Skin Care Saturdays: Etude House AC Clinic Intense Mask Sheet

My skin, as I get older, tends to behave itself more.  This is a blessing.  But when my skin doesn't behave, I get these super painful cystic pimples that are the size of a mountain - but all under the skin for about a week.  Then they explode into outer mountains that are made of pus and gross and make me feel like I should run up into a church steeple and ring bells.

This, obviously, is undesirable.

One of the things that helps quite a bit is putting on one of these Etude House sheet masks when I feel one of these pimples coming on.

They're sized pretty generously for sheet masks, as you can see.  Standard packaging too.  One thing I always notice right away is that these are hella saturated.  There's lquid all the heck over, and a lot in the package too.  I'll take that over not enough liquid, but jeezy creezy, it seems like a waste having so much left in the package.

Also: this smells terrible.  It works, but dear god, at what cost?

I can only recommend this to people who have awful, painful pimples like me.  If they're sort of annoying, don't bother - get something that doesn't smell like a tea tree is exploding in your nose.  But if they hurt, if they make you want to rip your face off, go for it.  Just don't say I didn't warn you.

I got these from KoreaDepart for 10.00 for five of them USD, so about two bucks each before shipping.  If you only want one or so at a time, pretty much any korean reseller should have these.  

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 - Etude House Moistfull Collagen Firming Eye Cream

I'm slowly but surely turning into a nail polish & Asian skin care blog.  Whatever.  YOLO, or something kids of this day and age would say.  I'm just really in love with what skin care products and makeup I've gotten from Japan and South Korea, and nail polish is my thing.  

My long hiatus was due to spending the past two months in and out of the hospital off and on.  My stomach was killing me - it felt like I was being stabbed - and we're only finally just now figuring out what the heck is the matter.  Hopefully I'll be able to blog more in future.

Anyway!  Eye cream!  I don't really use these often, but while I was back here in the apartment after a hospital visit, I noticed I had dark, hollow circles under my eyes that made me look like a corpse.  Not cute.  I had a sample of this stuff, Etude House's Moistfull Collagen Firming Eye Cream, and I tried it.  The next day, I looked human again.  That's a got to have product for me, so I ordered the full size the next day.

The packaging isn't anything special compared to other Etude House offerings, but what the heck do you want from them?  It's friggen eye cream.

It's a bit on the thicker side of a gel, almost like a gel that's en route to being a cream.  This is  helped by its fairly quick absorption.

I never thought I'd buy anything that had "moistfull" in the description, but this has been helping loads with my dark circles and undereye droopy. It smells super flowery and girlie almost to the point of being overpowering.  Fortunately the smell fades quickly and leaves a nice aftersmell (think aftertaste but for your nose).   I got mine for about 11.00 USD from an eBay seller, but you'll be able to find it online anywhere from 11.00 USD to 15.00 USD for the full sized jar (50 ml).  

Skin Care Saturdays - The Face Shop Real Nature Sheet Mask in Kelp

I love skin care.  I wasn't blessed with good skin, so for me, it's honestly less about vanity and more about 'how do I avoid painful cystic acne outbreaks that will take a month or so to resolve'.  Emphasis on the painful.  So doting on my skin, lovingly putting on toner and masks and creams - that's just me hoping that pimples won't happen.  But they always do, because life is cruel and unfair and likes to smash your dreams.  (I'm still waiting to become a vampire lawyer, world.  Four year old me is disappointed this never happened.)    But we'll still always try new stuff.

Which is why I snagged this sheet mask.

Protip for the non-beauty inclined: if you see "purifying" on face stuff, it's good for oily skin / blackheads / pimples nine times out of ten.

I'm sure one of you guys reads Hangul, so have at!

Some of you may be wondering what a sheet mask is.  It's basically what it sounds like; it's a sheet of fabric that's soaked in whatever awesome essence that mask is gonna help your face soak in.  Some of them will fit well, most of them won't, because we all have different faces.  They're way more popular in Asia than here in the US, though.

The first thing I liked about this mask was that it was hella saturated in the mask.  Some sheet masks give you a puddle of essence in the package but not much on the mask itself. So I felt I got my three bucks' worth.  As for fit, well.

