Skinfood Mushroom Lifting Ampoule 100 and Algae Smooth Ampoule 100

Skinfood Mushroom Lifting Ampoule 100 and Algae Smooth Ampoule 100

I got the Mushroom and Algae ampoule together(they are joined). Both are super tiny. Barely enough for one application each. But Most packet samples are good for about two aplications so it makes sense (1 application each=2 applications)

And I have, in the 6 months I've been buying skinfood and getting samples, I only received this one sample of the Mushroom and Algae ampoules.
Amazing considering I've gotten duplicates of just about every thing else.

I have no idea what th number 100 means. Maybe the concentration? The ampoules are both supposed to be used as serums. 

Mushroom

Smell- Gross. It smells like wood and dirt. I've never noticed that mushrooms have a smell, so maybe thats what it is. But to me this ampoule smells like rotting wood.

Texture- A runny clear liquid. Not like the thicker serums I'm used to.

Effectiveness- Left my face a little bit sticky, even though I only used a teeny tiny bit of the ampoule. Beyond that I saw no noticeable affect on my skin. After one application I wouldn't expect a positive result. But on the plus side it was at all irritating to my skin, didn't make me break out. 

Buy?- No. The smell itself is a turn off.

Algae

Smell- No detectable scent. Yay!

Texture- Thicker than the mushroom apoule, not quiet a gel, but close. And interestingly enough it's filled with irridescent sparkles. Although they do not show up on teh skin after application!

Effectiveness- Unlike the mushroom ampoule, the Algae absorbed cleanly, I could feel that it was on my skin, but only barely. Beyond that, I noticed no reaction with my skin. 

Buy- I'm considering. There is no way to tell if a serum is good with only a single use. Sure you can spot a bad one, but a good one, not so much. Based on the tester it seems like it could be a decent serum. And I SWEAR it's not because it's sparkly!

With a few drops of each left, I applied some of the Mushroom ampoule to one side of my face, and the Algae to the other. By the next morning, the side with Algae was smoother than the other. Especially my forehead. Smoother, and clean feeling. The side with the Mushroom ampoule felt just barely sticky, the residue of leftover product!

Skin food - Gold Caviar collagen serum

Skin food - Gold Caviar collagen serum
Price: 27000 won ($27)
Size: 45ml
If you’ve read my introduction to Skinfood, then you know that the packaging of their products is lack luster at best.
So I didn’t immediately go out and buy any large items, or anything particularly interesting. In fact, the whole brand seemed completely uninteresting to me.
But included with the small things I did buy were piles of samples.
Most were small little packets., but a few larger sizes too.
And eventually I got around to opening those little sample, and actually using their contents.
I have gotten TONS of the Gold caviar collagen serum samples. Inside each package is a clear liquid, thick and heavy, with gold flakes suspended in it.
So I tried it out.
The first time, I really liked it, after a couple of sample packages(over a number of days of course, since one sample is good for two or three uses), I fell in love.
So when my once a month payday came around, I went out and bought the $27 little bottle of Serum. And I was so impressed by the serum I also bought the $27 eye cream set (To be reviewed soon!!!!)

The full size glass bottle is gold and dark purple, with a gold cap. The caviar collagen is the most sophisticated and sleek of the Skinfood products.

The cap itself is a dropper, with the button on top, on the outside of the bottle, for dispensing.
Inside, is a milky white serum, with gold flecks. Quite different from the sample, which was clear and liquid….
As soon as I opened the bottle I was horribly disappointed. The actual product looks so different from the samples.

But it’s not as though I could return it. I used it.
The serum applies smoothly.
Unlike the serums I usually use, it doesn’t absorb cleanly into the skin. The gold Caviar serum is heavy and oil based.
It’s a very heavy serum.

Generally I hate things that don’t absorb into the skin on my face.
For this I make an exception. It makes my face soft, well moisturized, and after a few days of continued use, my skin is tighter, firmer.
In fact, after using it for a day or two, I got over my disappointment that the samples weren’t identical to the actual product, and just fell in love with the real thing.
It has become one of two serums that I use. The other being the hyluranoic acid serum, which I now us in the mornings, to allow me to use the more intensive Gold serum at night.

Oh, and as a side note, the gold flecks, though obvious in the serum itself are not visible once applied.
I don’t know where they go, but you can’t see them!

