Berries in the Snow

Honestskin Special Gift Event

20. December 2014

As you know there are a lot of different retailer selling asian cosmetics products in the world wide web. I’m trying to check out different shops in order to see which one offers the best service and good prices on the same time and it’s been a while that I subscribed for honestskin‘s newsletter. But somehow, although they have a lot of discounts, I never ordered anything myself, but after I read about The Beauty Code’s experience I was curious and applied for the Special Gift Event– and I was lucky to be one of the selected winners of a gift package. So here is my experience with honestskin so far:

Honestskin is an online shopping mall run by the Silicon Two Inc. in Korea. They claim to have authentic products, a huge range of different products and fast delivery. They ship internationally, too. Their page is easy to navigate and already displays all the different brands they offer on the front page.

As I said, I follow their newsletter for quite some time and I recognized that they offer a lot of different discounts and special sales. The only downside is, that they don’t offer free shipping. Instead, they have a way to collect the shipping price in dependence to the amount of items you buy. If you buy 1-3 items you pay 5 US$, for 4-6 items you will already pay 9 US$…(see details >>here<<) Actually, it would be better to pay for the weight instead of number of items.

So, apart from their regular discounts they have also this so called special gift event you can apply for. They also seem to have other events from time to time, like the Sponsor Event they offer at the moment (if you are a blogger you should try to apply for it ;) ). In the event I took part, I received a package containing three korean beauty products. The parcel arrived after 11 days of shipping, which is a good shipping time for packages from Korea. All three items were packed in bubble wrap. I received Iope Super Vital Cream VIP Special Gift, Etude House Color Lips-Fit in shade #OR201 Dream Fit Coral and Nature Republic Collagen HD Essencial BB Cream. The products were undamadged, too :)

Oh, another thing, you will get some points when you register on their page, and you can also collect more points for doing reviews of the product on their page. These points can be spent as money for your future order. I always like the idea of being rewarded :) Check out about this >>here<<.

I’m happy about my gifts and I will review them within the next time, so if you are curious about any of these items watch out for future posts. I hope this quick shop introduction was helpful for you :)

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The Jolly Blogger Award

18. December 2014

Christmas is only a couple of days ahead, and, matching to the season I’ve been nominated by KimKine for the Jolly Blogger Award!

Do you open your gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Usually on Christmas Day :) But it changes from year to year.

Favorite Christmas song?

I like the Christmas songs from Frank Sinatra, especially the classic “White Christmas” song of him.

Favorite Holiday movie?

Haha, I’m always getting into Christmas mood if I see “Home Alone” in TV…It may be not my favourite holiday movie, but it is the most Christmas-y…And I love watching “Nightmare before Christmas” when the holidays aproach :)

Favorite Christmas decoration?

Light chains…I love how everything looks so bright with all these lights on Christmas.

Favorite Christmas food?

I’m a huge fan of roast chicken and wild pork! I like to cook by myself, too, and I enjoy it everytime :D

Favorite holiday/winter drink?

Hot Chocolate *_*

Snow or no snow?

I like snow as long as I’m inside my warm home. It is nice to look at and the nights seem less dark. The place in Germany where I live is usually more rainy than snowy, and if we have some snow it will turn into a muddy mess after 1 or two days :/

Do you send out cards or no cards?

I forget it most of the times, but I try to do better this year…luckily this reminded me of sending some..:D

Do you secretly still believe in Santa Claus?

I have to cite KimKine here “Believing in the generosity and love of your friends and family is much better!” That’s definitively how people should think about Christmas time and the purpose of this holiday.

Your favourite winter clothing item?

The most important are definitively skarfs, but I usually don’t leave without wearing a cap or other head piece :D I received a fox beanie from a dear friend and you can see me wearing it above ♥…My nose appears red in the picture, like Rudolph the red nosed reindeer…~_~

One beauty product you cannot be without this winter?

Most important is hand cream! My hands get so dry, especially if I dont wear gloves.

Best Christmas memory?

I don’t have any specific Christmas memory because it was always kind of special. I love that you get to spend time with your family so it is always a good memory.

