Coréana Archive | Berries in the Snow

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Graveyard: November – February Empties 2015/2016

1. March 2016

My last emties post was back in October! So here is a long post about my November – February Empties 2015/2016 this time. I hope this can give you an idea of which products I really liked and didn’t and which I would love to repurchase.

Moonlab Real Cooling Thermometer Mask – I loved these! I would really like to repurchase them as well, but I still have a huge amount of sheetmasks, so it will take some time until I have the chance. Read my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Yes!
Cossu Body Ade Rose – This body wash smells so amazing, given the fact that you love the scent of roses. The body wash was part of a Cleopatra themed MeMeBox and I loved using it. Unfortunately, the pump was not working properly, which made it hard to use. It was labelled with a price-tag of 29 US$, which I’m still doubtful about. For a cheaper price I would consider repurchasing it. Repurchase? Maybe.
COSRX AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner – A very good toner which I can recommend you to try. I didn’t repurchase it because I wanted to try something else, but still I can say that there are many bloggers whoc love this toner. See my review >>here<<…Repurchase? Yes.
Fairydrops Platinum Mascara Film Type – I enjoyed using it, but it started to clump quite fast. It does a good job in legthening and curving the lashes, but it doesn’t give the amount of volume I’d like to have. Here is my >>review<<. Repurchase? No.
Dove DermaSpa Goodness³ Body Lotion – This bodylotion has a nice scent, but unfortunately it starts peeling and doesn’t really sink into the skin. Read my review >>here<<. Repruchase? No!
Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Pack – I love Too Cool For School’s packaging design, no doubt about that, and this pack made the skin tightened and smooth, but I couldn’t use it too often because of my dry skin. People with oily skin might love this, or if you have dry/combination skin apply it only on your T-zone. Here is my >>review<< Repurchase? Maybe.
Nivea In-Shower Make-Up Remover – This didn’t work for me. I tried it in the shower, I tried it on its own. It simply doesn’t work the way it claims, I still have panda-eyes after using it and my makeup isn’t removed. Repruchase? No!
Innisfree Ampoule Intense Cushion – The first Cushion I used up, after flipping the cushion over and over and getting out all the mini-bits from this awesome bb cream. I still have two refills, so I’m really happy and can advise you to give it a try, especially in cold seasons. Read my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Yes!
Shiseido Extra Gentle Shampoo For Dry Hair – A good shampoo, which didn’T feel drying on my hair, but still I preferr the Shiseido Tsubaki Shampoo over this one. Repurchase? Another shampoo from Shiseido maybe.
Lush The Olive Branch – A mediterranian smelling shower gel with a herbal scent. This was nice, but a kind of more manly scent. Repurchase? Probably not this one exactly.
HIPP Shampoo and Showering – I bought this for the obvious reason of the Seal packaging! It’s kid’s shampoo and has a nice baby-powdery scent and is gentle. Repurchase? Yes!
Kiss Me Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Eyeliner Pen – I love this pen! A pitty the pretty ornaments were vanishing by the time. Read my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Yes, but there are so many other brands to try.
Avène Very High Sunprotection 50 + – This is a really heavy sunscreen and it leaves a good thick white cast and has a neutral cream scent (which I do not like that much). Repurchase? No!
Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Soap – This super rich and dense foam was really fun, but to drying to use on my face, so I used it as shaving foam. Read my review >>here<<. Repurchase? No.
Figs & Rouge Lip Balm Cherry Blossom – This had a bad taste the second moment, so I didn’t really use it up. Also, I’m not much into cherry scented products. Repurchase? No.
Schwarzkopf GlissKur Damage Repair Hair Treatment – I love this line of hair care because it smells of chocolate. I also liked using this hair treatment. Repurchase? Yes.
Purederm Make-up Cleansing Tissue Green Tea – These were part of a MeMeBox, too. I really like Cleansing Tissues, especially after a long night when you are too lazy to cleanse your face or when travelling. Unfortunatelly, these were’nt the most effective tissues I used. Repurchase? No.
COSRX Acne Pimple Master Patch – My secret weapon for a newly appearing pimple. I still have more of these, but I wanted to pint out that I really love them. See my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Yes.
