It wasn’t until after moving to South Korea did I decide to add these little extras into my beauty routine. I was already excited about having access to so many beauty products but I was extremely overwhelmed. There are beauty stores all over South Korea, even in their train stations. You couldn’t walk more than a few blocks without running into an Olive Young, LaLaLove, Innisfree, Etude House, or some other store. There’s way too many to name, so I won’t even bother going into it. But if you’re a big beauty fanatic, South Korea has to be one of your top destinations to visit.
After finally getting my skin to clear up and figure itself out with a good skincare regiment, I decided to look into other forms of skincare. Sheet masks, serums, and ampoules are so popular in Korea that you can find them in almost any convenience store. So I’ve decided to briefly go over a few of my favorites and why I decided to add it to my regiment.
If you haven’t already read the first part of my essentials routine, check it out before delving into this one!
For this blog, I have my best friend, Susanna, joining us again with very helpful input on what the professionals recommend. You can find her social media feed at @SusannaTheSkinSlayer on IG.
Serums
I only recently started incorporating serums into my skincare routine and I have absolutely no regrets. Luckily for me, my skin has actually gotten much better through pregnancy, so I want to make sure it stays that way even after the baby is here. Serums are basically super packed with active ingredients that you may need for your skin. For example, hyaluronic acid in serum is great for hydration or retinol for those who are being greeted into their older years. Serums typically are made up of smaller molecules that can penetrate deeper than the epidermis. They’re used after cleansing and toning but before moisturizers. Unless you happen to find a face oil (that is sometimes marketed as a serum), and it goes on after your moisturizer, to help create that barrier for all of your products.
”Serums are lightweight moisturizers that penetrate deeper to deliver active ingredients into your skin.” - Susanna
Mamonde Floral Essential Serum | This serum makes me face feel so silky after application. This is a vegan certified product, that’s made up of almost 82% honeysuckle complex. The antioxidants in this serum are so strong because they are fermented for an entire year before being made into this product. Honeysuckle is known for helping with inflammation, dullness, and uneven skin tone. It’s more gel-like than my other serum, so the application is a little less messy.
Clarins Hydra-Essential Bi-Phase Serum | If there’s any kind of serum that you need for a dry face, it’s definitely this one. My skin started out so rough this winter. I normally get dry patches along my temples and my nose gets pretty dry as well, but this serum does wonders. It includes the leaf of life (Kalanchoe Leaves) and beautyberry in it’s ingredients. Kalanchoe leaves have been known to help with eczema, inflammation, and infections. Beautyberries have so many benefits to their use that include antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, mosquito repellant, and skin lightening. To apply this serum, I pump a few drops and rub them between my palms to warm it up and press it into my face, making sure to focus on my drier spots.
Sleep Masks
We can thank SoKo skincare for this step in our beauty regiment. Typically on the western side, you’ll hear more about night creams than you will sleep masks. Night creams are pretty similar to a normal moisturizer, but normally contain something that’s too heavy to wear throughout the day. Sleep masks are similar in that sense. They’re thicker creams that can contain ingredients that help target your skin’s needs. They help seal in all those lovely serums and essences that you put on beforehand.
Kiehls Cilantro & Orange Extract Pollutant Defending Masque | For as thick as this cream looks, it’s actually pretty light on my face. I don’t apply masks with a heavy hand, just because I don’t think it takes too much product to get the results you want, and the texture is what I imagine day old Nickelodeon slime would feel like. I do this mask at least once a week after my routine. I normally just wipe off the excess and sleep with a super thin layer on at night. It does smell more like cilantro than it does orange, so keep that in mind if you’re a weirdo and don’t like cilantro. But I do feel like my face is a little more plump in the morning after use!
Clarins SOS Hydra Refreshing Hydration Mask | I use this every other day, especially since it’s been fairly dry here in Texas during the winter season. It has a much better consistency than the previously mentioned mask, so it spreads pretty easily onto my face. You leave it on for 10-minutes, wipe of the excess areas and try to press the rest into your skin for it to work overnight. It’s great for hydration because it does contain hyaluronic acid. Plus the scent is pleasing and subtle. I usually finish up with applying the Clarins Hydra-Essentiel Cream.
BEAUTY GIVEAWAY 2020
I’m going to be teaming up with Susanna to host a giveaway in celebration of Okami & Company’s one year anniversary! To enter, participants must do the following:
Follow us on IG @lynnnnsane and @SusannaTheSkinSlayer
Tag a friend on the respective Instagram post for the giveaway
Comment on each blog post on the website with your favorite products and why
Each individual tag on Instagram is an additional entry to the giveaway. This giveaway will feature trial size and full size products that we will be recommending throughout the skin series!
GIVEAWAY ENDS FEBRUARY 23 :)
Sheet Masks
If you think it’s overwhelming walking into an Ulta or even Target and finding a lot of sheet masks, you can only imagine what it’s like walking down the STREET of Myeongdong where everyone is out there trying to give you a sheet mask. Sheet masks have become so popular thanks to SoKo glam, and I think it’s the best thing for skin routines. I don’t think there’s not one mask you can’t find for you skin type in Korea. Dry skin? Oily skin? Flaky skin? Skin that’s breaking out? Have wrinkles? Sunburnt? There’s a mask for that. Sheet masks are packed with SO much nourishment for whatever you need. It’s a great way to relax at the end of the a busy day. You use this after your toner, whether you want to do it before or after your other serums. I always take the extra from the packaging and apply it to my neck and hands (especially if it’s for hydration). I’ve listed a few of my favorite brands below!
Etude House Dr. Ampoule Dual Sheet Masks (any of them!) | Any Dr. Jart mask | Innisfree My Real Squeeze masks | Innisfree Aloe masks
Tune in next week for when we go over chemical exfoliants!
Related: Skin Series Part I: The Essentials