I tag:

Chie from The Brown Eyed Fox

Rini from Rini Cesillia

Evelyn from Korean Beauty Dream

Ashley from Obviobsessions

Raimar from Sakuranko

♥ Hope you enjoyed reading ♥

4 Comments

beauty beauty boxes

Unboxing: MeMeBox My Cute Wishlist No. 4

17. December 2014

When I received and reviewed the MeMeBox My Cute Wishlist No. 1 I ordered MeMeBox My Cute Wishlist No.3 and 4 shortly afterwards. I was a bit dissapointed with No. 3, although it really contained some products which I use and like, but it simply didn’t give me the impression of being a “cute” box. Now, it’s time to show you the content of the most recent MeMebox My Cute Wishlist No.4, although it arrived some weeks ago:

MeMeBox is a box service company, offering a wide amount of different beauty boxes. Unlike most western beauty boxes which have to be subscribed for on a monthly basis, MeMeBoxes can be preordered but that doesn’t force you to buy more than the desired box. They ship to many countries and the products they send in their boxes are mainly Korean. Apart from their monthly Global Boxes, they also have a huge amount of themed boxes, MiniBoxes, Boxes where you know what is inside, so called Superboxes with a higher value and so on (check out the links at the end of the post)…just check out their online store and you’ll find a huge selection of different boxes. Since they have become very popular within the blogger community they sell out pretty fast, but they bring up new beauty boxes so fast, that you cannot keep up with them anyways. That was at least my experience during this year. At the moment they seem to be focusing on their own brand and some collaborations with well-known blogger in the asian beauty blogger community. At the end of this post I will make a list of all the discounts they offer at the moment, too.

“We bring you, the latest edition of our Meme-fans’ most favorite series, My Cute Wishlist #4!

For endless days and nights, we scoured through the entire country searching for the cutest, most lovable beauty products in the world! We went through a deluge of beauty product wonders and carefully selected only the best to bring you a box packed with whimsical – and effective- beauty products that will once again make the My Cute Wishlist series a Memebox fan favorite!

Loaded with some seriously adorable and hard-to-find beauty loot—straight from the hotbed of cute beauty products – this My Cute Wishlist #4 will make you ridiculously giddy with excitement!

Who else does cute like we do?”

According to the description, this MeMebox should contain a huge amount of super adorable products, which are partially not well known to the Korean beauty lovers. A first peek inside the box reveals that this box is far more fit for the My Cute Wishlist theme than the previous one- yet the amount of unknown products is kept at bay because surprisingly it contains some of the well known brands like Tonymoly, Holika Holika and even Etude House. Two other brands in this box are at least a name to the frequent MeMeBox buyers like ddung and the japanese brand Pure Smile. The only brand I didn’t know about is Yadah.

According to the product card, which comes with each box, the MeMeBox My Cute Wishlist contains 8 fullsized products. I did some research on the Yadag creams, which have a fun design and I liked them from the first glance and I discovered that the creams are availbale in 50 ml jars. I don’t think that these two 5 ml jars are fullsize products, but rather deluxe samples. Anyways…let’s take a closer look at the content:

1 & 2. Yadah Vita-Whitening Aqua Gel and Puregreen Moisturizing Cream (fullsized product, each 5ml for US24)

I was happy when I saw these cute jars with the fun design. Since I didn’t know the brand I was curious to test them right away and both creams seem nice and feel moisturizing when tested on the back of my hand. I will make a more in-depth review once I tried them properly. Although described as fullsized items they are not. You can find the fullsized jars of the cream on the official brand page for 21000 Won (50 ml), which is around 21 US$. The two tiny sample jars here are worth 3000 Won (~3 US$)!

3. Tonymoly Apple Red Tox Honey Cream (fullsized product, 80ml for 12 US$)

This product from Tonymoly has a lovely design. I really adore the apple shaped container! This cream smells so nice of sweet apples and is not comparable to artificial apple scent. Also the structure of this yellow gel cream reminds me of apple purée…just it is more fluid :D It comes with a spoon and I love to use it over night as sleeping mask. I have no complaint about this one so far ♥

4. Etude House Sweet Recipe Candy Stick (fullsized product, 2g for 5US$)

Unfortunately, I received one of these already with the MeMeBox My Cute Wishlist No.1. At least it is not the same, but another shade called seedless strawberry candy. I didn’t open it because I have a lot of lip balms at the moment. It fits for the Christmas season at least.

