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
Crazy Snail Disclosure: Some of the products in this post were sent to me for review. If you’d like to learn more about my personal rules for accepting gifts from retailers, read my sponsorship policy here.
Once upon a time, I didn’t have much makeup, and what I had came mostly from the Walmart down the street, because cheap and accessible.
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.
What you see up there is what remains after a very recent purge. I give away and ship out lots of samples as the need arises, but I’m always still accumulating more. So last week, I decided I would make a concerted effort to actually use some of these samples. Best case scenario, I find a new love. Worst case scenario, I get a little product breakout, and if I do, eh. Whatever. That’s what my A-Sol is for.
In the last week, I’ve tried some things that really impressed–and a couple that didn’t.
Got visible pores? Then you probably know the constant struggle of trying to keep them clean so that they’ll look smaller and less noticeable, especially on the cheeks and in the T-zone. Primers and makeup can work wonders to hide them, but not everyone wants to wear makeup, and your skincare goal is probably to have skin that looks great without makeup, anyway. The occasional clay mask and oil massage treatment can deep-clean pores for a temporarily improved appearance, but on a daily basis, your most reliable weapon against obvious pores is going to be a BHA.
Unfortunately, BHAs formulated at the correct concentration and pH are few and far between. In the Western market, the two best-known are probably the cheap and easily accessible but often drying and irritating Stridex Maximum Strength or the gentler but more expensive and unpleasantly textured Paula’s Choice BHA products.
And then there’s COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid.
Confession: I didn’t know how to do my makeup well (I mean, relatively well–I still have lots of learning to do before my face starts sagging to the floor and creates entirely new makeup challenges) until earlier this year. The problem was that almost all of the makeup resources I’d seen were geared towards Western features, which I, you know, don’t have.
What really helped me were YouTube tutorials. It’s one thing to read someone’s instructions and another to see someone actually putting things on her face in real life and real time.
So I was happy to get to write a piece on YouTube tutorials for Fashionista. Here’s my third Fashionista piece, “9 YouTube Tutorials to Help You Achieve a Flawless Korean Makeup Look.” I use all the tricks and all the products I reference in the article. I hope you’ll find something useful there for you!
What are your favorite makeup tricks?
Crazy Snail Lady Note: The cleansers discussed in this post were given to me by retailers for review. To learn more about my sponsorship policy and testing schedule, please visit this page. There are no referral or affiliate links in this post.
About a week ago, I posted some teaser news about one of my favorite brands, COSRX. The news was that COSRX is developing a mild, low-pH facial cleanser that’s almost ready for release!
For many readers, the news came as a welcome surprise–but I imagine that for others, it was something of a head-scratcher. Why does cleanser pH matter, and why would you even want a mild cleanser?
The product reviewed here was provided by Beauteque. To learn more about my rules for accepting sponsored products, please read my sponsorship policy.
I think it’s probably become pretty clear that I really like masks. And I really love honey. So when US-based K-beauty retailer Beauteque got in touch with me about reviewing something from their website, it was a foregone conclusion that I would end up choosing the Honey Deep Moisturizing Jelly Mask from Taiwanese (woohoo represent!) brand Annie’s Way. I’ve never tried a jelly-type mask before, and this one was quite the experience.
Every night when I go to bed, I put on a few podcasts to listen to as I go to sleep. I find it easier to fall asleep when there’s some talk in the background than when it’s too quiet or the background noise is just blank noise such as rain sounds.
Usually I listen to Darkness Radio or one of Jim Harold’s ten million different paranormal shows, because I love the paranormal, and there are few things more enjoyable at bedtime than getting the crap scared out of me by stories about shadow people. But last night, I finally got around to trying The Beauty Brains podcast, and my mind is blown!
The Beauty Brains is run by two cosmetic chemists, Perry Romanowski and Randy Schueller. I first heard about them through Skin and Tonics’ interview with Perry Romanowski; he did a great job in the interview of debunking some common skincare myths, most memorably (for me, anyway) the prejudices against alcohol and jar packaging. For some reason, though, I never put their blog on my reading list. It is now!
The podcasts I listened to last night did a terrible job at putting me to sleep. I lay in bed listening hard to every word. I learned how to pronounce hyaluronic acid and discovered that I’d been pronouncing niacinamide correctly. I was fascinated by their explanations of the possible differences between popular products and their store-brand “equivalents.” And so much more.
So what I’m saying is, if you’re at all interested in the science behind skincare, give these guys a listen (or a read). I use Doggcatcher to download, queue up, and play the podcasts I like, but you can also download or listen to The Beauty Brains podcast directly from their site here.
What are your favorite educational resources about beauty?
Good news for those of you who have been dying to try out the COSRX products I’ve been raving about, but who have been hesitant to order from Korean sites (or annoyed at the long shipping times from Korea to the US): A US-based K-beauty retailer now carries a nice variety of COSRX products! Cupidrop has just started offering COSRX.
Cupidrop’s COSRX collection is here. They’ve got several of my favorites:
The best thing is that the prices are close to those offered by Korean sellers–no insane markup like the ones I’ve seen on Amazon!
Disclaimer: I haven’t yet shopped from Cupidrop myself (though I probably will, if only for the COSRX). I am not affiliated with the site and will not make any money from linking to their products.
If you’re curious about COSRX but were waiting for them to be sold on US soil, now’s your chance to try this amazing brand out.
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.
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.
The jar is absolutely spectacular.
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.
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.
Fifty Shades of Snail 