Favorite Skin Care Products of 2010!!!!!!

Favorite Skin Care Products of 2010!!!!!!

Happy New year!!!

Here are my FAVORITE skin care items of the year! Please comment on your favorites too, I'm already searching for new stuff for 2011! :)

When I was writing this I realized, I haven't review a lot of these items.... *shame* But this week, I will get FULL reviews for all of the ones up! Those already reviewed by me, I have included links for :)

Cleanser

It's a TIE!

Etude house Yogurt Peel in Apple vs Nature Republic Apple Fresh foam cleanserBoth are apple foam cleansers. The Etude house one has scrub particles, but both are gentle enough to use every day. 

Both are soooo gentle, and both make my skin feel fresh and soft, but not dry. They even smell similar!
But the Nature republic cleanser was less than $4!

Toner

Holika Holika Cooling tonerNot only does this toner come in an adorable bottle (Think witches potions), but it's a gel!!! So I don't need cotton pads,  or any thing but my hands to apply it! Plus it's light, cooling, and gentle!

Mask/ Treatment

Skin Food - Papaya yogurt mask - wash off

Notice how I didn't pick a sheet mask as my favorite? I love sheet masks, they are fun, interesting and convenient. But they aren't very good masks. I find wash off masks, or sleeping masks SO much better.  And I have tried Tons of different sheet masks.

The skinfood papaya mask is not pretty, but it makes my skin feel so soft and moisturized, even the next day! Plus it's cheap and lasts for ages!

Serum

Skin79 - New turn therapy serum trio!

I love a good serum. I feel it allows me to customize my skin care. Have this great moisturizer, but you need wrinkle care too? You don't need to settle for a moisturizer that doesn't do either well. Instead combine a serum, wtih targeted needs, and a moisturizer that targets those needs....  What do you think? Multi purpose product (it does simplify), or two products which are great at what they do?

That's partly why I picked this trio of serums. In the winter when the cold weather makes my skin feels dull, I have White Vita C serum to brighten everything up.

When my skin is in sorry shape, I have the repair amino acid serum.
And for all other situations wrinkletox collagen serum
It's an awesome trio. Plus on g-market for the 3 they were under $20!

Facial Moisturizer

Detclear - Moon Night Gel

This is the moisturizer that made me fall in love with gel moisturizers. It absorbs quickly, and makes my skin feel plump and moist. My skin literally feels years younger after using it.  It doesn't have anything that treats wrinkles, it really doesn't multi-task, but it is an outstanding moisturizer.

Body Moisturizer

Etude House Peach Chou Body oil

It is this body oil that has converted me.  I went from hating body oils, to being a little bit in love!
It's certainly messier than a cream, but after a shower, or before bed this body oil offers unprecedented body softening! Plus it smells absolutely Divine!

Sunscreen

Anessa- Perfect UV sunscreen EX
SPF 50+ PA+++

At 47 to 50 dollars for only 60ml, this sunscreen is SOOOOO expensive.
But it is honestly worth it.  My skin is sensitive to sunscreen, and this is so gentle. Plus it makes my cheeks feel like a baby's butt. So smooth, so lovely.  I've tried countless different sunscreen options, for many different countries, and this beats out all of them. It goes on smoothly,  doesn't leave a white cast, is NOT oily or greasy, doesn't clog pores, and last forever.
LOVE IT!

Sunscreen/ Eye brightener
UV Magic Shield by Holika Holika

SPF 50+ PA++

This is a roll up eye brightener stick, with added SPF. I usually don't like eye brighteners, they tend to look obvious, or clump, or are really expensive.

This is a multitasker, it's a gentle eye SPF, it is pink toned, and helps with dark circles, and it works great as a base for BB creams and eyeshadow! 

Coming up NEXT - My favorite Makeup of 2010!!!!!!

Holika Holika Aqua jelly Trio!

Greetings Bloggers!

I’m Back officially!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It took me a while to get here, I am no longer in Korea, and am now in the possession of a new Laptop, with which to blog.

But as exciting as all this is, here is My first post.

With a little bit of the peculiar from Holika Holika!

