pack Archive | Berries in the Snow

asian cosmetics beauty Global Interpark PR Sample review

Review: Laneige Multiberry Yoghurt Pack

22. May 2016

Recently, I was contacted by Global Interpark, an e-commerce company in Seoul, whether I would like to chose any product from their shopping mall for reviewing. I didn’t know about Interpark before, but I learnt that they are the very first company to provide e-commerce service in Korea. There are over 800,000 items listed on their website and around 5,000 items are translated focussing on K-beauty and K-pop related items. I used this opportunity and selected the Laneige Multiberry Yoghurt Pack with had been on my wishlist for a long time.

Laneige is a Korean brand, part of the Amore Pacific Group. The brand name comes from the french word for snow which is “la neige”. The brand name reflects the beauty of young women between 24 and 32 years by focusing on water as source of life. Therefore the products design is more mature and clean, reflecting the image of moisture obtained through water. The Laneige Water Sleeping Pack is probably the more famous mask pack by Laneige, but the Laneige Multiberry Yoghurt Pack does sound super delicious and on top has a pink colored jar...so what to say more?! :D In contrast to the sleeping pack this pack has to be washed off after leaving it for a couple of minutes on your face.

The jar comes in a very simple cardboard box with the typical blue and white colors of Laneige. It doesn’t have many descriptions either, but inside the cardboard box you will find an instruction paper with descriptions, also in English. The Laneige Multiberry Yoghurt Pack is ‘designed to nourish the skin from deep inside and leave it supple’. It contains Soghurty, a specialized fermented yoghurt which promotes collagen synthesis and enhances the defense abilities of the skin from harmful external causes, according to the description. The berryblend complex, containing berry extracts from Raspberries, Blueberries, Wolfberries, Cranberries and Strawberries, supplies the skin with antioxidants and delivers nutrition. You can find a list of all ingredients on COSDNA. There are some minor irritants in the list, so be sure to check them out beforehand.

There is a spatula included in the packaging, so you do not have to worry about using your fingers for spooning out the pack. It has a creamy consitency and especially a very very delicious scent. I can only say that it smells like fruit yoghirt so I was really tempted to give it a try (but I didn’t!). The color is mainly white, but with a hint of pink. Spreaded it also feels like firm yoghurt and spreads easily, without being drippy. It will stay on your face and you don’t need to worry about dripping it all over. The pack can be left on the face for 5-10 minutes and washed off with lukewarm water afterwards. The skin feels – as promised- supple and nice and nourished and up to this point I cannot find anything negative about it.

The Laneige Multiberry Yoghurt Pack fullfilled my expectations in every point. I think that this is a good quality wash-off maks with a delicious scent and this might be the only downside for some people who do not like scented products. I was surprised to read that the yoghurt was fermented, because I didn’t know that before, and as a lover of fermented products I’m happy to have chosen this wash off pack. It will definitely stay in my collection and be used up to its end. The Laneige Multiberry Yoghurt Pack retails for 18.47 US$ from Global Interpark.

Did you try the Laneige Multiberry Yoghurt Pack?

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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.globalinterpark.com/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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asian cosmetics beauty PR Sample review TesterKorea

Review: Proformula Skin Reset AHA 7 Lifting Pack | TesterKorea

18. February 2016

Now, this is not a newly launched product like the two previous reviews, but a product with a good reputation in Korea: The Proformula Skin Reset AHA 7 Lifting Pack, a multifunctional product for exfoliation, brightening and lifting on the same time. As I announced via Instagram I’m honoured to be part of TesterKorea’s Real Tester, who offered me this product for reviewing purpose, amongst two other products, the Etude House Tint My Brows Gel and the Missha Super Aqua Ice Tear Cream.

First, some information about TesterKorea: if you know me and my blog for some time you will know that TesterKorea is my favorite online retailer for larger Kbeauty hauls. I’ve purchased products from them many times and they never failed me. Also, they are quite popular for offering many free samples and having a LARGE variety of samples for sale aswell. If you do not know a specific products and you want to test it first the place to recommend is TesterKorea. Also, they have a huge amount of different products from many brands, so you can be sure to find what you are looking for in most cases. Unlike other online retailers they do not offer free shipping, though, but their shipping is based on weight. The cheap prices of the products themselves totally balances the shipping costs in my eyes – especially for larger hauls. They even have a specific topic where you can request a product, if it is newly launched. They are also quite fast in listing the latest products from most brands. Considering the fact that I know they are a reliable retailer and have a good reputation makes me even more happy that I’m part of the 17 members of their 1st Real Tester round-up

The Korean brand Proformula was new to me up to now. The name is made up by the two terms “Skin Professional” and “Formulation”. Proformula has a 3-Step System. The first step is to examine the active ingredients, the second step is the dermatological test, and the third step is to provide an optimized solution for the skincare concerns. Proformula doesn’t have many products, but all I saw on the official page were skincare products. The packaging design is simple black and white with no frills or pretty illustrations, simply text. This can be professional looking and attract customers this way. The Proformula Skin Reset AHA 7 Lifting Pack comes together with a brush for applying the mask. Both come in a cardboard box containing mostly Korean, but also some English description.

