Latest Skincare Obsession

My skin used to be very oily as a teenager, but as I've gotten older, my skin has gotten a lot drier - to the point where it can feel really tight a lot of times even with a moisturizer. So I went out hunting for a good heavy duty moisturizer, and this L'Occitane Ultra Rich Face Cream has been a godsend.

It sinks in quickly, has a very light scent that doesn't bother me at all, and hasn't caused any problems on my skin. Despite the fact that it's quite heavy, it hasn't caused any acne or any adverse reactions at all! Also, it creates a good base for my makeup - I find that a lot of very emollient moisturizers can "eat through" my foundation after a couple hours, but this doesn't do that at all.

I recently visited Vegas, and I brought this cream along because the desert air can really wreak havoc on my skin. I am happy to say that this cream left not only my skin feeling soft and supple but also worked wonders on my pale Romanian friend who suffers from extremely sensitive skin.

If you have dry skin and have been looking for a soothing rich moisturizer, you should definitely give this a try. I call it "face butter" since I consider it the equivalent of body butter for my face!

Skincare Product Rave

Bath and Body Works recently had a sale on their entire website for 20% off, so I decided to spring for the Pat Wexler MD MMPI Skin Regenerating Serum. When the line first debuted several years ago, I was pretty skeptical about it. I had read about Pat Wexler rather often in magazines, and knew that she was a very successful dermatologist, but I still figured, "A skincare line at BBW? eh" Also, given that it was a skincare line sold at BBW, the price point was steeper than I was willing to pay.

However, I've recently been encountering several rave reviews for this serum, so when the coupon rolled around, I figured I would give it a shot.

I got the 1 oz jar, which normally retails for $55:

The product itself is hot pink! It makes me happy every time I open it!

In the past, I've tried various serums and potions that claimed to smooth, brighten, tighten my skin, etc. and none of them worked.

This serum, on the other hand, is amazing! It's fragrance free so it doesn't bother me at all. Texture-wise, it's really interesting. It feels very silicone-y and in that sense, it reminds me a bit of Estee Lauder's Idealist skin refinisher and Biotherm Source Therapie. However, with both the EL and the Biotherm, I felt that the effects were extremely temporary. They made my skin feel smoother and more refined when I applied the product, but when I washed it off at the end of the day, my skin still had the same blotches and bumps.

Not so with the Pat Wexler serum! Upon initial application, it is honestly a bit weird because it feels so silicone-y and even left my skin feeling slightly sticky. However, I followed up with a moisturizer (as recommended), and that got rid of the stickiness. I use it 2x a day - in the morning, I just use the serum + my trusty Aveeno SPF 70 sunblock, and at night, I use the serum with Korres sugar crystal cream.

I've been using it for about 2 weeks now, and I can't say enough good things about it. It has really evened out my skintone (which can be a bit blotchy at times). Also, I've had these tiny bumps on the right side of my face for the past few years that NO exfoliator or cleanser could get rid of, and within 2 weeks of using this serum, they're almost nonexistent. This serum is seriously amazing and it's the first really effective skincare product I've encountered in a LONG time.

The BBW website is currently having a great deal on a giant sized jar (3.4 oz) for only $65. I'm beginning to wish I'd gotten that one instead!

I'm so impressed with this product that I'm beginning to look into the rest of Pat Wexler's line. Have any of you guys had any experiences with it? Any recommendations?

(first image is from the BBW website)

Shiseido Pureness Foaming Cleansing Fluid Review

I got this face wash at the Sephora FF sale and have been using it for about 2 weeks now. Shiseido skincare does not always agree with me, which is weird because it works amazingly well for my mother. Their white lucent line doesn't work for me at all. This Pureness line, however, is targeted at younger, acne-prone skintypes. I figured I would give this face wash a try since most foaming face washes feel too drying and harsh on me.

I have to say that this face wash is really nice. I have oily, acne-prone skin that gets very dehydrated and flaky during the wintertime. This face wash is a pearly liquid that foams up quickly and rinses off easily. It's great for my skintype and I think it's gentle enough for normal skin as well since it doesn't leave my skin feeling dry or tight - just soft and smooth. It is a little pricy at $21 but a little goes a long way (you only need one pump for your whole face) and it works so well that I would recommend this product.

The Face Shop

The Face Shop is another Korean boutique brand of skincare and makeup. A large percentage of their products are premised on using ingredients from flowers, so their products tend to be fairly heavily scented with flower scents.

This brand opened up a boutique in Koreatown (in Los Angeles) in the 6th Street Center Plaza (or whatever it's called... the newer one across the street from Bleu Cafe), which is why I started buying it, and I also purchased some more of its products in Korea. The consensus in Korea seems to be that this brand is not that popular, though, as most of the girls I talked to much preferred Skin Food over The Face Shop.

For what it's worth, though, here's my review on a few of their products.

This is the Flebeaute Collagenic rich Skin Toner and Emulsion:

I have a very sad story about this product. I started using samples of it and fell in love because they left my skin feeling very moist and soft, so of course I bought the full-size set for approximately $30 USD and I hate it! It feels sticky upon application and it's been breaking me out!! I have tiny pimples all over my face from this product. I don't know if it's because the product is too rich for me since it is marketed towards more mature skintypes, but I've never had such problems from using other lines targeted at more mature skintypes (like Shiseido's) so I think the product is just not compatible with me. So this line gets a thumbs-down.