a;t fox Lifting Cream and Moisturizing Gel Cream – Another product from my MeMeBox hoardings. Such a lovely packaging, but the creams were so-so. Nothing special. Repurchase? No.
Palmolive Aroma Sensations Feel Glamorous Shower Gel Peeling – a lovely shower peeling with a nice scent. Repruchase? Maybe.
bebe Young Care (Johnson’s) Smoothie Shower Gel – Loved the scent! Repurchase? Maybe.
Rojukiss Multi Vita Cleansing Powder – This is the first cleansing powder I’ve been trying. I really like the fact that cleansing powders are so leightweight and perfect for travelling because there is no danger of leaking. I discovered that there is a risk of them to clump when stored in humid places (like the bathroom). Read my review >>here<<. Repurchase? MAybe another cleansing powder.
Kneipp Bath Oil – I have a couple more of these and I like the scent a lot. I like Kneipp products in genereal :D Repurchase? Maybe.
Aussie Miracle Dry Shampoo – The size of this was perfect for travelling. Unfortunatelly the spraying nozzle didn’T work anymore after 3 uses and I had to discard it. Repurchase? Maybe.
ISANA Young Make-up Remover and Cleansing Gel – A cheap drugstore cleanser. I didn’t like the scent and it is not the most effective makeup remover either. Repurchase? No.
Kneipp Almond Blossoms Showering Gel – They have a body oil from the same line and I’m so much in love with the scent! Repurchase? Yes!
Klairs Illuminating Supple Blemish Cream – A BB cream which I can totally recommend. I was using it way more often on everyday occasions than my other BB creams. It has a nice tone and leaves a nice finish as well. Read my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Yes, but I have too many BB creams to use up.
Trusted Health Products Botanical Splash Body Oil – A body oil with a fruity orange-citrus scent which is very refreshening.Read my review >>here<< Repurchase? Maybe.
Daeng Gi Meo Ri Oriental Special Shampoo – This thick brown herbal shampoo works nicely, but can be leaving your hair dry. I used a hair treatment alweays after using it. This is only a travel-sized bottle, I still have the large bottle to use up. Read my review >>here<<. Repurchase? No, I’ll stick to my Shiseido or Damoae Therapy Shampoo, which I adore both!
OST C20 Pure Vitamin C21.5 Advanced Serum – This was my second bottle of the C21.5 Vitamin C serum, but unfortunately, I dropped the bottle when I was half through it and all the rest of my precious serum was lost T_T Read my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Yes.
MapleHolistics Vitamin C Serum – Despite my love for the Vitamin C serums from OST I really enjoyed using this serum! Read my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Maybe.
Lailly 7 Second Make-Up Booster – A nice makeup base with a baby powder scent. Read my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Maybe, but I have some other makeup bases to try.
Balea Cleansing Oil – If you have the possibility to get Balea products I can recommend you this cheap cleansing oil from the drug store dm. It costs a few euros (2-3 €) and is a good makeup remover. Still, asian cleansing oils have a nicer scent and seem to be more luxurious to the skin, but for quickly and simply cleansing your face this is great. It is also great for cleaning your makeup brushes and sponges. Repurchase? Yes!
BRTC Aqua Rush Cream – Wow! I used this up so quickly, despite having many other moisturizers to be tried. I loved the waterdrop texture of this cream. It was so refreshening. Read my review >>here<<. Repurchse? Maybe!
ElishaCoy Vita Capsule Cleanser – I didn’t review this product yet, although I hav it for quite a time. It was not my cup of tea to be honest and too drying on top, but it came with the ElishaCoy 3D Spin Cleanser (which is not available any longer on Wishtrend it seems), which I enjoy using few times a week. Repurchase? No.
Confume Argan Gold Treatment – I didn’t review this in detail yet, but I loved it! I used it up so quickly, too! Definitively recommendable for those having dry and frizzy hair! Also available on Wishtrend. Repruchase? Yes!
Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program Eye Cream – This was a good and nourishing ey ecream and had a really nice packaging, shaped like a seringe. I used up two of these and really liked it. Read my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Maybe.
Klairs Gentle Black Sugar Facial Polish – I preferr this over the one from Skinfood because it is more gentle. You can read my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Maybe.
Sum37 M;iracle Rose Cleansing Stick – I’m crying because I used it up already and I probably won’t be able to afford this luxurious cleanser in near future :D Lovers of rose scent will adore this cleansing stick! Read my review >>here<<. Repurchase? Maybe one day, hopefully!

