[SKINFOOD] STRAWBERRY BLACK SUGAR MASK *WASH OFF*

I was always a bigger fan of mud masks but recently I also love to use sheet masks. I got tons of those masks from Korea and Taiwan like Kieskin, My Scheming, My Beauty Diary, innisfree, DERMAL, VANEDO, PUREDERM and so on.

I like that I just put the sheet on my face, leave it on for about 20 minutes and remove it without washing it off. The quality of the sheets are different: some are a bit too thick, so that it feels not very comfortable on the skin, others are so thin that they easily break when I unfold them.
I got different types while my favorites are always those for troubled skin (tea tree, charcoal, propolis, mango) or just for moisturizing (bamboo, watermelon, seaweed, herbs).
I would like to try japanese sheet masks as well but I never find interesting ones except of the moisturizing LuLuLun FACE MASK.

Back to mud masks: I received two new ones. One of these is the [SKINFOOD] STRAWBERRY BLACK SUGAR MASK WASH OFF. Most of the korean masks I used were from [SKINFOOD] and I decided to get this one because it is a mix of a facial scrub and face mask. In addition, strawberry is often used in products for oily or troubled skin with enlarged pores.

Description: A facial mask that contains mineral-rich Brazilian black sugar along with strawberry seeds and strawberry seed oil. Applies smoothly on skin and leaves skin fresh, clean and fragrant with a strawberry scent.

Like all face masks from [SKINFOOD] the STRAWBERRY BLACK SUGER MASK also comes in a milky white, slightly see-through plastic container with a white twist-off lid and 100g inside.

The description is written in English and Korean!

The ingredient list is only written in Korean and hard to read for me. The only things I could find out are Sucrose/ Sugar (16,500mg), Glycerin, Candelilla Wax, Lanolin, Macadamia Seed Oil, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Strawberry Seed (1,000mg), Berry Seed Oil (500mg) and Caramel.

The consistency is rather thick and feels kinda oily. When applying the mask to the skin you can instantly feel all the sugar in it. The strawberry seeds are also visible in this reddish-brown 2-in-1 product.
The sweet strawberry scent is nice but I don't think that the scent last very long on my skin.

I use a spatula (not included) to take the product out and mix it with a bit water before I apply it to my face. Then I massage the STRAWBERRY BLACK SUGAR MASK for about 1 minute - the sugar will start to melt away and makes the mask more soft. It reminds me a bit of [Holika Holika]'s Pig-nose clear black head cleansing sugar scrub!
After another 5~10 minutes I wash it off with clear water.

Afterwards my skin really feels smoother and cleaner. The sugar works as a scrub and removes dead skin cells while the strawberry inside cleanses the pores.
Since I have sensitive skin I use it only once a week!

How to use: After cleansing, massage onto damp face, avoiding the eye and mouth areas. To minimize irritation add water or toner while massaging.
Leave for 10~15 minutes. Rinse off with lukewarm water.

Price: around 9,- €/ US$12  
Bought at: eBay (f2plus1)  
 
What I love:
My skin feels smoother and cleaner afterwards!
 
What I don’t like:    
The sugar might be too harsh for sensitive skin but when mixed with water it's way better.
 
Will I buy this again? Not sure yet because I always like to try out new stuff.

[A'PIEU] Aqua Nature Fresh Bamboo Soothing Gel

Since a few months I like to use aloe vera gel in the morning and evening underneath my regular face cream.
I've already reviewed the ALOE VERA 92% SOOTHING GEL from [NATURE REPUBLIC] and now I got a similar product but with bamboo instead of aloe vera in it: [A'PIEU]'s Aqua Nature Fresh Bamboo Soothing Gel.

I tend to stick to products from [ETUDE HOUSE], [Holika Holika] or [SKINFOOD] but it's always nice to try out another cosmetic brand. [A'PIEU] belongs to [MISSHA] and contains mainly natural ingredients, similar to [NATURE REPUBLIC] or [SKINFOOD] I guess.

Official Website: http://shop.beautynet.co.kr/apieu/

I got the Fresh Bamboo Soothing Gel because it is said to be good for oily & combination skin. For those with dry & normal skin it's also available as Deep-sea Soothing Gel.

Description: AQUA NATURE provides pure and natural energy to your skin, with its high moisturizing benefit. With AQUA NATURE, you will experience the beautiful innovation to your skin with the pure and harmonious ingredients from natural water.

The Fresh Bamboo Soothing Gel comes in a clear plastic container with a milky white twist-off lid. The conatiner contains 200ml and has only a short english description on the front, while on the back is everything written in korean.

This Fresh Bamboo Soothing Gel is just one product of a whole bamboo skincare line. There are also available a toner, serum, emulsion and cream.
The main ingredients are Bamboo Water (5.0%), Swiss Alpine Herbs, Lavender and Chamomile.

