This post contains affiliate links. Product provided by Jolse. Do you ever buy products just for the packaging? I would be lying if I said I don’t. Pretty bottles and jars grab my attention, especially if I think they will look good in pictures. I chose MISSHA Tonight Brilliance Boosting Essence, available on Jolse, because it captivated me at first sight. And it’s even better in person! MISSHA Tonight Brilliance Boosting Essence is made using micro technology to drive hydrat

This post contains affiliate links. Product provided by YesStyle. Isn’t cleansing the best? I’ve loved bathing ever since I was a little kid, perhaps because my mom enjoyed taking long, luxurious baths, often with a book. And now that I’m a mother myself, I completely get the appeal of escaping to a long bath alone, in silence, with nobody wanting anything from me for the first time all day. Foaming cleansers are getting better and better. The days of harsh, stripping formula

This post contains affiliate links. Product provided by Wishtrend. I love new types of products, and while I’ve had other powder cleansers in the past, it was only a couple. Therefore, By Wishtrend Green Tea & Enzyme Powder Wash was still new and exciting to me. It’s available on YesStyle (use reward code KBHOBBIT), Wishtrend (use discount code LUCY15), Amazon, and iHerb (use discount code CWN6107). By Wishtrend Green Tea & Enzyme Powder Wash promises to be as gentle as a low

This post contains affiliate links. Product provided by Jolse. Eyepatches are such fun little things - they can visibly plump the skin and de-puff the delicate eye area in just a few minutes, especially if stored in the fridge. I usually have some kind of eye patch on hand and use them under the eyes, on the forehead, and over the nasolabial folds to try and fight off the ticking time clock of aging. My current jar is Koelf Ruby & Bulgarian Rose Eye Patch, available on Jolse.

This post contains affiliate links. Product provided by Oshen Skin. Eye cream is a bit of a controversial topic in the beauty community. On the one side are people who adore eye creams and see them as necessary. The other side claims over and over that eye creams are just overpriced moisturizers and any other facial cream will do. I’m somewhere in the middle of those extremes. Is eye cream strictly necessary? Maybe not. Sure, a plain facial moisturizer will work, especially i

This post contains affiliate links. Product provided by Credithink. I love a good toner pad. My combination skin does best if I don’t wash it in the morning, but I still like to sweep away any remaining evening skincare with a toner pad, and then proceed with my super basic morning routine (usually just vitamin C and sunscreen). Lately I’ve been using the Soo Good Feel Soo Calm Toner Pads, available on Amazon, sold by Credithink. Credithink is a trusted retailer of authentic

This post contains affiliate links Wishtrend recently introduced a new, exclusive brand - ELMT (pronounced as “element”) to their lineup. I was lucky to receive two of their products for testing before the brand even launched. Today’s review is for ELMT Skin Activating Solution. It can only be ordered on Wishtrend (use my code LUCY15 for extra savings). You can see the bottle in this reel. ELMT Skin Activating Solution is a watery, fast absorbing product that promises to red

AXIS-Y is a new to me brand of Korean skincare that uses high quality ingredients. What really stands out is the brand’s focus on the climate and its effects on the skin. Their 6+1+1 Advanced Formula skincare (611) was developed specifically for people with acne-prone, oily skin who live in a humid climate. 611 means 6 key / active ingredients, 1 core ingredient, and 1 patented technology. I chose a few of their products (watch the unboxing video here) to try and see if they

This post contains affiliate links. I loooooove a good toner pad. There’s nothing quite like reaching into a pretty jar first thing in the morning and gently wiping away any remaining evening skincare, while hydrating the skin. Ahh. So I was super excited to get the Cosrx Green Hero Calming Pads in the recent by Sophie box. Cosrx Green Hero Calming Pad is available on* eBay, Amazon, YesStyle (save more with reward code KBHOBBIT), and Jolse. Please note - the brand has recentl

Summer is coming (eventually, I think). We’ve had insane weather - a record-setting cold winter, record-setting flooding that devastated the Midwest, and one week we’ve had warm days and hail. Yes, in the same week. But summer will be here, so it’s time to start planning your skincare for the warm weather. I have combination skin with an oily t zone and dry-to-normal everything else. I’m prone to pigmentation (freckles). Benton has been on my radar for some time. Everything I