 For the summer season(2010) Holika Holika released a new line called Aqua Jelly.  The colors and look, bright pastels, all done in cheap plastics, did not suit the style of Holika Holika at all. But then again, Holika Holika has tons of stuff that doesn’t suit the witchy, border line gothic style.

The selling feature of the whole Jelly line is awesome, its all about moisture J. I personally have dry skin (ugh which is s so irritating). So a line of moisture enhanced beauty products, sounds good to me!

But does anyone else think it’s a bit odd for them to be releasing a moisture line for the summer? Don’t most brands do that for the winter?

The line included, foundation and highlighters in jello type molds (cute and different). I tested the foundation out, and it’s lovely, it smooth, and the texture is quite unlike a jelly, but it is very moist . I really wanted it, but the lightest of the two shades was WAY too dark for me. And the highlighter was far to similar to other highlighters I have to justify bothering….

Lip glosses, in totally boring cheap looking packaging.

And this thing…. The Aqua petit Jelly – Triple kit.

I was shopping at the new Holika Holika store in Ulsan(korea) with a friend, and I came across the triple kit in a display. I picked it up, tested it on the back of my hand, and was suitably puzzled.

What in the world is it for?

So of course I had to immediately buy it and find out!

What it is, is an eye cheek and lip kit.

It has three products, purple sparkly, peach sparkly,  and green gloss.

And when you mix the purple and the peach, you get pink.

So you can where these products anywhere. The purple and the peach can be applied directly onto the eyelids as a cream shadow, or on the checks as a blush. The green gloss, is meant to go on the lips. When applied alone, it applies clear, or when applied in combination with the other colors, it goes on colored.

The little tube at the top of the case, is a double ended sponge applicator.

So, what do I think of the kit?

It’s stupid.

Here are the colors swatched. The colors are accurate(My skin is currently really pale...)

After the three colors, the shiny bit, is the gloss...

The purple and peach colors are boring and weak. The texture doesn’t work well as an eye shadow at all. It’s better as a blush, but still very weak.  They are creamy but dry, very much like other bad cream eye shadows I have tried, and they dry out, with a tendency to clump. The gloss itself isn't glossy, it's more like lip balm.
And the colors mixed with the gloss are too dry to be a gloss.

The whole kit seems like something you get for kids. You know the kind, with magic makeup that changes color, and is easy to wash off…

What a waste!

Skinfood - Honey Black Tea Jelly foam

Honey Black Tea Jelly foam 

-Honey black tea cleansing foam with a glutionus jelly texture. It contains honey extract effective for moisturizing dry skin and black tea for eliminating keratin and giving skin a boost.

Smells INTENSELY of Honey and tea. It's over poweringly strong, nice, but as though I smeared honey and 20 pots of tea all over teh bathroom. Sometimes Skinfood samples smell more intensely than the actual product. 

Texture- super runny, clear liquid, and did not foam AT ALL??? isn't it suposed to be a foam?
effectiveness - seems to very gently cleanse. Very light, very soft, very gentle

Buy?- No, though it's gentle and softens my skin, I don't 

Kate - gel eye liner

Price : 14.95 at alphabeautystore

Size: 2.5g

Not so long ago there were generally only two options for eyeliner, pencil of liquid. For the longest time I used a soft black pencil, creating a smudged eye look rather than a line. I used to like how it looked, but a nice clean line looks so much more posh and professional.

But liquid liners are f*ing hard to use. I now, am more than capable of using one to create a nice even line.

Unless I’m in a hurry, or distracted, or my hand accidentally slips.

At least with a pencil, there is never that much mess…

I’ve been using Kate’s Gel liner for about 2 years now. I’m on my fourth order.

This stuff is wonderful.

Like all gel liners, it creates a finish somewhere between that of a pencil and liquid.  But with total control, and greater flexibility.

The liner is a good dark black. It applies smoothly. The little included brush is of good quality, and applies the liner in a narrow, even line.

And if you screw up, it is pretty easy to fix.

Kate’s liners in particular stay on all day, no flaking, and once dry, eye rubbing/ light crying doesn’t affect it.