Like the aloe vera gel its consitency is gel-like, non-sticky and highly moisturizing. The green-colored gel has a fresh scent and gets absorbed by my skin quite fast.
It can be used on the face and body!

After using [A'PIEU]'s Aqua Nature Fresh Bamboo Soothing Gel for a few weeks now I can say that I like it a little bit more than the aloe vera soothing gels I tried before. Not only because it is recommended for those with oily & combination skin, but also because my skin feels less 'tight' afterwards. I'm sure I could use it alone by itself but I still apply a face cream over it.

How to use: After cleansing your face or body and toner application, apply gel gently on the face or body.
You can keep it in the fridge for a more cooling sensation.

Price: around 10,- €/ US$13 
Bought at: eBay (iamlove-shop)  

What I love: 
The fresh feeling and that my skin doesn't feel super tight and oily afterwards.   

What I don’t like:   
Nothing yet! 

Will I buy this again? I would buy it instead of aloe vera gel again!

[SKINFOOD] Vita Water Drop CC cream *Floral Water Drop*

After trying [MIZON]'s CORRECT COMBO CC Cream and being positively surprised by its finish I wanted to give another CC cream a chance. To be more exact I purchased two and one of these was [SKINFOOD]'s Vita Water Drop CC cream.
This CC cream is available in two different designs: a blue tube (#D1 Smile Water Drop) and a white tube (#D2 Floral Water Drop). I don't know if there is a difference in the CC cream itself but I got the Floral Water Drop one. Somewhere I was reading that the CC cream in the white tube is good for reddish skin but I'm not really sure about that.
This products are a collaboration with 'water drop sonata'!

Description: Perfect All-in-one CC cream that absorbs in the skin deeply and makes the skin smooth.
It works as skincare + make-up and makes the skin tone brighter. SPF35 PA+++

As already said, the Floral Water Drop comes in a white tube and contains 30g. On the front is a cute print designed by 'water drop sonata'. The tube comes with a pump and has only the korean description on the back.

As the description is only written in korean it's also hard for me to read the ingredients. I still could find out that this Vita Water Drop CC cream contains extracts of Tomato, Celery (300mg), Broccoli, Apple, Carrot, Pumpkin (300mg), Asparagus, Raspberry and more.

As the other CC creams I've used so far had a whitish color, I expected the same from [SKINFOOD]'s Vita Water Drop CC cream. But this CC cream comes in a beige shade with a slight pinkish undertone. I was highly sceptical at first because the color doesn't look like my skintone. Surprisingly, the rather watery CC cream blends in very good and fits my skintone quite well afterwards. My skin feels smooth, looks brighter and less reddish. 

Unfortunately, it has just a sheer coverage since it's supposed to be a color correcting cream. The scent is not too bad and reminds me of a floral/ vegetable scent.

I like this CC cream because it evens out my skin tone, makes it less reddish and smooth. But since my skin often needs a better coverage I will use it mostly in combination with a BB cream or face powder on top. It even doesn't come with a great oil control what makes it a better product for those with normal or dry skin.

Price: around 9,- €/ US$12 
Bought at: eBay (iamlove-shop)       
 
What I love:    
The cute design and that it evens out my skin tone. 

What I don’t like:  
The sheer coverage is not perfect for those with skin problems. 

Will I buy this again? No, I will give other BB creams or CC creams a try.

[MIZON] Flawless Skin CORRECT COMBO CREAM *CC cream*

I'm pretty sure that everybody heard about the BB cream follower: CC cream.
As a BB cream lover I couldn't resist to get one of these new 'Color Correcting' creams to see if they are worth the hype. The Korean skincare brand [MIZON] is a rather new brand for me and because some of their products are quite interesting, I ordered its CORRECT COMBO CREAM (together with some other products from the same brand).
[MIZON] was the first brand who released a CC cream and with 58,000 won (approx. US$40) it wasn't really cheap - I still wonder why its price on eBay is just about US$15?!

Official Website: http://www.mizon.co.kr/

Description: Flawless Skin! Functional Concentrated Multi Cream. Anti-Wrinkle/ Whitening/ SPF25 PA++
Powerful Ingredients Improve Skin Texture And Radiance.

The CORRECT COMBO CREAM doesn't have that colorful and/or cute design we know from products of [ETUDE HOUSE] or [Lioele]. The outer box is black and came sealed with a silver sticker on top. Beside the few sentences on the front there is nothing else written in English, so I had to get the informations from websites.

The tube inside the box is white with black letters and a silver 'pump' on the bottom. Compared with BB cream tubes this one here is very long and rather slim. It contains 35ml what should last for awhile.
Btw, you can get this CC cream also in a container instead of a tube!

