K-Beauty - an Intro!
Asian beauty has hit the Western world hard and fast over the last couple of years, to the point where we now see Western beauty giants like Estée Lauder , Dior and Givenchy releasing products inspired by what we have seen coming out of the East - notably South Korea.
Cushion compacts, sheet masks, essences, sleeping packs, brightening masks - many of these can now be found on the shelves of your local Sephora/Ulta/SuperDrug/Boots - and many made by Western brands.
As someone who fell hook, line and sinker in love with K Beauty 5 years ago before it hit the mainstream market in Europe and the US, I wanted to talk today about why you should think about trying it out, if you haven't already. Korean beauty is attractive not only because of the comparably low prices of many brands (think 10 dollars for a BB Cream - although this depends heavily on where you buy from as many Western retailers do tend to jack up the price, looking at you Cult Beauty!!) but also because of the weird and wonderful formulations. Snail slime, snake venom, birds nest extract, donkey milk and horse oil (?!) are some of the strangest, while aloe, rice, seaweed and various fruits/vegetables are the more digestable options. I'm a sucker for something new and different so it's no surprise that K
Beauty ticks all my boxes, even the weird stuff - I'm a big fan of snail products as they are so hydrating, and also of rice products both for the gorgeous smell and brightening properties. After they grabbed my attention for the first time on a Korean vloggers Youtube channel, I had to know more about these products. A quick search on Google and I found myself staring, unbelieveing, at the smooth, clear, luminous faces of Korean bloggers, singers and actresses. Whatever they were using, I wanted - stat. That's not to say that every K product I've ever tried has been life-changing (and I've tried a few!) but in general the products are affordable and effective.
* Google Chinese actress Fan Bing Bing
and just LOOK AT HER SKIN!!! She
told CNN that she sheetmasks at least
TWICE A DAY. There are pictures of her
online signing autographs while wearing
a sheetmask and I LOVE IT.
Skincare seems to be something that is taught to Korean girls from a very young age, and while it can involve up to ten steps or more of cleansers, ampoules, essences and packs, if you look at K-celebrities online it's hard to argue with the fact that they all have beautiful skin. If you are interested in a more in-depth post on these steps and the products used please leave a comment below!
If I remember correctly I think that my first purchase (a test purchase, if you will) was the Tony Moly Peach handcream and CatsWink powder compact, and a couple of Innisfree sheetmasks. Yes, the shipping was long as they were coming directly from SK but it was worth the wait. The
handcream smelled gorgeous and was effective, the sheetmasks left my skin soft and hydrated, and the powder set my foundation without being chalky or too matte.
I bought my products from Ebay for a while, but then I came across other online vendors - Meme Box is a fab one but they don't ship to Europe anymore (WHY!!), but my absolute favourites are Beautynetkorea.com and Laonjenna.com.
A quick look at BNK shows that they have a generous selection of K products - sheetmasks, BB and CC Creams, make-up, sleeping packs, Essences, toners and cleansers (they have a WHOLE SECTION dedicated to cleansing!) and they are based in SK. I could spend hours browsing. Laonjenna, based in the UK, does a great selection of skincare, lip products and Dashing Diva nails (I.Love.These.) and there is an option to sort the products by skin concern which is great for anyone who isn't familiar with K products. The owner is a sweetheart and the service is excellent. They used to do a monthly subscription box which I adored, but although it is no longer available you can still buy a box on the site that contains masks and a couple of other bits, and for the price of 28 euros it's great value. I believe shipping is about 4-5 pounds, or free in the UK with a spend of 50, which is pretty good as it's fast.
BNK used to ship free (which often took up to three weeks!) but as of this week they have changed their policy and now shipping is paid, or free if you spend 50 dollars or more. I recommend creating an account (like Laonjenna, you accumulate points for every purchase and those points, once you have a certain number, can be used as credit for your orders -I recently scored 38 sheetmasks on BNK for a measly 25 euros instead of 50 as I had lots of points built up) and then keeping an eye on their sales and 2 for 1 offers. My only issue with them is that sometimes once a product is out of stock they don't restock, so a couple of products that I really enjoyed in the past are no longer available.
