Empties #25 including K-Beauty skin care samples
četrtek, april 20, 2017
MAKEUP
I often say that this a foundation that I can rely on. It's one of rare ones that looks very natural on the skin (coverage is light-medium), it doesn't look weird over pores, doesn't feel heavy and it works no matter in what weird mood my skin is. The shade is a bit too dark and yellow for me, that's it's only minus, but it has so many other pluses that I always keep a bottle in my collection.
Repurchase: Already done.
SKIN CARE
This was pretty decent. It wasn't as luxurious feeling as Emma Hardie's or as good as Balance Me, but my skin enjoyed and played nice while I was using it. The ingredients are lovely, but it's thicker than other balms, it's also more waxy and it doesn't melt as nice under the fingers, but it cleans the skin well enough, though surprisingly for a balm that "removes makeup like no other" (their words), removing mascara isn't its forte. The scent is very blah, like wax or cheap crayons, which might appeal to those who dislike heavily scented skin care.
Repurchase: Only if I find it cheaper than my favourites.
This is a good cleansing oil, but I find that from L'Occitane Immortelle's version works better with my skin. It removes makeup well, leaves my skin nourished, but with no residue. The scent of this one was better than the hay scent of Immortelle. It can only be open for three months before it expires.
Repurchase: No.
If you asked me a couple of months ago if I'd repurchase this, I'd scream yes, but now I'm just not sure it's as impressive as I thought. I think my standards were very low because stuff we have here is very basic. It's a great hydrating mask, there's no doubt about and it fixes dehydrated skin completely overnight, including heals dry patches. But that's all it does, it's hydrating and it never made my skin look great like some other products I've tried recently. It's a skin care equivalent of a duct tape - it's a good temporary and quick fix. But it's cheap, easily accessible and it works, so I recommend you try it if you have dry patches and dehydrated skin.
Repurchase: I'm still thinking about it.
This is just a very simple argan oil in a pretty bottle which holds only 30 ml and is very overpriced. You can easily get it cheaper, though this one doesn't have that strong argan scent which some dislike. I used it for everything - face, hair, body, hands, it's a normal oil that can be used for fixing dryness. It's good, but alarmingly overpriced for what it is - an oil you can get at the food section in supermarkets.
Repurchase: No.
NAILS
EBELIN Nagellack Entferner
Loved the packaging of this (it has one of those handy pumps), but this was drying to my nails. Also it's not particularly strong.
Repurchase: Since it's one of the cheapest, I probably will, but it's lame.
BODY
DOVE Purely Pampering Nourishing Shower gel
Coconut Milk
My favourite shower gel. It's so creamy, non-drying and it smells amazing.
Repurchase: Already done.
BALEA Regenbogen Dusche
Just a classic Balea shower gel that is as basic as it can get, even when it comes to the vanilla scent. But the packaging is so adorable, I couldn't resist. Balea created an ironic version called Bye Bye Unicorn featuring two dinosaurs and I hear it has the same scent. By the way I still saw a few bottles of unicorn version in my local DM.
Repurchase: No.
YUMMY Wild Things Shower Gels
Sexy Boost
Another basic shower gel, but the scent of this one is very masculine to me, so I didn't use it up myself. The scent is earthy-spicy, I mostly smell cardamom.
Repurchase: No.
HAIR
This is one of the very rare dandruff products that actually does something and I just discovered it was discontinued which broke my heart. It at least temporary removed all the dandruff build-up on my scalp and let it breathe a bit. It's basically a scalp scrub, neither gentle or too harsh, and it does its job.
Repurchase: Yes, but it's discontinued. I ordered their Sugar Shine scrub as a possible replacement.
One of my favourite hair masks and another product I discovered that has been discontinued, leaving me with a broken heart for the second time. But all is not lost because Absolut Repair Lipidum works the same, it only doesn't smell as nice. These two are the cheapest salon brand masks I've found that work like more expensive products and manage to handle my very dry hair (though I still need to add a lot of additional hair care products, but they provides a good base). The replacement Nutrifer is silicone free and I never got along with such products, so I'm not sure I'll be trying it.
Repurchase: I definitely would, but it's been discontinued. I ordered Absolut Repair instead.
For a drugstore hair mask, this is a nice one and I bought a few in a row so far. It's lighter in texture than what I'm used to when it comes to hair mask, but it's nourishing enough when my hair isn't very dry (mostly in summer months). But when my hair is very dry, this isn't enough and I have to use salon brands.
