KoreaDepart Haul - Don't Shop While Stoned

Hello, reader.  You may be wondering where I've been!  I was doing quite consistent with the updates, then bam!  Nothing.  Well, I've been in and out of the hospital for the last two weeks.  It kind of sucked out loud.

I look about how I felt in that photo, man.  So, one night while I was waiting for the angel of death to take me, or sleep, whichever came first, I staggered onto KoreaDepart and started clicking.  The next day, I was vaguely aware of having ordered a sleep pack and some food, but that was about it.  Well, the box came today.  Let's see what I get while out of my gourd on Vicodin, shall we?

Oh.  I sure did get food.  I got two boxes of Lotte Duffe honey ginger cookies (1.52 each USD), two mozzarella chicken Spam Singles (1.99 each USD), one container of Ottogi spaghetti ramen (1.29 USD),  a box (15 count) of Ottogi sweet potato & mixed pumpkin tea (5.86 USD).

Beauty wise, I got The Saem's "Snail Trio #3 Lavender Sleeping Pack" (7.85 USD) and It's Skin Nail Styler Smoothie in GR01 (2.34 USD).  I haven't used the sleeping pack yet (it's noon as I write this), but I did sneek a whiff and oh, wow.  This is totally going to help me sleep.  The polish is a cute mint green crelly with  pink and blue glitter.

But can we dig how cute the packaging is on that sleeping pack?  Oh my gosh, you guys.

This was my first experience using KoreaDepart.  They're a bit different than most other South Korean resellers in that they charge you flat 25.00 USD shipping up front, and once the shipping weight is calculated, refund you the difference.  This also lets them default to more expedited shipping with tracking.  At first this irritated me, but I'm kind of okay with it now since I got this package in a week.  It was also carefully wrapped in bubble wrap, and I got about five samples.  I'll order from them again.

So, yes.  In case you were wondering where I was, I've been in the hospital and stoned hauling face masks and nail polish.  Here's hoping I can be more regular with updating seeing as I'm not dying anymore!

Disclaimer: This product was purchased by me.  No compensation was received. All opinions are my own.  I am not affiliated with this seller.

Skin Care Saturdays - [TonyMoly] Egg Pore Blackhead Out Oil Gel & Egg Pore Tightening Pack

Two weeks in a roooow!  *feels like a rock star*  So, as you may or may not know, I recently was in the hospital.  And when you're in the hospital, your focus isn't on your skin.    Instead of looking good, your focus is more on "can I make it to the toilet without passing out?" or "how the heck do I unravel my IV cord?" or "what is that beeping omfg make it stop why".  When I got out of the hospital, I was sad to find that my face had turned into some sort of plague area.  I look like a zombie from Evil Dead.

Coincidentally, I got an order from kocomall.com the other day that contained these two skincare products from [TonyMoly].  They're both designed for large pores (alas, no DEAR GOD MY FACE FIX IT products really exist).  Here's my first reaction to them.

The first step in the process was the Egg Pore Blackhead Out Oil Gel.  This is ... literally what it says it is.  I did it after oil washing my face, and the consistency of this product is basically just a super thick oil wash.  It also has some scrubby bits in there.  It does the standard 'turns white after a while of use' thing.  My roommate, who used it while I did, said it smells like embalming fluid, but I didn't really notice anything.  Maybe I'm desensitized due to years of using acne treatments.  It hurt my hands to rub this in for three friggin' minutes, though.  I was using it on my nose, so it required me to hold my hands in a weird way.

photo from kocomall.com

So, after my fingers uncramped and my skin was sufficiently pummeled, I rinsed.  To be honest?  I didn't notice any immediate results, nor did I expect any.  Blackheads aren't something that're easily treated, and to expect immediate results is a fool's errand.  

But, undeterred, I went ahead and popped on the Egg Pore Tightening Pack.  To me, it smells like plastic, but again, roommate claims embalming fluid.  (She's never smelled it; the real thing is much worse.  Trust.)  The first thing that I noticed was that it kind of looks ... exactly like baby poop.  But, undeterred, I spackled that crap on my face (it's really thick, which I love).

photo from kocomall.com

photo from kocomall.com

This?  This I loved.  My skin really did feel tighter, sebum was reduced for like, two days, and I just don't get that from my Queen Helene or Freeman's masques.  I will repurchase this when I finish it up for sure.

You don't have to run out and purchase these right away.  Neither is probably going to change your life, nor is there a problem with finding something similar Stateside.  But I do defy you to find cuter packaging.  That's the draw here, let's be honest.

I give the Egg Pore Blackhead Out Oil Gel a B (if only because it got me to actually work on those jerkoffs).  I got it for 5.58 USD.

The Egg Pore Tightening Pack gets an A++ WOULD BUY AGAIN.  I got that for 5.58 USD as well.  I purchased both products from Kocomall.com

Kocomall.com is a newish South Korean makeup reseller online; they used to have an Amazon store that I used for all of my Skin79 BB Cream purchases.  I'm loving their prices and their inventory too.  Right now they're running a promotion where if you sign up with their website, you get a 5.00 off coupon (USD).

What have you tried and loved lately?  Do you like [TonyMoly]?  Why is that name so fun to say?

Disclaimer: This product was purchased by me.  No compensation was received. All opinions are my own.  I am not affiliated with this seller.

Review: Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel (Sensitive)

So, I am now one of America's Unemployed.  You may think this means that I'm having non-stop fun, that I'm vacationing and sleeping in late and having a lot of trysts with other fabulously unemployed singles.  That's completely not the case.  I am living in a constant state of panic like a tiny, twitchy dog. Adding to this stress is the fact that I'm pulling two or three face-to-face interviews per week.  And since I'm in a constant state of AUGH WTF NO, my skin is reacting in kind.  I'm breaking the fuck out.  My skin needs help.

