[Holika Holika] ONE SOLUTION AMPOULE *CLEAR*

Since a short time ago I'm interested in trying out ampoules. I wanted one especially for trouble skin but these were either sold out or too expensive for me. Luckily [Holika Holika] recently released some ampoules from their new ONE SOLUTION line. The ampoules are available as WHITENING, ANTI-WRINKLE and CLEAR. Of course, I got the latter!
  
Description: Winter Green Extract 100% High-concentrated ampoule with trouble care.

The metallic green & silver outer packaging has the description in English and Korean on it. Inside is the rather small, green glass bottle which contains 30ml. The twist-off lid got a dropping pipette for easy dosage.

Beside Wintergreen Leaf Extract, which is good in relieving skin from infections, it also contains Alcohol, Fireweed Flower/ Leaf/ Stem Extract, Purslane Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Allantoin, Soybean Sprout Extract, Magnolia Kobus Bark Extract, Water, Fragrance and more.

The consistency of the CLEAR AMPOULE is colorless and watery but not as runny as a toner. It absorbs quite fast without leaving a greasy film on my skin.
What I don't like much is the strong herbal scent. I can't describe its scent well but it smells weird for me.

Currently I use the ampoule only in the evening after a toner and I like that it makes my skin less oily. It also helps to 'remove' skin troubles faster bit doesn't make my skin completely blemish-free.
Anyway, I will also get a Pore Tightening Ampoule from another Korean brand soon and will review that one as well!

How to use: After using toner, pump 2~3 drops on your fingertips. Apply to the entire face and gently pat the skin to enhance absorption.

Price: around 10,- €/ US$13.50  
Bought at: eBay (f2plus1)  

What I love: 

It absorbs fast, makes my skin less oily and clears my skin.

   
What I don’t like: 
The scent - it's just not my taste. 

Will I buy this again? Maybe I would! Will see how it works over long-term first.

[SNP] ACSYS CLEANSING FOAM

During October '12 and January '13 I used a cleansing foam from a korean brand I never heard of before. I'm talking about the ACSYS CLEANSING FOAM from [SNP]. [SNP] stands for 'Shining Nature Purity' and this face cleanser belongs to their AC CLEAN SYSTEM line, therefore especially made for oily and trouble/ acne skin.

The whole AC CLEAN SYSTEM line consists of the following products:
- CLEANSING FOAM
- HYDRA SKIN
- HYDRA ESSENCE
- HYDRA LOTION
- SPOT BB
- SPOT TROUBLE CARE PATCH

[SNP] also offers products for Pore Care, Blackhead Removal, Anti-Aging, Teens Skin, For Men, etc.
Official Website: http://www.snpcos.net/

Description: It is a mild cream cleanser exclusively used for oily and troubled skin. Its fine and rich foam completely washes out wastes in pores as well as makeup residues and horn, and makes oily and troubled skin, which is shiny and sticky due to excessive sebum secretion, clean.

The large tube, which contains the cleansing foam, is white/ orange and contains 150ml. The outer packaging had the same design but I threw it already away.

The description on the tube is in Korean only, I found all the informations online.

The tube has a simple flip-top lid and the cleanser contains the following main ingredients:

BSASM: Restraint of infection-induced cytokine, immune adjustment function, itch relief.

AC.Net: Anti-bacterial and inflammatory function, horn deletion, function on decrease in sebum secretion.

Niacinamide: Cortico reinforcement, moisturizing, anti-aging,whitening, anti-acne.

Allantoin: It is an herbal extract of comfrey and a pure natural ingredient, which is excellent in sedation. As it expedites the growth of new tissue, it helps to manage skin’s minor scar or troubled skin.

The ACSYS CLEANSING FOAM has a white, creamy consistency and a slight citrus scent.
I used it in the evening and it cleansed my face quite well but burned in my eyes and made my skin a bit dry afterwards. I also didn't notice any big inprovement with my skin, that's why I didn't try out another product from this brand yet.

How to use: Pour a suitable amount into the palm of your hand and make enough bubbles with a small amount of water. Then, after scrubbing the whole face softly like doing massage, wash out with tepid water several times.

Price: around 12,- €/ US$15
Bought at: eBay (2010bigbang)   

What I love: 

There is nothing I really love about this product.

What I don’t like: 

My face felt a bit too dry afterwards.

Will I buy this again? No, but some other products seem to be interesting. Hard to find them overseas, though.

[ETUDE HOUSE] AC Clinic Daily Sun BB

The last BB Cream I received a few weeks ago is from [ETUDE HOUSE]'s product line for acne-prone/ troubled skin: the AC Clinic Daily Sun BB.
This BB Cream is kinda new in the AC Clinic line and might be interesting for people who already own some of the other products (like me).

Description: Formulated with Salicylic Acid and Hinoki Cypress, AC Clinic delivers trouble care. UV protection BB Cream supplies natural expression coverage with a non-comedogenic formula. SPF30/PA++

The outer packaging and the tube are green-colored, like all products in the AC Clinic line. On the box is the whole description written in korean and a few things in english, while the tube doesn't have many informations.

The green tube is flat, contains 50g and has a twist-off lid.

Beside Salicylic Acid and Hinoki Cypress the Daily Sun BB also contains Water, Glycerin, Zinc Oxide, Arbutin, Panthenol, Papaya Fruit Extract, Garlic Bulb Extract, Onion Bulb Extract, Wintergreen Leaf Extract, Tea Tree Leaf Oil and more.

The slightly creamy BB Cream is available in only one shade, which I would describe as a rather light beige with a hint of pink. This shade is okay for my pale, sometimes reddish skin tone. The Sun BB feels a bit moisturizing, has a medium yet natural coverage and leaves a slight matte finish. I like its scent coz it's not as strong as from the other AC Clinic products.