The cardboard box states that the product is free from parabens, synthetic fragrances and dyes, minerals, benzophenones, silicones, propylene glycol, triethanolamine and SLES. If we look at the full ingredients list we see that there are no harmfull ingredients included. According to COSDNA almost all ingredients are green flagged. Proformula Skin Reset AHA 7 Lifting Pack contains 7 % of AHA and is a mild chemical exfoliation. The AHA used is Lactic Acid:

Lactic Acid: Lactic Acid is an AHA (Alpha hydroxyl acid). It is derived from sour milk that hydrates the skin by sloughing off old dead skin cells. It has whitening properties and is an astringent.

Also, a couple of plant extracts and fruit extracts have skin conditioning properties and help the exfoliation and make the skin feel smooth. Another two key ingredients are Niacinamide and Adenosine:

Niacinamide: Niacinamide is a water-soluble form of Vitamin B, which has a firming effect with anti-inflammatory properties.

Adenosine: Adenosine is known for having anti-aging properties and providing for healthy skin and elasticity.

Hyaluronic Acid and Aloe Leaf Juice provide the skin with moisture. Furthermore you will find a couple of other moisturizing chemicals in the ingredients lists.

Some words about Peptides in Cosmetics:

Also, according to the description the formulation uses peptides for elasticity and a lifting effect. The three peptides used are Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, and Acetyl Hexapeptide-8. I know that many of you do not know what peptides do and if they can do anything at all when applied topically on the skin. Peptides are chains of amino acids. Usually, the name of the peptide tells us how many amino acids are part of the peptide. A tetrapeptide is made from 3 amino acids for example. Our body uses peptides for messaging, that means a peptide is a molecule which sends a signal to a cell. Let’s think about collagen for example: the breakdown of collagen forms peptides, which give the signal to make new collagen. By applying this specific peptides on our skin we might be able to tell the skin to produce new collagen.

The Proformula Skin Reset AHA 7 Lifting Pack comes in a sleek tube containing 30 g. The included brush has a good length and is used to apply the product on your face. The formulation of the Lifting Pack is a lightly yellow colored gel with a high viscosity. It’s similar to glue and very sticky. The product has a slightly bitter scent with a hint of fruityness.

The bristles of the brush are very soft, but once you start to spread the pack with the brush it becomes sticky and makes the application a bit harder. Nevertheless, I still think it is better to use the brush than to use your fingers. It is recommended to use the pack 2-3 times a week. You apply the pack in a thin layer from the inside of the face towards the outside. After 15-20 minutes the pack dries and you can wash it off with luke-warm water.

Below you can see the process of using the pack on my skin. First I applied a layer of the Proformula Skin Reset AHA 7 Lifting Pack. After 15 minutes the mask dries. You will feel how the skin tightens up. It really looks frightening, because your face looks suddenly so wrinkled and dried…almost as if you were dying :D This was the moment when I decided that it was time to wash off the pack. My skin felt smoothed and firmer after using the mask. Nevertheless, my skin was feeling dry, too. The pack contains some moisturizing ingredients, but this was not enough for my skin. I have dry skin, so the experience might vary for people with oily skin. If you have dry skin like me I would recommend to add an especially rich cream to your skin after using this pack.

The Proformula Skin Reset AHA 7 Lifting Pack convinces with a good ingredients list and is perfectly suited for people who want to start to incorporate AHAs into their skincare routine. I liked using it and I do feel that it is lifting and smoothing out the skin. It leaves my skin a bit dry after all, which is why I can only recommend you to use a rich cream or oil after this pack if you have dry skin. This mask has also some creepy side-effects, since it really looks horrifying on your skin after 15 minutes. The skin looks so wrinkled up and old, as if the pack wants to tell you how you will look like if you do not use it, haha. You can get the Proformula Skin Reset AHA 7 Lifting Pack from TesterKorea for 30400 Won, which is around 25.51 US$. What’s your favorite AHA containing product?

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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://testerkorea.com/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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asian cosmetics beauteque beauty PR Sample review

Review: Hanaka Macaron Facial Masks

21. September 2015

Here is another example of asian cosmetics and super cute packaging: The Hanaka Macaron Facial Masks! These mask packs come in small containers, which paired up form a macaron! This is such a cute idea and I fell in love with that concept directly, when I spotted these on Beauteque.

