Today I’ll be taking a train up to Los Angeles, where I’ll be speaking at the BEAUTCHAT Beauty Class alongside some other awesome AB and K-beauty bloggers. I’ll only be in L.A. for two days and one night, but since I’ll be there for a special skincare event, I’ve had to give a lot of thought to what products I’m bringing and putting on my face. I chose products from my current lineup that I know I can rely on for the effects they produce. In my list below, I’ve also pointed out some alternatives for a few of the more expensive or difficult-to-find items. Wanna see?
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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I’ve been putting off my review of the Amorepacific Time Response Skin Renewal Serum (and the rest of the Time Response line) for quite a long time. Not because I don’t know how I feel about the product, but because it’s a $500 serum. That price apparently exceeds my comfort level for talking about a skincare product by quite a lot.
But ultimately, the point of accepting press samples is the opportunity to review products I wouldn’t otherwise be able or willing to acquire, and this is a hell of an opportunity. So let’s all go stick our wallets in the freezer and get down to business.
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January 10, 2018 update: W2Beauty has been renamed Beautytap. Also, my title has changed to Director of Marketing.
Okay, guys. You better sit down, because I have something to tell you.
Stop crying. I’m not pregnant.
No, actually…I have a new job. One that fits me perfectly!
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For the major US-based K-beauty shops, it’s become a rite of passage to launch an in-house skincare line (or at least an exclusive product collaboration with a well known brand).
It’s a pretty bold statement. Launching a house brand implies that the nearly inexhaustible variety of products already available in the market aren’t enough, that the shop’s vision is competitive with the established brands and formulations they already stock. Glow Recipe is the latest shop to make that statement. They sent me their Blueberry Bounce Gentle Cleanser and Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask; the raucous jury in my head is still hearing evidence on the sleeping mask but has sent in a verdict in the case of the cleanser.
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I almost didn’t write this review. A couple of months ago, my friend Tracy at Fanserviced-B published her extensive and detailed review of Sunday Riley Good Genes, and I wasn’t sure, when I started testing the product, that I’d have anything to add to the conversation.
The more time I spent with Good Genes, however, the clearer it became that I was having a totally different experience with the product than Tracy had. YMMV is a humbling and bewildering thing. On the bright side, it means I have enough material to write this review, so let’s get down to it!
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Let’s do something different this weekend. I’ve been working hard on projects outside the blog, and it’s time to share.
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve joined the editorial team at the newly relaunched W2Beauty. I and the rest of the “K-Beauty Squad”–which includes the amazing Coco Park of The Beauty Wolf fame–will be writing about all things K-beauty.
Our team is headed by the awesome Anna Park, formerly editor-in-chief of Audrey magazine, and I’ve been really impressed with Anna’s commitment to producing really useful articles. This isn’t a shop blog–not all of what we write has to do with items in the (7,000+ product) W2Beauty inventory. And not all of what we write about items in the W2Beauty inventory will be positive. I’ve had a great time working on my material so far!
Our first batch of articles is live. Here are my links–I’ll post more roundups in future as more material goes up.
I’m trying to contribute a bit of something for everyone. So for skincare beginners, there’s The Beginner’s Guide to Cleanser pH: Why It Matters to Your Skin. And for K-beauty beginners, I wrote 10 Cult K-Beauty Skincare Products Everyone Should Try.
I’ve also provided an up-to-date explanation of my morning and evening skincare routines in How I Do K-Beauty: The Fifty Shades of Snail Skincare Routine.
Finally, with summer around the corner, I wanted to do an overview of some great sunscreens in various categories. My testing didn’t go quite as planned because I didn’t care for most of the sunscreens I tried, but the ones I loved, I really really love. You can read about them (and the sunscreens I really really didn’t love in The Search For a Good Sunscreen: A’Pieu Pure Block.
Enjoy! And check out the rest of the redesigned W2Beauty site. There are new products, new (lower!!!) prices, and, of course, the rest of the W2Beauty editorial section to see. More features are still coming, too, so stay tuned.
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My evening routine is a complicated beast, but due to outside demands like sleep and school drop-off times, my morning routines are built for speed. I sometimes use my absolute favorite eye essence and facial serum, but my only morning constants are cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen.
That puts a lot of pressure on my day moisturizer. Of all the gels and lotions and creams in my current stash and rotation, these are the ones I rely on to carry my face through from morning to night.
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Like a virus or a succulent that’s being totally extra, I enjoy propagating myself as far and wide as possible. Which is why I sometimes take on writing gigs off the blog. I want to let you guys know about two of my upcoming off-blog projects!
First up and of particular interest to Kbeauty fans in the EU: I’ll be writing occasionally for the newsletter of Sweden-based online shop SKINiD. I’m really excited to see Kbeauty shopping options improve in Europe, and Jessica’s made some great selections so far.Scroll down to the bottom of the SKINiD main page to subscribe. I’ll be writing about topics like my favorite picks from Jessica’s inventory and my experiences with some of her most exciting products, like the WAYSKIN device she just got in. Newsletter readers will get special prices on featured items, too.
Second and super exciting piece of news: As some of you may know, long-established Korean online shop W2Beauty is undergoing a massive makeover.The site will be relaunching very soon with a brand new look, features, and, best of all, an editorial team that I’m proud to be a part of. I’ll be Contributing Editor and in very good company.
Stay tuned for the launch announcement and links to my first stories there!
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Have you ever put on a sunscreen so bad that you panic and cleanse it all off with just minutes left before you have to leave the house in the morning? I have, and I really want to talk about it. So without further ado, let’s discuss Missha’s All Around Safe Block “Mild Sun” SPF 30 PA++!
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Let’s talk ingredients! Only this time, instead of talking about all the wonderful things that our favorite ingredients can do, let’s talk about some of the times when those favored ingredients fail to do the thing. Because, let’s face it, no ingredient is a magic bullet that makes any skincare product great. Nope, not a single one. Not snail. Not propolis. And not even ginseng.
Fifty Shades of Snail 