Repurchase: Yes.
Petra got this for me - she says it's her favourite drugstore conditioner and I think it's really good too. It's the conditioner you get with Olia hair colours, but apparently these are sold individually too (I still haven't seen these myself in Müller, but they are on Boots international) and it's basically designed to help the hair recover after colouring as well as give it more shine. It was nourishing enough for my hair and my hair felt nice after use, however, it was still a drugstore quality product and it didn't do quite as much as salon treatments.
Repurchase: Yes.
K-BEAUTY SKIN CARE SAMPLES
(for reference my skin is combination dry with normal a T-zone and dry cheeks. Spots are rare, but I have blackheads)
Best, purchase-worthy and intriguing:
COSRX Galactomyces 95 Whitening Power Essence - I love this. It's a like a thicker toner with no particular scent. I decided to approach testing by doing a half-half, meaning on one half of the face I used this and on the other the COSRX Snail Mucin, so I could see the result more clearly. After a week on the Galactomyces side the pores appeared much smaller, the skin was smoother and just in general looked much better. Foundations applied like a dream on that side, which actually made me reconsider some foundations I previously disliked. I'll try the Secret Key Essence next to see if I like it even more, but if I don't, this will be one of my next purchases.
Purchase: Yes. Full price: $16
INNISFREE Daily UV Protection Cream Mild SPF35 PA++ - I immediately loved this. I hate most sunscreens, but this doesn't feel like one at all. It has 100% mineral filters and it's a light lotion that takes little time to absorb, leaves only a bit of tackiness on the skin that is not at all annoying, it doesn't leave a white cast, it can be layered easily and it didn't irritate my eyes like Sun Dance's does. It smells nice, somewhat sweet floral - familiar, but I can't place it. SPF 35 seems fine to me considering I rarely spend long in the sun. It was a nice base for makeup, it left a satin type of finish and it wore nice though the day. For my dry skin on its own it felt like I need an additional moisturiser under it, but for the summer it'll be perfect. Ingredients.
Purchase: Yes, but I'd like to try some more sunscreens. Full price: $9
TONYMOLY Prestige Jeju Snail Cream - I really loved this sample. The texture was lovely, it's a medium thick cream that sinks in a few minutes, though there is a slight layer of the moisturiser left for a while. It felt nourishing and it has a very gentle, pleasant scent. In the morning my smile lines looked reduced and you know how you usually wake up with creases from the pillow? Well with this my skin looked a lot fresher. It's very expensive and I'd love to have a few more samples to see if it impresses me long term (I stretched mine to three uses), but I'm very tempted by it.
Purchase: Yes, but I'm getting more sample first, a pack of 20 is about 4-5 € on eBay. Full price: $48.73
LIOELE Rizette Magic Whitening Cream - A moisturiser with vitamin C that promises to brighten the skin. It's a medium thick cream that needed some extra time to sink in and has no particular scent. I noticed my skin being brighter and more even, so I liked it, but it's expensive.
Purchase: Maybe, again I'd like more samples first. Full price: $29.73
Lioele Triple the Solution BB Cream - I liked this at first try. The colour looks scarily too dark for me, but because it's got a neutral/grey undertone, I felt like it blends in well (I might be imagining it). It looks beautiful on the skin - natural, doesn't emphasise pores and it covers about a medium. I wish the shade were lighter, but I really like this.
Purchase: It's too dark, but I love the texture. Full price: $20.50
COSRX AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid- Very similar texture than the their famous Blackhead liquid which I own a full size. I used it when I got a big spot on my chin, and it diminished it, basically helped it not become the infected monster it usually does, so I like it.
Purchase: If my skin goes haywire, this will be first on the list. Full price: $13.50
TONYMOLY Panda's Dream White Magic Cream - I love how this one makes my skin look, it just looks better. It's a light moisturiser with a strong, but nice powdery scent and a type of finish that is like a sunscreen's white cast, so it actually gives that very temporary whitening effect, but it disappears quickly, however, the skin looks more even.
