Review: Innisfree Jejubija Anti-Trouble Facial Foam

Today, I'll be reviewing Innisfree's Jejubija Anti-Trouble Facial Foam! 

I've been using this on 23 June... So that's been slighly more than a month? I like it so far! 

This facial foam is part of Innisfree's anti-trouble line. "Anti-trouble" is pretty much a euphemism for "acne". I guess having a "anti-trouble" facial foam in your shopping bag is less embarrassing than anything that says "acne". Don't want people to start scrutinizing your face right? 

The packaging of this describes it to be "Enriched with torreya seed extract from pure Jeju island", to help "control blemish for clear skin". It also claims to "remove pore impurities as it prevents and relieves skin trouble". It is also composed of "natural originated salicylic acid, panduratin, and rose crystal that helps to relieve skin trouble". Sounds promising, yes? 

This is also 5-Free: Paraben free, sulphate-free, artificial colouring free, mineral oil free, animal ingredients free.

This cost 8,000 Won for 150ml of product, which is pretty affordable. It only comes in one size, so it may not be that travel-friendly. When I first used it, the smell was so strong! I remember the first time I used it, I thought of the Yardley of London powder?? Which is supposed to smell like lavender.. but I think this facial foam smells a bit minty too. It may not be a pleasant smell to have on your face but I got used to it by the first week! I also felt a cooling feeling on my face, which will notice if you stop lathering and leave it on your face for a moment. I thought that it seemed a bit gimmicky, but perhaps it really has an effect? My skin always feel clean and refreshed after washing. This also foams up well.

After using this for 6 weeks, my skin is still clear. I will definitely repurchase this again! I have normal/combination skin. My previous facial foam makes my skin feel a little dry & tight after washing and I usually have to follow up with moisturiser or a facial mist, but this facial foam does not give me that dry feeling after use.

If you don't have troubled skin, I'll still recommend this to you. Do not assume that all trouble skincare range are only meant for those with oily/acne-prone skin. Acne can be caused by a lot of factors!! I think this also works to clean the pores and prevent clogged pores. 

I don't have trouble skin or major acne problems, but I used to always have at least 1 pimple (new/healing) at any point of time until. I wasn't really looking to switch my facial wash, but Innisfree products had always worked well for me and so I bought this to try! As my previous facial wash already helped my skin, switching to this Innisfree facial foam didn't improve my skin significantly, but it still worked as well! This Innisfree facial foam is 5-free and works just as well!

I bought this in Korea in April at the Duty-free shop at Lotte. The Duty-free shop at Lotte houses a wide range of popular Korean cosmetics brands, both low end and high end. You can find counters for brands like Etude House, Innisfree, Skin Food, Holika Holika, Laneige, Sulwhasoo, SKII etc... Pretty much like those at airports, but this is just in the city. They don't stock nail polishes though. They also seem to like selling things in multiple quantities. When I wanted to get this, the sales lady told me I had to get 2, then I was like, alright, then I won't get it. (Since I've never tried this, why would I buy 2 x 150ml of something that may not work or break me out?) But after I said that, she let me just get one. At Skinfood though, I wanted to get the popular Black Sugar Mask Wash off, but they only sold it in a pack of 4!! Why would I get 4 of the same thing... -ends random rant-

To end off, here's the ingredients list:

Gmarket Haul #9

Wow! It is haul 9 from Gmarket Global!

I haven't ordered from Gmarket for some time because I went to Korea in April this year and so I was holding back on ordering from Gmarket. Heh.

I ordered from Gmarket on Thursday (18 July), but because I had a pre-order from an album in my order, my items were only shipped out from the Gmarket warehouse on Wednesday (24 July). The parcel reached my doorstep on Thursday (25 July). That means my whole order took only 1 week (including weekends) to come!

Now, on to my loots from Gmarket....

Etude House Dear My Party Nail Polishes: Pajama Party, Celeb Girl, Prom Queen

Etude House PBL601 Pajama Party, PPP505 Celeb Girl, PPK001 Prom Queen

Aren't they lovely! I don't usually fancy glitter nail polishes unless they are in a milky/opaque base. These were SOOO full of glitter, I couldn't resist picking them up when I saw them in stores. They were easy to apply. The glitters spread out pretty well without effort, but if you like, you could dab the brush on your nails to get more glitter. There isn't really a need for that though. It looks good to go with just 2 coats, but I would apply 3 coats + topcoat. I love them so much!! They are so fun to wear. Out of the whole Etude house dear my party nails collection, I feel that these are the 3 I like the most. I would also get a few others... but I would wear them in a nail polish sandwich. I can wear these 3 on their own.