5. Pure Smile Snail Hand Cream Milk (fullsized product, 60g for 5US$)

This hand cream has a cute design and it contains snail mucus. So I like it although I only tested it once so far. I will use up my other hand creams before I start with this one, but at the moment I’m using hand creams often because it is so cold here. It is good to have a tube in backup. :D

6. Tonymoly Egg Pore Nose Pack (fullsize product, 7ea for 4US$)

Since the moment Tonymoly renewed their packaging of the Egg Pore line I wanted to try a product from it. I think the design is very pretty although simple and the egg makes it somehow even cute. ♥ It is great that they included a whole box of these containing 7 pieces :)

7. ddung Liquid Eye Liner (fullsized product, 5ml for for 15 US$)

I use eye liner daily and it is great to have one in this box, especially since this box is mainly focused on skincare. I will use this for sure although the packaging design is nothing I would buy personally.

8. Holika Holika Pig Nose Clear Blackhead Steam Starter (fullsized product, 30ml for 6 US$)

I love this packaging! I don’t have a lot of Holika Holika products either, which makes me even more happy to receive one with a MeMeBox. The pink tube with the dots and the pig snout looks really cute and I’m looking forward to try it :) ♥

9. Pure Smile Choosey Lip Pack Milk (fullsized product, 1ea for 1US$)

I received one of these lip maks in an earlier box and it was fun to try. Also, this time the essence is milk type so I’m curious how the two versions compare. Maybe I make a review on both, too :)

Below you’ll see all the products of the box:

All in all, this box is a nice one, although probably not the best one I received so far. MeMeBox My Cute Wishlist No.4 has its focus on skincare mainly. The variety is nice, too! The products selected fit to the topic of the My Cute Wishlist and it contains products from some brands which are well known for their cute packaging design like Holika Holika, Etude House and Tonymoly. From the description of the box I would have expected some unknown brands, too, but the only real unknown treassure I found is the Yadah creams, which come in sample size jars -although claimed to be fullsized products by MeMeBox. I think this box would have a much more possitive feedback if they would have included a real fullsized product from this new Korean natural cosmetics brand. By the way, the brand name stands for “Young Adults with Determination to Achieve Happiness”. I’d like to see more products of this brand in future boxes…

What do you think of this box? Any product you love?

If you are curious about MeMeBox and their products, aswell as their enourmous selection of different beautyboxes check out their page >>here<<. Check out the value sets and the possibility to upgrade to free express shipping, too. MeMebox has also a couple promotions:

– receive 5 US$ OFF for purchases above 30 US$ in December using the code 5IO9V5.

– using my affiliate link or the code AFFILIATE-7711-I8PV5-MWLL will get you $5 OFF discount on any orders above $100 (shipping charges not included, can be combined with other coupons)

– using my affiliate link or the code AFFILIATE-0319-ZKQVT-DBNX will get you $10 OFF for orders above 150 US$ (shipping charges not included, can be combined with other coupons)

– $5 off on entire order when purchasing over 3 Memeboxes: MEMEBUNDLE3

– $8 off on entire order when purchasing over 4 Memeboxes: MEMEBUNDLE4

– Free shipping on orders above $70 from Memeshop: FREESHIPPING

You can also read my previous unboxing posts:

MeMeBox My Cute Wishlist No. 3

MeMeBox GetItBeautyBox Global No. 15

MeMeBox Nakedbox No. 24

MeMeBox Diet Box

MeMeBox My Cute Wishlist

MeMeBox Oriental Medicine Box

MeMeBox Scentbox Bundle

MeMeBox 10 Minutes Box

MeMeBox GetItBeautyBox Global No. 11

MeMeBox GetItBeautyBox Global No. 10

MeMeBox GetItBeautyBox Global No. 8

MeMeBox GetItBeautyBox Global No. 6

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beauty guestpost

Guestpost: What you need to know about Intense Pulsed Light Treatments

15. December 2014

Hello everyone – My name is Anna. I’m a make-up addict, as well as a beauty lover, like many of you. I’ve had a few years of experience working with various cosmetic treatments, and now I write part-time for Cosmerience, a site where you can see reviews and photos of cosmetic procedures and beauty treatments. I’d like to share some of my knowledge about skin care with all of you, and my thanks to Fräulein Schnee for giving me the chance!