Hopefully, this post helps you to deside whether it is worth buying a certain product or better ditch it from the beginning. Do you know any of these and did you try them yourself? What is your opinion on these products I showed above? I’d be happy about your comments ♥

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asian cosmetics beauty BNTnews PR Sample review

Review: Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program Part 2

15. July 2015

Some of you have been probably waiting for my second part review for the Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program. In the first part I showed you already this gorgeously packed set consisting of 28 ampoule vials and two eye cream tubes and I talked about my impression. Today I will go a bit into the detail considering the ingredients and my verdict after using it for 28 days.

Coréana is quite a well known Korean company with the motto “art through nature”. It has quite a variety of brands, like Senite or Biodefense and many more. Sho is one brand of Coréana using horse oil as key ingredient. Horse oil or “Mayu” has been very popular in Korea in the last months, especially during winter, because of its deeply moisturizing properties. The Sho EGFactor line combines the horse oil with EGF in order to have even more anti-aging properties. This Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program contains two items: an ampoule and eye cream.

Everything has a beautiful golden color. Even the vials have golden caps. I love the ornaments on the eye cream containers and their syringe shape. I showed some more details about the eye cream packaging in the first post, too. All in all, the Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program is a beautifully packed gift, targeting more mature skin and therefore makes a good present for your mother maybe?!

Now, let’s take a closer look at the ingredients of the Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program this time: The key ingredients of this anti aging kit are Jeju’s horse oil and EGF as the name already says.

Horse Oil

Let’s talk about Mayu first: Mayu (korean), Bayhu (japanese) or Horse Oil has been used in ancient times but it became popular again recently. Horse oil has been known as home remedy for treating dry and chapped skin for many years. It is rich in unsaturated fatty acids and is close to human sebum in its composition and therefore absorbs fast into the skin, which leads to a more elastic and hydrated skin with an improved barrier. By the way, in order to obtain horse oil no horses have to be killed! It is taken from underneath the mane without harming the animal and refined afterwards.

EGF- Epidermal Growth Factor

The second key ingredient is EGF. What is EGF and what does it actually do for our skincare? EGF is the short term for Epidermal Growth Factor. In the ingredients list you will find it as human oligopeptide-1. The EGF targets specific receptors in the cell (EGFR) and is the necessary molecule for this receptor in order to work. From the name you can already tell that it promotes the cell growth, so it is important for our body, since dying and growing cells are a regular process in our body.

Short excursus: It is important to note the difference between the receptor and the EGF: EGF is not carcenogenic! Mutations in cells can cause an overexpression of the EGFR for example, which means we have too many of these receptors in our cells, which can lead to uncontrolled growth of cells, means cancer. Other proteins can put the EGFR in a permanent on-state, which leads to uncontrolled growth of cells aswell.

But does EGF have anti-aging properties? Since the EGF should address wrinkles in first place it has to affect the collagen production somehow in order to be beneficial for our skin. When EGF is applied with a cream it has to be absorbed into the dermis, the inner layer of the skin, to have any effect, and only a very, very small amount of topically applied EGF will be able to reach the dermis at all. And even if it helps to produce collagen it does not have any effect on the degradation of the old collagen. In conclusion we can say that the EGF may be responsible for a plumping effect of the outer skin layer, but it will not have any effect on the inner skin layer and therefore will not reduce wrinkles.

Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program Ampoule

I’m starting off with the Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program Ampoule first. As I described in my first review, the ampoule comes in 28 tiny brown glass vials with a golden cap. In order to open them, you have to push the cap, which is super hard! I’m not kidding! I’m struggling every time when I want to open up a new vial and sometimes I have to ask my bf to open it, because it takes such an effort. I do not know why they designed the vials like this, because it is not convenient to have such a hard time with the ampoule every night before going to bed. They could have either made a large ampoule bottle with a dropper instead, or if they wanted to pack these up in single portions they should have taken these tear-shaped capsules which you can tear open. The ampoule itself has a golden, clear color and has a gel-oil-type consistency and a pleasant scent. It takes some time to absorb, but if you are patient it will sink into the skin, leaving it moist but with a tacky feeling. The packaging description says that one ampoule vial is for one day use of your face and neck. Each vial contains 2 ml, but I personally think that 1 ml is more than enough for face and neck. Taking the whole amount of the product makes it only more difficult to absorb and may result in a sticky feeling, too. I started to use the ampoule before my final moisturizer, but I decided that it is better to mix it with my night time moisturizer instead of applying it separately. My skin doesn’t feel dry nor dehydrated in the next morning, since the barrier of night cream and ampoule keep all the moisture inside. I’m sure this ampoule will do great work in cold seasons. The ingredients of the ampoules are:

