Korean skincare is obviously huge right now, and there are so many products – where do you start? Well, the internet! I went straight to influencers who talk about Korean skincare and tried out some of the products I saw being recommended over and over – here’s what I thought. The video is here, keep scrolling for the text version… …
This post is sponsored by Purito. I reviewed the Centella Green Level line from Korean brand Purito last year, and the most common question was if there were versions available without essential oils. Purito then released an unscented version of their popular organic sunscreen which I reviewed here – now they’ve followed up with unscented, essential oil-free versions of the …
Centella asiatica is a really popular ingredient that shows up in lots of “cica” products, both in Asian and Western brands. I recently had the opportunity to try out three products from Purito’s Centella Green Level line, which contains very high levels of this trendy skincare superstar ingredient. What Is Centella Asiatica? I’ve talked about the science behind Centella asiatica …
There’s a lot of buzz about fermented ingredients in skincare. It’s been a big hit in Korea, with entire product lines revolving around the idea of letting ingredients marinate for a bit longer. Here’s the science behind fermentation.
What is fermentation?
Fermentation refers to chemical reactions performed using microorganisms. More specifically, it usually means reactions that convert sugars to other substances. Fermentation’s been known for thousands of years – for example, yeast is used to ferment sugar in grapes to make wine, and bacteria are used to produce vinegar. A lot of fermented foods like kombucha, kimchi and kefir are trending thanks to increased awareness of the importance of gut flora (and for some weird reason, they tend to start with the letter K…).
Just like with food, it’s impossible to make sweeping statments about fermented ingredients in skincare.
Brands that emphasise the benefits of ferments in skincare usually claim that fermentation breaks ingredients down into smaller fragments so they’re easier to absorb. While it’s true that skin absorbs smaller ingredients more easily, that’s only useful if they haven’t been broken down to the point where they’re no longer active.
Franki + Seoul is one of the newest online Korean beauty stores in Australia. It’s run by two identical twin sisters Jayme and Jenny who are massive beauty nerds – they spent a year in Seoul testing beauty products and working with skincare companies, then received a grant from the City of Seoul government to start Franki + Seoul. Franki …
Two-phase or biphasic removers are my favourite type of make-up remover. They’re the ones that look like they have a layer of oil floating on a layer of water (the two layers are often different colours so you can see them easily). You shake them up like salad dressing before putting them on a cotton pad and wiping off your make-up. They remove waterproof make-up easily, generally don’t sting your eyes and if you’re lucky, won’t leave a greasy residue either.
How do two-phase make-up removers work?
In chemistry, there’s a rule of thumb known as like dissolves like, meaning that substances that are alike in polarity will mix together. For example, sugar and water are both polar substances, so sugar dissolves easily in water. Oil is non-polar, so sugar doesn’t dissolve in it.
Two-phase removers contain a non-polar oily layer (usually consisting of lightweight silicones like cyclopentasiloxane or cyclomethicone) floating on a polar water-based layer. They don’t mix because of the difference in polarity. But when you shake the bottle before using it, it ensures that some of each layer makes it onto your cotton pad, which gives it the power to dissolve both polar and non-polar substances (i.e. pretty much all your makeup).
Make-up Remover Reviews
I recently ran out of my Face of Australia two-phase make-up remover (this stuff lasts me forever), so I decided to buy a bunch of Korean ones and try them out – they’re all under $5 on RoseRoseShop and available on Amazon (slightly pricier but faster shipping – still under $10 though!).
Here are my reviews:
Missha Green Tea Eye and Makeup Remover
Missha’s remover has a colourless oily layer on top of a green water-based layer containing green tea extract. It also contains benzophenone-4, a sunscreen ingredient, for some mysterious reason (maybe a cosmetic chemist knows? Edit: “This UV-filter protects the colorants in the formula from fading out. Especially with transparent packaging you need to protect the colorants from UV light. Normally only a small amount is needed and this will not add any sun protection to the skin.”Thanks Roland!). It comes in a cute heart-shaped bottle, which makes the twist-top lid very easy to grip even when your hands are wet.
A lot of these Korean removers do have this rather disconcerting name – I can assure you that my lips and eyes are intact! This comes in a round bottle with a smooth twist top that’s a little difficult to open if your hands are wet.