What you need to know about Intense Pulsed Light Treatments

Every woman’s dream in life is to possess the face that could launch a thousand ships. While some say that beauty is a state of well-being form within, it is undeniable that most people still pertains to beauty as something pertaining to the outward appearance. While it is our lifelong dream to maintain a youthful appearance, truth be told that eventually, aging will steal away the beauty and youthfulness that we are currently enjoying right now. Our body goes through all these natural changes and the best way that we could do about it now is to take care of our skin while it is still young, fresh and glowing.

But how about those who have been in this world for so long yet still desire to be young, fresh and glowing? Environmental elements of today have been causing damage and injury to our skin no matter how we try to safeguard and give utmost importance to it. Little as we know it, our skin has suffered from these environmental elements and signs of damage are starting to be noticeable which include the appearance of sun spots, age spots, brown blotches on face, neck, chest and other areas of the body, redness and dilated blood vessels and lack of firmness. In as much as we want to preserve healthy skin, these signs of damage will eventually appear.

Good thing, modern science has provided us with the technology that will keep aging at bay.

Dermatologists and skin care experts have been resorting to intense pulsed light treatments or commonly known as photo rejuvenation or photofacial to counteract these skin care problems. This treatment was initially developed in hospitals where it was usually given by licensed physicians but with the growing demand for this treatment, independent treatment salons have been offering it as well.

Intense pulsed light (IPL) provides a myriad of benefits – a few of which include the removal of redness and blitzing of spider veins in the face, improvement of skin texture and pigmentation and making fine lines and wrinkles less visible and hair removal as well. The ideal candidate for this treatment is one who wants to experience treating sun damage, broken capillaries and lack of skin firmness all at the same time.

IPL works by using blasts of polychromatic, high intensity light to penetrate just below the skin’s surface, targeting the melanin production which causes the brown age spots and the blood vessels which create broken capillaries. Skin repair comes from underneath the skin surface, thus leaving you with a more even skin tone. Collagen and elastin production are boosted as well. While many people may see it as a laser treatment, IPL treatment is different as it uses multiple different wavelengths of light in comparison to the laser treatment which uses only one wavelength of light. These multiple wavelengths of light penetrate the skin at different levels and intensities, thus allowing treatment of different skin problems.

After treatment, the skin may appear mildly red, which usually lasts for 2-5 days. Make-up can be applied after treatment but exercise caution when removing makeup.

When done properly, it usually takes a series 3-5 sessions that last for around 60-90 minutes per session, with one session every 3-5 weeks to notice significant skin changes. Little discomfort such as mild pinging on skin and warm tingling sensations may be felt but as the skin begins to clear, treatments become usually more tolerable and more comfortable. However, some reports have escalated that there are some people who manifested adverse reactions to treatment so caution must be exercised prior to the procedure.

It is therefore important that the person administering treatment is a skilled professional who is licensed to perform these procedures. Do prior research and read on the things you need to know and need to expect before, during and after treatment in order to minimize the possible complications associated with intense pulsed light treatment. This procedure is a bit costly and may range from $300- $500 per session, and great results are not guaranteed until you subject yourself to treatment. If you want to get the best value for your money, read about more information about this procedure, weigh the pros and cons, and should you decide to experience it, ensure that a licensed skilled professional or a doctor will do it on you.

Author Bio

Anna Tan is a part-time writer (at Cosmerience) and mad about beauty – especially anything related to facial and cosmetic products. She loves nature and spends time taking long walks in the park (if the weather permits), thinking about life in general.

Image Source : Wikipedia Commons

If you are interested in guestposts on Berries in the Snow, please feel free to contact Fräulein Schnee via the contact form above.

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asian cosmetics beautifan beauty ibuybeauti PR Sample review

Review: Dr. G Red Spot Laser

11. December 2014

Here is another review I did for Beautifan, the review blog of Ibuybeauti. It is about the Dr. G Red Spot Laser Treatment. When I started watching the Korean Beauty Show “Get It Beauty” there was one item they mentioned during a show (I don’t remember which one, do you?) which caught my attention: the Dr. G Red Spot Laser, a balm type treatment for scars and red spots. I don’t have much of a troublesome skin, but I do have some scars from the past and if I do get a pimple, the marks are usually very visible and for a long time. This product claims to help to fade these marks and that’s why I was curious to try it.