Purchase: Yes, but I bought the sleeping pack first, if it ever arrives (first parcel got lost, as it appears all parcels from RoseRoseShop do). Full price: $11.24
Nice, but I'm not completely convinced
COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence - As I said I tested this along with Galactomyces on the other side of the face and I just don't get the hype. So many people swear by this, but I see no visible results. It's a milky type of lotion product with a kind of a strange texture that is a like a viscose liquid, but I didn't find it gross or anything. It also has no particular scent. It leaves a very smooth feeling on the skin, almost like a light silicone primer. After a week I noticed no major differences then when I started using it. My pores looked equally horrible, my skin wasn't smoother and my smile line looked the same (it was slightly smaller looking on Galactomyces side), in terms of hydration which this should help most, I didn't see a difference between the other side. However, my neck got sunburned one day (I'm too cheap to use sunscreen on the neck too, bloody idiot) and I applied a generous coat of this since it has repairing abilities and by morning it was gone.
Purchase: Probably not, but I have plenty of samples to give it more chances. Full price: $15.20
COSRX Advanced Snail All in one Cream - This is like a thicker version of the muncin, so a moisturiser with a similar texture that leaves a smooth, primer-like finish. It has no particular scent. I tested this alongside with the Honey Overnight mask, again each on one side of the face. During testing a few spots appeared and though I at first suspected they were hormonal, they most likely weren't, so it's possible this breaks me out a bit. In terms of positive effects, I saw no major differences apart from my skin being more hydrated, but I can get that with a normal moisturiser.
Purchase: Probably not, but I have plenty of samples to give it more chances. Full price: $ 16.80
COSRCX Ultimate Moisturizing Honey Overnight Mask Nourishing Overnight Spa Mask - This was nothing like I imagined, though I was aware it doesn't have a honey scent, I expected a thick, white cream and this is a gel type of product. I expected this to be very moisturising, but my skin almost wanted more. It's more like a regular moisturiser to me and I could easily even use it under makeup. In terms of effects, I didn't notice anything important.
Purchase: Probably not, but I have plenty of samples to give it more chances. Full price: $ 12.80
BANILA CO. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Cream - the smells of this is incredible. If you ever had any the original honey products by L'Occitane from almost 10 years ago (or that short lived shower jelly from mommy and baby LE two years ago) this is exactly the same - a proper, "dunking your nose into a jar of honey" scent. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long on the skin. The texture is thick, almost more like a balm, which my dry skin really enjoyed. It took some time for my skin to absorb all of it, in fact a filter of produt remained for hours which I didn't mind, since my skin needed that. It healed a dry patch and my skin was less dry after those three uses I could squeeze out of a sample. I primarily like it for the scent because in those three day I didn't feel my skin was as good as with other products I've tried.
Purchase: I ordered the essence oil from this line, if it ever arrives (again RoseRoseShop appears to be terribly unreliable, as three parcels from them didn't arrive). Full price: 37$ (for 70 ml)
SULWHASOO Snowise EX Cleansing Foam - I've tried several Korean cleansing foams and none I liked, but this one is already more acceptable. The texture is so gorgeously creamy, it washes off completely just with water and it didn't irritate my eyes horribly, like all the rest I tried. However, while my skin felt more comfortable than with others, after a few minutes my skin started to feel tight, like using regular soap, so I needed to moisturise quickly.
Purchase: Maybe. I like it has a low pH and the texture is great, but I don't like the tight feeling. Full price: $38
COSRX Low pH Good Morning Cleanser - I don't know what I expected from this, it has so many good reviews, but it was a regular gel cleanser. It foamed very well, better than others do, however, like at all gel cleanser I started feeling tightness in about two minutes and that's when flakes start forming on me, which is the reason I switched to oils and balms.
Purchase: Probably not. Full price, $8.80
IT'S SKIN Power 10 Formula WR Effector - These come in many versions, I got a sample of the anti-wrinkle one. It's a light gel like consistency that absorbs very fast. Based on three uses that I stretched the sample too, I can't say I saw any significant improvement on my skin.
Purchase: No. Full price: $9.43
SU:M 37 Water-Full Deep Effect Ampoule - For the price tag this has, I didn't find it anything special. It was just a very light serum. I'd probably need more samples to really test it, but so far it didn't convince me.
Purchase: No. Full price: $122.50
Lioele Super Gold Snail BB Cream SPF50+ PA+++ - I read reviews about this before opening the sample and they were overwhelmingly positive, but when I tried applying this the first time with fingers, it felt strange, too heavy and obvious. However, when I used up the rest of the sample with my big oval brush I got a flawless result, a nice healthy glowy finish, medium coverage and it looked great over pores. Big minus for me is the shade, which is way too dark for me (maybe NC 30-35 with a warm undertone) and during the day it worsens the look of my smile lines.