For a sheet mask, this is the best fit I've ever seen.  It actually gave me enough room to get it on all of the blackheaddy parts of my nose.  (That's a word now.  I say so.)

It smelled really good too, which I like.  If something's going to be on my face for fifteen minutes, it'd better smell good.  I left it on until it dried out, so about thirty minutes, and noticed no ill effects.  My skin felt soft and not greasy, and a pimple that had been threatening to surface came to a head - a sure sign that the mask helped extract some gross nasties from my skin.

If you're cursed like me, I highly recommend these.  Don't be scared of kelp!  It's in your toothpaste, you know.  I've seen these for 1.50 each at resellers; I paid 3.00 at The Face Shop directly.

The Honest Company - Baby Balm

So, I'm kind of a free sample junkie.  I love 'em.  Even the cheap samples.  I can't help but adore getting mail that contains things waiting for me, even if I'm just going to stash them in my medicine cabinet.  It's probably the worst habit I have - I'm a hippie, and part of me loathes all of the packaging and fuel waste.  So sad.  

So when I ordered my Discovery Kit from The Honest Company, I was expecting to just stash it with my other treasures.  The Honest Company is a company Jessica Alba started up when she saw how much unhealthy junk is in baby stuff.  They also have some bath and body products.  

First thing I noticed was how pretty the packaging was.  It's shipped in one of those nice cardboard containers, the ones where the outside feels sleek.  I got the Essentials Discovery Pack since I don't have a kid.

from thehonestcompany.com

It has a trial size of the healing balm, shampoo & body wash, face & body lotion, laundry detergent, and hand soap.  My hands were chapped when I got it, so I immediately opened up the healing balm and slathered some on.

photo from thehonestcompany.com

It's labeled for multiuse, but is marketed primarily as a diaper balm, for baby rash.  However, it's also got a lot of other awesome things.  QUOTETH THE SITE:

• Organic sunflower, olive, & tamanu oils work with enriching shea butter to nourish, moisturize & help protect sensitive & irritated skin
• Chamomile, calendula, and lavender gently calm & soothe
• Castor oil battles existing diaper rash and prevents future cases by creating a protective barrier against urine
• Promotes healthy, supple, soft skin anywhere you need it – top to toes!
• No harsh chemicals (ever!) – only powerful, natural, non-toxic ingredients in this must-have salve
• Sensitive for infants & everyday use
• Hypoallergenic • Certified Organic • Vegetarian • Biodegradable • pH Balanced • Naturally Non-Toxic

That's a lot of awesome claims.  I figured it wouldn't live up to them.  HOLY CRAP WAS I EVER WRONG.  This stuff slogged down into my hands and kept them soft through repeated washings.  This stuff smells like a really nice herbal treatment, like a cuppa tea.  This stuff, I'd love to pour all over myself all the time.  Sadly, I won't, because at 12.95 USD for three ounces, that's ... stiffer than I can afford.  So I will bogart my little tube while I still can.



Disclaimer: This product was purchased by me.  No compensation was received. All opinions are my own.  Referral link used.

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.

Skin Care Saturdays - Eucerin Professional Repair

Sometimes we just need to kick back and think about the things that make us happy in our lives.  I tend to think of those things on Saturdays.

Presently in Houston it's very nice during the day, about sixty-eight Fahrenheit, but dipping down into the thirties at night.  That's enough where I want to turn the heat on at night.  As such, my skin is freaking out with dryness.  It is just not happy.  Most of the time when I put on moisturizer, my skin coos with joy.  Lately, it's been aching and sore, kind of like I have a sunburn.  Yes.  Putting on moisturizer has been hurting.  Even my beloved argon oil.  It's depressing.  But never fear; I've been trying things out and finally found something that works well during these depressing winter(y) days. 

from Eucerin.com

Eucerin Professional Repair has been saving my hands, y'all.  I don't really care for the smell (they say it's non-scented, but it smells sort of like hospitals do).  Fortunately, that smell goes away as quickly as the lotion absorbs.  I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to being goopy for long periods of time, so I'm glad this stuff takes maybe three minutes, tops, to seep in.  They're offering samples on eucerinus.com, so go grab some if your skin is angry like mine.

                          Disclaimer: This product was purchased by me.  No compensation was received. All opinions are my own. 

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!