You can also find some K-Beauty on Beauty Bay and Cult Beauty but make sure you do your research and price comparisons so that you don't end up paying through the nose. Case in point - the Mizon Hyaluronic Acid 100 is 11 dollars on BNK, 32 pounds on Cult Beauty and 35 euros on Beauty Bay...). Personally I'd rather pay less for a product and wait longer for shipping than pay exorbitantly and have it in 3 days, but that's just me!
My current K-beauty faves are
* Clio Kill Black Eyeliner (BNK -very black, doesn't budge, pointed tip to get a perfect wing)
* Etude House Drawing Eyebrow Pencil (BNK -great everyday brow pencil and usually 2 for 1 on BNK)
*Etude House Precious Mineral BB/Missha Perfect Cover BB (BNK - two all-time favs)
* Any Korean facial SPFS (they are generally milky, light, factor 50, and don't interfere with makeup application )
* RiRe Glow cover cushion (BNK - dewy, medium coverage)
* Mizon Sheetmasks (Laonjenna/BNK - hydrating,hydrating,hydrating)
* Nature Republic Bulgarian Rose Emulsion (Loanjanna - light, smells gorgeous, hydrating)
* Dashing Diva Press-on Nails (Laonjenna - brilliant for those of us who are rubbish at applying nails, I've gotten mine to last up to 5 days - pictured below)
* Holika Holika Soda Pore Cleansing Cream (BNK great cleanser, smells lovely)
I think I might do more posts on K Beauty as I had intended to go through some products today and explain how they are supposed to be used, as names can be confusing if you're just starting out, but I don't want the post to be 10 pages long!
All in all, I definitely recommend having a nose on BNK and Laonjenna to see if anything catches your fancy, the prices are quite low so even if it doesn't work out for you, its not as if you've lost 50 euros on one product. If you've never used K products before my advice would be to start with some sheetmasks - Mizon, Innisfree, Etude House and Tony Moly do the best.
* South Korea is phasing out animal testing and hope to be cruelty-free by 2018. Amore Pacific which owns brands such as Etude House, Laneige, Sulwhasoo and Iope do not test on animals and haven't since 2008 - they sell in Hong Kong, not China. However, if you are against animal testing it's best to check out the brand first before you buy.
You can follow me at https://www.facebook.com/doyouevencleanse and https://www.instagram.com/doyouevencleanse/ for more :)
Happy Shopping!
A x
Asian beauty has hit the Western world hard and fast over the last couple of years, to the point where we now see Western beauty giants like Estée Lauder , Dior and Givenchy releasing products inspired by what we have seen coming out of the East - notably South Korea.
Cushion compacts, sheet masks, essences, sleeping packs, brightening masks - many of these can now be found on the shelves of your local Sephora/Ulta/SuperDrug/Boots - and many made by Western brands.
As someone who fell hook, line and sinker in love with K Beauty 5 years ago before it hit the mainstream market in Europe and the US, I wanted to talk today about why you should think about trying it out, if you haven't already. Korean beauty is attractive not only because of the comparably low prices of many brands (think 10 dollars for a BB Cream - although this depends heavily on where you buy from as many Western retailers do tend to jack up the price, looking at you Cult Beauty!!) but also because of the weird and wonderful formulations. Snail slime, snake venom, birds nest extract, donkey milk and horse oil (?!) are some of the strangest, while aloe, rice, seaweed and various fruits/vegetables are the more digestable options. I'm a sucker for something new and different so it's no surprise that K
Beauty ticks all my boxes, even the weird stuff - I'm a big fan of snail products as they are so hydrating, and also of rice products both for the gorgeous smell and brightening properties. After they grabbed my attention for the first time on a Korean vloggers Youtube channel, I had to know more about these products. A quick search on Google and I found myself staring, unbelieveing, at the smooth, clear, luminous faces of Korean bloggers, singers and actresses. Whatever they were using, I wanted - stat. That's not to say that every K product I've ever tried has been life-changing (and I've tried a few!) but in general the products are affordable and effective.
* Google Chinese actress Fan Bing Bing
and just LOOK AT HER SKIN!!! She
told CNN that she sheetmasks at least
TWICE A DAY. There are pictures of her
online signing autographs while wearing
a sheetmask and I LOVE IT.
Skincare seems to be something that is taught to Korean girls from a very young age, and while it can involve up to ten steps or more of cleansers, ampoules, essences and packs, if you look at K-celebrities online it's hard to argue with the fact that they all have beautiful skin. If you are interested in a more in-depth post on these steps and the products used please leave a comment below!
