will be my next retinol to try. Maybe after that I’ll try the SkinCeuticals 0.5? Although, Dr. Dray on YouTube says the % of retinol doesn’t matter, it will work the same way.

What retinol products have you tried? Do you find them to be effective?

TONER AND ESSENCE | Then I Met You

Happy Thanksgiving! Is everyone shopping for Black Friday? Or have we already shopped way too much during Quarantine?

I bought this Skin Balancing Duo quite some time ago, but I am finally getting to review it after using it for 2 months.

Bottles are pretty cute

Has really great ingredients, fermented ingredients are common in essences

I am about 1/2 way through both bottles. If you follow Michelle Phan, you might have seen this brand in her skincare routine on Bazaar’s YouTube or on her IG. I was eyeing it for a year before buying this Duo, bc Then I Met You does not go on sale, even during Black Friday (Soko Glam excludes it from their 30% off sale currently), so you can feel comfortable buying this brand any time of the year as it will not go on sale (they might have some kind of gift with purchase, but I don’t care for those).

After using this for a good 2 months, I don’t think they do anything special for my skin. I am not sure if my standards are too high bc I was using the SK II toner and essence before. I will say the toner and essence are more moisturizing compared to SK II and a lot of toners I’ve tried – which is good if you have dry skin. They are also fragrance free, the liquids feel very high quality but just… doesn’t make a noticeable difference on my acne prone, large pored skin.

Price: $78 for the Skin Balancing Duo, the bottles are both 100ml aka travel friendly. However, these are glass bottles so I would be careful. You save $4 buying them together as opposed to separately, but I guess you can buy boba with the “savings”. I personally think the pricing is a bit high for the lack of effect I see on my skin, but if you’re into luxury you might think this is a bargain.

I also purchased the Then I Met You green tea cleansing gel, it seems a bit drying so far but I will keep using it to see. The cleansing balm intrigues me as well (Michelle Phan uses it ALL the time), but I will buy it when I run out of my other cleansing oils/balms (might be a long time bc I keep buying more when brands go on sale…)

Would I repurchase? With the number of skincare products coming out left and right, unlikely. SK II essence is more of a staple in my skincare, but I am happy I tried TIMY.

Get the toner on Amazon

Gentle Cleansers | Krave Matcha Hemp vs La Roche Posay Hydrating

Ingredients

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Water, Water, Glycerin, Coco-Betaine, Methyl Gluceth-10, Ethoxydiglycol, Dipropylene Glycol, Methylpropanediol, Sodium Chloride, Butoxydiglycol, Diglycerin, Glycereth-26, Xanthan Gum, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Powder, Quillaja Saponaria Bark Extract, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Cannabis Sativa (Hemp) Seed Oil, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Diethoxydiglycol, Coco-Glucoside, Caprylyl Glycol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Decyl Glucoside, Pentylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Butylene Glycol, Octanediol, Panthenol (Vitamin B5), Citric Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sodium PCA, Disodium EDTA

Too many ingredients to highlight so I just bolded them

Highlights: glycerin (moisturizing ingredient), niacinamide (vitamin B3, I’ve seen this in whitening or anti-aging products), and panthenol (vitamin B5)

Top: Krave Matcha Hemp Hydrating Cleanser – as you can see it lathers very mildly. Important thing to note is you only need a SMALL pea size of the cleanser. I notice if I squeeze out more, the glob actually slips thru my fingers and fall on the sink. This cleanser has a lot of slip so the small amount spreads very easily. [Edit: I used this as a night 2nd cleanse recently and saw more blackheads. As much as I want to buy into the gentle cleansing, I haven’t noticed a difference in my skin ever since using this as a morning cleanser]

Price: $16 for 4 oz / 120 ml

Bottom: La Roche Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser – this cleanser doesn’t really lather. The Toleriane line has a moisturizer that is apparently really great, on my list to try after I finish my 4 jars of moisturizer I don’t like that much…

Price: $15 for 13.5 oz / 400 ml – as you can tell you get a lot more product but the Krave cleanser is very slippery and spreads with little product. In the end they might last you around the same time. Get it on Amazon

Both cleansers feel very comfortable on the skin and gentle. I tend to use them in the morning, occasionally as a first clean if I am wearing non-waterproof sunblock. In terms of hydrating, I don’t find them SUPER hydrating as much as not drying after washing.