 Tony Moly Caviar Skin Care

I got samples of just about a complete skin care regime.

Toner, serum, eye cream and moisturizer.

So I thought I'd give some initial thoughts...

The packaging both in the mini’s and the full size products is less than inspiring. 

That’s ok though, as much as I love beautiful things, It’s more important to me that my skin care works.

Toner - Thick almost gel like. A slightly unpleasant smell, chemical and old lady-ish, but not overwhelming.  No toned feeling.

Essence/ Serum- thick, really thick and white. Doesn’t absorb well, doesn’t make the skin feel softer, same smell. My skin actually started to burn and itch just slightly after using this.

Eye cream, thick, absorbs better. But very thick. 10 minutes late I can still feel it on

Moisturizer - same unpleasant smell, which, with all four products on I can still smell. It’s not thick, but I can still feel it on my skin. I actually applied a lot less than I do with other products, but my skin feels almost greasy.

Basically, The samples were big enough I got nearly 3 days use out of the whole line, and more from the toner and serum. But... They suck. I am definitely NOT going to buy the line, or anything from it...

Hyaluronic acid Serum by Juju cosmetics 
US $20.95
Amount 30ml
From http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Alpha-Beauty-Store

With a high concentration of moisture-rich Hyaluronic acid, as advertised, only 2 drops are enough for maintaining an overnight treatment effect comparable to moisturizing mask. The moisture-rich beauty essence efficiently penetrates deep to the skin and gives instant replenishment while at the same time helps remove fine lines and improve your skin texture. The improved skin moisture balance also helps a better application of makeup in next morning.

If you are a skin care addict like me than you’ve probably seen the term Hyaluronic acid being thrown around.   Restylane, a trade name for it, is used in injections to plump up wrinkles. But it is one of the new Star ingredients in a lot of topical skin care. 
As a topical ingredient it’s claimed to help moisturize the skin and improve moisture retention, and help plump wrinkles (through the skin being moist mostly). 
Since moisturizing is one of the 3 most essential components of any skin care routine (the other two being sun protection and cleansing) Hyaluronic acid is very interesting to me.

So why did I go out and buy a Japanese Hyaluronic acid serum when lots of moisturizers from reputable brands have Hyalurnoic acid listed.
Well, quite frankly I don’t trust brand packaging.
...
Really.  
I tried the Loreal; Skin Genesis line. I’m quite fond of L’Oreal, they are generally inexpensive, but of decent quality.
There was no noticeable moisturizing difference. Even after a couple of weeks of using the Serum and Moisturizer.
They were nice...
In my opinion Hyaluronic acid has fallen into the same trap as Retinol (retin, vitamin-a, etc.) It’s a selling feature, but there are no claims as to the amount of the key ingredient in the products.
You can add a miniscule drop of hyalronic acid and call it an ingredient.
So, I went to Juju. I love Juju. Seriously, I’ve used a ton of their products and they are always of really nice quality.
Now, I admit my Japanese skills aren’t very good. I can only roughly translate the label...
But, it’s supposed to be a hyaluronic acid serum, and I believe it.
The Japanese are so much more anal about their skin care.

So, the serum.
It’s clear with a gel like thickness. It goes on like water and absorbs immediately. Like freakishly immediately, as though my skin is a giant sponge baking in the desert. I apply a drop of the serum and it’s gone.
In fact, I have to be careful to spread it out quickly, otherwise it all gets absorbed into where I dabbed it...
Once applied my face feels exactly how it did before applying the serum.
It doesn’t feel moisturized, soft, wet, oily or sticky.
And if I don’t work quickly I can’t even tell where I’ve applied the serum and where I haven’t. 
I then move on and apply my moisturizer. Then I feel moist (well duh), but there’s no real textural difference than if I applied the moisturizer without having applied the Serum first.
So, so far, it seems like a dud right?
*laughs* that’s what I thought too.
But OMG, when I wake up in the morning, my face feels amazing. It’s like I just moisturized. My skin is soft and smooth and almost plumper.
And that softness carries on through most of the day. Even under make-up my skin is better moisturized.
It’s amazing.

The best part of all though is it makes even cheap moisturizers seem like magic. 
This stuff is so worth the money!