Korea Trip 2015: Skin Care and Cosmetics Haul

It's not possible to go to Korea--a bona fide beauty destination--and come back empty handed. With their cosmetics and skin care arguably among the top notch in the world, it's no surprise I came back home with half a large luggage of make-up and skin care. Prior to the trip I did all my research and budgeted enough for what I wanted to buy. Unsurprisingly, and with a good reason, my budget flew out the window when I actually started my beauty shopping.  

Let's break down my massive beauty haul.

I love how generous they were with samples!

First of all, my skin type is super dry, especially in winter. My forehead, chin, between my brows, and above my upper lip gets it the worst. My face does not get oily, ever, and it's also really sensitive to products and allergens due to my eczema. I have never suffered acne, and rarely get breakouts so I consider myself pretty lucky. Therefore, all the products that I purchased caters to dry and sensitive skin, and a little bit of whitening as well. At least I think they all do... anyhow, let me move on.

I read that Laneige is a very popular brand for those in their 20's and 30's, and my sister gave me some of their products to try out a while ago, which I really liked! So I decided to purchase a handful of their White Plus Renew Skin Care line, which claims to brighten, hydrate, and renew the skin's radiance from within. I was largely interested in this line because I have very dull and lifeless skin, and Laneige guarantees to liven up the skin after two weeks of use.

Products I bought from Laneige (from left to right):

• Fresh Brightening Cleansing Oil
• White Plus Renew Original Essence 
• Water Sleeping Pack
• White Plus Renew Skin Refiner
• White Plus Renew Emulsion

I have yet to use any of these products, nor any of the following products, because I'm currently trying to save my sad, sad skin from dermatitis. But I have high hopes in Laneige, and I pray that they won't let me down!

Korean brand Innisfree is dedicated to finding the purest natural ingredients for their products which is a big plus for me, and on recommendation from a few friends, I splurged a little at their stores.

Products I bought from Innisfree (left to right):

• The Green Tea Seed Serum
• Apple Juicy Cleansing Oil
• Apple Juicy Emulsion Lip & Eye Remover
• Apple Juicy Cleansing Cream
• Jeju Sudachi Soothing Mask

As you can tell, I grew a slight addiction to their Apple Juicy products because the smell was just so heavenly. And I've been looking around for nice cleansers so I'm pretty excited to give those products a try!

I could not miss out on SkinFood, a brand that works under the motto "Food that is good for your health, is also good for your skin". It's the first food cosmetic brand in Korea which emphasizes the importance of 'feeding' our skin with the same food we rely on for a healthy body. It's definitely a very interesting concept, and just look at the packaging! I just want to drink it all! Also, there was a HUGE sale at this one particular SkinFood store in Namdaemun; everything was 40% off, and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I didn't take advantage of such a spectacular deal.

Products I bought from SkinFood (left to right):

• Miracle Food: 10 Solution Dual Eye Cream
• Black Pomegranate Voluming Serum
• Fresh Apple Sparkling Pore Emulsion
• Milk Shake Point Make-up Remover
• Premium Tomato Whitening Toner
• (Below) Black Sugar Deep Cleansing Cream
• (Below) Black Sugar Mask Wash Off

So during my trip my eczema flared up and the moisturizer that I brought from home just wasn't cutting it. I asked around, did some snooping online, and finally settled on purchasing the Super Aqua Ultra Nutritious Cream from Missha. This product was sold out in a lot of the stores I went to, so it wasn't easy to locate this particular item! Because it was in such high demand, I had high hopes for it, and for sure it exceeded my expectations! However, I'm not going to elaborate on this right now because I want to do a separate review on it some time down the road.

On to my lip products! Ever since I started buying cosmetics, I noticed that my lip collection grew from a couple of lipsticks to a whole drawer full. I don't know what it is about lipsticks, but I love them so much. I don't necessarily love wearing them, but I love collecting them. My best bet is on the colours; I want to buy every single colour of every lipstick line and I have the darnedest time choosing which ones to get every single time! And because I couldn't choose, this is what I ultimately ended up getting down below. The picture above are lip care/lip prime products:

• Missha Wrinkle-Free Smoothing Lipstick Primer with SPF 14
• Espoir Perfect Clean Lip Off
• Innisfree 1 Minute Lip Scrub
• Espoir Lip Treatment Essence

• 3 Concept Eyes Glass Lip Color in #403 Glass Red
• 3 Concept Eyes Original Lip Color in #301 Chiffon Pink
• 3 Concept Eyes Creamy Lip Color in #06 Jazzy Pink
• Innisfree Creammellow Lipstick in #01 Syrup Beige
• Etude House Dear My Jelly Lips in JPK002 
• Etude House Dear My Jelly Lips in JOR203
• Etude House Dear My Blooming Lips in PK003 Jealous Pink
• SkinFood Pomegranate Lip Chic in BR01 Chic Office Girl Brown
• Missha Glow Tint Lip Balm SPF 18 in CR01 Scarlet Coral
• Espoir No Wear Touch Lipstick in CR503 Love Letter
• SkinFood Vita Color Lip Gloss in RD01 Cherry

I wanted to buy eye shadow palettes but I wasn't able to find a lot of them. Instead, shadows were sold separately and individually so I bought the colors I've been wanting:

• Etude House Bling Bling Eye Stick in Pink Super Nova
• Etude House Bling Bling Eye Stick in Golden Tail Star
• Espoir Eye Shadow Satin in Hibiscus (Pink)
• Espoir Eye Shadow Satin in Fabulous (Gold)
• Innisfree Mineral Single Eye Shadow in #08 
• Innisfree Mineral Single Eye Shadow in #05
• Innisfree Power Proof Brush Liner
• 3 Concept Eyes Liquid Eye Liner

And last but not least, I had to get my hands on the latest Korean beauty craze -- air cushion. No more BB or CC or DD cream, but air cushion! There is nothing like this in Canada, probably nowhere in North America, but the hype and the raving reviews from so many girls have got me craving this product. It wasn't cheap for sure (sitting at around $45 with refill), but I had to try it for myself.

• IOPE Air Cushion XP Compact in Full Coverage finish, and shade #21 Fair)

And that's the whole of my cosmetic and skin care haul all the way from Korea! I'm just so sad that I'm not able to use any of these because my skin is just wallowing in pity right now, but as soon as it's healed I will dive into these products with ravaging excitement! Until then.