Anti-aging for the undereye area can be such a pain. Moisturizers do help plump up and smooth out the skin, but many eye creams aren’t worth their price due to a low concentration of actives, while in my experience, many facial moisturizers irritate my eyes thanks to fragrances and the like. Actives like AHAs, retinoids, and vitamin C are fantastic for addressing fine lines and building collagen on the rest of the face, but many people (like me) are hesitant to put stronger actives around our eyes due to concerns about irritation and temporary thinning of the skin due to accelerated cell turnover. On the other hand, patch-style eye masks work great for delivering actives deeply to skin. Even dermatologists agree that sheet mask-style treatments are more effective than serums and other products. But many eye patches are just too pricey to use every day. Consistent everyday use is the most reliable way to see results from any skin treatment.
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
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Today I got a glorious parcel in the mail. It contained the final missing piece of my Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey collection: the Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Cream.
Moose approves. The jar is absolutely spectacular.
The jar feels heavy and solid in the hand, and the lid gives a satisfying click when twisted shut. But of course it’s what’s on the inside that counts. What’s on the inside is a thick but soft and easily spreadable cream that, like the Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Oil and Essence Stick, exudes the full-flavored sweetness of rich golden honey dripping straight off the comb. A little bit dabbed onto the back of my chronically dry hand made the skin instantly soft and comfortable.
And there’s a lot of it, unlike some brands that pack their jars 2/3 full and call it good. As with the rest of the line, there are a bevy of lovely moisturizing, barrier-supporting, brightening, and anti-aging actives and extracts in there. And honey goodness, of course.
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For most of us who follow the hybrid Western/Asian SCA and AB skincare philosophy, cleansers with a high pH are practically verboten. Snow White and the Asian Pear agrees. Skin and Tonics does, too.
The natural pH of a healthy skin barrier is slightly acidic. Cleansers that are too alkaline–that have a high pH–disrupt the skin barrier, allowing the natural (and vital) protective lipids to be stripped away, leading to excessive moisture loss and dehydrated skin. High-pH cleansers also help foster a friendly environment for the bacteria that lead to breakouts.
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Among the AB community, there’s a pretty commonly held belief that Western makeup is better than Asian. Asian skincare offers far more variety and customization than Western, which is why many of us find that it works better to solve our skin problems, but Western makeup brands tend to offer more color choices, allowing for a greater diversity of looks. Asian brands’ foundation choices are typically limited to a narrow range of pale-to-medium shades, and only a few brands offer point makeup in shades that venture farther than the conventional.
I like Asian makeup better anyway. My preferred makeup looks are classic (I’m conventional. Sue me), and since I actually am Asian, I’ve had much better luck finding matches to my skin tone from Asian brands. I’ve had way too many color matching fiascos in my years of making do with Western cosmetics. Here are some of my current favorites! Consider this a preview of my upcoming makeup reviews.
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Ever since I started learning about skincare in general and Asian skincare in particular, few common practices have made me cringe as hard as the practice of not removing one’s makeup at night. If you want your skin to be as clear, healthy, and radiant as possible, then consistent cleansing is a must. If you wear sunscreen and/or makeup during the day, then cleansing alone may not be enough. To get your skin truly clean and ready for your evening actives without destroying its natural lipid barrier, it’s highly likely that you’ll need to make double cleansing one of your healthy skin habits. And to double cleanse, you’ll need some type of oil-based first cleanser, such as Innisfree’s Green Tea Pure Cleansing Oil.
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Have all been from the same brand.
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Hey guys!
Just a quick note for all of you who’ve been lusting for the Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey hydrogel masks or the Botanic Farm Syn-Ake black hydrogel masks: They’re both back in stock at Memebox!
You can find the Banila Co. hydrogels here and the Botanic Farm Syn-Ake hydrogels here.
Memebox ships from the US and offers free shipping for orders over $30. I am not affiliated with Memebox and do not earn any revenue from linking to them.
Happy shopping!
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The skincare industry thrives on the frustrations of consumers struggling to find real solutions to their skin problems. That’s why such a wide selection of products exists: consumers jump around from serum to serum and cream to cream, disappointed by one and hopeful the next will work in a sometimes endless cycle that may not lead to success.