I have tried a few other gel liners , but keep going back to kate. It’s lasting power is the best. 

The only issue I have is it dries out pretty quickly. It’s usually unpleasantly dry before I even finish the pot, and I wear the stuff just about every day.

Since I think the dryness of the liner is part of what gives it such good staying power (oilier/ wetter liners almost always smear/fade easily), I’m ok with it.

The price is not super cheap, but its not expensive either. And it’s comparable to far more expensive brands.

It’s my absolute favorite, so if you can find it, buy it!

Silver and Gold

This review is totally different than the Black liner.

I hate these liners. Since I’ve had such success with the black liner, I thought, yay more colors.

No.

The liners are flaky. Like little chunks of gold or silver leaf. It’s weird, and they are big flakes. It applies flaky. So you have to sort of pat…. Like applying gold leaf if you’ve ever tried it.

The effect once on is very silver, and very gold and they do last nearly as long as the black.

But I tend to end up with flakes in my eye! 

This sucks!

Don’t buy them!!!

Etude house - Yogurt Peel, cleansing foam
When I came to Korea I brought along just about everything I need for my skin care regime.
Not because I wasn’t super excited to try all new Korean skin care, but because I wanted to have a back up that I knew would work for me.
I have mildly sensitive skin, and very sensitive eyes. So something items, like make up remover and bad moisturizers can really wreak havoc.
And when I first went to Japan, it took me nearly 3 months to find a shampoo that didn’t make my hair greasy. (*shudders*)
But one Item I didn’t bring any of was cleanser.
I figured I can use just about anything.
And generally, any basic face wash will do me for a little while.
So when I went into etude house, that’s what I was looking for, basic, inexpensive, and effective.
I picked up a few cleansers, and the Yogurt peel smelt DIVINE.
Oh, it smells absolutely edible.

So I scooped it up.
But I must have been half asleep, because I only looked at the ‘cleansing  foam’ part of the label.
Where in fact, it’s more of an exfoliator. A rough exfoliator.
If you’ve ever used at home microderm abrasion kits,  this has basically the same texture, except its suspend in a creamy base.
It was not at all what I thought I was buying.

That’s ok though. The product is beautiful.
It cleans very well and leaves no residue.
One pet peeve I have with some physical exfoliators is it can be damn difficult to get rid of the little particles.
I hate find bits of sand on my jaw line, or in my eyebrow.
This washes away very cleanly.
And leaves the skin soft.
One other thing, it tastes delicious…
Really. It tastes like apple candy.
While that’s not something I generally look for in a cleanser, it’s a bit of a perk.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not going to be eating it. But it’s easy to get a little bit of the products on your lips. Especially when washing it off.
And then you absently lick your lips, or open your mouth to breathe.
So it makes the occurrence a little less unpleasant.

Stars  4/5
Re purchase  -  Yes!

Tony Moly Man cream 

Price: 13500won ($13.50)

This is a review of something you won’t see often here, or a Men’s moisturizer. Me not being a guy, and not particularly like ‘guy’ scents, Men focused products don’t interest me.

But my boyfriend was with me at Tony Moly, and I’ve been trying to convince him to do basic skin care. Ie. Wash with a cleanser, moisturizer and use sunscreen.

He’s not a Metrosexual sort of guy in the least. So it’s a bit of a stretch.

But who wants to look old before there time? 

I’m not pushing though (trying to change people is self delusional), just showing him options.

And here in Korea there are tons of men skin care lines. So for a guy, it’s not as scary as it might be at home.

We picked up the Tony Moly moisturizer. They have a few different lines. But this was one of the higher priced ones.

I personally think he picked it because the bottle is nice.

It’s heavy glass. So if you were going to order it for a male friend, I would not recommend it!

There is no included dispenser. This drives me nuts, since its very difficult to get creams out of glass bottles!

The first thing I noticed about the product was the scent. It’s strong.

In fact my boyfriend said it was way too strong the first time he actually applied it all over his face.

But, since it’s been open for a bit now, the smell has really diminished, and its now much subtler. 

The texture is very light. It absorbs really quickly, and it does moisturize well.

