Showing posts with label Korean beauty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Korean beauty. Show all posts

Sunday, March 5, 2017

French Luxury Meets Korean Innovation [Review] Erborian Yuza Double Lotion, Eau Ginseng, and Bamboo Matte Lotion

One of my favorite things about skincare, especially Korean skincare, is the innovation. New ingredients, new textures, new methods: I live for that stuff. There are numerous brands bringing out some very interesting products right now, and I think Erborian is one of those brands. Keep reading to find out why I think these Erborian lotions are something special.

Erborian's lotions balance a French aesthetic with Korean ingredients and technology.


Disclosure: These products were provided as PR samples, but the views expressed here are my own honest opinions and experiences. This review is not sponsored. This post does not contain affiliate links.


Thursday, December 15, 2016

Recent Favorites + A Flop

It's been a few months since my last favorites post, but they're some of my favorite posts to write. I've got some great products to share with you today that I've really been loving (including some non-beauty favorites!). Hopefully you'll love them too!


Friday, September 16, 2016

[Review] Somang Keratin Silkprotein Hair Aqua Essence

Hello friends! I've nearly used up the Somang Keratin Silkprotein Hair Aqua Essence that I received in a Jini Beauty Box a few months ago (paid for with my own money), so I thought now would be a great time to review it for y'all.



What is it?

A leave-in conditioner containing keratin to help treat dry, damaged hair. It's meant to give your hair moisture, repair the cuticle, and prevent further damage. As the "essence" name indicates, it's much like the type of essence you would use for skincare as far as the texture goes, but personally it feels a bit more like an emulsion to me in the sense that it's essentially a watered down lotion/conditioner. "Watered down" makes it sound like a bad thing, but it's not. Just the best way of describing the texture. By comparison, the Beauty Protector leave-in conditioner from Birchbox is much thicker, but the Somang essence is a little bit thicker than water. The scent is a little bit flowery and sweet, but grounded with something a bit more earthy. I can definitely smell the chamomile and sage in this, with a bit of the lavender, not much of the rosemary comes through. The scent is definitely noticeable as I'm spraying it on my hair, and it does linger for a little bit, but it's gone by the time my hair is dry.

What's in it?


Purified Water, Ethanol, Dimethicone, Propylene Glycol, PPG-2-Deceth-12, Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane, Panthenol, TEA Dodecylbenzenesulfonate, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Hydrolyzed Silk, Butylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Camomile Flower Extract, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Viola Tricolor L. Extract, Hedera Helix Extract, Sage Leaf Extract, Lavender Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Dipropylene Glycol, Nymphaea Odorata Root Extract, Benzophenone-9, Methylparaben, Fragrance

How much is it?

110 ml $8.99 eBay || I've seen it listed on Amazon, but it's higher priced and the packaging is different. Not sure if it's new packaging or a fake product, so I'm not linking it here.

My Experience:

First, a bit about my hair. My hair is long, thick, wavy/curly, fluffy, color-treated, heat-styled, tangly, breaker of hair brushes, spawn of satan, and woefully misbehaved. It's a few sarcastic taunts short of being a Buffy villain, basically. This hair essence wasn't enough to tame it. It did give me softer and shinier hair, so it gets points for that. However, since it's so thin, I basically had to drown my hair in it. On the bright side, it didn't weigh my hair down. Didn't help to detangle my hair at all, but it doesn't claim to be a detangler, so fair 'nuff. Ultimately, I would say that if you have fairly normal hair and are just looking for something to give you shine and softness, you might like this. If you've got thick, curly, or coarse hair, I don't think you'll like this because it's not going to do much for you. People with thin hair may also like this because the essence texture keeps it lighter than some of the other leave-in conditioners I've tried in the past, but this is coming from someone with fluffy, unruly hair, so take that with a grain of salt. 

Would I repurchase?

Nah. The price is decent, it smells nice, and it gave me softness and shine, but this one didn't wow me. I'd rather keep trying other products. Maybe they make Demon-Away* for hair? Here's to hoping.


xx Cristine

*Fake product created by Tony from Real Ghost Stories Online, aka my favorite podcast. 

Monday, August 22, 2016

May Coop Raw Sauce Review

As promised, here's my review of the May Coop Raw Sauce, which has become a k-beauty classic. It's a much buzzed-about product known for giving the skin a radiant glow. But did it live up to the hype?