Dr. G was an unkbown brand to me (it seems brands with some “Dr.” in the name give the impresion that they workespecially well. There are a lot of “Dr.” brands …Dr. G is developed by Dr. Gun-Yong Ahn, the founder of Gowoonsesang. This might be a more familiar name for you, since it is the world’s 2nd largest medical skin care group. Gowoonsesang means ‘Beautiful World’ in Korean. With help of clinical experiences on skin restoration Dr.G. treated and restored skin of many patients. He gained a reputation in the skin restoration area. The brand Dr.G was developed by request of patients who wanted daily skin care after the dermatological treatment. There are 5 skincare lines of Dr.G suitable for people in different ages, like the Trouble Care Line for acne skin and the Luxury EGF Line.

The Dr. G Red Spot Laser is supposed to help troubled skin by clearing up acne scars and pimples. It is advertised to remove red and black spots and it is supposed to care for bumby scars and thus create a clear skin. It has a very rich texture with 50 % red recovery complex. This red recovery complex consists of Centella asiatica and Huttuynia cordata. Both have wound healing and antibacterial properties. Apart from these plant extract the balm contains natural ingredients for skin protection and soothing, like Poria cocos, an asian fungus with astingent and soothing properties, and Phyto Oligo, known as Althaea rosea flower extract / Aloe barbadensis leaf extract, for moisturizing. Additionally, it contains 5 Vitamins: B3, B9, C, E and F. The product was tested and declared as non-comendogenic, which means it doesn’t block pores.

Dr. G Red Spot Laser comes in a cardboard box in mint and yellow colors. The packaging looks very medical and also contains a prescription paper like most items you get from a pharmacy. The balm itself comes in a sleek tube, with a simple white and yellow design. The instruction papers contain detailled descriptions in English and Korean.

The product itself has a balm-type consistency and a milky color. It absorbs fast and doesn’t feel sticky. But your skin feels moisturized and nurished. I applied it on the back of my hand in the images below.

I tested this cream on my face for 3 weeks. I applied it on some of my scars and on one or two red spots I had. I could feel the skin being softer and the marks appearing softer, but it didn’t make them fade any quicker than without cream or treatment. The scars didn’t show any differences either. In a conclusion I would say, that people with troubled skin might like this balm. For me, it didn’t do much, but my skin is in a quite good condition anyways. If you have fresh scars or marks it will probably help your skin to recover since it really contains good ingredients. If you have a good skin condition, you won’t find this product useful. Very old scars won’t be changed probably. The Dr. G Red Spot Laser costs 11.30 US$ at ibuybeauti. Shipping is calculated by weight. the tube contains 30 ml of product and since it can be used on the spots you want to treat olny, it will last for quite some time.

9 Comments

asian cosmetics beauty KollectionK PR Sample review

Review: Etude House Sweet Idea Bunny Nails

5. December 2014

A while ago Etude House released an adorable nail polish line called Etude House Sweet Idea Bunny Nails. There was a “Sweet Idea” competition called out by Etude House and the fans could participate and send in their suggestions. One of them was selected and realized. I really think this is a great idea to involve the fans of Etude House by such competitions, and I have to say that this line truly is a cute gift idea– or maybe also a treat for yourself….:)

First of all, some words about Etude House: Etude House is one of the best known Korean brands for cute packaging. If you are a lover of cute, girly and pink packaging, reminding you of being a child and the princess you always dreamt to be, THIS is your brand. Their packaging is usually so adoreable that you cannot keep yourself from impuls-buys – only because you saw the packaging…Also here, the packaging design looks lovely. The Etude House Sweet Idea Bunny Nails set consists of two nail polish bottles, each designed like one half of a rabbits face. Together they form the complete rabbit. There are 5 different sets available, each rabbit face has another facial expression though:

No. 01 Dalmatian Bunny : Black Bunny Glitter + White French
No. 02 Analog Bunny : White Bunny Glitter + Black French
No. 03 Pink Milky way Bunny : Lavender Pink + Silver Spangle French
No. 04 Red Carrot Bunny : Cherry Red + Shimmering Gold French
No. 05 Mint Gold Moon Bunny : Retro Mint + Jewel Gold Pearl Powder

I selected No. 04, because I think the red and gold combination is best suited for the upcoming festative season :)

As you can see, the packaging design is really pretty and everybody loving these cute packaging designs will fall in love with it. Each of the two nail polish bottles contains 4 ml of product. The backside of the cardboard box contains description in Korean and in English, but you can also find these information on the official global webpage of Etude House. You will also find the ingredients there :)

Even removed from the cardboard box the bottles look adorable ♥

The two nail polish bottles come with two different brushes: The red polish has a normal polish brush. The golden polish has a thin brush and you can draw easily dots or lines with it. I really like this idea. I used the nail polish in the picture below and I applied one layer of the red nail polish. As you can see the color is opaque. It also dries in a good time (it is not super quickly drying, but it doesn’t take long time either).