I am in a Facebook skincare group created by Mixed Makeup (Susan Yara, if you’re familiar) where these two cleansers are talked about often. Krave as a brand has become very famous due to its reasonable pricing and awesome ingredients list. I am waiting to use up my hoard of products in order to try the Beet Shield and Kalu-Laluya AHA toner. Krave’s skincare philosophy is that “less is more”, and we should protect our skin barrier without harming it too much. In this era of self care, a lot of people use TOO many products on their skin (I am guilty), so it’s refreshing to see a brand tell you that you don’t NEED all these products, but rather just stick with the basics. However, Krave is only sold officially on their website in the US and Korea, and will ship for free in the US for $40+ purchases. For other countries, it is harder to purchase as you need a 3rd party distributor. La Roche Posay is more easily accessible worldwide, so if you’re in a pinch, you can go to any drugstore or Target to purchase this cleanser.

Over the years, I’ve learned that if a cleanser makes your skin feel dry/squeaky clean after drying, it is probably too harsh for you. For that reason, I started using more gentle cleansers and use my drying cleanser on my back where I deal with bacne. However, I do have a lot of blackheads on my nose so sometimes I will use my LRP Effaclar cleanser (drying acne cleanser) when I have more pimples or when my skin feels congested.

Have you tried either of these? What are your thoughts?

ACNE | Honest Beauty Clearing cleanser

If any of you have seen this brand at Target – this is Jessica Alba’s brand she created after having kids. I think the skincare portion is newer, but you’ll find it in the Target “prestige” section next to La Roche Posay and Vichy.

Website description

See ya, spots. Peace out, pores. Our super effective—gel acne cleanser is spiked with hardworking plant-derived ingredients, alpha hydroxy acids and wintergreen-derived salicylic acid to cleanse, smooth your pores, treat breakouts and remove makeup. Your skin will look so fab, you might not be able to stop taking selfies. (Sorry not sorry.)

RESULTS:
86% agree the cleanser smoothes skin and refines pores*
82% agree the cleanser doesn’t leave skin feeling tight or dry after first use*
*Based on a clinical study of 35 women after 8 weeks of use

Salicylic Acid: naturally derived from wintergreen, effective acne treatment

Clearing Cleanser

Active ingredient
Salicylic Acid 0.5% Uses For the treatment of acne.

Inactive ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Sodium Laurylglucosides Hydroxypropylsulfonate,Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Lauryl Glucoside, Isopentyldiol, Sodium Chloride, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract, Saccharum Ofcinarum Extract, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Acer Saccharum (Sugar Maple) Extract, Myroxylon Pereirae (Balsam Peru) Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Extract, Elettaria Cardamomum Seed Oil, Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Leaf Oil, Glycerin, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Extract, Sodium Phytate, Gluconolactone, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Calcium Gluconate, Vanillin, Benzaldehyde, Sodium Benzoate, Limonene.

I am almost done with this so I thought I’d write a short review. It’s a nice non-drying cleanser with a light fragrance. For my acne prone, large pores skin I don’t see a huge difference. Usually SA cleansers at 2% salicylic acid, this one is 0.5% so that’s probably why. it has some fruit oils and extracts which apparently are sensitizing as I’ve learned the past few months. It does not foam a lot, so I usually use 2 pumps so I don’t feel like my bare hands are rubbing on my skin. All in all not a bad cleanser but not worth repurchasing personally.

$13 for 4.73 oz / 140 ml

My favorite acne cleanser is La Roche Posay’s Effaclar 2% salicylic acid (review here), however that one has SLS so I only use it seldomly to avoid drying my skin. If you have more oily or younger than age 25 skin you might be able to get away with using it daily 😛

 

Sephora Mini Haul

My items came in! I was most excited for the Estee Lauder serum bc I am battling smile lines 

Drunk Elephant baby facial – DE as a brand is overpriced in my opinion, but I heard this is a good chemical exfoliant

Sunday Riley UFO acne treatment face oil – I have never used salicylic acid in oil form, it will be interesting to use

Estee Lauder Perfectionist Pro Rapid Firm + Lift – a friend recommended this 2 years ago and I kept not buying it bc I had other serums. But I think I really need to have products that actually work

I got 2 lipsticks (surprise), coming soon in a swatch post 🙂

Charlotte Tilbury – In Love with Olivia – I bought the refill instead of the actual lipstick. Why? Bc it’s not cute (I am not into animal prints) and I heard the pattern actually scratches off so it’s just a disaster packaging wise. Not sure how well a refill will do by itself but if it falls apart I will report back.

