I've got my requests from Korea

MISA Cho Bo Yang Emulsion courtesy of Misshaus.com

And so Jay (Mom's Korean client/friend) came back to Manila last week, which meant that we finally received all of our requests. Thank goodness we have her cuz the things we couldn't usually buy in the country will never be a problem to us anymore. Like me, I'm totally in love with their ginseng, and mixed nuts teas.  I also love their pumpkin tea but I didn't request for a pack last time cuz I thought of having a break on that for now. But I'll comeback for it next time. Not only the teas she brought to us, our ordered skin care products as well. Like products from Missha and The Face Shop she bought all the way from Korea. Actually I wasn't really requesting for the emulsion that she got for me, anyway when I told mom what I like I only said that for as long as there is something like Korean ginseng in it, I wasn't specific since even if I would want to the name of my previous moisturizer was written in, was it Chinese or Japanese? Yeah, the writings wasn't even in Korean, and absolutely not in English. It sucked though. And so that's how it goes, I only said the content that it should have, and that's it. Until now whenever I check for that product in The Face Shop's website I still couldn't find it there. Eventually I've decided to move on without knowing its name, at least I'm sure that it exists cuz the facial wash that she bought for us was in the same name in which my new found favorite was under--- the same skin care collection. The emulsion I've mentioned previously  was MISA Cho Bo Yang Emulsion. My gosh! it's nice that the Missha website has the information and picture of that product. Apparently I knew the name through their website since the bottle was written in either Chinese or Japanese characters. But that wasn't a problem, what's important is how it can deliver well. It didn't disappoint. Right now I paused from using my night cream and serum, just that, and I am totally fine. I like the product cuz it's not too oily nor dry on your face, and your face looks healthier to look at. Maybe it's the ginseng, oh how I love their ginseng. However, going to the opposite end, I find the bottle heavy and I'm thinking how many was its content inside that thick and covered body of it? I'm kinda doubting it wasn't full or just less than enough of the cream since the bottle already occupied the space. I'm thinking it's not a very practical skin care product to buy, but if you are really satisfied with its effect then there's no regret in investing. Me, I like it, but if without mom buying me that product, I can't have it not until she changed her mind. Now regarding the facial wash of the same name as my previous moisturizer from The Face Shop, I say that... um... I don't know, it was alright, I didn't get an allergy or anything... I  didn't see anything new to touch nor feel. I think their moisturizer is better.

Before I leave I wanna tell you something more convenient when you buy stuff from abroad. That it's cheaper to buy almost anything at the airport of whatever country you're in because they don't have tax. They don't tax the item that you  purchase at the airport stores but as far as I know you are not allowed to open the things that are prohibited if you don't have them checked-in, like liquids. I've learned that, should I say 'trick', since Jay only buys our skin care products at their airport before going back to the Philippines to cost us less than the price we get if we buy them in the country or theres.

Peeling day

Days of absence, and now I'm back for my new entry. How is it going?

Today is my peeling day. You know, me exfoliating my skin. The products in the picture are what I use on my face and body. This morning I've already exfoliated my facial skin through The Face Shop's Peeling Day. Tonight, it's my body's turn, I use aspirin and honey by the way. I've read before that sugar and honey is also a good alternative, but I haven't tried that (yet).

Just so you know, in order to make your skin look radiant, it's necessary to exfoliate once or twice a week. But I don't recommend you doing more than two times per week cuz there's a price to pay if your skin suddenly breaks out. Remember I've been there, I had pimples in the past couple of months cuz of over-exfoliating. You don't wanna beat my record, right? So I think twice a week should be enough.

Not only exfoliating will make your skin glow but also make it feel and look soft and smooth, and definitely clean. Why don't you try it? You'll understand what I mean better if you do that.

Now, just to make sure that you won't fall apart when you see your face break out when you try to exfoliate, I guess I should recommend you to buy any antibacterial medicine in the drugstore. Me, I use Clindamycin. But of course, you don't have to buy that if you don't like, you can have your options for yourself.

Gave it a try

Yesterday I've finally gotten rid of the face mask from The Face Shop that I had for free back when we were shopping in their store in Korea.