Hanaka is a Taiwanese brand. It is quite known for products with some cute packaging. The Hanaka Macaron Facial Masks come in different colors and each color is targeting another facial problem. There are 10 different kinds: Hyaluronic acid, Collagen, Q10, Arbutin, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Tea Tree, Red Wine, Volcanic Mud and Glacial Mineral Mud.

I selected the Hanaka Macaraon Facial Mask Hyaluronic Acid and Red Wine Polyphenols. You can guess which color could be which :D

The Red Wine Polyphenol mask on the left (in the pink colored container) is a targeting firming, smoothing and improvement of elasticity of the skin by the antioxidants in red wine. This mask is supposed to be brightening, elastic, firming, hydrating, moisturizing, repairing, soothing, whitening, and have anti-wrinkles properties. It is suited for all skin types. The ingredients of the Hanaka Macaron Facial Mask Red Wine are:

Water, Helianthus Annus Seed Oil, Lupinus Albus Seed Extract, Cactus Extract, Phytocelltec, Hyaluronic Acid, Trehalose, Grape Seed Oil, Vitamin B5, Crambe Abyssinica Seed Oil, Red Wine Polyphenols, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Beta-Glucan, Cucumber Extract, Soy Isoflavones, Polysorbate 80, Sorbitol, Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol.

If you check the ingredients in COSDNA they do not look like any harmful ingredients. Most of the ingredients have either moisturizing or antioxidant properties.

The Hyaluronic Acid mask on the right (in the blue colored container) has the main task of replenish, retain, and store moisture. It is suited for anti-aging, brightening, firming, hydrating, repairing, revitalizing, whitening. This mask is suited for all skin types, too. The ingredients of the Hanaka Macaron Facial Mask Hyaluronic Acid are:

Water, Carbopol, Hyaluronic Acid, Arnica Extract, Cactus Flower Extract, Fagus Sylvatica Extract, Punica Granatum, Beta-Glucan, Sapphire Powder, Copper Petide, Glycyrrhizinc Acid, Phospholipids, Perfume.

The ingredients list is short and according to COSDNA the single ingredients are useable without any risk (>>here<<). The list contains some moisturizers and some ingredients with anti-inflammatory effects.

The two masks I selected have different textures: The Hyaluronic Mask has a gel-like texture, whereas the texture of the Red Wine Mask is a yoghurt texture. Both masks are wash-off masks, so you leave them on for 15-20 minutes and wash them off with lukewarm water afterwards. The skin after using these definitively feels hydrated and since both masks are cooling the face feels refreshed, too. The Red Wine mask also makes your skin feel like you’ve used some cream or nourishing moisturizer. It really feels supple and soft. The Hyaluronic Mask contains some menthol or peppermint ingredient or scent (it is not listed in the ingredients, but it definitively feels like mint- ingredient on the skin), so if you don’t like the sharp cooling effect of mint/menthol product, I would not recommend you the Hyaluronic Mask. The Red Wine Mask on the other hand had a very pleasant, creamy scent. The Hyaluronic mask makes your skin feel cooled and refreshed in first place, but I found that the Red Wine mask was more beneficial in terms of making the skin smooth and bouncy.

I like these kinds of tiny containers for wash-off masks like the Hanaka Macaron Facial Masks, and the fact that these look like macarons really is a major selling point. From the two masks I liked the Hanaka Macaron Facial Mask in Red Wine better than the Hyaluronic version. The cooling effect was too sharp for my face and I prefer the nourishment the Red Wine Mask provides to the skin and the feeling of like you just put on some good moisturizer. You can get the Hanaka Macaron Facial Masks from Beauteque for 3.90 US$ each. Each container comes with 8 g of product which is enough for one usage and covers your face properly. In order to have a cute macaron you need two of the containers. I saw there are also boxes containing 10 pieces, which look super adorable and like a perfect present. Maybe Beauteque can get their hand on these, 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.beauteque.com/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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asian cosmetics beauty Missha PR Sample review

Review: Missha Honey Butter Pack

8. August 2015

I do not know what it is, but every time I see ‘honey’ on some product I really want to try it. It is no secret that the Korean trend ingredients in the last winters were either honey, donkey/goat milk or mayu, which help the skin to get that glow-y look that so many Korean celebrities present us. The Missha Honey Butter Pack lurks us with these promises exactly: Korean acacia honey and French gourmet butter are supposed to “deliver moisture and give the skin the radiance, promoting a beautiful beautiful glowing complexion.”

Missha is one of the worldwide famous Korean brands, especially their Missha M Perfect Cover BB cream is one of the most famous BB creams. They have a lot of online stores all over the world and are available in US/Canada, Australia and since some time they even opened up an online store for Germany, and a physical store in Ingolstadt in Germany! The products always come in a very luxurious looking packaging and the design is usually very mature and elegant and I think that it can be liked by almost everyone. The Missha Honey Butter Pack comes in a yellow tube with a pretty illustration on the front displaying butter coated with honey. The top of the tube displays the word Gourmet in golden letters and it looks really pretty.

