🌱 Korean Beauty: East Meets West-Skincare Edition 🌱

[darlyndar]

As part of my New Year's resolution, I promised myself I would explore the world of Korean beauty a lot more than I have. I would love this to be a place to discuss and share your experience!

I am currently practicing the "7 Skin Method" every morning. This will help hydrate dry skin as well as balance sebum production is oily skin. I was a grease factory and am now very normal. This method is simply applying a hydrating toner 7 times in a row. You can use a cotton round, but I prefer to apply 5/6 drops to the palm of my hand and press it into my skin. I am currently using:

• Missha First Treatment Essence 2X ($49)
• Amore Pacific Single Extract Vintage Essence 1X ($145)
• ElishaCoy Moist Up Hyalurone Ampoule Essence 4X ($10)

Results are immediate! My skin is plump and glowing. Now, I could NEVER give up my Good Genes and Luna, but this will definitely take the place of some very expensive skincare products I use like my Vintner's Daughter. I would love to hear about Korean Beauty products you have discovered. I'm all for spending in the name of great skin! ❤️❤️❤️

[Anonymous]

@hensonpd, excited to hear that you are seeing results since using a K-beauty routine.  The Pyunkang Yul Essence Toner would be great for most, if not all, skin types. 

If your skin tends more towards the dry or dehydrated side, the Blithe 8 Nourishing Bean Essence, the Be The Skin Botanical Power Nutrition Toner or Etude House Moistfull Collagen Essence are also worth looking into.

If your skin tends more towards oily, you might consider Innisfree Green Tea Fresh Essence or Neogen Real Ferment Micro Essence.

[heylady14]

@Anonymous—Second the Neogen Real Ferment Micro Essence for combo skin—it’s been amazing at evening out sebum production and it has birch tree juice, one of my favorite ingredients. Love all the hydrating essences listed here as well!

Going to order the Pyunkang Yul and Innisfree Green Tea Toner to check out-thanks for the good tips! 

[Anonymous]

2nd the Innisfree Green Tea Fresh Essence. My skin is usually oily, or combo-oily and has taken quite well to the essence. 

@hensonpd @Anonymous

[darlyndar]

@hensonpd I would definitely recommend the Missha Fist Treatment Essence as well as a simple hydrating essence like ElishaCoy and Pyungkang Yul. There are sooooo many but those are the three I have in rotation as well as Amore Pacific Vintage Essence. It’s a wonderful routine to incorporate! So glad you’re loving it as much as we all are. ❤️❤️❤️

[Kim888]

@darlyndar I have kind of a stupid question for you haha - so i've been using a sample essence I have from sephora (ski-II) and just ordered the Missha First Treatment Essence - but i am a bit confused about how much to use - like you, I also prefer to just use by fingers but I can't make like 6-7 drops cover my face- how are you making that little stretch so far haha? i feel like when i put a bit into my hands i have enough to press into my cheeks but then not enough for my forehead - I wonder if I'm using too much. 

[Anonymous]

@Kim888, have you tried applying 3-4 drops of the Missha into your hands and then patting that onto your cheeks and then another 3 drops into your hands and patting/pressing those 3 drops onto your forehead, chin and nose area?  You may be able to cover more surface area on my face with the same amount or less product (but same effectiveness) - you may even find that certain areas require only 2 drops of essence.

[Kim888]

I have not been doing it that way but sounds like it would work better - thank you @Anonymous ! All you ladies have so many good tips on this!!!

[Aaliaa]

Hey @Kim888, try decanting your watery consistency essences, like the Missha First Treatment into a spray bottle. I will spritz my face and then pat it in. This ensures all the product is absorbed by my face and not my palms!

[Kim888]

@Aaliaa That's a really smart idea! Thank you!

