Fifty Shades of Snail
Finding the best skin care products since 2014. Started with a focus on Korean skincare and grew from there. Skincare tips and beauty tips that work, maybe some hamster butts too
recent posts
- Protected: Fluorescent bulbs and SPF
- How I Grew My Thinning Hair Back Thicker and Stronger Than Ever Before (with no drugs or medical treatments)
- Sponsored: The Best of Skin1004
- How to Ask for Skincare Advice Online, Part Two: What Questions to Ask to Get Helpful Answers
- How to Ask for Skincare Advice Online, Part 1: What Not to Ask
about
Category: Essences
One of the more confusing steps in a Korean skin care routine, essences can be either light, watery, and intended for use immediately after cleansing, or thicker and more gel- or serum-like in texture. Either way, essences deliver a skin-quenching boost of hydration and a healthy dose of actives to improve skin health both immediately and with long-term use.
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So it looks like I won’t be getting much sleep tonight. Sucks for Near Future Me, but guess what? The peace and quiet (and the foreboding drone of Forensic Files in the background) provide the perfect conditions for me to finally open up and share my feelings about my new favorite brand, Tosowoong, and some of the…
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As you may have noticed, my routine is an ever-evolving thing. Our skin condition isn’t static, and for best results, we should adapt our routine on a day-to-day basis to account for things like weather and other environmental changes, as well as for our own health and skin conditions and anything else that might affect…
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Yeah, so, obviously the thing to do with this product would be to open with a witty comment about its original name, but I got nothin’. I’m just happy and appreciative of COSRX‘s openness to hearing feedback from their international customers and changing the product’s name to the Galactomyces 95 Whitening Power Essence.
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One of my favorite Korean beauty bloggers, Steph over at Misc. Bliss, does two things I really admire. Number one, she actually uses the samples she gets. And number two, she blogs about them, in a series called Sample Sundays, a concept that I am about to shamelessly steal, because I have a little problem.…
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Don’t worry, Hada Labo fans. I didn’t suddenly discover something bad about the famous and bestselling hydrating toner. The thing is, I just keep discovering other products that, for my purposes, are better. Here’s why a toner like Hada Labo Super Gokujyun Hyaluronic Acid Lotion can be so useful: Anti-aging isn’t just about preventing wrinkles.…
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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: flexibility is critical to maintaining healthy skin. Your skin is a complex living ecosystem, subject to all sorts of ever-changing influences, like diet, lifestyle, stress levels, living environment, overall climate, and day-to-day fluctuations in the weather. And if that wasn’t complicated enough, just about anyone’s skin…
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If you’ve been following the changes I’ve made to my skin care routine recently, then you may have noticed that I’ve swapped out my trusty Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid and 8% AHA Gel for a Korean brand you may not be as familiar with: COSRX. COSRX, whose sister brands include C20 (makers of the famous C20…
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It has come to my attention, thanks to a post on Reddit’s Asian Beauty community, that Missha is reformulating its famous First Treatment Essence and rebranding it as First Treatment Essence Intensive. The new formulation, per Reddit user /u/naoti, ditches the licorice root extract and changes the proportions and quantities of FTE’s plant extracts. Boo. Licorice…
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The beginner stage of the Asian skin care journey can be an expensive one. Skin care is so YMMV that it’s almost inevitable you’ll end up trying and discarding at least a few products before finding the right ones for you. For a few months early last year, I felt like I was constantly receiving packages or waiting…
Fifty Shades of Snail 