I think the Etude House Sweet Idea Bunny Nails are a cute gift idea. I don’t have any complaints about these and they do a good job as nail polish. The thin brush for one of the polishes makes it easy to do some nail art, if you like, too. I received mine from KollectionK for 7.10 US$, but it is sold out there at the moment. You can also get this from testerkorea for 4500 Won (around 4,50 US$). What do you think of the Sweet Idea competition?

♥ PS: Check out my post on Beautiful AM Moisturizer and PM Vitalizer. There is a giveaway for you, too :) ♥

Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://kollectionk.com/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: D’Ran Wonder Serum

3. December 2014

Remember when I received the MeMeBox Oriental Medicine? It contained some really great products, amongst these the D’Ran Wonder Serum I’m reviewing today. This serum contains 20 kinds of Korean medical herb extracts and is supposed to nourish and revitalize your skin.

D’Ran is a Korean brand affiliated with Kordeal Asset, a company for nature and bio beauty. D’Ran is the name of their cosmetics and skincare brand, which also produces the here presented Wonder Serum. There are different Wonder Serums available, targeting each a specific skin concern. The D’Ran Wonder Serum for Nourishing and Revitalizing is supposed to help the achievement of brilliant and elastic skin by offering norishment and various anti aging properties. The product comes in a milky glass container with a pump dispenser. The design of the serum is simple and not really special, but since the pump dispenser has a golden colored part it makes the product look very noble and mature.

The ingredients are written on the label in English, which is really great for a product focussing on Korean medicine:

Water, Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Butylene Glycol, PEG-32, Dipropylene Glycol, Niacinamide, C14-22 Alcohols, Phytosqualane, Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil, Triethylhexanoin, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Arachidyl Glucoside, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, 1,2-Hexanediol, Glyceryl Stearate, Stearic Acid, Ceramide 3, Cholesterol, PEG-100 Stearate, Dimethicone, Tromethamine, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Propylene Glycol, Beta-Glucan, Royal Jelly Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Lycium Chinense Fruit Extract, Avena Sativa (Oat) Meal Extract, Phaseolus Radiatus Seed Extract, Glycine Max (Soybean) Seed Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Ficus Carica (Fig) Fruit Extract, Hordeum Vulgare Seed Extract, Phellinus Linteus Extract, Punica Granatum Fruit Extract, Tricholoma Matsutake Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Ganoderma Lucidum (Mushroom) Extract, Morus Alba Fruit Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Polygonum Multiflorum Root Extract, Red Ginseng Extract, Astragalus Membranaceus Root Extract, Placental Protein, Snail Secretion Filtrate, Polyacrylamide, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Laureth-7, Panthenol, Arbutin, Fragrance, Human Oligopeptide-1, Copper Tripeptide-1, Camellia Sinensis Callus Culture Extract, Methylparaben, Allantoin, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Triethanolamine, Phenoxyethanol, Adenosine, Disodium EDTA, Tocopheryl Acetate

You’ll find an evaluation od these ingredients on COSDNA. The ingredients are mostly green flagged and the serum contains a lot of different plant extracts. Moreover, it contains hyaloronic acid for moisturizing, niacinamide for brightening, and snail secretation filtrate for its anti inflammatory properties. All of these are really great products which I love to use :)

The pump dispenser is protected by a plastic cap, too. Unfortunately, the dispensing part of the pump is very short, so you’ll always have to tilt the bottle, so that the serum doesn’t run down the container instead of on your hands or fingers. The serum itself has a clear color and a thicker consistency. It can be spreaded easily and smells of herbs, especially of Ginseng. It absorbs after little time and doesn’t make the skin look greasy. But it has a slight stickiness to itself. If you use other products afterwards it might dissapear though.