The first time I saw the Missha Honey Butter Pack I was attracted mainly by the packaging, because it is really cute and unusual for Missha products. The second thought was that I wanted to compare it to the I’m from Honey Mask, which I love really a lot. Since I received the Missha Honey Butter Pack from Missha Germany the backside of the tube is labelled with a sticker showing the German description and the ingredients. I tried to remove the label, but it is kind of sticky, so I left it as it is. The original backside seems to contain Korean description only, anyways. The shelf-life of the Missha Honey Butter Pack is 12 month after opening and it contains 120 g of product. The key functions of the Missha Honey Butter Pack are: Moisturizing by using Korean Acacia honey and french gourmet butter extract, brightening using potato extract enriched with vitamins and nourishing by the easily absorbed texture.

You can find the ingredients on COSDNA, too, and the first thing I noticed was, that it contains coconut oil and grape seed oil. Honey and butter extracts are quite at the bottom of the list, which doesn’t give any indication on the amount used in the whole product, though, when having a look at the product and a first sniff if doesn’t smell like honey at all. The scent is nice, but it smells of coconut cream. Not the usual coconut scent, but really more like the coconut cream you use for cooking. The texture is a creamy/buttery one. Spread it even reminds me more of butter, but the spreadable kind. I can detect a sweet, but light honey scent once the cream is spread, but in thicker layer it smells more like coconut cream.

According to the description you have to use the Missha Honey Butter Pack after cleansing and toning. You apply a layer of the pack and wait for 10-15 minutes and then wash it off with lukewarm water. The thicker you’ll put the layer the longer you will have to wash your face, since the oils (coconut oil) leave a heavy residue. And it is important to use lukewarm/warm water, since with cold water you won’t be able to remove it properly. Once removed the skin feels noticeably softer, but it is not as glowy as when using the I’m from Honey Mask. The removing of the product is also more bothersome than the I’m from Honey Mask. In the description of the product on the Missha Germany webpage it suggests to use a tiny amount of the Missha Honey Butter Pack as sleeping mask. For using it as a mask regularly I discover to be a bit too lazy when thinking about washing it off for such a long time, but when you only use a very little amount (so much it still can blend into the skin) as sleeping mask overnight works great!

First of all, the Missha Honey Butter Pack won’t substitute my I’m from Honey Mask. Considering the very affordable price of the Miisha Honey Butter Pack I was hoping for that, but the I’m from Honey Mask really give me that glowy, hydrated look and has this amazing honey scent. The Missha Honey Butter Pack is a good pack though, and it softens the skin after using it, but it takes some effort to be removed, otherwise it will leave residue on your skin and I think that this will lead to clogged pores and reactions especially for sensitive skintypes. If you wash it off properly nothing happens off course. Also, I suppose that everybody has to find the right amount of product to use. I discovered using a thin layer as sleeping mask works great for me. Maybe I should also try different thickness of the Missha Honey Butter Pack as wash off pack. The price of the Missha Honey Butter Pack is awesome and it retails for only 8.90 € from the German Missha store (6 US$ from Missha US!)…and of course, last but not least: I love the design of the tube :D

Btw.: Missha Germany also deliveres outside Germany. So if you are somewhere in Europe it might be faster to consider ordering from them instead of Korea. My package arrived after 2 days, which is awesome when thinking about the 2-4 weeks of waiting when ordering from Korea :D Take a glance at their webpage, instagram, and facebook and support the spreading of Korean cosmetics within Europe! Also, Missha is one of the Korean bands which are against animal testing!

♥ If you have time feel free to join my two giveaway! ♥

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.missha-germany.de/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

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asian cosmetics beauty BNTnews PR Sample review

Review: Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Pack and Soap

8. June 2015

// PR SAMPLE / KBEAUTY //

The Too Cool For School products I tried so far were mostly makeup products rather than skincare, but today I have reviewed the Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Pack and Soap for you. This special duo can be bought as a set or each of the two products can be purchased and used on their own. These two products help to improve the elasticity and the moisture of your skin with the nutrients from eggs.

The design cosmetic brand Too Cool For School is a Korean brand, known for a unique packaging design. Their products are in the mid-pricey region and slightly more expansive than Etude House for example. The packaging design of the Too Cool For School products is always very creative and unique. I mentioned probably a thousand times how much I love their packaging design. The Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Pack and Soap are no exception. This special duo comes wrapped up in a plastic bag and contains two pump bottles of 50 ml (Egg Mousse Pack) and 70 ml (Egg Mousse Soap).