water, glycerine, dipropylene glycol, morinda citrifolia fruit extract, alcohol, xylitylglucoside, saccharide isomerate, hydrolyzed elastin, hydrolyzed collagen, morus alba twig extract, human oligopeptide-1 (0.1 ppm), acetyl glycosamine, sodium hyalurunate, glycosaminoglycans, colloidal gold, acetyl heptapeptide-9, anhydroxylitol, xylitol, acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymere, PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil, PPG-26-buteth-26, glyceryl acrylate/acrylic acid copolymere, butylene glycol, horse fat, phenoxyethanol, fragnance, potassium hydroxide, ethylhexylglycerin, disodium EDTA, benzoic acid, dehydroacetic acid, yellow 5, red 4, blue 1

The ingredients are safe to use according to COSDNA and you can have a more close look at them >>here<<.

Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program Eye Cream

The Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program Eye Cream comes in these two beautiful syringe-shaped containers. Each of them contains 10 ml, which is quite a lot for eye cream. The good thing about having two of them is, that I could put one in my own bathroom and the other one at my bf’s apartment :D. Although the packaging states, that this product is an eye cream you will find in the directions to apply it all over your face. I don’t know if this is a translation mistake, or if this is really meant to be. I only used it for my eye area after all. The eye cream is a cream type, light product, which melts into the skin easily and absorbs very quickly, leaving a matte and not greasy finish. It is not heavy either, so you can use it also on your eyelid and not only for your under eye region. I have absolutely no complaints about the eye cream, since it absorbs fast and feels nice on the skin. The pump type syringe container is very easy to use and you can even close and open it, so it can e carried around without spilling product. The ingredients for the eye cream are:

water, propanediol, cetyl ethylhexanoate, caprylic/ capric triglyceride, morinda citrifolia fruit extract, cetearyl alcohol, glycerine, cetearyl olivate, methyl gluceth-20, sorbitan olivate, pentaerythrityl tetraisostearate, dimethicone, hydrolysed elastin, morus alba twig extract, hydrolyzed collagen, human oligopeptide-1 (0.1 ppm), tocopheryl acetate, sodium hyalurunate, lecithin, acetyl heptapeptide-9, colloidal gold, glyceryl stearate, beeswax, hydrogenated vegetable oil, PEG-100 stearate, sodium acrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyl, tarate copolymer, xanthan gum, isohexadecane, polysorbate80, horse fat, phenoxyethanol, fragnance, ethylhexyl glycerin, disodium EDTA

The ampoule and the eye cream have quite some ingredients in common as you can see. You can check all the ingredients on COSDNA >>here<<.

My final verdict for the Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program is that the products on their own are good products and will be nice for dry skin types. Both products are hydrating and feel nourishing for the skin. But, is there any improvement considering their anti-wrinkle claim? I do not see any changes in the amount of fine lines I have (for example on my forehead or under eyes) after using this program for the advised 28 days and longer. Since I like the hydrating properties of it I will continue to use them up, but in case you are looking for a anti-wrinkle wonder I can assure you that this product will not change anything. Now, the negative points for the Coréana Sho EGFactor 28 Days Timeless Program are the design of the ampoule vials and the price tag of this set. The vials are so hard to open and I do not see the sense in that point. Especially in the evening you don’t want to use all your last powers to open up a tiny ampoule vial. For lazy people this will be a reason to skip the ampoule. And the price tag is for this set is….enormously high! You can find it on ebay for around 100 US$. I saw it on RoseRoseShop discounted from 296 US$ (???) to 59.26 US$. Would I spend 100 bucks for this skincare set? No! 50 US$ seems much more reasonable, and it is considerable to buy this set a a mother’s day gift or similar.

This product was provided to me by BNTnews for reviewing. Don’t forget to visit the other BNTGirls Doris, Celine, Alene, Kim and Bella and check out their reviews. And visit BNTnews for the latest Korean news and trends:

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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.bntnews.co.uk/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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