[darlyndar]

@Kim888 I totally get it! Lol! All skincare is ridiculously confusing to me. 😩😩😩

Are you applying for Missha immediately after you wash your face? The trick is: don’t dry your face completely. Keep it somewhat damp. It’s said that an Essence needs to be applied within 5 seconds of washing your face. So, I wash, gently pat off excess water, apply 5 drops to my hands, then press; starting on my cheeks then forehead. You’ll find that the essence will travel farther that way. I usually have the opposite problem. I feel like my face is overly saturated and need to take a 30 second break after my 4th or 5th application for the essence to penetrate. 

Are  you by chance using Missha exclusively? I use it as my first and second application as well and is the perfect dupe for SK II. But, I feel like it may be too much if you’re using the 7skin. I would recommend adding a second Essence like the ElishaCoy or Pyungkang Yul. Both are simple and purely for hydration. I just discovered I can purchase Pyungkang Yul on Amazon for $16! That was exciting. I grabbed my ElishaCoy at CVS for $10 and it’s wonderful. 

Sorry for the overload. 😬😬😬 I’ve just found such a passion for Essences! Lol. I’ve even purchased some for friends and family like, “DO THISSSS! IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!” 

[naturalooks15]

@darlyndar Great info. Let me know the quality of Pyungkang Yul on Amazon that you got. I am but cautious of buying beauty products on amazon as I think I got a counterfeit product for purology conditioner I bought there (it smells like toothpaste and doesn’t do anything for my hair). It would also be great if you could tell me who the seller was. I have been wanting to buy that Essenes. I currently use Missha and 1oz size SK II that I got in a kit.

[darlyndar]

@naturalooks15 I haven’t purchased from Amazon yet. I ordered my Pyungkang Yul from ohlolly.com. I ran across it on Amazon the other day. The seller says it’s sold from Beauty Ultd with a 5 star rating. I would hope it’s real! 😬😬😬 As far as the Toner itself, I’ve used it as the last 4X of the 7 skin and so far so good! It doesn’t leave my face sticky. That’s the one thing I always look out for. The ElishaCoy doesn’t do that either. If your in the US, I got mine at CVS for $10. That’s a wonderful hydrating essence with a simple formula. 

[fieldsofclover]

It's not on Prime Now unfortunately, but that would have been awesome!

Edit: the direct Amazon listing I saw is gone so I ordered it from the third-party seller with the best ratings (called ERIC TRADE).

[fieldsofclover]

(Update to this: I got genuine product from my Amazon seller, but have since found out that OhLolly dot com is a proper authorized seller, at least for the US.)

[Kim888]

@darlyndar Thank you!!! Not information overload - that was really helpful! I was applying it to a dry face so I will start applying it right after I wash my face! I haven't built up to the 7 step method yet but it sounds like it's really working for you so I will definitely go on amazon and check that out! $16 is a great deal! 

[darlyndar]

@Kim888 I hope you do! For now, apply it twice before your normal routine. You’ll now experience the true benefits of your Missha. It really does prep your skin to eat up your other products like it was a cheat day. Lol. 

[Sharon0222]

Try the Laniege sleeping mask!! It works wonders on hydrating my skin through the night. I’d usually wake up with my skin feeling parched but when I use this mask my skin is glowing and hydrated

[just1ne]

Is it ok for sensitive skin? Thanks 💓

[naturalooks15]

If anyone has recommendation on good B.B./CC cream with yellow undertone, please let me know.

i was looking at Missha BB cream but found that it has paraben and other red ingredients 😞

[fieldsofclover]

@naturalooks15 Maybe take a look at the IT Cosmetics version? Unfortunately they have a narrow shade range also, but the undertone was a bit too warm for me so it might work for you.

[naturalooks15]

@fieldsofclover @Anonymous thanks! I had tried to color match with it once in store but it seemed Khaki/muddy rather than yellowish, not sure if I am explaining it well. I also read on beautypedia that this one has citrus oils in it so this will make skin more photosensitive hence I didn’t try much. 

Maybe I will try it again.

Any experience/opinion on Nars Radiant moisturizer? That seems yellow. I know it’s not BB/CC but maybe I can buy sone thing else while I continue my search for a better BB/CC. Open to any other suggestions as well.