The pump bottles are mainly white, but have a cute doodle on the front showing mixing tools you usually use to beat eggs. The difference between the two products and the design of the bottles is obviously the color, which is yellow for the Egg Mousse Pack and blue for the Egg Mousse Soap. The pump is protected by a plastic cap and works like hair mousse products: You shake the bottle vigorously and push the pump. You will directly get a thick, foamy mousse product out of the bottle.

The backside of the Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Pack and Soap bottles contains description in Korean only, but the plastic bag contained a paper sheet with Korean and English description and ingredient list (click the image below to enlarge). The ingredients are also listed on COSDNA and you can look the up >>here<< (Egg Mousse Pack) and >>here<< (Egg Mousse Soap). As the name says the key ingredient of both is egg or better egg yolk extract and albumen (egg white) extract. Albumen and yolk extract have moisturizing and conditioning properties for the skin and it is reported that egg white gives a temporarily relief to pores which leads to the appearance of tightened skin. The Too Cool for School Egg Mousse Pack and Soap contain each 450µg yolk extract and albumen extract, respectively 420 µg. The TCFS Egg Mousse Pack contains safe ingredients, but the Egg Mousse Soap contains two red labelled ingredients unfortunatelly: Triethanolamine and PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate. If you have very sensitive skin you might want to be careful in that case.

The direction for both products is super easy! The Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Pack is a soft whipping cream massage pack. It is supposed to warm up while massaging and be great to use before applying makeup. It brightens and nourishes the skin with help of the egg yolk and albumen. It is advised to use this pack 2-3 times a week, by pumping an appropiate amount of the foam on your dry hands and massage it on your (also dry) face. After that you can rinse off the pack and voilá! The Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Soap on the other hand is a pore washing item. It creates a very dense and tight mousse which can be used for skin cleansing, but also as shaving foam for men. Again you can pump an appropiate amount of the foam on your hands and cleanse your face in the morning and evening. Afterwards rinse it off with water.

Because you get both products as ready-to-go foam out of the bottle the application is very easy and straightforward. Both products are dense and soft foam, but the foam from the TCFS Egg Mousse Soap is stiffer than the one for the Egg Mousse pack. From the description I expected the Too Cool For School Egg Mousse pack to warm up while massaging, but the warming effect is not really as much as I expected. I was focussing very hard to feel it, if you know what I mean :D Nevertheless, the foam is very smooth and nice to apply. It has a fruity scent to it, which I didn’t expect. After washing it off my skin feels definitively tight, but soft. I didn’t see any differences in the size of my pores nevertheless. Although I expected the product to have a tightening effect I also have the feeling that my skin is drier, too, so if you have very dry skin I would not use the TCFS Egg Mousse Pack more than the advised 2-3 times a week.

The Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Soap is a super easy and quickly useable foam cleanser. It has a pH around 6-7 (I’m sorry for those lovers of acid cleansers). In contrast to the Egg Mousse Pack the Egg Mousse Soap doesn’t have that extreme tightening effect but brightens up the complexion after use. The foam is super thick and stiff and it is really nice to work with. Unfortunatelly, the cleanser is not the most powerful one. In the picture below you can see that it doesn’t really clean off the eye crayon, lipstick and bb cream, and also for the eyeliner and mascara I had to wash it very thoroughly. If you are a double cleanser you will probably not mind the weakness of this foam cleanser. I wouldn’t advise you to use this foam cleanser as only step, unless you don’t use makeup/sunscreen. It is a good morning cleanser though, since you usually remove all the makeup in the evening and don’t use sunscreen during nights. Oh, and surprisingly, the TCFS Egg Mousse Soap doesn’t smell fruity, like the Egg Mousse Pack, but it has a soapy scent. It didn’t feel drying on my skin either, but made the skin feel soft instead.

My conclusion for the Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Pack and Soap is a positive one. It has some negative points for sure: The weak cleansing power of the Egg Mousse Soap is definitively a con for this product, but I love the easy application and the feeling of the skin afterwards. The thickness of the foam is also great for those who love rich and dense foams. I also like the idea that it can be used as a shaving cream, so you can share it with your husband/boyfriend…The Egg Mousse Pack definitively gives me the tightening effect it promises, but it may be too drying for dry skintypes. Since it is not a daily pack I can live with that point. I wished the warming effect was more noticeable though. You can get the Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Pack and Soap Special Duo from the official Too Cool For School site. It retails for 18000 Won (18 US$) and contains the Egg Mousse Pack with 50 ml and the Egg Mousse Soap with 70 ml. If you buy the single products you will receive bottles of 100 ml (Egg Mousse Pack) and 150 ml (Egg Mousse Soap) volume, which retail around 12 US$. At W2Beauty the Special Duo retails for 27.85 US$. The large single bottles retail at testerkorea for around 10 US$ each.

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

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Here is my rating for the Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Pack:

Here is my rating for the Too Cool For School Egg Mousse Soap:

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.