May Coop Raw Sauce 1.35 oz bottle

Disclosure: This product was purchased by me, with my own money. This post does not contain any affiliate links.


Thursday, June 30, 2016

[Review] April Skin Magic Snow Cushion Pink in 01 Pink

Today, I'm going to be sharing my full review on the April Skin Magic Snow Cushion Pink, which is a pale pink primer in cushion form, meant to brighten skin. I've previously reviewed this product briefly on Instagram, but I wanted to give you guys more details about the product. This product was sent to me by 0.8L in exchange for my honest review on Instagram, but I'm choosing to do a full review on it because I genuinely like the product and want to share my experience with the product in-depth. As always, my review will be 100% honest. 

This post does not contain affiliate links.


Thursday, June 16, 2016

Review: Take Out Spa My Renew Bottle and My Bright Bottle Sheet Masks

I picked up the Take Out Spa My Renew Bottle and My Juicy Bottle masks a couple of months ago when HKC Plaza was having a sale. I was also on a bit of "juice" mask kick, spurred on by my love of the Ariul Juice Cleanse masks. I saw the Take Out Spa masks, and figured I'd give them a try.




Wednesday, February 10, 2016

MaskBox: Sheet Mask Subscription Box Review February 2016

Today I've got a brand new subscription box to share with you!

Maskbox is a monthly sheet mask subscription box. Each month you will receive between 2-6 masks, depending on the plan you choose. Plans start at $10. I'll discuss the subscription options in more detail down below. Maskbox is based in Los Angeles and ships between the 5th and the 8th every month. The plan that I chose for my first month is the Combo Box, which contains 3 masks and retails for $10/month.

Disclosure: I purchased this product with my own money. All views expressed are my own, authentic opinions and experiences with the product. This post does not contain any affiliate links.




Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Why Do So Many Asian Beauty Products Mention Jeju Island?

As someone who has recently (as in the last 6-8 months) taken the plunge into Asian beauty, I spend an absurd amount of time scouring the internet for info. What can I say, I like rabbit holes. *shrug* My nerdiness makes me want to know ~all the things~, so my spare time has quickly been filled up by reading blog posts and reddit discussions old and new, seeking out trustworthy sources of products and information, and endless amounts of scrolling through site after site in order to understand who has the best prices on what (the discount diva in me strikes again, did someone say 'free shipping'?) and to get a better feel for what's out there and what I might want to try next. In all of my nights spent scrolling through TK, RRS, and about 20 other sellers, I've seen numerous references to Jeju Island, but its significance to AB is rarely explained outside of promotional info. So, a curious-kitten mission took shape and now here we are, trying to answer the question: What's the deal with Jeju Island and how does it relate to beauty products?

Jeju Island is located off the coast of South Korea.


Jeju Island (제주도) is a South Korean island, located just south of the mainland in the Korea Strait. It has gone by many names over the years, but you're most likely to see it referred to as Jeju Island or Jejudo. The island was formed by a volcanic eruption around 2 million years ago, which gives the island some interesting geographic features, such as lava tubes and an abundance of volcanic soil. It's well known for its natural beauty, and has been named as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The primary industries of the island are agriculture and fishing, which is where it begins to intersect with Asian beauty.


Friday, January 8, 2016

Jini Beauty Box: A New Asian Beauty Subscription Box (Now Bi-Monthly!)

[Edit 1/8/17 Jini Beauty Box has become bi-monthly, meaning you recieve a box every other month. You can basically think of it as getting the amount you would get in two boxes, but every other month. More details below]
[Edit 5/11: All of my Jini Beauty Box reviews can be found here]

New Asian beauty subscription boxes have been launching left and right lately. After the newly-launched Jini Beauty Box was brought to my attention by the gals at BeautyandtheCat, I decided to sign up for the box and be a bit of a guinea pig, if you will. As of the writing of this post, there's not very much information available on this box (hence the guinea pig-ing), but I wanted to go ahead and sum up what I've been able to find out so far in hopes of helping anyone else who's looking for info on this box. And just to let you know, I'm not affiliated with this company in any way, and I paid for the box with my own money. I'll be doing a review of the box once it arrives, so stay tuned for that.  All of my Jini Beauty Box reviews are available at the link above! I haven't reviewed any of the bi-monthly boxes yet, but will do so starting with the Jan/Feb 2017 box.

What is it?

