It's Skin - Honey Nutri cleansing foam

It's Skin - Honey Nutri cleansing foam

I am in love.
With this cleanser..... (Maybe that was a little bit too dramatic) This really is my favorite cleanser. Of all cleansers. 

What it is a creamy foaming cleanser, with a light honey scent(very light).  The cleanser itself is a light golden yellow. It's thick, and foams into tiny little bubbles.  

Why is it so awesome?

It's so simple.
I like all kinds of fancy cleansers, multiple steps, oils, powders, scrubs, etc.
But when I get up each morning, and sleepily wash my face, I don't have the energy or patience for anything complicated, I just want a quick simple cleansing, that leave my face feeling fresh, clean, soft, not dry and ready to face the day. That's what this cleanser is.

Are you thinking that I could get a simple cleanser from anywhere, any brand? Well yes, basic cleansers are everywhere. But rarely does one do the job so well.
It's not that the Honey Nutri cleanser does anything different or new, it just does things better. When I wash with it, it has a nice texture and is easy to use, it washes away cleanly. When I am done, my skin feels just a bit softer and younger, a bit fresher, than with other cleansers. After days and days, my skin always feels that lovely.

Most simple products are mediocre. This is perfect at being just a simple cleanser!

Etude House - Bottle!

Etude House Pump bottle
Price 3000won
Contents : None!

So this is not a very exciting purchase, but I was super excited!!! Why? Because it is PERFECT for Konading (It's a verb because I say so :P )
So this little bottle is empty, which makes 3000 won a bit expensive...... I'm not so keen on the pink, especially since Holika sells a lovely purple one in stores(Actually all of the Korean in-store brands seem to sell their own version!), but not online! So I had to settle for Etude house pink.

But since the top flips up, and it has a push down release, it is just so easy to use!

It is such a pain to try and tip nail polish remover onto a little Q-tip, especially when your nails aren't perfectly dry! I always end up tipping some on to the floor..... It drives me nuts!


I bought 2 bottles, one for eye makeup remover, and the other for nail polish!

And I am happy!

Hadalabo - Tamagohada daily foaming cleanser

Hadalabo - Tamagohada daily foaming cleanser
Size: 160ml
Price: 21000won at Olive Young, $12.30 at sasa

Have you heard that BHA is better than AHA for  skin care? I heard that once.... Ever since I jump on products containing BHA.
So of course I had to buy the Hadalabo daily foaming wash. HAD to. It was not optional. *laughs* I am a freak, I know.

I found it in Olive Young, my source for all things Japanese in Korea.
I paid a hefty 21000won for it ($21!!!).  It has since shown up on sasa for only $12.30US. *sobs* I could have bought 2 for that price (Well, almost....)

The ugly packaging is a complete turn off for me.... It's just blue.... So boring!!!! Don't you think??
But I do appreciate the pump, it's hygenic and convient.
Inside the bottle is a liquid, that turns into a foam when you use the pump.
This is something I really like, a foam without aerosols!

Sadly the foam is useless. It doesn't remove make-up well at all. I do use a cleansing oil usually, so this isn't a big deal, and the Hadalabo cleanser does a good job of removing the cleansing oil.
But teh weird thing is, the cleanser really doesn't cleanse....
It starts out as a foam, so it doesn't emulsify. It just sits on the skin until the bubbles dissolve.

I have tried sooo many ways to get the cleanser to work. I have tried, with makeup, without makeup, with cleansing oil, without cleansing oil. Rubbing it with my hands, rubbing it with my silicone face brush, using more, using less, leaving it on while i brush my teeth, washing it off immediately, using it everyday for a week straight.
To no avail. My skin does not feel clean after I use this cleanser.

I don't want a cleanser that makes my skin feel tight, or squeaky clean. I do want a cleanser that doesn't strip my skin. But this cleanser does nothing!!! Nothing!!!!

Apple vinegar fresh foam

Apple vinegar fresh foam

Transparent-type foam  cleanser containg a large amount og potassium, minerals and a citric acid that makes drab skin caused by horny substances smooth, and whose honey extract provides moisture to your skin and thouroughly removes make-up residue.

The Apple Vinegar Fresh Foam sample is precisely the reason I am using only samples for a month. This is exactly the sort of thing I would NEVER buy for myself, and the sample has been sitting in a cupboard for like 6 months. Apple Vinegar..... eww? What do you think? Would you buy a Vinegar face wash?

Smells - Like apples. Like real apples, not like artificial apple scent, with a tiny faint touch of vinegar in the background. But I suspect I only noticed the vinegar scent because I was looking for it! I really like the smell. I love the smell of apples, and the scent of this cleanser is appley but not super strong.

Texture- A gel! I expected a cream, or something, but it looks like HAIR GEL!!!!! So bizarre!

Effectiveness- Wow. That's probably all I need to say, but brevetity is not my strong suit.
So i saw that the cleanser was a gel, and was perpelxed. Then I read the instructions, which say to rub it on the face with water, and it will foam. I patted it on, and with only a tiny bit of rubbing it foamed, just like soap. I actually ended up using way to much cleanser, because I thought there was no way the little bit I was using could foam up enough to do my entire face.
But it did, with tons of extra. Next time, I'll try for half as much!

I washed it off, getting some in  my mouth and eyes as usual (I swear I'm like a kid), The cleanser tastes more vinegary than it smells, but you really aren't supposed to be eating it. And it stung a bit in my eyes, but nothing surprising.