Bottle shots:

PBL601 Pajama Party

PPP503 Celeb Girl

PPK001 Prom Queen

Macro of the bottles. Aren't they so pretty??

Swatches. Yikes, sorry they aren't in order and aren't labelled. but I'm sure you can tell which is which!!

My favourite has to be Pajama Party. It is just chockful of colourful tiny glitter. I would say that Celeb Girl's glitter is more subtle simply because the blue base is more opaque? but it does not completely cover the glitter. These are all very lovely milky-based glitter polishes and I would definitely recommend them!

What are your favourite Etude House nail polishes?

Review: Innisfree The Green Tea Seed Serum

I loved the Innisfree Green Tea Pure Cream and I've heard great things about the serum, so why wouldn't I buy it! And..... I love it too! 

I got this when I went to Korea earlier this year. I actually bought 2 of it! I was a little apprehensive about getting it because when I was reading reviews, there was this girl who said it broke her out when her skin is usually not that sensitive ): Thank goodness this didn't break me out. 

According to this, you're was supposed to use the serum before the green tea pure skin/lotion. I've always thought that toner should come before serum (then again, I've never used a serum before). I don't use the toner from this range (I used Etude House's Wonder Pore Freshner -- LOVE IT TOO) so I didn't know whether toner or serum should come first. Anyway, what I do now is toner --> serum --> moisturiser. And that works fine for me. 

/edit: If you have dry skin, it is recommended to use the serum right after cleansing & before toner. If you have normal skin, it is alright to use the serum after the toner. 

If you're thinking about buying this online, I think the packaging is quite safe for shipping. The bottle is plastic and it comes in a box. It also comes with a little plastic cap for the pump.

I've used this serum for exactly 2 months now and I can feel that my skin is significantly softer & smoother these days. I try not to touch my face too much but nowadays I can't help touching it a little bit more after I wash my face. It's not psychological because I wasn't even expecting any major improvements but it is true that I realised that my skin is better these days. This is the only major addition to my daily skin care routine for the past 2 months! I use this every night and every morning when I wash my face, I can see that my face looks more dewy and moisturised. I don't apply this in the morning though.. simply because I like be able to pat in skin care products onto my skin and I don't have time for that in the morning. lol. 

I use 1 or 2 full pump for my whole face. A little goes a long way! I like to pat it on my face and let my skin absorb it before applying my Green Tea Pure Cream moisturiser. I love that these products are absorbed quickly into my skin and I don't feel like there's something on my face, and still feels hydrating. (Don't you hate it when you apply a cream and you go to bed and you feel like you have to make sure you don't accidentally "rub" off the cream?) I also love the smell; it is very subtle, and it smells like what most green tea skin care products smell like.

The ingredients list!

Overall, I definitely recommend this product! It is worth the price as you only use a little product each time and the bottle lasts a long time!

Review: Biore Cleansing Milk make up remover

I love Biore for their sunscreen & makeup removers. I've tried 3 types of Biore makeup remover and I like them all. Today, I will be sharing my thoughts on Biore's Cleansing Milk make up remover.

On my trip to Taiwan, I decided to grab a bottle of Biore Cleansing Milk at Watsons to try since I've gone through 2 bottles of the Cleansing Oil and I thought of trying something new. I've never used a cleansing milk formula before so I didn't know what to expect.

Application:
The instructions state to apply a suitable amount (it suggests 2-3 pumps, but I feel that is too much!) and spread it on your face to massage, and rinse off with water. No need for cotton pads.

My thoughts: 
The product doesn't foam up, but it still does a good job of cleansing off my BB cream. It does not make my skin feel tight/dry after I rinse it off with water. It doesn't leave any residue and I usually don't double-cleanse (meaning I don't follow up with my facial wash) when I use this. I've not had breakouts since I use this so I guess it does clean quite well! Note that I only use this on days where I only wear my BB cream or sunscreen (yes, you should still use a remover to remove your sunscreen properly!). When I have heavier makeup, I still use my Biore cleansing oil to wash off my make up thoroughly. I feel that it is a very gentle cleanser for daily use for people who don't wear a lot of make up.

