Do peeling gels really peel off my skin?

“Is all the stuff that rolls off with a peeling gel really my skin?“ This is a question I come across a lot! In case you’ve forgotten, a peeling gel is a popular type of cleanser in Asia. You start off with a watery gel like this, which you spread over your face (the one picture here is Laneige Strawberry …

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My Picks from iHerb’s New Korean Beauty Selection

My Picks from iHerb's New Korean Beauty Selection

My Picks from iHerb's New Korean Beauty Selection

iHerb, every Aussie beauty lover’s favourite grocery-store-that-sells-Real-Techniques-for-cheap, now has a Korean Beauty (K-Beauty) section! The prices aren’t too bad compared to other K-Beauty outlets like RoseRoseShop, considering iHerb’s cheap and fast shipping.

The K-Beauty selection is currently quite small (45 items), but it does contain some much-loved classics. Here are my picks:

Banila Clean-It Zero – $17.95 USD (vs RoseRoseShop: $12.63)

This is a classic cleansing balm, which is like a cleansing oil but easier to handle (read more about how cleansing balms work here). Rub it on your face to dissolve greasy sunscreen or makeup, then rinse it off with water – the surfactants in the formula help the oil wash off without extra help! If necessary, you can follow up with another cleanser. Used by itself, it leaves your skin softer than a regular cleanser, thanks to the oil-rich formula. Banila Clean-It Zero contains mineral oil as the main oil, which works well for most people. iHerb also sells the Resveratrol and Radiance versions.

Mizon All In One Snail Repair Cream – $14.35 USD (vs RoseRoseShop: $17.99)

This has a whopping 92% snail secretion filtrate, which is amazing at hydrating your skin, and potentially could act as an antioxidant as well (more on snail secretion science here). This cream is lightweight and absorbs quickly, with some great skin-plumping effects. I’ve only tried a small sample of it so far, but once I finish my current snail slime products I’ll be getting this one!

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Korean Gray-Brown Brow Pencil Comparison

Asian-brow-pencils

I have undyed East Asian hair, so it’s hard to find a good brow product in stores in Australia. Luckily the Asian beauty market has it covered with tons of grey-brown options! I couldn’t find many comparison swatches online so I ended up buying a whole stack of “Gray Brown” pencils from a range of Korean brands (The Face Shop, Missha, A’pieu, Skinfood, Tonymoly, Lioele) from RoseRoseShop, and swatched them to show the difference. I hope this helps someone with the same dilemma!

Asian-brow-pencils

Here are the “Gray Brown” products I swatched:

A’pieu Nature Easy Eyebrow Pencil in Gray Brown
Tonymoly Lovely Eyebrow Pencil in Gray Brown
Skinfood Black Bean Eyebrow Pencil in Gray Brown
The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Design My Eyebrow in Gray Brown
The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Design My Eyebrow in Dark Gray
Lioele Auto Eyebrow in Gray Black
Missha The Style Perfect Eyebrow Styler in Gray Brown
A’pieu Harutatoo Brow in Dark Brown

Asian-brow-pencil-comparison-grey-brown

Since my hair is undyed, the roots of my hair and brows are naturally grey-tinged. Pretty much all of the affordable brown brow pencils designed for brunettes in Australia pull too red, while black pencils are too dark, so they both look pretty unnatural. There are a few OK products on the market, but they’re few and far between, so I’ve been using The Face Shop ME:EX Design My Eyebrow in Gray Brown as my everyday brow pencil, while my sister uses the same pencil in Dark Gray. The shades are very similar, though Gray Brown has a subtle brown tone.

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Asian Beauty Favourites

Asian-beauty-favourites

I am a big fan of Asian beauty products, which I suppose isn’t that surprising given that I’m Asian. Asian beauty products tend to be cute, suited to my colouring and great value. Here are my all-time faves – I’m always on the lookout for more products to try, so if you have any recs please let me know! The …

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Korean cosmetics haul

I’ve been skeptical of Asian cosmetics and skincare for a long time, mainly because I can’t read the ingredients labels. But I recently discovered CosDNA, a database which contains the ingredients listings for thousands of Korean products, and armed with that info, I went on a haul just before I left Australia. The main thing I like about Asian cosmetics …

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