9 Comments

asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Innisfree Green Tea Pure Deluxe Kit

3. July 2014

// KBEAUTY / SKINCARE / AFFILIATE LINKS //

I received this Innisfree’s Green Tea Pure Deluxe Kit a while back during a giveaway and I was very happy about it. Innisfree’s Green Tea line is often talked about within the blogger communitiy and since green tea is a very beneficial ingredient I was especially curious how this would work, especially as a mini version of the complete skincare line, including toner, emulsion, cream, essence and sleeping pack. These kits are always a great way to test a special line if it works with your skin or doesn’t. Here is my impression on these products:

Innisfree is an eco-friendly korean skincare and makeup brand focusing on natural ingredients and recycle packaging. The design of their products is simply and neat and nicely reflects the ideology of the brand. The Green Tea Pure Deluxe Kit is a 4-free product, that means that it is free of 4 commonly used ingredients, which are not beneficial, most likely parabens, etc. I couldn’t find any english ingredients list, so I don’t have the exact information for you, unfortunately.

Nevertheless, the key ingredient in this line is Jeju Green Tea. On Innisfree’s official web page you’ll find the following description:

“Green Tea Pure Line with the clean and clear moisture of 100% Jeju Organic Green Tea Water: The vitality and condensed moisture of green tea grown on the organic green tea field of the pure island of Jeju, refine the skin for clarity and suppleness.”

As I stated above, the kit constists of the Innisfree Green Tea Pure Skin (toner), Innisfree Green Tea Pure lotion (emulsion), Innisfree Green Tea Pure Cream, Innisfree Green Tea Pure Sleeping Pack and Innisfree Green Tea Pure Seed Serum. I used the items for my daily routine as this: toner, emulsion, cream. During my night routine I used: toner, serum, emulsion, sleeping pack. Of course it depends on your skintype how your routine works best. It may be, that cream and emulsion are to much for oily skin for example. My skin is rather dry, so I used emulsion and cream together.

Let’s start with the toner and the emulsion.

These two items come in two miniature plastic bottles, as do also the full size products. The plastic appears sturdy. The Innisfree Green Tea Pure Skin is a gel-type clear toner. It contains tiny particles which disolve while applying onto the skin. This makes it feel grainy during the application first. But the toner absorbs quickly and since the grains dissolve the only thing which lingers is the scent of green-tea mixed with some fruity/flowery scent. It is a nice scent, but if you don’t like scents at all, I wouldn’t recommend you this line at all. In principle all the products have this scent.

The Innisfree Green Tea Pure Lotion is a milky emulsion, which absorbs really fast into the skin. It is not sticky and doesn’t leave a greasy feeling. The skin feels instantly smooth and firmer. It has the same scent as the toner.

Innisfree Green Tea Pure Cream:

The Innisfree Green Tea Pure Cream also contains some grains, but in contrast to the grains in the toner, you don’t feel these on your skin. This cream is a good moisturizer and feels very refreshing. In contrast to the emulsion, the cream takes a bit more to absorb, but once it is absorbed, it isn’t sticky either. The cream gives you really that glow you get after being well moisturized. The deluxe sample comes in a mini jar, which is really nice.

Innisfree Green Tea Pure Seed Serum

The Green Tea Pure Seed Serum is a geltype serum, which is lightly milky. The consistency is thicker than of the toner. After it absorbs it is not sticky at all. It feels like adding some moisture, but not a lot (so this might be good for combination/oily skin?). Again, it has the same green-tea scent of the other products. The set included 6 of these ampoules. Each ampoule was for one usage only. The other products of the kit are more often usable, so it would have been nice, if the set included also more of these serum ampoules. The fullsize product comes in a pump bottle.

The last product is the Innisfree Green Tea Pure Sleeping Pack

The sleeping pack in this kit comes in a tube (the fullsize product comes in a jar). Also here, we have tiny beads. The beads dissolve while massaging the pack into your skin. The sleeping pack doesn’t absorb quickly, but it takes some time, but since you put it on before sleeping it doesn’t matter after all. The skin feels a bit sticky, too, but this is also a minor problem for a sleeping mask. On the next day the skin feels soft and refreshed. Also here, I really like the green tea scent, especially before going to bed. It is so relaxing.

My total impression about Innisfree Green Tea Pure Line is quite positive. My favourite products are the sleeping pack and surprisingly the emulsion. I’m rarely using emulsion during my skincare routine, only if I’m testing a specific skincare line as a whole like now. This emulsion made my skin so soft and firm, I really enjoyed using it ♥ The scent is also nice if you like green-tea scents. That’s why I like the sleeping pack aswell. It is so relaxing to use. Most important, none of the products gave me any breakouts or irritations :)

Also, Innisfree refreshed their Green Tea Line. The line is now divided into Green Tea Fresh (oily skin), Green Tea Balancing (normal/combination skin) and Green Tea Moisture (dry skin), which is a good idea. I think the former line will resemble most likely the new balancing line. I would suggest you to browse through W2Beauty for all the products.