The next product I got is "The Flower Loose Powder in NB23." Once again, I got suckered in because of the adorable packaging:
It looks like a giant peach and the puff is so cute! The powder itself is supposed to have flower-based ingredients, so it has a fairly strong floral scent, but it doesn't linger after application. It has a nice texture and is finely milled, and is a good match for my C3 skintone. It doesn't control oil as well as the Ben Nye powders I use but I really like this powder overall.

I also have their Recovery BB cream, which is the leftmost product here:

As most of you know, BB creams are all the rage in Korea because they're like skincare that also provides coverage and evens out your skintone. They were originally created for after-care for laser or burn patients, so they're meant to be very soothing. The variety of bb creams in Korea is mind-boggling but I got this one because it has SPF 25 and was attractively priced (about $15USD). I really like this product because it has a light gel-like texture. It looks whitish when it's first applied but kind of melds to my skintone, making it look really even while covering up most imperfections. I wear this on my "no-makeup" day when I still want to look presentable, and it always gets me compliments on my skin. This is a great bb cream for people who need a little more coverage.

The last product that I've tried from the line their Honey and Black Sugar scrub:

I really like this scrub. Like I mentioned in my post about Skin Food, I find this scrub preferable to Skin Food's scrub. It's very gentle and smells delicious - like brown sugar mixed with honey! I always get tempted to lick it off when I'm washing my face with it. The scrub particles are grainy and kind of "melt" as you scrub along - my only complaint is that sometimes I wish the scrubby particles would last longer because they melt kind of fast. Other than that, though, it's a great gentle scrub that gets the job done without being too abrasive.

Have any of you ladies tried/liked anything from The Face Shop? I'd love to hear!

The Skin Food goodies!

The Skin Food is a hugely popular low-end skincare line in South Korea. I was just in Korea this a few months ago and all my cousins and friends who are in their early 20s swore by this line. The line is very cheap by American standards and has some really great products. It's also very easy to find in Korea because the boutiques are everywhere.

I have to admit that I'm a huge sucker for cute packaging which is part of the reason I LOVE Korean and Japanese beauty lines. They are just sooooo adorable to look at! Thankfully, with the Skin Food, their products are affordable and actually work well too! Another thing I love about this line is that they really take their name to heart. The products all smell DELICIOUS and live up to their names. I didn't get to try out too many products but just about all the ones I've tried have ended up being winners.

Below is a pic of the peach sake toner:

I got this because of the reviews that said it was good for oily, acne-prone skin, which pretty much sums mine up. I was worried it might smell alcoholic, but it just smells like tasty peaches. It has a pleasant toning effect that leaves my skin feeling tightened and toned but not uncomfortable at all. During the humid Korean summer, I would swipe this on my face to freshen up. It smells delicious and works great and costs only 9000won, which is around $8USD.

Next is The Skin Food's most popular product, their Black Sugar scrub:
They call it a mask, but everyone I know uses it primarily as a scrub. It's a knockoff of Fresh's brown sugar scrub but it's so wildly popular in Korea that a lot of Koreans think it's the original. I was personally kind of underwhelmed with this product (the only item that I don't love from this line, actually) because I felt that the scrubbing pieces were too sharp and that were scratching my skin. It smells delicious (like brown sugar) but I much prefer The Face Shop's black sugar scrub to this one (which I will be reviewing soon). This item is also very attractively priced, at only 7700won (approximately $7USD.) If you like a harsher scrub, you'd probably like this one.

Next is one of my favs - their Black Sesame Hot Mask:
This stuff is awesome! You apply it on your damp face and leave it on for about 10-15 minutes, then wash it off. It heats up and feels really nice on your skin, and leaves your skin feeling healthy and moist when you wash it off. This is another one of those masks I like to use when my skin is acting up or getting dry patches. It smells like toasted seeds (really warm and delicious). My only complaint is that it can get a bit drippy, which is really obnoxious, but I'm willing to put up with that for softer skin. This product is super cheap too, only 8600won, making it about $8USD.

The last product I got (which I use religiously) is their salmon brightening eye cream:

I got this cream because I need a nice basic eye cream that won't give me milia (heavier, richer eye creams all give me milia, which grosses me out). My friend raved about this one's ability to wipe out undereye circles, so I decided to give it a go. Honestly, I have not noticed that big of a difference in my undereye circles, but it is a nice, light eye cream that creates a good base for eye makeup and concealer. It's 17,000won (about $16 USD) and it's pretty big (30g), so it will last me a loooong time. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with it because it moisturizes my eye area without giving me milia (ew).

All in all, if you can get your hands on some of this stuff, definitely try it out. At these prices, you can't go wrong - the products smell delicious, look adorable on your dresser, and actually work! Of course, the only problem with this line is that it's so hard to find in the US. Have any of you ladies tried anything else from this line? I'm dying to get my hands on some more!

(all photos from www.theskinfood.co.kr)

Laneige Strawberry Yogurt Pack

This is a review for the Laneige strawberry yogurt pack. I've had it for over a year now and use it when my skin is feeling dried and stressed out and needs a little pick me up.

The main thing I love about it is the SMELL. It smells JUST like strawberry yogurt - I seriously get tempted to eat it! The pack itself is a light cream texture with small red beads - you're supposed to apply a generous amount to your face and massage the cream into your skin until the little red beads disappear, then wash it off after 10-15 minutes.

When I wash it off, my skin looks and feels a lot dewier and just "healthier" overall. It's a good mask for all skin types in my opinion, because it doesn't aggravate my oily skin or break me out while imparting moisture. (A lot of products break me out so that's a big deal to me). It's moderately priced (about $20 for a jar) but it lasts you a long time. If you can get your hands on this, I'd definitely recommend it!