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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  • 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
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  • I Got Snail on My Eye: COSRX Advanced Snail 92 All In One Cream as Eye Cream

    I Got Snail on My Eye: COSRX Advanced Snail 92 All In One Cream as Eye Cream

    February 9, 2019

    One night a few months ago, a terrible thing happened. I went to put on my eye cream–at the time, I was using the Su:m37 Secret Repair Concentrated Eye Cream–and discovered that I’d scraped the entire jar empty.

    Sulwhasoo and Su:m37 products
    It was the latest in a long line of fancy hanbang products to bite the dust under my loving care.

    I further discovered a distinct lack of other eye creams in my beauty product black hole of a “linen closet.” Nor did I want to use whatever face cream I had planned for the evening around my eyes, for reasons we’ll get into below. The only product on hand that seemed remotely suitable for my eyes was my COSRX Advanced Snail 92 All In One Cream, so in a fit of desperation, I went for it.

    And then the next morning I was so pleased at what I woke up to that I went for it again. Then I went for it that night, and again the next morning. And so time passes and here we are today, with me still gleefully putting snail on my eyes morning and night. (more…)

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  • The Next Stage of Skincare as Self-Care: Passing It On

    The Next Stage of Skincare as Self-Care: Passing It On

    November 27, 2018

    Hi, guys. I’m back.

    Looking at the front page of this blog, I realize that it’s been over six months since I posted anything here. I’m sorry for the long absence. This year has been a blur, with some pretty intense work, personal, and mental health struggles. Blogging took a backseat to just getting through the often very rough days. But I’m coming out the other side now, and I can’t think of a better way to kick off a renewal* than by going back to the themes of skincare as a tool for self-care that many of us have taken to heart.

    *I promise this will be a better “renewal” than the typical product “renewal” that leaves us with fewer beloved ingredients, a corner-cutting new formulation, and ugly new packaging.

    (more…)

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  • The 5 Step K-Beauty Skincare Routine: A Framework for Effective Cosmetics Layering

    The 5 Step K-Beauty Skincare Routine: A Framework for Effective Cosmetics Layering

    June 3, 2018

    Do people ask you for the details of your skincare routine but flinch when you provide an itemized list of your cleansers, actives, toners, essences, serums, sheet masks, creams, and sunscreen? Does intimidation prevent friends and family from following your lusciously hydrated example? Do you look at others’ skincare routines on Instagram and shake your head, sure you’ll never have the time/energy/budget for all that?

    K-beauty skincare routine
    A routine like this can be scarier than alligators if you’re new to this kind of thing.
    Did you answer yes to any of those questions? Read on.

    (more…)

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  • Review: My Beauty Diary Moisture Power Brightening Black Pearl EX+ Mask

    Review: My Beauty Diary Moisture Power Brightening Black Pearl EX+ Mask

    May 16, 2018

    There are brands so familiar that despite regular use, I hardly ever think about reviewing them anymore. I take them for granted and project my shameful lack of appreciation on everyone else, too.

    My Beauty Diary, the first brand I ever wrote about on this blog, is one of the brands I often forget to appreciate. I’ve gone through dozens of boxes of these Taiwanese sheet masks with hardly a word about them. But I finally found a flavor interesting enough to want to blog about it, so here are some thoughts on the My Beauty Diary Duo Brightening Moisture Power Brightening Black Pearl EX+ Mask. (more…)

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  • Beauty Monogamy: My Long-Term (Skincare) Relationships

    Beauty Monogamy: My Long-Term (Skincare) Relationships

    May 3, 2018

    You know how when you catch up with an old friend after a long time apart, you always touch base on the past and the things that haven’t changed, and it feels really good to know that some things have stayed the same? That’s what we’re going to do today, but with skincare products.  (Also, I didn’t do a Best of 2017 post, so consider this my make-up.)

    I have a hard time resisting the call of the ~new~, especially now that my job gives me access to a lot of ~new~. That makes these ~old~ products even more special. I keep them buying over and over, because they’re worth my loyalty. (more…)

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  • HGs Revisited: Sulwhasoo US Lunar New Year Special Editions

    HGs Revisited: Sulwhasoo US Lunar New Year Special Editions

    January 29, 2018

    After all the salt I spewed over the weekend, I’m glad to have something positive to talk about. The Year of the Dog is almost upon us, and that means Lunar New Year promotions and specials. Sulwhasoo’s LNY promotions feature several of my longtime favorite skincare products, which I’m already determined to get onto as many people’s faces as possible through whatever means necessary, so…behold. (more…)

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  • (Bad) First Impressions: Sunday Riley Auto Correct

    (Bad) First Impressions: Sunday Riley Auto Correct

    January 27, 2018

    This will be quick, much like my time with Sunday Riley’s Auto Correct Brightening and Depuffing Eye Contour Cream. One week after starting this product, I’m throwing in the towel. Auto Correct is nearly unbearable for me to use, and my experience has made me so churlish that I need to share my reasons why. (more…)

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  • Review: Skin Aqua UV Super Moisture Milk SPF 50+ PA++++, Plus Sunscreen Reminders

    Review: Skin Aqua UV Super Moisture Milk SPF 50+ PA++++, Plus Sunscreen Reminders

    January 12, 2018

    It’s the middle of winter in the northern hemisphere, but that doesn’t mean the quest for a good sunscreen can stop. If you’re trying to minimize visible skin aging, fight hyperpigmentation, and/or prevent skin cancer, then the sunscreen quest never stops. UV radiation (particularly the deeply damaging UVA radiation) is present whenever the sun is, even if it’s playing coy and hiding behind clouds or fog.

    Luckily for us UV avoiders, there’s always another sunscreen to try, like the Skin Aqua UV Super Moisture Milk SPF 50+ PA++++ sunscreen I picked up during a San Gabriel Valley Asian skincare shopping trip with Angela and Renee from the Beauty and the Cat beauty blog. (more…)

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  • Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Creamy Mask: The $24 Mask I Gave to My Boss

    Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Creamy Mask: The $24 Mask I Gave to My Boss

    January 10, 2018

    Q: When is it a good time to give your boss one of your only two remaining $24 sheet masks?

    A: When she makes you.

    HA. Just kidding.

    Real answer: When she compliments your skin and asks what you used the night before, and you’re in need of a guinea pig to validate your own experience anyway. (more…)

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  • Amazon Skincare Buys: The Good, The Great, The Bad, and the Terrible

    Amazon Skincare Buys: The Good, The Great, The Bad, and the Terrible

    December 20, 2017

    Product testing is a crapshoot no matter how long you’ve been doing it. Some products you’ll like, but not so much that you want to commit. Some you’ll love and never want to let go. Some are no good. And some will make you want to claw your face off after just a little exposure, if they haven’t already clawed your face off for you. My adventures in Amazon skincare shopping over the past few months have landed me one product for each of these categories. Yay?

    Asian skincare reviews
    In this post: Reviews of Hada Labo Gokujyun cleansing oil, Earth’s Recipe Energy Boosting Toner, Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Gel (2017 version), and Shiseido Senka Mineral Water UV Gel.

    (more…)

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