Stars  3/5

Re purchase  -  No. There are cheaper alternatives in more convenient bottles,  and the moisturizer isn’t amazing enough to compensate.

Etude House- Baby Skin Base

Price: 6000 won ($6.00)

Size: 30ml

I’ve been dying to try some of the weird colors of make-up bases available in Korea.

It’s true that some brands like Make Up Forever, offer bases in colors other than white…  But considering how expensive MUFE is, I’m not spending my money on something I’ve never tried before.

So The first thing I bought when I got to Korea - Etude house  baby skin base in - GREEN!

I tend to get red and blotchy, and my nose is red all the time (*sigh*).

Green promises to even out redness.

The Baby skin base comes in UGLY packaging.

This is super surprising considering that just about everything in Etude house is adorable…

But it has a hygienic pump top, with cover, so I guess I can’t really complain since it is functional.

Inside, the base is green.

Not just green tinted, or slightly colored, but Green.

It reminds me of Witches make up for Halloween.

Luckily, when applied most of the color dissipates.

Personally it leaves me very very pale.

It doesn’t leave a green cast to the skin, but it does make me look ghastly pale. Sickly almost.

I think someone darker than me might not have that problem…

And if it’s used just on targeted areas, like the nose and blemishes, it’s not a problem.

(Can you see it? If you look carefully you can see the difference between pink and green!)

The texture is soft and smooth, but not like the usual silicone base. It applies smoothly, but only moderately fills in pores/smoothes out skin texture.

If it weren’t for the inexpensive price and the green color. I wouldn’t buy the baby skin base again.

But since the color itself really does  vanish the redness of my nose (Goodbye Rudolph!)

I will definitely be purchasing the Baby skin base in purple soon!!!

Later note: There is no purple baby skin base. Only in the dream base. *sigh*

Nature reserve -facial mist  

Morocan Rose

60ml

Price 3,300 won ($2.76 US)

I don’t usually use a face mist.  In fact, I don’t know anyone who does….

But since using Sheer cover, and mineral foundations, I’ve found that what I once though was completely unnecessary can actually be pretty useful.

A face mist can be used to hydrate the face before applying make up, it helps create a moist canvas so make up sticks better and lasts longer

Or to refresh dried out make up.

With drying mineral powders, a face mist works super well. When my make starts to not looks so fresh and pretty, a quick squirt and it moistens the face powder, making my make up look closer to flawless.

Although…. Since discovering BB creams I use my Mineral makeups less and less.

But it’s still nice after a long day at work, a quick spritz is kind of like a jolt of coffee, perks you up so you can make it though those last few  hours.

I have an aversion to anything that smells like old lady or baby powder. And generally anything rose scented falls into one of those two categories.

But I LOVE the scent of the ‘ Morocan rose’. (That’s how it’s spelt on the bottle… I thought Moroccan had to cc’s but hey…)

It smells almost like real roses. Like I ‘ve just stuck my head into a dozen beautiful blooms.

Ah…

I even chose this scent over the other, Love Hawaii. Which is coconut and tropical. And when you consider that nearly half of all my perfumes have coconut or pineapple notes,  and NONE have rose, this scent has to be pretty special.

Mini haul from adambeauty

I just wanted to taunt you with my shipment that arrived today from adam beauty!
I needed a new makeup remover desperately, and decided to add in two other little things...
Items:
Mandom cleansing lotion
Dariya hair sheets
Skin79 bb cream sampler
Reviews will follow shortly!
PS Lime green Bed sheets.. fabulous or tacky? 

Sheer Cover mineral foundation

SC Mineral foundation

Size = 4g of Foundation in the regular size

Cost = $14.95

Foundation is quite possibly the least exciting of all the forms of make up in existence. If it’s doing its job right one should barely know it’s even there. A good foundation should cover problems and even skin tone without looking made up, or dry or greasy. That should be easy right? Maybe for some people it is... I however am plagued by foundation that goes on one color, and the mysteriously changes into another, by too much coverage and too little, by make up that sweats off or rubs off on my clothes. After ruining 3 nice white shirts with rub off I spent a Year refusing to wear anything white.