This is the product I'm talking about. You know, I'm not a believer of any sheet masks in the market. Am I weird that I couldn't see their beauty benefits? I prefer cream peel-off masks. I think that one works in removing impurities and can brighten up your facial skin tone. Also, it's convenient to use cuz it usually comes in a tube size bottle like your favorite facial foam. Unlike the sheet mask, you only use it once then dispose it afterward. If you think about it, per sheet mask costs like maybe over a hundred pesos while the biggest tube size peel-off mask let's say more or less nine hundred pesos. If you compare the duration of the mask's usability then definitely the peel-off mask will win, cuz you can use the mask several times since you only take a pea or more enough to cover your whole face, and that's it. On the other hand, if you buy several sheet masks maybe you can only get eight to nine sheets, and then it's gone for good after one use. It's very inconvenient. Like I said, go for the peel-off mask instead.

Not long ago I went to a salon to have my mani. I choose this nail polish in which color I'm not sure of. But as I see it, it looks somewhat red to pink in color. Back when I was a teenager I already have this nail polish cuz sometime before I used to play the mani/pedicurist of my own self. I would put the nail polish on my nails but would always mess up. Until there was a point in time where I've given up on my hopes in acquiring that skill. I couldn't go regularly to a salon to have them done for me cuz mom's disagreeing on it, thought I was still young for that, and I'm back in staying natural. I kept my nail polish in my cabinet for a long time, one of them is what I have in the picture. It seems that the nail polish is still alright, although it took three coatings to get that look. If you ask me the color, no the 'name' of the color, it's says in the bottle that it's Naughty Marietta. Anyway, it's a cheap nail polish of mine.The manicurist told me that it's okay to use cheap nail polish especially for me who gets my manicure every week, and my pedicure maybe two weeks, cuz I change colors everytime. You know, using cheap nail polish mean it's low in quality like it can peel-off easily, and I think the smell is overwhelming and there are times that the nail polish takes some minutes to dry. Of course, it's the other way around if you use some little pricey brands. If weren't for those stocks, I wouldn't be wearing cheap nail polish ever again. But I'm not too picky, so I'm determined to finish them all up... not dispose them.

Ain't for me

Not that I'm being whiny here, I'm just kinda listing the products that I'll buy no more. They are the products that I bought from way back when and then some from just recently. I've tried and tested them on my skin but the good results that their products were promising aren't there for me. These are some skin care necessities that I have from The Face Shop (Quick and Clean Mild Emulsion, Quick and Clean Oil-Free Moisturizing Cream, Dewy Flower Emulsion, Model Designer Cellul-Stop Body Gel, Nature Garden Cleansing Bar Softening Grape, and Nature Garden Cleansing Bar Firming Tomato) and Etude House (Dr. Oil Solution Shine-free Dual Primer, and AC Clinic Toner).

I'm gonna tell first about the ones from The Face Shop. But before anything else let me share with you how mom and I became frequent buyers of that store... well, I was kinda into KPOP at that time, so the moment I saw their store while me and mom were shopping I immediately persuaded her to let us check that out. It took a little convincing actually but she's not so tough to get her approval. So we're there and look around to see if their products might be something. Oh! by the way, I just remember that one thing that made mom say yes to going to that store is because of Bae Young-jun and Kwon Sang-woo who were during that time (I don't know now) were the faces of this cosmetic and skin care line. Not that mom's a fan of them but maybe cuz she knows those actors from the koreanovelas on tv. Going back, and so from inside the store, the sellers were very welcoming to us telling us they'll help us find what we need. I said we're just there to check some things but not sure of buying anything yet. Okay you can forget that now cuz eventually we did buy a lot of stuff from there. It became that way because me and mom became enthralled about the natural ingredients their products have. We're thinking that if you use natural ingredients for skin care it's not gonna irritate and put you in trouble while staying pretty. To tell you seriously, I have acne gradually sprouting on my face at that time so I suppose that putting some natural facial products on my face to hopefully cure my acne is a good idea, and so I asked the seller what's good for me... while mom is finding what's good for her too. For a long time now until recently, I've been ecstatic about their products but as I became more aware of the products I'm using I realize I don't know, I just see myself not completely patronizing their products all along. But I think mom and I will still be back to that store even though we're branching out to trying other Korean cosmetic and skin care lines in some malls.

Okay, enough of that winding story, I'll proceed to my point.