The bottle contains 30 ml and I almost emptied it during the last 4-5 months. I was using 1-2 pumps in the morning and evening. I didn’t see any super obvious changes, despite that my skin feels nourished and I really enjoy the relaxing herbal scent. It adds some moisture to my daily skincare, too. Moreover, I didn’t have any breakouts while using it, so I think it is a pretty descent product, which I was glad to be able to try. I’m really looking forward to the MeMeBox Empress Edition and I hope it will contain some similar and nice products like the ones from the MeMeBox Oriental Medicine. According to the product description from MeMeBox this product retails for around 30 US$, unfortunately, it is not available at their shop.

♥ PS: Check out my post on Beautiful AM Moisturizer and PM Vitalizer. There is a giveaway for you, too :) ♥

5 Comments

asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Holika Holika Aqua Petit Jelly Tint Bar

2. December 2014

I had pretty dry lips the last days and so I started to use my lip balms again. One of these is the Holika Holika Aqua Petit Jelly Tint Bar. This lip balm is supposed to give you lucious, jelly lips and moisturize and smoothen them on the same time.

Holika Holika is a korean brand with a magic like brand image. The products are designed to look pretty, and magical in their way. The Holika Holika Aqua Petit Jelly Tint Bar doesn’t look very magical, but rather simple. The color of the packaging is a pale blue and has pink lettering. Actually, there is nothing special about the packaging :D It is simple, but with some color. There are three shades available: Cherry Kiss (No.1), Orange Kiss (No.2) and Pink Plumping (No.3). I own the Holika Holika Aqua Petit Jelly Tint Bar in shade Cherry Kiss .

The color of the bullet is a cherry red shade with small shimmer particles within. It has a subtle fruity sweet scent. According to the description I hoped that it will give a super glossy and moist finish, but the bullet is really hard and I don’t have the feeling that it really melts on my lips in order to moisturize them. But on the other hand, it feels somehow cooling and gives them a slight shine. The color is not really visible or anything. Basically, it has a very pale pink color, almost clear. Luckily, the shimmer particles aren’t too obvious either. The ingredients are good according to COSDNA. It even contains a UV-A and UV-B protection which is always useful.

All in all, this lipbalm is nothing special. It doesn’t hold up to its claim to be a jelly tint bar, because the consistency of the product doesn’t melt away nicely. It gives a light sheen to your lips and has a cooling effect, but other than this, I don’t think that it is worth so much money (there are lip bars which are much cheaper and more creamy). The Holika Holika Aqua Petit Jelly Tint Bar contains 3.5 g and retails for around 11 US$. Did anybody try these?

♥ PS: Check out my post on Beautiful AM Moisturizer and PM Vitalizer. There is a giveaway for you, too :) ♥

18 Comments

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Wishtrend December Promotions and Special Gift

1. December 2014

As usual, I’ll show you the new promotions from Wishtrend for this month. If you don’t know Wishtrend, but love korean or asian cosmetics and skincare products I can recommend you to check out their online shop, especially for one of my favourite products, the O.S.T. Vitamin C Serum. But also the new Klairs Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil is very recommend. Here are the coupon codes for December, so you can safe some money with your next purchase.

As usual, I’ll start off with the 5 Us$ referral coupon you can receive. The principle is easy as this: If you use my invitation code 17939205 upon registration you’ll receive a 5 US$ voucher immediately. There will be a specific field in your registration form called “friends invitation program” where you can put the code mentioned above. This way new customers can safe 5 US$ which is a great to safe some money on your first order.

Second, there is also a 10% discount coupon available for December. Below, you’ll find the coupon code for this:

Coupon Code: WISHDEC2014
Requirement 1: Shopping cart order must be 55 US$ and over to be able to use the 10% off coupon
Requirement 2: Coupon code cannot be combined with any other discount or voucher code.
Only valid until the end of December 2014

The second promotion code is a special gift you will receive by using the code below. This time the Free Gift Voucher is only valid on ANY ORDER over $55 at Wishtrend! You will receive in addition to the free samples you’ll normally get Free Eco Bag as a FREE gift.

Voucher Code: WISHGIFTDEC2014
ANY ORDER over $55
Until the end of December 2014

I would advice you to check out their “Free Shipping Area”, so you don’t have to spend the saved money for shipping costs. They have quite some nice items available there, changing from time to time. I did a couple of reviews on various Wishtrend products in the past. You might like to check these out, if you are interested in purchasing these:

CareLab Powerful Pudding Mask

Klairs Gentle Black Deep Oil Cleanser and Sugar Facial Polish

Rojukiss Multi Vita Cleansing Powder

Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Sheet Mask

Damoae Therapy Shampoo and Tonic

Skinmiso Rice Foam Cleanser

Klairs Illuminating Supple BB Cream

O.S.T. Pure Vitamin C20 Serum

Wish Formula Panda Eye Essence Mask

ONL Saladit Essential Juice Sheet Masks

Do you have any favourite item from Wishtrend? What would you love to try from their products?