With it all washed off, I dried my face, to find, Wow! My face was soooo soft and smooth! Like I had just exfoliated, and moisturized! Soooo good. 

Buy?- Bought. Seriously. My skin was so soft, and so nice! I might buy extras....

Skinfood Aloe Vera Foaming/Cream cleanser

Skinfood Aloe Vera Foaming/Cream cleanser

A fresh foaming cleanser with aloe extracts to soothe and hydrate skin. Keeps the skin soft and calm after cleansing.
I am quite sure that the Foaming cleanser and Cream Cleanser are the exact same thing. They look and smell the same....
The Foaming cleanser came with the Summer travel set that was GWP!

The Aloe Vera Cleanser is one of the most common samples from Skinfood. It seems every time I buy something from Skinfood I get a packet of this or the Hop Beer Hair wash.

Scent- Unlike all the other Mini's that come in the Summer skin set, the Aloe Vera cleanser does not stink.  It smells like Aloe, soap, with a background of wood. But the scent is mild, and not unpleasant. I'm not keen on 'green' smells, but as far as they go, the Aloe is nice.

Texture- A very thick creamy cleanser. The white cream is pearly, very pretty.

Effectiveness- The cleanser foams and cleans beautifully. Its very gentle, and removes all my makeup. It leaves my skin soft, and doesn't strip.
Buy?- Probably not. I get enough samples of this, I may never run out.... But If you are looking for a very good everyday cleanser, I recommend this. It's a good all round cleanser!

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 

Skinfood Tea Tree Bubble Cleansing Foam

Skinfood Tea Tree Bubble Cleansing Foam

Price: $7.70 (7700won)
Size: 160ml
The Tea Tree Foam is another of the products that I picked up at Skinfood for my boyfriend to use. Although this product in particular is not from one of the Men’s lines.
Really all a men’s product is, is one packaged and scented differently.
And since the Tea tree bubble foam comes in a plain green plastic bottle with a pump top dispenser and a brown paper look label, it’s certainly manly enough.
Interestingly enough, even though Skinfood labels a number of their products in the brown paper, none of it is actually cheap brown paper.
They are actual labels. So they don’t warp or peel when wet.
So they aren’t cheap, they just look it….

The Tea tree Foam is a clear liquid, that turns into a foam when pumped out. The foam is fluffy and light, abut doesn’t foam up one the face. In fact the foam completely disappears when wet…
That seems backwards to me…. Shouldn’t it later up on the face?
Regardless, it’s very cleansing. It’s way too strong for me. It’s strips my skin and makes it even drier.
But I have dry skin to start with, and there is no reason for me to use a product with tea tree oil.
On my boyfriends oilier skin though, this is a good products. It really cleanses, but it doesn’t leave him dry.
Between this and the tea tree and lavender toner from skin food, his skin has been more even and blemishes have been greatly reduced.
In fact, it’s rare for him to have one when he is consistently using both products.
The product does have a tea tree oil scent. But I can’t notice it at all in the foam itself.

All in All, I think this is a really good foam for oily skin. It seems to hit the right balance of drying out excess oil without going to far. But it’s not for dry skin.

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!

Suisai by Kanebo- Enzyme cleansing powder

Here in North America, enzyme peels seem to be all but forgotten, a little used alternative to the more hard core acid peels and rough scrubs.

I mean you go the drug store, and just about every Skin care line now has physical exfoliators.  Neutrogena “healthy skin rejuvenator”, St. Ives Apricot Scrub, etc.

My first introduction to exfoliation way back in Junior high was at a Sleep over party, and my best friend introduced me to St. Ives apricot scrub.
I didn’t even care about skin care back then, but my face felt so smooth.
Obviously it made an impact since I remember it even still.
But the Apricot Scrub is a prime example of something sooo bad.
Most of the physical exfoliators are WAY too rough for the face.
The other common alternative is an acid peel, most commonly Glycolic acid, but salicylic acid is out there.

I myself have the L’Oreal Anti-aging glycolic mini peel kit.

It’s lovely, but really it’s more intense than I need at 23 years old...
So... what am I to do?
There are gentle physical exfoliators like OLAY, which has little micro beads which are smooth and super gentle. And there are products with super low levels of glycolic acid.

But if you ever tried any of these “gentle” products, the results are...  mediocre at best.

*sigh* I can melt off the top layer of skin, or scrub away the top two layers, or I can feel like I’m doing nothing at all.

I’m sure I can’t be the only one who wants a middle ground. Something that exfoliates, makes you skin smooth, but isn’t too harsh or aggressive.

For me, enzyme peels are the answer.
I have a Pineapple (contains Bromelain the ultimate fruit exfoliate, it’s used in the food industry as a meat tenderizer!) enzyme peel which I use for my body. It’s dirt cheap and actually works.

And for my face, I have Suisai.

The pouch contains 15 individually wrapped portions of 0.4g (tiny I know)
this stuff is the shit.

It takes off enough dead skin that a couple of days use keeps me soft and fresh.
With no side effects.
So no stinging (like from chemical peels) and no scratched up skin.
It’s not quite as satisfying as a real peel.
The Enzyme peel works basically the same as and dry cleansing powder.
Dump the dry powder in the palm of your hand, ad a couple of drops of water, work into a paste, and apply to your face (I apply it dry, but some people moisten their face first).

I leave it on while I brush my teeth, then add some more water, and using my pore brush, work it into a lather and rinse.

My face is a little tight and a little dry at the end, but also soft and smooth.