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Skinfood Strawberry Black Sugar Wash-Off Mask

14. March 2014

Remember the last time when I reviewed Skinfood’s Black Sugar Wash-Off Scrub (click for the review >>here<<) ? I received a sample of Skinfood Strawberry Black Sugar Wash-Off Mask together with this purchase and I was really happy, because I’ve been really indecisive between the Strawberry and the pure Black Sugar Mask. Since I’ve been testing the Strawberry Masks now, I can tell you, that I super love it! ♥

Skinfood Strawberry Black Sugar Wash-Off Mask

The full size product comes in a jar like the Skinfood Black Sugar Wash-Off Mask, but the packaging design of the sample sachet is not less beautiful. I really love the design this one has, the colors fit together nicely and it has the cutest strawberry illustration on it. Also, the sample sachet does contain enough product to use it at least 3 times, which is great for trying!

Although this is a sample and most of the Korean product samples have only Korean description written on them, this one comes with English and Korean description. Again a plus! Now, the major difference between this mask and the pure Black Sugar mask is the consistency. This one has a gel-like consistency and is not that solid as the Black Sugar Mask. Thus, it is more gentle to the skin for exfoliation.

The effect of the Strawberry Black Sugar Mask is the same in the end. It exfoliates the skin and leaves it refreshed and cleansed, without leaving a greasy film. The scent is divine (for those who love strawberry scented products) ♥ I can only say that I love this mask, it has a great scent, works well and leaves me all in all super happy! If you have sensitive skin and were worried about the Black Sugar Mask to be too harsh you should at least try this one!

You can buy a jar containing 100 g at:

W2Beauty for 12.00 US$

Amazon.com for 9.95 US$

Rating:

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Skinfood Black Sugar Wash-Off Mask

5. February 2014

// AFFILIATE LINKS / KBEAUTY / SKINCARE //

One of my first posts on this blog almost one year ago was about Skinfood’s Black Sugar Scrub Foam. Since then I’ve always been curious about Skinfood Black Sugar Wash-Off Mask, because I loved the scrub foam so much. Finally, I bought it a while ago and I don’t regret it ♥ Skinfood offers quite a wide range of different masks and packs, each addressing a different skin concern and provided in tiny plastic buckets.

Skinfood is one of these brands which are competing with Etude House in terms of design – in my opinion at least. It is a Korean brand with vintage appearing design of their products which occupied my heart very quickly. The products are using the beneficial effects of ingredients, which are familiar to us in terms of “food” like vegetables and fruits. Their motto “Food that is good for your health, is also good for your skin.” reflects this brands’ ideology nicely. The Skinfood Black Sugar Wash-Off Mask comes in a cute plastic jar with a vintage-like styled label on the lid. It is simple, but I love this kind of design.

The description is written in English and in Korean on the plastic jar. You can see from the ingredients list, that the main ingredient is sugar, but it also contains various fats and oils. Black sugar has several benefits. It is rich in potassium, iron, calcium and other minerals. Brown and black sugar are often used as mechanical skin exfoliator, as in several skincare products (also see the Klairs Gentle Black skincare line). Here they help to remove the dead cells while massaging. Also, molasses contains vitamin B, which is an antioxidant that prevents and reverses signs of photo-aging of the skin. You can check the ingredients list on COSDNA, too. Two ingredients are red flagged, which are PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, a surfactant and BHT (Butylhydroxytoluol), an antioxidant. If you know that you are sensitive to these two ingredients, keep in mind to test the product previously on your arm.

Below the lid you’ll find another separating plastic lid, which prevents the product to lick out. Nevertheless, due to the rather solid consistency, especially in cool areas, it is practically not necessary.

I was really surprised about the solid consistency, somehow I thought it would be more creamy…Anyway, the scent of it is the same citrus-ish scent that I found with the scrub foam. On the ingredients list is written that they used caramel perfume, but I don’t smell any caramel scent to be honest. When I tried the scrub foam back then, I didn’t like the scent too much in the beginning, because normally I like flowery scents more. But I grew fond of it, because it gives you some refreshment in a way.

If you have sensitive skin you should also keep in mind to don’t use this product on dry skin, but to make your skin wet or damp before. The more water you add while massaging, the more do the sugar grains melt and they won’t irritate your skin anymore. Another way of using this would be in combination with a cleansing oil, like I showed in my Klairs Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil review. I think this makes the application even more suitable for sensitive skin.