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Care Lab Powerful Pudding Mask

29. November 2014

Did you try any so-called pudding masks yet? I have a review for Care Lab Powerful Pudding Mask I discovered at Wishtrend. This mask is not like the sheet masks, which are basically cotton sheets soaked in essence, but here we have a mask consisting of two components which work their wonders as soon as they are combined.

First of all the brand Care Lab (or C Lab) is a Korean brand available at Wishtrend which started as medical cosmetic brand called “Histolab”. They are focussing on soft natural ingredients. The Care Lab Pudding Mask is available in 4 different versions, each targeting another skincare problem. The Powerful Pudding Mask has face shaping properties and claims to affect the appearance of pores. There are also pudding masks addressing dry skin, sensitive skin and for giving your skin vitality. The packaging of these masks is lovely. Each Care Lab Pudding Mask comes in a plastic bag containing the two components of the mask and a instruction paper.

The main part is the component for the pudding. It comes in a square plastic container with a lovely design. The second container is much smaller and contains the “Booster Powder”. Unfortunately, the instructions are written in Korean only, but it is illustrated nicely, so you will understand most of it without being able to read it.

In order to use the pudding mask you simply add the powder onto the pudding component and mix it with a specific brush or a clean spoon or spatula. It doesn’t come with a spatula, but Care Lab sells a special brush which costs around 2 US$.

The product description on Wishtrend is very thoroughly and you will find a translation of all the ingredients of this mask there in English. According to COSDNA the ingredients are safe (>>click here<<). It contains a couple of plant extracts, too. The main ingredients are peppermint, chestnut shell, tea tree oil and japanese cypress. Peppermint soothes sensitive skin while offering refreshment to the pores. Chestnut Shell contains Tannin component which can help to reduce the appearance of pores. Tea Tree Oil instantly tightens up enlarged pores and freshes them up. Japaness Cypress offers deep hydration with upgrading the skin elasticity.

I used the container of the jelly component to mix it with the powder, but I dicovered that the whole packaging is way too much for one usage. So if you have two clean jars you could keep the two components separately and only use the half of it. In this way one of these masks could be used two times.

The jelly component has a clear appearance and the word “pudding” describes it perfectly. The booster powder is a fine, white powder. According to the instruction you have to mix the two components for around 30 seconds. Then you can apply it on your face. Using a brush will make it easier to apply, but also here I used a spoon and my fingers and it worked quite nicely. I was first afraid that the jelly stuff might fall off my face, but I discovered that the product starts to get more solid. The consistency became comparable to the solid gel masks.

The scent of the mask is a mild peppermint scent, which is not too strong. It feels cool and refreshing on the skin, but also moist. After 20-30 minutes the mask can be removed. By know it has become solid, so you can just peel it from your skin in large patches. The skin beneath feels tightened, but hydrated. I didn’t see any effect on my pores though, although I didn’t expect anything in first place. I neither do have super huge pores, nor do I believe that the effect will be visible after one usage. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this mask. I like the refreshing feeling the pudding consistency gives the skin and I like how it turns more solid and can be peeled off at the end. The scent was nice, too. I’d definitively like to try out the other masks from Care Lab, but this time I know that one packaging can be divided for two usages. Each Care Lab Pudding Mask Bag costs 6.90 US$ at Wishtrend. They have Black Friday Sale right now (until end of November) so they are cheaper at the moment. I also made a post about the promotions they offer for November >>here<< (You can get free silk finger balls ;)). Also, keep in mind their friend-referral program: You can receive a 5 Us$ referral coupon if you use my invitation code 17939205 upon registration and you’ll receive this voucher immediately. There will be a specific field in your registration form called“friends invitation program” where you can put the code mentioned above. This way new customers can safe 5 US$ which is a great possibility to safe some money.

Did anybody try these pudding masks from Care Lab already?

♥ PS: Check out my post on Beautiful AM Moisturizer and PM Vitalizer. There is a giveaway for you, too :) ♥

Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://www.wishtrend.com which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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