Purchase: It's too dark, so no. Full price: $17.83
Lioele Intensive Time Reversing Snail Cream - I was hoping this will be similar to TonyMoly's Prestige Jeju Snail cream, but it's much lighter, almost like a lotion and it didn't have such an impressive effect.
Purchase: No. Full price: $30.38
Nopes
INNISFREE Green Tea Cleansing Foam - I love the texture of this, but sweet mother does it hurt if it gets into the eyes. Serious this is the most painful product ever. It's a not a foam, but a cream that doesn't foam with water and it washes off completely unlike most such products I tried. It smells nice, inoffensive.
Purchase: No. Full price: $8.68
INNISFREE Jeju Volcanic Pore Cleansing Foam - A very similar texture to the green Tea one, but luckily this one didn't hurt so much. However, despite being a cream, it felt drying, like gels normally do on my skin.
Purchase: No. Full price: $8.59
SKINFOOD Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam - Exactly the same as Innisfree foams, so an absolutely lovely creamy texture, but leaves the skin squeaky clean, on me meaning dry and it hurts like a bitch when it gets into the eyes. The scent is lovely, just powdery clean.
Purchase: No. Full price: $8.68
THE FACE SHOP Dr. Belmeur Foam Cleaner - I swear every Korean foam cleanser I tried is the same - gorgeous creamy texture, but drying to my skin and irritating to the eyes.
Purchase: No. Full price: $11.19
Have a great day!
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14 comments
Tale Dove je res fantastičen <3
OdgovoriIzbrišiJaz obožujem še pistacijo, silk (klasika) in modrega, tisti ki je itak najbolj klasičen. <3
Pred kratkim sem kupila novi vonj lotusov cvet in je odličen :). Všečna sta še novi sivkin in kokos.
IzbrišiPa kumaraa! :)
IzbrišiLP
Ne znam koliko razumješ hrvatski ali mislim da si super blogerica i uvijek se vraćam i na stare postove da isčitam tvoje favorite. Bravo
OdgovoriIzbrišiRazumjem :) Hvala ti puno <3
IzbrišiUživala sam u postu, posebno ovaj k-beauty deo. U poslednje vreme sam se baš bacila u istraživanje njihove kozmetike i čekam nekoliko paketića koje sam naručila (sa Roserose možda i ne dočekam, sudeći po tvom iskustvu :). I dalje smišljam šta bih još probala, pa mi ovi tvoji postovi baš znače :)
OdgovoriIzbrišiPanda Sleeping Pack sam naručila poslje tvoje preporuke i sad čekam ko budala na paketiće, od januarja (naručila sam si za rođen dan). Prvi paket se je izgubio (od BringBringShop), ali sam nazad dobila pare, sad čekam drugi paket sa Tester Koreje više nego mesec dana (naručila sam iste proizvode). Sa Roserose opet od početka marca ćekam Banila essence oil i neke testere (Secret Key Essence, Skinfood Black Sugar Perfect First Serum i još nekih drugih). Paketi koji su stigli su od Jolse (čekala sam sedam tjedana) i par malih eBay sellerjev. Neznam šta se događa sa poštu iz Koreje :/
IzbrišiI bought Lionsleaf balm after seeing some reviews.. It's very good, small jar but extremely consistent and spreads far, not sure of its makeup removing properties because I'm too fussy to waste my concentrated products on the task. But ever since stalking (for hoours haha!) your blog I switched a lot of my skin care and going away from gel/foam cleansers to balms really helped my skin! My skin used to be extremely oily and clogged, now it's more normal and even flaky (what? dry?!) at some points but I'm trying to be patient because summer is coming! Btw you should look into tue pink Missha sunscreen and the etude house sunprise ones (green liquid tube and yellow/white cream one). They're amazing!
OdgovoriIzbrišiFor hair care I really have no idea how you like those absolut repair stuff because it makes my hair dry like straw and it's already dry enough. Ugh. I want to try the Joico balm one in the blue tube because it's supposed to be a nutrient punch and so hydrating that only coarse hair can take it!
Love your empties posts, I wanna try more Cosrx stuff too but I'm dreading custom taxes haha
I've seen Lyonsleaf and found it intriguing, but 55 ml is very little. Still I would consider buying it, but I'm currently eyeing Banila's Zero :) It's been years, since I made the switch to oils and balms, but it's the one thing that made the biggest difference. Before my skin was so flaky that I couldn't wear foundation because it just looked horrible.