1. Quick and Clean Mild Emulsion- I've finished two to three bottles of this before I stopped from buying it. I didn't buy anymore because I hold unto the seller's promise that it will reduce my pimples, prevents my skin from new breakages and eliminates excess oil on my face that causes pimples, but as I observed, I saw that it's not big of a help to my problem. I said to myself that it's uneconomical to buy this if it doesn't work since it's a little pricey to think about it. But I let myself be fooled for sometime because I like its smell. I let myself believe that the product will do good for me with continued use. I guess it doesn't suit me during that time for my pimples are still on my face and I still have oily skin.

2. Quick and Clean Oil-Free Moisturizing Cream- Just like the emulsion, it's also no good. I partnered the two together cuz the seller told me it's best if I do to see better results. They have the same promises but they're nothing. If I remember it clearly, whenever I put this moisturizing cream, my face would get oilier. Since more oil is producing on my face I started to rarely use it, I just forcefully finish one container cuz I don't wanna trash it when mom bought it in a bit of a pricey amount. After that, no more.

3. Dewy Flower Emulsion- Haha! it's funny how I find this product forgettable. Seriously, I even can't remember its scent. All I know is that this doesn't also work. But if you let me choose between the first emulsion I used and this one, I would go for the previous.



4. Model Designer Cellul-Stop Body Gel- I can't believe myself that I bit this. I remember, I kinda begged mom to buy me this product because I was so depressed that I look fat and most importantly, I have a pot-belly and this product as it says in the label that it will firm up your skin and will reduce cellulite. In my thinking and as how the seller projected to me this product it looks like it'll slim down parts of my body that's a little more meaty and well, fatty. And so through my mom's good heart I got what I wanted. I tried this at home after bath. It's like a gel that the nurses and doctors would put on the tummy of a pregnant woman during ultrasound. The difference to that is that this product feels minty on your skin where you put the application. It's like you spread an ointment on that part of your skin. Even the smell isn't likable for me. I really want to discontinue the use of the product but I was determined to shed some fat on me, especially on my belly. More than any parts of my body that's where I give my full emphasis to hopefully flatten it and won't see my ugly pot-belly anymore when I wear fitted shirts. And the result? Hmm.. maybe it worked a little bit but not so well. It didn't flatten my tummy at all but firmed it up just a little bit. I know we don't have a cellulite on our tummy so I can't tell you if that has an effect. And so, after one tube, I've had enough. Since then I realize that firming up and slimming down is different from each other. Maybe there's truth to what they're saying that you can't get rid of your pot-belly, big thighs and arms without working out.

5. Nature Garden Cleansing Bar Softening Grape- I bought this because it's skin softening, who wouldn't want that? But as far as skin softening is concern it didn't really wow me. It's also pricey for a soap that dissolves easily. But I say, if one day I miss its scent I don't mind that it doesn't soften well or that it's costly for as long as I could sniff the smell of the grape fruit all for myself.

6. Nature Garden Cleansing Bar Firming Tomato-  Just like the latter, this is also like a generic soap. Nothing special for me. Says it's for firming but I didn't feel my body got firmed. I don't like the smell of the tomato especially on my body while I'm soaping during bath so my last buy will literally be the last.



Tired now? I am. I never thought that it's gonna to be this long of an entry. But I'm close to finish now, I won't give up.

Finally, I'm gonna talk about another Korean brand, Etude House. So how did I start buying their stuff? Let's see... hmm... oops! sorry I had a short-term memory loss. Let's move on to my point, teehee~

1. Dr. Oil Solution Shine-free Dual Primer- I still have this with me. I only used this trice... I'm not sure though. Anyway, since I'm happy with my Max Factor products I don't see the point of putting primer anymore especially if the primer is not so rewarding. You see, what it promises aren't factual cuz I still have oil on my face and in the afternoon would leave my skin shiny, not shine-free. I just can't explain it, but I don't like the look on my face wearing this primer so I stopped it. Right now, this primer is sitting inside my make-up pouch and I don't know if I'll use it again.

2. AC Clinic Toner- It took me some minutes before I could type my thoughts on this product. Why? It's not that it's also forgettable--- of course not! cuz I still have this at home--- but because I didn't see any effects of the product on me. When I bought this, I didn't quite understand what the seller said to me. All that's clear to me that she said was that it's good for pimples. But I don't know if it can cure pimples or just prevents it. Anyway, I didn't care before but now I wanna know cuz I don't know if it worked or not. But to tell you frankly, whether to eliminate pimples or to prevent it from coming out, still no remarkable effect. I changed to Eskinol, it's a local brand but works well for me. This toner is disappointing.

Pics credit The Face Shop and Etude House's official website.