So if anyone out there has seen the Sheer Cover infomercials you’ll know it seems like the Perfect product. The infomercial touts customizable colors (so one can match their skin tone perfectly); easily customizable coverage and sweat/rub proof staying power. Of course none of this is revolutionary since mineral powders have been around for ages. But most brands don’t have a late night infomercial to temp insomniacs.

But even though the infomercial was tantalizing as a rule I do not buy stuff from the TV or over the phone. So it wasn’t until my employment situation changed (IE I returned from Japan and had to find something local) and all of a sudden I had bountiful access to all things Sheer Cover (and Meaningful Beauty, Youthful Essence and Proactive, but UGH!) So I started using it (I mean it’s there so Why not...)

The Colors

The mineral powder comes in 9 colors from super light to Darkish (It’s supposed to be for African-American complexions but generally is still too light)
COLORS

When you order the kits you get two foundation colors

Light= Nude + Bisque  

Medium = Buff + Latte

Tan = Almond + Golden

Dark= Mocha+ Almond

Special Colors = Frost(Super Pale) and Chocolate (Super Dark)

If you are super light (Like me!) or super dark you have to order your shades special because they aren’t available in kits. But why the Chocolate color is considered special order I don’t know since it’s really not all that dark.
The colors paired in each kit contain two different tones, one yellowed toned and the other pink.

They have intended the color mixing to be the ultimate in customization (Or they say that as an excuse to cover up the laziness of only having 7 shades). I mean, how many of us can’t find the right shade of foundation from popular brands, it’s always too dark, to yellow or too pink. It’s downright aggravating.

But the sheer cover solution isn’t much of a solution. It’s downright frustrating. You have to Mix to find you perfect shade.

Using my Mother for example, her coloring tends to pink (like me) but a whole lot darker. She fits perfectly into the light category. Bisque is just the right level of darkness, but it’s so yellow that no matter how she blends it, her makeup doesn’t match her skin tone. The nude shade, which is pink toned is darker than Bisque, and so even though it’s the right tone, on its own it’s too dark to be worn alone.

So now comes the tricky part, her ideal shade is somewhere between those two colors. But finding it... *sigh* I can’t tell you how much make up we’ve wasted trying to get it right.

The result is sometimes my Mom looks lovely and smooth, as though she woke up looking perfect. But sometimes she goes out and all of a sudden she’s too yellow or too dark or too yellow and too dark. I concede that the lighting in her bathroom isn’t the best but in all her years of using other Make up brands my mom has never gone out looking so wrong.

It may be worthwhile to practice mixing to find you Perfect shade, but it’s time consuming and finicky, so really unless you have awesome lighting and lots of time, it’s better left to the professionals.

But, my experiences with SC are a bit different from my mothers. See I’m so pale that the lightest shade is just near perfect, no mixing required.

The Review

The powder is smooth, finely milled and Matte.  The finish it creates is totally unlike the glowy finish of Bare Minerals. But if you’re tired of the too glittery, too obvious finish Bare minerals can create SC can be a good options.

SC is also a step up from a lot of the common drug store mineral powders, seeing how it doesn’t contain Talc, and has a more intense color pay off.

Application is similar to other mineral foundations- you are supposed to “swirl, upwards in circular motions”. The instructions dictate that it’s to be applied after the moisturizer has dried, - the result a dry powdery finish, totally unlike the soft dewy finish on the infomercials.
On me anyways. If you have a bit oiler skin this method might work a bit better for you.

For me, I apply the foundation when my moisturizer is just barely still damp.  This achieves a smooth dewy finish.
In fact, random strangers have stopped me to say how perfect my skin is...

Lasting Power

The infomercial touts “Sweat resistant”, showing a woman who’s been jogging for like 40 minutes but still has perfect make up... Yeah, right.

The only reason the model has perfect make up is the mineral power can be so drying it just absorbs the sweat (ew....)

However it is true that the makeup won’t slid right off your face (do many people have this problem?)
But it will rub off on everything.
As for staying power under normal conditions, eh. It’s ok. It lasts most of the day, just gradually fading.

