Asian Beauty Haul

by Colleen

As promised from last week’s post about shopping for beauty in Singapore, I’ve put together a review of the products I found to be the most promising or in other words my Asian beauty haul.

Asian beauty products are really trendy at the moment especially their skin care. I have to admit that I have noticed a difference in my skin after spending the time to properly remove my makeup, cleanse, exfoliate, hydrate and prep before sleeping. Apparently many Korean beauty routines can include around 9 steps, so mine is still comparatively minimal, but I do feel it looks brighter and smoother than usual even with jet lag.

MAKEUP

Dolly Wink mascara– This is a very popular Japanese brand for mascara and false eye lashes. This one in long 01 has a narrow wand that tapers to a point at the end. This allows you to coat every lash even in the inner corners and also gives them a curl without any clumping. The end result are lashes that are well defined and lengthened.

Banila Co.– This is a really cool Korean brand and I found this great black gel eye liner called Triple wonder auto gel liner. It’s called triple I guess because it is smudge proof, waterproof and longwear. This statement is really true as once you’ve applied it the only way to remove it is with an oil based cleanser. It doesn’t budge. It is a dual ended liner that you twist up with a smudger on the other end. The only tip is to blend right away before it sets as once set you could go for a swim and it wouldn’t smear. Perfect sweat proof liner!

Innisfree color glow lipstick– I love the Innisfree shops, they are so well organized and their philosophy is to be in tune with nature so the shops feel a bit like a spa. I also like that their box packaging is recycled and uses soy based inks. Enriched with camellia oil this lipstick feels like a balm when applied but delivers a great pay off in pigment. Your lips feel hydrated and smooth. It comes in 12 shades but I particularly like this pale pink/beige shade 01.

Dolly Wink liquid eyeliner– Another great product from Dolly Wink is this liquid eyeliner. This liquid liner has the finest tip I’ve seen which makes it VERY easy to draw with. Once it dries which is quite quickly it is also quite waterproof and smudge proof. This is great if you want to make a little flick or cat eye liner that  won’t budge once you’ve perfected it.

Dolly Wink False lashes–  Yes more Dolly Wink! The selection of false lashes from this brand is enormous. Many Asian girls wear false lashes on a daily basis as their lashes can be quite short. These particular ones look quite natural even though they are long. They are meant to be a little longer than the eye to give them that round and downturned 60’s look. I like the shape and would just trim them to fit my eye.

Japanese blotting papers- I love blotting papers and use them on set all the time to remove excess oil or shine from the skin without having to add layers of powder. I also think they are great option for summer or humid climates to touch up during the day or night and leave your makeup cake free. I’m just in love with this packaging!

SKINCARE

Innisfree neck & collarbone mask– I know that I have already touted the benefits of these cool sheet masks that are all the rage in Asia, but this is the first time I saw this area of the body being addressed. The neck and collarbone are just as prone to dehydration and aging as the face. Enriched with herb green and a green complex feels very refreshing when applied. Afterwards the skin looks hydrated and smooth in the neck area which is often overlooked.

Innisfree black purifying eye mask– I love an eye mask as that’s always the first place that makes you look tired or stressed and it’s so relaxing. I wasn’t sure I needed to purify my eye area but this mask did help to depuff the eye area and maybe if used regularly I would see a brighter under eye area in general. I wasn’t sure what black food exactly meant but upon further reading it pertains to black bean extract, black berry extract, ace berry extract, black garlic and black sesame extract all meant to be antioxidants.

The FACESHOP charcoal-kojac cleansing sponge- Another black colored skin care product that I have taken a liking to is this charcoal-konjac cleansing sponge. Konjac is a root vegetable or potato called the Konnyaku and the fibers are used to make sponges. It is said to be an extemely gentle way to exfoliate the skin and contains anti bacterial properties. This one also contains charcoal which is meant to draw out impurities. I add my foaming cleanser to it and gently scrub my face after removing my makeup with either the cleansing balm or Bioderma miscellaire water. I like the fresh, clean feeling it leaves and I feel my skin is looking brighter. ( This one I can’t find a link for but you can try a similar one from Boscia)

The FACESHOP smile foot– Ok just one more sheet mask! I know my feet were smiling after a long hot day when I put these on! Slightly mentholated these patches were very relaxing and the perfect remedy for tired and hot feet!

 So there you have my Asian beauty haul, I hope you enjoyed it!