This CC cream contains Birch Sap instead of Water! Some other ingredients are Desert Plants, Argan Oil, Moringa Milk Plant, Collagen, Elastin, Ceramide, 40 types of moisture ingredients and more.

The light creamy texture has a whitish color with lotsa visible micro color capsules. These capsules break off on the surface of the skin and change to a beige color, matching ones skin tone.
Before I got the CC cream I was a bit scared that the color won't suit my skin tone because I already tried skin matching foundations/ BB creams before and the colors were most of the time too dark for my pale skin. Therefore I'm more than happy that [MIZON]'s CORRECT COMBO CREAM suits my skin tone perfectly.
I use just one pump and that's enough to cover up most skin blemishes (well, not 100% but still good enough for me)! If you need high coverage you should better stick to BB creams since CC creams even out ones skin tone with light coverage only!!
It also brightens up my skin tone without looking like a dead corpse afterwards and reduce skin redness.
Even though it doesn't contain a strong sebum control my skin looks less shiny after 5+ hours (I don't live in a humid country, though).

I used the CC cream for the last few days and I really love it. I like it even more than most of my BB creams!
Currently I use it together with [ElishaCoy]'s MOIST UP SUPER HYALURONE CREAM, [ETUDE HOUSE]'s Sweet Recipe Baby Choux Base and [TONYMOLY]'s BABY DOLL BB POWDER (mixed with some [POND'S] Magic Powder in 'Sweetie Pink' for better oil-control).

Price: around 12,- €/ US$15 

Bought at: eBay (f2plus1)       

What I love:    
The color, the natural coverage without using a lot of product and the non-greasy formula. 

What I don’t like: 
Absolutely nothing yet! 

Will I buy this again? I'm already thinking about getting a back-up of this CC cream. Would like to try out another one, though, but I'm scared that the result won't be as good as [MIZON]'s. 
Maybe will try [ETUDE HOUSE]'s 'Silky' CC cream, though.

[THE FACE SHOP] Blemish ZERO *Clarifying Toner & Clinic Solution*

I haven't written any reviews in such a long time, I'm sorry for that. But I'm too busy with other things... I'm back to school now and study accounting and balance!!

During the time I was absent I still ordered some Asian skincare products and make-up. One of the products I got was [THE FACE SHOP]'s Blemish ZERO Clarifying Toner and Clinic Solution. This line also contains a Bubble Foam Cleanser and is specially made for adult acne skin/ troubled skin.

Description: A specialized line that cares for adult acne.

Clarifying Toner (Step 2):

 Description: Let's keep it clear. Make your skin glow with this toner which clarifies and evens your skin tone.

The Clarifying Toner is step 2 and you use it after cleansing your face with the Bubble Foam Cleanser or another cleansing foam. The transparent blue bottle with it's silver twist-off lid looks very nice for me. The plastic bottle contains 200ml and has on the back only the description written in Korean.

Beside Sodium Hyaluronate, Natural Origin AHA and Natural Origin BHA, the colorless toner also contains Water, Glycerin, Panthenol, Willow Bark Extract (AHA), Grapefruit Extract, Anise Fruit Extract, Linalool and more.
It is free of Mineral Oil, Alcohol and Synthetic Fragrances.

How to use: After cleansing saturate an appropriate amount on a cotton pad and gently apply using outward motions.

Clinic Solution (Step 3):

Description: Get ready to be surprised! Meet the ultimate solution which can always work magic.

Like the Clarifying Toner, the Clinic Solution also comes in a blue bottle which contains 150ml and comes with a sliver-white pump. This emulsion-like moisturizer is the last step of the Blemish ZERO line!

The moisturizer is also free of Mineral Oil, Alcohol and Synthetic Fragrances. It contains ingredients like Birch Extract, Mung Bean Extract, Natural Origin BHA, Glycerin, Anise Fruit Extract, Grapefruit Extract and a lot more.
The whitish emulsion-like consistency is non-sticky or greasy. The scent reminds me a little bit of a citrus fruit!

How to use: After clarifying toner take an appropriate amount and apply to skin.

After using both acne treatment products for a few weeks now (in the evening only), I can say that I like these products. I won't say that my skin really changed yet but I still like to use them - not only because they are alcohol-free.
Of course, I hope that I will see some improvements with my skin soon...

Price: around 14~16,- €/ US$18~$20  
Bought at: eBay  

What I love: 

The alcohol-free formula and the non-greasy moisturizer. The design is also quite nice! 

What I don’t like:
Nothing yet!  

Will I buy this again? If I see some improvements with my skin and don't find anything new to try then I might get it again (especially the moisturizer).