A couple of months ago in my Conscious Box I got a sample of Juice Beauty's Green Apple Peel in the sensitive formulation.  It's not a peel-off mask; instead, it's a smooth, slightly sticky formulation that you smear on your face and leave on for twenty to thirty minutes.  The "peel" isn't what you do, it's what the mask does for you.  It exfoliates, it tightens, it brightens.  At least that's what it says it does.

from juicebeauty.com

This stuff works for me, so well.  I love this stuff.  I smear it on when my skin gets to Crisis Levels, and it always makes me look as dewy and glowy as I did when I was fourteen and the world was shiny and new.  It really does luminize.  I think buying a full price bottle of this would be worth it for me when I eventually get the money; since it's a once or twice per week item, the small amount per jar would be all right.  I love this mask, and it loves me.  I hope my interviewers love me tomorrow too.

Loot! - The Face Shop

I love finding out about other cultures.  I love eating other cultures' foods and watching their movies.  I adore reading their books and listening to their music.  Since I'm a Culture Sponge (it seriously is a thing - I'm listening to French kids' music right now while I'm typing this, and the book next to me is a gender studies textbook about Japanese hostessing clubs and I'm eating some random peanuts that I couldn't tell you what they are because I don't speak Spanish), I also love - and might love the most - sampling other cultures' beauty products.

I work in a part of Houston they call the International District; there's a lot of Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and Mexican places all within a few miles of each other.  I love it; where else can I get good butter chicken and pho without having to drive too far from each other?  I also just like signage that's not in English or romanized lettering.  It just makes me happy for some reason.  But now I have another reason to love it here: FACE SHOP STORE FIVE MINUTES FROM WORK ERRRMAHGEERD.  I'm not even kidding, I nearly skipped into the joint on my lunch today at work (and very nearly stole one of the posters of the gorgeous Kim Hyun-joong they have plastered all over).  Here's what I got (which isn't nearly half of what I want, but at some point I think I might need food again).

TREASURES.

I got this BB cream for 14.00 USD.  I've been looking for something to replace my beloved SKIN79 hot pink, and this feels (on my hand at least, I used the sample) much lighter.  I'll review it later!  It's kind of a smallish bottle, so I'm not sure if it's the same bang for the buck as hot pink.  I'll keep you posted.

Herb Day cleansing wipes for 8.00 USD.  I use wipes to take off my makeup at night, and also when I'm lazy.  Since the voyage from the car to the store and then back again in 107 F heat left me feeling not so fresh, I tried one of these at my work desk.  It left me feeling clean, left no weird residue behind, and tingled.  Mama likey, and that's pretty cheap for 70 wipes.

Nature Garden Cleansing Bar in sebum controlling.  I got this for 5.00 USD.  I'll use it and let you guys know how it does on controlling my sebum.  Sebum sucks.

Speaking of sebum, I love me these sheet masks.  They're a teeny bit expensive (3.00 USD each, and they're one use each), but they work so well I try to get them once a month.  Now I don't have to pay for international shipping when I do that.  Kermit arms, y'all.

And y'all know I couldn't leave without some nail polish.  The top one ran me just 2.00 USD (I know, right?)  That color is GR501 (I know, unfortunately no cute names here).  The bottom one was 5.00 USD and is BR801.

After work tonight, I'm going to go home, shower, fight some sebum, and do my nails.  ... and try not to think about next week when I get paid and probably go back to spend/waste more money.

Cult Classic Review - Boscia Luminizing Black Mask

Nuh uh, autospellcheck, Luminizing is so a word, Sephora says so!  But onto the review!  Have you ever wished you could have stunning, gorgeous, poreless skin?  Of course you have.  But do you like looking like a space mutant while you wear a face mask?  Do you delight in scaring your friends and pets while stomping around your home, growling at loud volumes I AM THE IMPURITY DESTROYER?  

Suck it, impurities.

 Wait, you don't?  That's just me?  Oh.  Well.  So, if you just want to have the nice skin thing, Boscia's Luminizing Black Mask is supposed to help out with that.

Photo from Sephora.com

According to Sephora's copy, it's supposed to "shrink pores, firm skin, and reduce inflammation".  These are all awesome claims, especially for a mostly natural based product.  Plus, it's a peel-off mask, which I love - there's the same joy that came with putting glue on your hand in grade school and pretending that you were dying from the plague.  (And if you didn't do that, we are not friends anymore.)  But does it do all it claims?

Well, yes and no.  It draws out impurities about as well as any other clay mask I've ever tried.  And it exfoliates ... like any other peel-off mask I've tried.  But I'll be honest, for 38.00 USD, I'd much rather just go buy a bottle of Freeman's Cucumber Peel-Off face mask for four bucks and be done with it.  (Which I do.  I use that once a week, and once a week I use their Avocado-Oatmeal clay mask for the drawing out impurities bit.  I'll use the clay one more often if my skin is being a dirty jackass.)

Now, if you've got thirty-eight bucks to drop?  Sure, do it - it'll save you time.  If you're like me and wince while inwardly shrieking about how that's half of your electric bill, just stick to Freeman's.  It might not have the same awesome DUDE IT'S BLACK factor, but for all the money you'll save, you can get some black nail polish.  Now let's go listen to some Burzum together, oh dark hearted friend.

(This song is almost as brutal as how much this face mask costs.  Alas.)

The consensus: this mask is trendy and oh so cool, but not worth your time if you're pinching pennies like 99% of us are.  (OH DO YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE.)  Let's go peel our plageskin off now!