It probably got its name 'Sun BB' coz of its SPF30 only, so I will use it on colder days as well. 

I like the coverage, even though I need to use a concealer sometimes. 

My skin still starts to get oily after a while and I don't think that it will cure from acne. It might help to dry out some skin blemishes, though!

How to use: Apply cream to all areas of the face. Pat to finish.

Price: around 14,- €/ US$17   
Bought at: eBay (cosmetic.love)        

     

What I love: 

The natural coverage and non-oily formula.

       

What I don’t like: 

Nothing at the moment!       

  

Will I buy this again? I probably would, but will look for new BB Creams again coz it's not working perfectly for me.

[SKINFOOD] Mafura Oil Daily Mask Sheet

I slowly get used to sheet masks and so I finally ordered a few weeks ago the Mafura Oil Daily Mask Sheet from [SKINFOOD]. This sheet masks are kinda pricey when purchased outside Korea, that's why I didn't buy it earlier.

Anyway, when I received my parcel I saw that the whole box was a bit damaged and the lid of the Mafura Oil Daily Mask Sheet was missing. I still can use it but I'm worried that the sheets might dry out faster now!

The top of the box should actually look like this:

Three (3) different types are available:

- Mafura Oil Daily Mask Sheet (anti-trouble)

- Brazil Nut Oil Daily Mask Sheet (moisturizing)

- Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil Daily Mask Sheet (vitamin c & deep hydration)

Description: A convenient pack of anti-trouble mask sheets for daily use. Gently seals the skin to relieve skin troubles.

Mafura Oil Story: This oil from the seeds of the African Trichilia tree is chiefly used for culinary purposes and provides skin relief.

The box has a light brown color and looks like those tissue boxes everybody knows. On top would usually be a brown flip-top lid but that's missing on my one. It looks a bit weird without but at least I can use the product!

Inside the box are 20 sheet masks: in a seperate package which reminds me of make-up remover wipes!

The ingredients of the Mafura Oil Daily Sheet Mask are the following ones:

Water, Glycerin, Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Trichilia Emetica Seed Butter, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Betaine, Raffinose, Polysorbate 80, Disodium Edta, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer, Triethanolamine and Methylparaben.

The soft cotton sheets are easily to get out of the box by opening the lid and pull out a sheet like a tissue from a tissue box. Don't forget to close the lid again after use otherwise the product inside will dry out faster!!

Each sheet is soaked with a essence and are slightly scented.

The sheet itself doesn't fit perfectly on my face especially my nose area isn't covered well. After 15 minutes the sheets getting more dry and I massage the remaining essence into my skin.

The Mafura Oil Daily Sheet Mask is recommended for oily or troubled skin and can be used daily!

How to use: 1. Cleanse and tone skin. 

2. Apply 1 mask sheet on the face by pulling it to sit tightly against the skin. 

3. Remove the sheet after 10 to 15 minutes and massage in the surplus essence.

Price: around 16,50,- €/ US$20 
Bought at: eBay (rubyruby76)     

    
What I love: 

There is nothing I really love yet! But the sheet masks are easy and fast to use!

    
What I don’t like: 

I would prefer that each sheet is packed separately. They might dry out fast inside the box!

    
Will I buy this again? No, I won't!

[i.myss] A.CARE TROUBLE COVER BB CREAM

After a few month I finally ordered two (2) new BB Creams!! One is from [ETUDE HOUSE] and the other one is from a brand I recently got to know: it makes your skin sing or better known under the short form [i.myss]. I guess this brand is rather new?! 

Anyway, the korean boyband 2AM (투에이엠) is the new face for i.myss.

Btw, why are so many guys the face of a cosmetic brand (2AM, SHINee, JYJ, CNBLUE,...)???

So, when I saw this new brand I got very curious and wanted to try out one of their BB Creams. I got the A.CARE TROUBLE COVER BB CREAM for acne-prone/ troubled skin.

Description: A special trouble care line freshly repairing the stressed skin by madecassoside and easing the trouble by natural ingredient extracted from tangerine fruit.

The BB Cream is inside a white paper box which has on the front a member of 2AM (sorry, I don't know their names...). On the back is the description in korean and on the side in english.

The product itself comes in a flat, whitish tube with a twist-off lid. It contains 50ml!

The ingredient list is quite long: Water, Talc, Magnesium Sulfate, Orange Oil, Lemon Fruit Oil, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil, Bergamot Fruit Oil, Citronella Oil, Geranium Maculatum Oil, Citrus Unshiu Fruit Oil, Tangerine Peel Oil, Tea Tree Leaf Oil. Salicylic Acid, Iron Oxides and more.

The consistency is creamy, not too thick, though. It has a good coverage and mattyfies my skin for a few hours. Unfortunately, the A.CARE TROUBLE COVER BB CREAM is available in one shade only which I would describe as Natural Beige. 

For my white/ pale skin this shade is a bit too dark what makes me sad.

I can only apply a thin layer or need to mix it with a (lighter) BB Cream or a Primer. It might suit asians or ppl with darker skin, though!

The scent is slightly fruity, ethereally (from the oils).

I wished I could leave a more positive feedback but the shade is just not the right one for pale skin types. Hopefully they will offer more color options in the future.

But I like the coverage and the matte finish!

How to use: At the last step of foundation touch, take a proper amount to apply along with skin texture smoothly and tap softly to help absorbtion.

Price: around 11,50,- €/ US$12  

Bought at: eBay (cosmetic.love)    

      
What I love: 

The coverage is good and it leaves a matte finish. Nice scent as well!   

What I don’t like: 

Only one shade which is too dark for my pale skin. Oil control is ok but my skin still gets shiny after a few hours.

     
Will I buy this again? Nope, because of the color!! Would like to try out other ones from [i.myss], though.