Tag: Affiliate links

  • Mega Naruko Giveaway Winners!

    It’s here! Rafflecopter has randomly selected the 10 winners of my mega giveaway with Naruko Boutique US, I’ve gotten in touch with the lucky contestants and verified their information, and now it’s time to see who won a share of the massive pile of goodies Naruko is generously giving away! The winners of the giveaway,…

  • My Beauty Diary 2016: Is the Update an Upgrade?

    In the insanely crowded and competitive Asian skincare industry, product repackaging and/or reformulation are common tactics for brands fighting the never-ending fight to retain customers’ interest in their products. Sometimes the product updates work, like when My Beauty Diary revamped their main sheet mask line last year. Other times, though, a product update feels like when…

  • How to Apply Sunscreen with a Cushion Puff

    Have you ever seen Sunshine? The 2007 Danny Boyle movie stars Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, and Hiroyuki Sanada as sexy space scientists sent to reignite our dying sun with nukesand pretty pretty blue eyes, because if the sun dies, it takes us all out with it. Sunshine is one of my favorite movies, but it isn’t perfect. Danny Boyle totally neglects to explore…

  • My Top 9 Sheet Masks on Amazon Prime

    While recording the Snailcast a while ago, Chel and I got to reminiscing about the early days of AB life. Just a couple of years ago, hauls were major events that demanded planning, patience, and possibly a Hangul cheat sheet. These days, US-based Asian skincare fans can get a solid routine and plenty of extras, like…

  • Do You Need Actives, Part Deux: Sulwhasoo x2 (A Double Review)

    A couple of weeks ago, I talked in a general way about how to decide whether to introduce actives into your skincare routine. Now, as promised, here are a couple of examples: one product that just didn’t have enough oomph to get the job done, and one that doesn’t need anything more than what it…

  • Giant Giveaway Time with Naruko US!

    It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these because I don’t particularly want to run giveaways of just random stuff that I can’t vouch for, but some things are worth the wait. Today I have a ginormous Naruko giveaway for you guys to enter, with over $1400 worth of tested-and-loved Naruko goodies as…

  • Review: Naruko DermaLane Zero Dark Spot Brightening Renewal Mask

    I don’t break out often, but when I do, I’m off to PIH City for weeks afterwards. That’s just how skin rolls. (Straight to PIH City.) Then again, a ticket to PIH City gives me a chance to really put “brightening” products to the test. So when my experiments with a 20% mandelic acid serum convinced a clog…

  • August 2016 Empties Report

    There’s a bin on a shelf in my beauty closet where I hoard my empties until the bin is full. Then I take a picture of the containers before I recycle them. Usually that picture goes on my Instagram, but this time around, I felt I had more to say about the products I’ve used…

  • My August Skincare Hauls and Holy Grails

    After a couple of low-buy months, my wallet’s vacation has ended. My favorites need restocking and my new address apparently puts me in an Amazon Prime Free Same-Day Delivery Zone(!!!). While I normally share my hauls over on Instagram, this month’s skincare purchases revealed so much about what I’m loving these days that I thought I’d…

  • Fermentation, First Essences, and that FTE Glow: Secret Key vs. Naruko Facial Essence Review

    Years ago in a meeting room in faraway Asia, hardworking cosmetics marketers discovered that the story they’d spun, of peasant sake brewers with mind-blowingly soft and youthful hands, could sell bottle upon bottle of the novel new skincare product they were tasked with promoting. And thus, the first essence (or fermentation essence, or facial treatment essence or first…