Every person’s skin has its own individual needs and sensitivities, making skincare very YMMV. There’s no single universal solution to any skin issue, and no responsible blogger or beauty writer would claim there is. (Anyway, how boring would that be?) Unless they have access to appropriately large and randomly selected bodies of human test subjects and the ability to conduct experiments with the right controls in place, then any blogger is only speaking from personal experience and anecdote. That includes me 🙂
But here’s some good news! Ingredient awareness can help you break the cycle of disappointment. Today I’ll be focusing on a promising ingredient in the fight against wrinkles: adenosine.
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While I’ve got you here, be sure to click on over to my new piece on Fashionista! How to Find a Korean Sheet Mask for Every Skin Issue covers the reasons you might want to use a sheet mask and recommends a few (tested and approved) options for each reason.
Thanks as always for visiting my blog! I love to share my Asian skincare thoughts, and I hope you enjoy reading them.
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I’ve been in the AB game for long enough by now that not every parcel I get is cause for excitement. Sometimes they’re just restocks, and sometimes they contain items that, while new and interesting, just aren’t all that exciting.
But then there are the ones that are. The ones that make me hover creepily behind my mail carrier as he tries to ignore me while putting the mail in our complex’s mail boxes. The ones that put a little extra nitrous in my step as I carry them back home.
The one that came yesterday was one of those parcels.
Behold.
Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Oil and Essence Stick, sister products to the Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr Honey Hydrogel Mask that I love. I don’t know why we don’t hear more about Banila Co. skincare. With the exception of the well regarded Clean It Zero cleansing balm, it seems the company’s products don’t get much attention, at least in the Western-based AB blog world. That’s a shame. A peek at the ingredients list for the Essence Oil reveals a pretty impressive product.
Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Oil ingredients: Collagen extract, glycerin, water, methylgluceth-20, polyglycerin-3, niacinamide, ethanol, honey extract, aureobasidium pullulans ferment, theobroma cacao (cocoa) extract, royal jelly extract, propolis extract, chrysanthellum indicum extract, plukenetia volubilis seed oil, argania spinosa kernel oil, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, anthemis nobilis flower extract, oenothera biennis (evening primrose) oil, limnanthes alba (meadowfoam) seed oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed extract, calendula officinalis flower extract, pentylene glycol, PEG-8, butylene glycol, glyceryl polyacrylate, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, adenosine, tromethamine, caprylic/capric triglyceride, octyldodecanol, hydrogenated coco-glyceride, sodium starch octenyl succinate, maltodextrin, calcium pantothenate, hydrogenated lecithin, sodium ascorbyl phosphate, tocopheryl acetate, pyridoxine HCI, silica, xanthan gum, carbomer, disodium EDTA, phenoxyethanol, fragrance
Niacinamide. Honey. Royal jelly. Propolis. Adenosine. Sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP), a stable and gentle form of vitamin C. It’s like everything I love, all in one amazingly gorgeous package.
SHINY. I’m not yet very familiar with many of the plant oils and extracts in this product, but they sound like an enchanted garden for my face. I’m already doing the research to give you the full rundown on this bevy of botanicals in my full review of the Essence Oil, coming in about one month, once my testing period is over.
What I can already tell is that it is going to be a glorious testing period.
The Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Oil is an oil-and-water serum-type skincare product. You shake the bottle to mix the oil and the water ingredients before application. It’s quite thick and rich-feeling, a lot like honey; it makes my skin feel deeply moisturized and incredibly supple (new favorite word: SUPPLE), and it smells exactly like the most delicious honey that any bee could ever make.
No lie. It doesn’t smell like honey fragrance. It doesn’t smell like artificial honey fragrance. It just straight up smells (and feels) like some magical luxurious honey of the gods.
I’ve been using this in a couple of different ways. I use it undiluted as one of the serum steps in my morning and evening skincare routines. Then, at night, I mix an extra drop or two into my COSRX Honey Ceramide Full Moisture Cream. Doing this makes the cream extra rich, and I woke up this morning unable to stop patting and touching my cheeks. If I ever manage to tear myself away from my new Hera UV Mist Cushion, I’ll also try adding a drop of the Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Oil into my Missha M Signature Real Complete BB Cream as well.
What I’m trying to say is, you guys should definitely stay tuned for the full review.
And what’s that other thing in my haul, you ask?
It’s the Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Essence Stick. I haven’t quite figured out the best way to use this stuff yet, but don’t worry. I will.
Gotten anything new and exciting in the mail lately?
Fifty Shades of Snail 