I love trying new products and new types of products, which is why the world of Korean cosmetics is a gift that keeps on giving - something new and exciting comes out all the time. I’ve heard people rave about cleansing sticks, but have never owned one myself. To remedy that, I bought Neogen Real Fresh Green Tea Cleansing Stick around the winter holidays in 2018. It has won the 2017 Teen Vogue Acne Awards and is sold on* eBay, Amazon, YesStyle, and Cosmetic Love. You can also

Cleansing is the one step I never skip (ok, ok, except for my husband’s holiday work party in 2017, the open bar got me and I went to bed with full makeup and hair…). But on a normal day, I cleanse no matter how tired I am. If you aren’t familiar with the Korean beauty way of cleansing, the typical routine is to first use an oil cleanser to dissolve makeup and sunscreen, and then use a foaming cleanser to wash off everything else, including the cleansing oil residue, if any.

The MISSHA Herb in Nude series of sheet masks is made with different types of tea to address various skin concerns. I have combination skin with an oily t-zone and dry-to-normal cheeks and these masks work well for me. They are sold on* eBay and Amazon. The range includes six mask types: Purifying care - mint tea to detoxify Vitality care - hibiscus tea to brighten the complexion Nutrition care - earl grey tea to firm and nourish Soothing care - lavender tea to soothe Firming

Today’s global market makes the following possible - a person born and raised in Russia can live in the USA and buy a sleeping mask made in Korea using Icelandic glacial water. Wow! If you have not heard the term “sleeping pack” before, it’s simply another way of saying “night mask” or even “night cream”. Korean skincare doesn’t differentiate between day and night creams, but instead offers more intensive nourishing night masks to be used several times a week. These are usual

Good exfoliation is so important - if the dead cells and product buildup is allowed to sit on the skin, it interferes with the effectiveness of your entire routine and can make the skin look dull and uneven. Back in my teenage years, I relied on physical exfoliation like scrubs, but that can be a bit too rough on sensitive skin. These days, the world of Korean beauty and skincare has given us peeling gels - products that gently yet effectively dissolve and remove all impuriti

As a pale, sun-aware person prone to freckles, I am always using some sort of sun protection, during any time of the year and in any weather. Even on my laziest days, I may skip all the skincare steps and all makeup, but I won’t set foot outside without sunscreen. Because of that, I finish bottles and try new ones regularly. Today I offer you a review of Etude House Soon Jung Mild Defence Sun Cream SPF49 PA++. This is a non-irritating, mineral sunscreen from a line designed f

I've been a fan of The Saem for some time - their products work well for my combination skin, and the ingredient lists are free of parabens and other harmful substances (you can read my reviews here). This time, I chose The Saem Natural Skin-Fit Mask in Green Grape to try. There are other varieties in the series; green grape promised a refreshing and hydrating effect, which sounded great. It’s available on eBay, Amazon, Cosmetic Love and YesStyle. How to use: Apply to a clean

If I were somehow limited to only two skincare products, I would choose a cleanser and a sunscreen. Those two steps - proper removal or dirt and makeup and protection against the sun - are keys to healthy skin. Without that, all other efforts go in vain. My most recent foaming cleanser discovery is Manyo Factory Deep Pore Cleansing Soda Foam (say that five times fast!). It’s avaialble on* eBay and Amazon. This cleansing foam contains no chemical or synthetic surfactants. Many

Any great skin care regimen needs regular exfoliation. Piling up even the best products on top of dead skin will not produce effective results. The Neogen Peeling Pads (forgive me for shortening their name, it’s just so long haha) are soaked in green tea serum to help eliminate dead cells and prepare the skin for the subsequent care steps. Green tea also moisturizes. The patented design of the pads is a 100% 3-layer cotton gauze with two different sides/textures. They are ava

Urang stands for Ultimate Radiant + Natural Glow. It’s a new to me brand of Korean skincare founded by an aromatherapist Jina Lee. Urang is cruelty free and uses natural and organic ingredients to make effective yet safe products. The True Rose Repair Essence nourishes and hydrates all skin types, including sensitive and mature. The main ingredient - organic rose water - soothes and calms. The essence contains no artificial fragrance, additives, toxic chemicals or preservativ