IzbrišiI have both Missha's and Etude House sunscreens on my wishlist (it's on my Pinterest if you're interested), I've heard a lot of good things, especially about Missha :). I bought Skinfood 10 Solution sunscreen, which is fine, but it's not as light as I wanted and needs a lot of time to set, so I'd like to try something else.
Really? I was very pleasantly surprised by L'Oreal hair masks because my hair is so difficult to manage. They are one of the rare ones that I find are good and still reasonably priced. Of course they don't beat Joico Hydrator and don't come close to Kérastase Masquintense, but they're good enough. I had the Joico Balm One and it's fine, super thick, but I prefer the results of Hydrator, it just seems to inject more moisture and it is more nourishing. I especially love it in combination with Sebastian Professional Potion 9.
I always order under 22 €, so I avoid custom taxes, but those bastards still charged me for "custom related services" a.k.a. just checking the parcel which they had no business touching in the first place and I had to pay 6€. Basically I paid for nothing because they couldn't charge me taxes, so they just invented something to squeeze money out of me.
Sem si zabeležila par korejskih izdelkov, za katere je bolje da se jih izogibam :) Bom morala tudi sama poiskati novo sončno kremo, ker so pri Biore spremenili formulo in naj bi bila razlika precej velika. Cosrx ima pa vedno kakšno stvar, s katero me premamijo, razen njihove AHA in BHA kisline, ki so meni precej blage in ne opazim vidne razlike na koži.
OdgovoriIzbrišiMeni te korejske čistilne kreme sploh ne ustrezajo. Formula je čudovita, ampak zame so preveč izsušujoči. Za Biore sem že slišala in brala ocene za novo verzijo, ki zdaj menda niti približno ni več tako lahka. Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV SPF 50 PA++++ omenjajo kot alternativo in mi je zanimiva poleg roza Misshe, zelene Etude House in Nivea Milky Essence. Si priporočila sproti shranjujem na Pintest wishlisto :).
IzbrišiCorsx mi je všečna znamka, sploh Galactomyces in BHA Blackhead liquid, čeprav slednjo imam le za preprečevanje mozoljev, saj za odstranjevanje ogrcev pri meni ne dela. Za kisline sem pa zopet začela uporabljat Reviva Labs 5% Glycolic, ker ji dajem še eno šanso, drugače bom pa kaj od The Ordinary naročila.
Ravno zadnjič sem videla dinozavre, ki so pojedli uncirona. Haha prav zanimivo se mi je zdelo :D.
OdgovoriIzbrišiČudovito, da si vključila korejske testerje. Jaz si po navadi ne zapišem dol svojih prvih misli. Bolj si shrani samo tiste, ki so mi bili všeč. Lioele in TonyMoly Panda whitening kremi sta mi obe čudoviti. Sploh, ko ne nosim makeupa, se mi zdi, da je vsak nekaj časa, razlika res opazna. meni zelo lepo izenačita ten. Lioele je žal predraga, Tonymoly pa se še prepričujem k nakupu :).
Sem že poskušala najti nekaj za čiščenje kože od Korejcev, pa so bolj kot ne vse pene. Še vse testerje do zdaj, ki sem jih imela so mi naredili kožo res squeaky clean, kar tudi meni ni všeč. Mi je pa bil COSRX gel izredno všeč. Sicer bolj poleti. Mogoče zato, ker imam potem še bolj mastno t cono.
Sploh ga še nisem videla v živo, sem bila pa prepričana da je to kakšna prvoaprilska šala, ker so takrat objavili novico. Tisti mini filmček ko dinozaver unicornu poje rep je pa creepy :D
IzbrišiSama si vedno vse sproti pišem, sem se kar dobro navadila :) Obe kremi sta krasni, ampak Panda mi je pa sploh všeč, ne samo zaradi embalaže, ampak tudi vonj in prav gledala sem se v ogledalo kako imam lepo kožo po njej. Upam, da je sleeping pack približno enak, če sploh kdaj pride.
Ne vem, mene ti korejski čistilci ne navdušujejo. Kaj imajo sploh dajat notri stvari, ki tako dražijo oči? Meni praktično nikoli nič ne draži oči, pri teh je bilo pa kot bi si lavo zlila. Sem izumila čisto nove kletvice ob spiranju oči. Samo njihovih olj pa še nisem preizkusila, mogoče so kaj boljša :).
Dry/Sensitive: EcoTools Pure Complexion Sensitive Facial Sponge, about $6 at your local Ulta or drugstore exposed skin care uk
OdgovoriIzbriši