One thing to note when buying this product is the country it is manufactured in. I realise that Singapore sells those made in Japan, while those sold in Taiwan are made in Taiwan. I have used a bottle of the cleansing oil made in Japan, and made in Taiwan, but I didn't feel that there was much difference. For the price difference, I don't mind getting the made in Taiwan ones.

Ingredients: 

To sum it up..
What I love about this product:

• Smells good (as with all Biore make up removers)
• No residue
• Pocket-friendly
• Doesn't make your skin feel dry/tight after using
• Gentle, yet cleans well

I'll definitely recommend this product for people who don't wear much make up! 

Korean Dramas of 2012

I don't really watch a lot of korean dramas actually. Somehow, I hardly ever finish a whole drama. But I did check out a quite a few korean dramas in 2012 and here's a list of what's good & what's bad (in random order):

Review: Innisfree Green Tea Pure Cream

I bought the Innisfree Green Tea Pure Cream from Gmarket Global about 1 month ago...

... & I love it!

Previously, I was using a regular drugstore brand moisturiser. I liked it, but it didn't really do much for me. It moisturises my skin, but I felt that it could also irritating my skin when I have a breakout.

I had been reading about the toxic ingredients in skincare products. There are mixed conclusions about them.. some said the ingredients actually don't do much harm... and some also said the toxic ingredients can also cause cancer etc etc.. I also found that a lot of my skincare products had ingredients like paraben etc. That's not a good sign if I wanna play safe! So I did a bit of research and found out about the brand Innisfree. Innisfree claim to use natural ingredients and have no toxic ingredients. That impressed me. Although I was tempted to try their troublecare range and BB creams, I decided to get a moisturiser since it is something I use every day & night, and like I mentioned, I also felt that my previous moisturiser did nothing. This was also actually a lot cheaper than drugstore moisturisers!

After first day I used the Innisfree cream, I felt the difference with my skin the next day! When I washed my face the next day, I could feel that it was smoother and I remember being impressed with the cream. Again, not psychological because I kinda forgot that I tried a new moisturizer the night before.

I use benzoyl peroxide for my acne. I stopped using it for a few months because I ran out of it and I wasn't really sure if it was really working for me. So when I started to get some acne spots again, I bought another tube. If you've used BP before, you'll know that it dries up your skin (especially the part where you apply it) when you first start using it, and sometimes it feels a bit itchy because of the dryness. Because I stopped using it for a few months, my skin was probably not used to BP, and so it got dry when I started to use BP again. And that was just about the time I started to use the Innisfree cream. It really did help with the itchiness. My dry skin also got better in quickly. Just after 1 week of BP + this new cream. my skin is a lot better and clearer! Not kidding.. (I don't know if i'll ever find something to replace BP..) On some lazy days, I could even go out without my foundation/BB cream.

Okay, more about the product...

• It smells nice & refreshing
• A little goes a long way
• It comes in a plastic tub which makes it light, but may seem cheap? But then again, Innisfree is supposed to be eco-friendly (more here). Lighter = travel-friendly and also cuts on shipping/transport costs if you're buying it from overseas too! 
• Absorbed into skin quickly
• Does not leave any stickiness on your face after application
• Does not irritate my skin

Ingredient list for Innisfree Green Tea Pure Cream: 

Conclusion: 

I definitely recommend this product! I'm already planning to get other Innisfree products but I'm still undecided about which to try. I'm tempted to try the BB creams because it is something that we use almost everyday for several hours. If you want to try a product, try one that can make a bigger difference right? I'm also tempted to try their clay mask because it claims to help dull/uneven skin tone, blackheads and also breakouts! Sounds good, no?


[UPDATE 22 Feb 2014]
Just an update that I AM still using this cream. It has been more than a year since I started on my first one.... and I've just started on my 4th tub!! That means 1 tub lasts about 4 months? For my first 2 tubs, I used them for both morning & night. Now I only use this in the morning, and the Innisfree Green Tea Seed Cream at night. I love both!

My 3 empty tubs!
(I use them to store & bring my other creams for travel because they are lighter & unbreakable.)