Lancome L’Absolu Rouge Ruby Cream in 274 Coeur de Rubis – this line had a bunch of “ruby” shaped lipsticks from reds to nudes. In Asia for some reason #274 is super popular in their Lacquer bc it’s a “milk tea” color that is more sophisticated looking. The lipstick version is allegedly not as easy to wear but it’ll be fun bc I don’t really own lipsticks in a brown is shade.

 

Have you tried any of these products?

What are you buying from the Sephora sale?

KBEAUTY | A’pieu Madecassoside Cica Gel & Sun Cream

Happy almost New Year!

I have been diligently using products I got in Korea and thought I’d share the following with you. A’pieu is an extension of Missha (at least on their US website) and have pretty high quality packaging at an affordable price. I first heard about it from a Taiwanese Youtuber, I don’t think this brand is super popular in the US yet, but I think most people have heard of Missha. Mind you, some Korean cosmetics brands aren’t THAT cheap. These two products cost me roughly $15 and $12 I believe

Madecassoside Cica Gel – 50 ml. Get it on Amazon

The sales person told me the plant centella asiatica leaf is a healing leaf Asians use on healing wounds in the wilderness. I’ve never heard of the ingredient but I have seen it in quite a few brands of Korean skincare. As you can see below, it has a cooling gel texture, which I imagine is great for summer. I was told if I use this consistently for 2 weeks I’ll see a difference in my acne scars. I used this as a night cream for about 3 weeks. It is moisturizing enough, but the main problem I have with it is that it seems to irritate my sensitive skin. My skin gets kind of stingy/pink when I apply it, and at night it doesn’t matter as much, but it gets annoying during the day when I feel the need to use a foundation/BB cream to cover the pinkness. I gave (I think) a good amount of time for my skin to get over it, but I don’t think any skincare should irritate your skin consistently. While this didn’t damage my skin or make me breakout, it definitely stings my face a bit, which is why I can’t recommend this to people who have sensitive skin.

When I was looking the girl said the gel has twice as much of the leaf water compared to the cream, which I don’t know is actually more effective on your skin.

Madecassoside Sun Cream – 40 g

I was really intrigued by how this is supposed to create a barrier to protect your skin. Unfortunately I have the same sensitivity problem as the gel. During the day when I apply it after a moisturizer (or just with a serum) it stings mildly. Nothing unbearable but my face shouldn’t be pink after applying a skincare product unless I just washed my face with hot water. This also gives a slight white cast that disappears after a while, and acts as a nice base for foundation/BB cream. I will continue using this on my neck or hands

If you are interested in this brand or product, you can find it on their US website here or from a trusted seller on eBay, one of whom became big enough to have her own website here

I noticed while I was in Korea that their pricing isn’t THAT much cheaper than if you ordered it online in the US. So if you order it on their official website or from a trusted eBay buyer, you’re not missing out on much of a price difference compared to if you were in Korea, which makes me feel better about ordering stuff to be shipped here.

Would I recommend it?

If you don’t have sensitive skin

Sephora Black Friday 2017

I never understand these app exclusive things. What do they get out of us being in the app? Someone tell me

^ I’ve purchased the Philosophy cleanser at least twice, it’s decent but I prefer cleansing oils now. I have easily clogged pores and never felt like Purity cleansed well in that aspect

^ I have the minis of the Living Proof set. It’s not bad but nothing amazing

The FAB Ultra Repair cream is good for your body bc it absorbs pretty quickly, I don’t think it’s super moisturizing if you have dry skin though (at least for my face)

I think the most intriguing thing to me out of everything is the Tocca perfume rollerballs

The miracle water seems decent, but I am going to Korea so I can’t buy any skin care until at least next year some time

^ I’ve tried the Philosophy Hope in a Jar (day) white jar. It’s kind of thin and not that moisturizing if have dry or combination skin

Def never gonna wear any of these colors realistically, aesthetically pleasing though

What do you think? Are you going to buy anything? I can only see myself getting a perfume