Creasing + Pores

*sigh* It’s wonderful and awful in turns. If you aren’t careful I your application (very little on the brush and lots of swirling) it can clump in pores and fine lines.

And unlike liquid foundation where you can gently smooth out mistakes or Touch up with a Q-tip, with SC you generally have to wash it all off and start again.

On the other hand, once correctly applied it firmly resists creasing (well... unless you apply tons, then it can gradually shift...)

The Verdict

Having tried many many mineral powders (bare minerals, physician’s formula, Revlon, etc.) Sc is pretty good. It’s smooth and well pigmented. But it’s also very matte...

So I’d stay it’s a step up from drug store, but not nearly as nice as most of the brands at Sephora (mmm smash box)

Pretika light therapy review

Pretika Light Therapy wand
The silly looking tool above is my Light therapy wand.
If you're addicted to skin care, and the newest coolest tool, then maybe you've come across some of the new light therapy tools for at home use.
Then again, maybe you haven't. Light Therapy seems to be only slowly taking on popularity.
Probably because it tends to be expensive...
Maybe even because a lot of people (like me) can't help but wonder how an LED light is supposed to make my skin smoother and firmer...
I mean really? light?
But when I found the Tanda light therapy tool on sephora.com I came down with a serious case of LUST.
Oh my GOD, I wanted it.
And then I read the reviews, the glowing reviews promising dramatic results...
Then I just had to have it.
But seeing the Tanda system is oh... nearly $300...
Well, that's a little out of my price range unless I'm guaranteed it's going to turn me into Megan Fox.
So I squashed the urge to stick the purchase on my credit card, and tried to forget...
Then one day, I came across Pretika...
And the light system was significantly cheaper.
It was so much cheaper that even if the whole thing failed I wouldn't be heartbroken (or just plain broke).
So I snapped it up for $30.
And excitedly went home to use it.

The device  is pretty simple, Like a red flash light with two settings, pules (I) and steady(II).
The pulse is supposed to better stimulate collagen production (so why are there two settings?)
You are supposed to keep the  lights about two inches from your face, I put it against my face because I`, concerned with damaging my eyes, and in the more expensive brands that what you are supposed to do.
Then you spend three minutes on each area of your face.
I spend maybe 9-12 minutes a night doing this (While watching Tv or something), but there are only a couple of spots on my face that I`m particularly concerned with wrinkles.
The first, and the bane of my existence is a single wrinkle above the left side of my upper lip.
I HATE that wrinkle.
My forehead and between my eyebrows are two spots starting to show expression lines (I`m only 23 it`s not fair... )


The results...
I`ve been using the Pretika thing for a couple of months now, not as regularly as I should, but fairly steadily.
And I am seeing REAL results!!!!!
Seriously.
The EVIL lip wrinkle is seriously diminished and one some days invisible.
The furrows between my brows are just about invisible, except when I frown, and my forehead is even smoother!!
Plus as an odd and unexpected side effect, my lips are plumper...
Specifically the left side (They are not uneven :P)
Honestly, I didn`t really think that the Red light would do anything.
I have been proven wrong, wonderfully so.

Sparkling Body Powder
Silver color

I was shopping in one of the big department stores in Kobe, browsing the make floor (there’s a WHOLE floor of just make up and skin care!) when I spotted this body powder.
It looked so pretty. Oh so pretty.

But I resisted, I mean I know I practically never use body powders. I have had this fabulous one from Lush forever  and have used it maybe twice…

Inside the cute packaging is a blue powder puff with a glitter purple flower.

I find the powder puff peculiarly ugly…
I’m not entirely sure why.
You pat the puff on your skin, and it leaves it covered with silver sparkles.
It takes an awful lot of patting to get and sparkles to come out.
So the first time, I pat it gently on the back of my hand.
Nothing.
Again, nothing.
And again, until I’m basically beating myself trying to get the god damn sparkles out.


They did. Eventually.
Once they did though, I was pleasantly surprised, the sparkles were small, delicate and almost shimmery.
They are actually wearable.
I cat pat the powder puff along my collar bone, atop my arms, or down my legs, and get a very attractive effect that doesn’t scream disco ball.