A bi-monthly subscription box centered around Korean beauty products, and curated to address the needs of different skin types. Every other month, subscribers receive a box of 6-8 full size and deluxe sample products, 2 sheet masks, and a few free samples. Boxes have typically included 1 or 2 makeup items as well, which I've really enjoyed.

Subscribers choose from one of four boxes, each geared toward a different skin type. There are no quizzes to take, you just choose the box you think will suit you the best. You're also able to change which skin type you're subscribed to from month to month. So, for example, I chose to subscribe to the Normal/Combination box because my skin is combo most of the year, and even though I have acne, I find most acne products to be too drying for my skin. Let's say that I get my box and I find that the products aren't quite cutting it because my skin is throwing a weather-induced tantrum and needs more hydrating products. I could go into my account settings and switch my skin type to Dry/Mature (I'll show you how to do this later), then the next shipment I would receive a box with products aimed at treating dry/mature skin. I've been very happy with the normal/combo box, so I haven't felt the need to try any of the other skin types, but I love knowing that I have the option.

If you're concerned about ingredients, Jini Beauty Box also features a list of ingredients for the products in every box, which can be found here.

Screenshot of the subscription page on jinibeauty.com *Note* This screenshot reflects the old prices, NOT the bi-monthly prices.

How much does it cost?

A bi-monthly subscription is $44.95 billed on the 14th of every other month. (ex. January,  then March)
6-month (3 box) pre-pay is $129.95
12-month (6 box) pre-pay is 249.95

Subscriptions automatically renew unless you cancel or skip before the 14th of the billing month. So if you received the Jan/Feb box but wanted to skip the March/April box, you would need to skip before the 14th of March.

Shipping is free in the US, but some states, such as New Jersey, may be subject to sales tax. I live in Nevada and wasn't charged sales tax on my order.

Where does it ship to?

At this time, US and Canada (shipping is free in the US, $8 in Canada)

When does it ship?

According to the jinibeauty.com FAQ, boxes will ship around the 5th of the 2nd month. For example, for the January/February box, you would be billed on the 14th of January, then your box would ship around the 5th of February. Typically, my boxes have arrived within 2-3 of shipping. 

How hard is it to cancel?

Super easy. It's part of why I was willing to take a chance on a brand new box. From the subscription page, click on your name in the top right corner, then click 'My Account'. This will take you to a page where you'll be able to see all of your account info and settings. There will be a box on the left-hand side labeled 'Your Subscription(s)', click the large purple button that says 'Edit'. On the next page, you'll see something that looks like this:
Screenshot from the jinibeauty.com subscription settings page. *NOTE* this screenshot reflects the old prices, not the bi-monthly prices.
From this page, you can choose to skip your next renewal (top right), change your skin type, change your subscription term, or cancel your subscription altogether. Click 'change' to save any changes you make. I love that this sub doesn't require you to make an awkward/inconvenient phone call to cancel, and even better, you're able to skip a month without having to go through the constant subscribe/unsubscribe cycle (Birchbox anyone?? hehe). There's no limit to how many times you can skip, either.

How is the bi-monthly subscription different from the old Jini Beauty Box?

The bi-monthly subscription is basically 2 boxes rolled into one, so you're actually getting more products for less money than before. The monthly boxes were $24.95, so 2 months would have been $49.90. The bi-monthly boxes are $44.95, so you're actually saving $4.95. 

I'll admit, I was skeptical when Jini Beauty Box switched to a bi-monthly format because I've never really been a fan of that type of subscription. However, the September/October boxes was one of the best boxes ever, so after giving it a try, I really think it's worth the wait. Sunny's thoughtful curation really shines through, and some of the products I've received in these boxes have become beloved favorites. I've been very happy with these boxes and would highly recommend it if you're looking for an asian beauty box that gives a variety of products. Personally, I get bored with boxes that are purely sheet masks, so Jini has been perfect for me. I've been a subscriber for a year now (skipped a few boxes here and there, but I've never once wanted to cancel) so I can confidently say that I love this box and I think it's one of the best AB beauty boxes on the market in terms of quality and value. 


I think I've answered the most pressing questions, but if you want to learn more about Jini Beauty, here are a few useful links:
Links to all of Jini Beauty's social media:
You can also contact Jini Beauty with any questions at support@jinibeauty.com

Hopefully this post was helpful to you if you're thinking of subscribing. If you want to subscribe, you can do so here.

-Cristine