If I remember correctly I think that my first purchase (a test purchase, if you will) was the Tony Moly Peach handcream and CatsWink powder compact, and a couple of Innisfree sheetmasks. Yes, the shipping was long as they were coming directly from SK but it was worth the wait. The
handcream smelled gorgeous and was effective, the sheetmasks left my skin soft and hydrated, and the powder set my foundation without being chalky or too matte.
I bought my products from Ebay for a while, but then I came across other online vendors - Meme Box is a fab one but they don't ship to Europe anymore (WHY!!), but my absolute favourites are Beautynetkorea.com and Laonjenna.com.
A quick look at BNK shows that they have a generous selection of K products - sheetmasks, BB and CC Creams, make-up, sleeping packs, Essences, toners and cleansers (they have a WHOLE SECTION dedicated to cleansing!) and they are based in SK. I could spend hours browsing. Laonjenna, based in the UK, does a great selection of skincare, lip products and Dashing Diva nails (I.Love.These.) and there is an option to sort the products by skin concern which is great for anyone who isn't familiar with K products. The owner is a sweetheart and the service is excellent. They used to do a monthly subscription box which I adored, but although it is no longer available you can still buy a box on the site that contains masks and a couple of other bits, and for the price of 28 euros it's great value. I believe shipping is about 4-5 pounds, or free in the UK with a spend of 50, which is pretty good as it's fast.
BNK used to ship free (which often took up to three weeks!) but as of this week they have changed their policy and now shipping is paid, or free if you spend 50 dollars or more. I recommend creating an account (like Laonjenna, you accumulate points for every purchase and those points, once you have a certain number, can be used as credit for your orders -I recently scored 38 sheetmasks on BNK for a measly 25 euros instead of 50 as I had lots of points built up) and then keeping an eye on their sales and 2 for 1 offers. My only issue with them is that sometimes once a product is out of stock they don't restock, so a couple of products that I really enjoyed in the past are no longer available.
You can also find some K-Beauty on Beauty Bay and Cult Beauty but make sure you do your research and price comparisons so that you don't end up paying through the nose. Case in point - the Mizon Hyaluronic Acid 100 is 11 dollars on BNK, 32 pounds on Cult Beauty and 35 euros on Beauty Bay...). Personally I'd rather pay less for a product and wait longer for shipping than pay exorbitantly and have it in 3 days, but that's just me!
My current K-beauty faves are
* Clio Kill Black Eyeliner (BNK -very black, doesn't budge, pointed tip to get a perfect wing)
* Etude House Drawing Eyebrow Pencil (BNK -great everyday brow pencil and usually 2 for 1 on BNK)
*Etude House Precious Mineral BB/Missha Perfect Cover BB (BNK - two all-time favs)
* Any Korean facial SPFS (they are generally milky, light, factor 50, and don't interfere with makeup application )
* RiRe Glow cover cushion (BNK - dewy, medium coverage)
* Mizon Sheetmasks (Laonjenna/BNK - hydrating,hydrating,hydrating)
* Nature Republic Bulgarian Rose Emulsion (Loanjanna - light, smells gorgeous, hydrating)
* Dashing Diva Press-on Nails (Laonjenna - brilliant for those of us who are rubbish at applying nails, I've gotten mine to last up to 5 days - pictured below)
* Holika Holika Soda Pore Cleansing Cream (BNK great cleanser, smells lovely)
I think I might do more posts on K Beauty as I had intended to go through some products today and explain how they are supposed to be used, as names can be confusing if you're just starting out, but I don't want the post to be 10 pages long!
All in all, I definitely recommend having a nose on BNK and Laonjenna to see if anything catches your fancy, the prices are quite low so even if it doesn't work out for you, its not as if you've lost 50 euros on one product. If you've never used K products before my advice would be to start with some sheetmasks - Mizon, Innisfree, Etude House and Tony Moly do the best.
* South Korea is phasing out animal testing and hope to be cruelty-free by 2018. Amore Pacific which owns brands such as Etude House, Laneige, Sulwhasoo and Iope do not test on animals and haven't since 2008 - they sell in Hong Kong, not China. However, if you are against animal testing it's best to check out the brand first before you buy.
You can follow me at https://www.facebook.com/doyouevencleanse and https://www.instagram.com/doyouevencleanse/ for more :)
Happy Shopping!
A x
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