By the way, the jar doesn’t come with a spatula or a spoon, but I would recommend to use one. Not only because it is more hygienic, but also because it makes it easier to take out product from the jar (I don’t know if they give you spoons with it, if you buy it at a store). How did it perform on my skin? You can achieve a nice peeling on your skin while massaging this mask into your skin. While leaving it on the face, you can either enjoy the fresh scent, or observe a slight heating effect of the skin, because your blood circulation was promoted while massaging. After I wash off the mask, the skin has a soft feeling. I don’t have a dry feeling nor is my skin greasy.

If you love using masks and you don’t mind leaving a product on your skin for a couple of minutes, I will recommend this mask to you. If you don’t like waiting so much, you can optionally also go for the Black Sugar Foam Scrub. In principal it has the same effects, only it is a cleansing foam on the same time.

You can buy a jar containing 100 g at:

W2Beauty for US$ 9.50

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asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Nature Republic Fresh Hawaiian Mango Pack

16. December 2013

I tried one of these Hawaiian Fresh Masks from Nature Republic a while ago, and here is the second one I tried. As I already said in the previous review about the Hawaiian Fresh Seaweed Pack here, there are three different packs you can try: Hawaiian Fresh Seaweed Pack, Hawaiian Fresh Mango Pack and Hawaiian Fresh Pineapple Pack. The packs are available either in a tube for several time usage, or for single use in a cute little plastic container. I’m reviewing Nature Republic Hawaiian Fresh Mango Pack today, which works as a wash-off mask in contrast to the peel-off effect of the Seaweed Pack.

Nature Republic Fresh Hawaiian Mango Pack

I’m still in love with the tropical packaging design which reminds me of summer, even now though it is almost freezing and I’m coughing all the time and having a cold :'(…I wish it will be summer soon….

By the way, I love Mango, that’s the first place why I bought this pack.

In contrast to the Seaweed Pack this one is not sticky or gluey in the first place. When you open the pack you will recognize the sweet and fruity scent, which is really nice. And the consistency of the product reminds me of some mango puree…but the scent is not the scent of mango. At least I imagined it to be somehow different. But it is fruity and nice nevertheless.

The content of the pack was enough for two times. The first time my skin reacted sensitive and I was disappointed first, but I figured out that this reaction was caused by another product I used. the second time I could observe the direct effects of this pack, which were a super soft and nourished skin. I loved the feel of my skin. I loved the peel-off mask, too, but the seaweed pack was more on the refreshing, clean feeling side and this one really seems to get eaten by the skin. ♥

All in all I was really happy with both these masks and I will be thinking of getting them again, after I have used up some of the other packs flying around in my room XD If you like exotic packs, I can recommend you to try it.

The full sized tube contains 120 ml and the small pack contains 8 ml.You can get it at testerkorea for 7500 Won (~8 US$) and 1500 Won (~2 US$), respectively. Shipping depends on weight. Or you can get the large tubes on beautynetkorea for around 10 US$ with free shipping.

Rating:

♥ Btw: the Kawaii XMas Giveaway has ended and the winner is
Nicoleta Alexandra! Congratulations! I wrote you an email. Please answer asap :) ♥

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Review: Nature Republic Fresh Hawaiian Seaweed Pack

29. July 2013

Hey there ♥

I saw these new packs from Nature Republic a while ago and since they looked so nice and exotic and really made me feel like summer I decided to try some. There are three different packs you can try: Hawaiian Fresh Seaweed Pack, Hawaiian Fresh Mango Pack and Hawaiian Fresh Pineapple Pack. The packs are available either in a tube for several time usage, or for single use in a cute little plastic container. I’m reviewing Hawaiian Fresh Seaweed Pack today, which works as a peel-off mask.

The packaging is really nice and shows a tropical scenery with a palm leaf and flower and seaweed. I really like how the packaging is designed, since it represents the ingredients of Hawaiian deep sea water, hibiscus flower and Seaweed extract. Seaweed shall help to clear your pores and make your skin smooth.

The pack has a gluey and sticky consistency and has a green color with darker particles inside (seaweed particles?!).

The small plastic container can be used for one time, except you spreed it only very thinly, then it can make two uses perhaps. The scent is very fresh and pleasant. I also put it into the fridge before, so I had an extra cooling effect, which was really nice. I left it on for 20 minutes around, until all the pack was dried. I could peel it of very easily afterwards. I felt clean and refreshed and my skin was soft. It was really a pleasant effect. Also I liked that this was a peel-off mask, so you really had the feeling that it did some cleaning on your face XD.

The full sized tube contains 120 ml and the small pack contains 8 ml.

You can get it at testerkorea for 7500 Won (~8 US$) and 1500 Won (~2 US$), respectively. Shipping depends on weight. If I would repurchase it, I would buy the bigger tube, mainly because I think it is easier to squeeze the pack out of a tube than take it out with the fingers :D

Rating:

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