skincare Archives

Summer is the season of skin.
There is no other season when it is more important that your skin is radiant and glowing. Summer requires you to either go bare skinned, or at least trick your makeup to look like you are going bare skinned.
Summer is also all about travel, and nothing is guaranteed to jack your skin up quite like travel does, so you need to have a game-plan in place.

Here are 7 must have summer beauty essential skin care products.

Your first thought has to be the climate you are traveling to, or how your home climate is changing.
The oil cleansers that I swear by in dry climates often don’t cut it in humid places. There is every chance that your normal moisturizer either won’t be enough or will be too much over the summer months, or at your summer travel destination. Before you travel, or before you invest in new products for home, factor in the humidity or lack of, and buy your skin care in travel sizes.

Cleansers

If you are going somewhere humid you may need a foaming cleanser or a wash formula. If you are going somewhere hot and dry an oil cleanser or a milk cleanser may be your saving grace.
Not sure which direction to go?

Try Innisfree Green Tea Cleansing Water at only $12 it’s a steal.

Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist

Greatest thing ever! I take this on the plane with me to spritz on when my skin feels dry.
In dry places it can boost your moisturizer, in humid places sometimes its all I use. It’s a lifesaver.

Sunscreen.

The most important thing that you can do for your skin is wear sunscreen every day. Broad spectrum, (UVA and UVB protection) with a high SPF. It’s non negotiable.

Try Kiehls Super Fluid SPF 50 available at Nordstrom

An Exfoliator.

Hot weather and extra sunscreen can make your skin get congested and make the texture feel thick.

Help it stay clear and smooth with a gentle exfoliator or enzyme mask/peel.

A Dry Oil

I am obsessed with facial oils for intense moisture, the nourishing properties they have and for how they make the skin glow. But when you are on a beach vacation or somewhere humid adding an oil into your skin care regimen can leave you feeling downright greasy. And who needs that?

So when I travel I always have Tatcha’s travel sized dry finish Camelia Oil with me. (Not only does it make your skin look phenomenal it also soothes and calms it it after a day at the beach. Makeup glides on over top and doesn’t slip away due to the dry finish.

Sheet Masks

Whether you are dry and need hydration or whether you are oily and need help clearing your skin, there’s a sheet mask for you. Use them once per week all summer and your skin will be gorgeous!
Memebox has a limited time offer of their Summer Mask Bundle. 11 hydrating sheet masks for only $18! If this is sold out when you go to their website, go to their masks section and pick and choose what you need based on your skin concern.

Eye Gels

These are the greatest thing when you are feeling or looking tired, or when you need an under-eye booster. The morning after the night before they will soothe and de-puff your hungover eyes, they totally revitalize you after a long flight, and after a day at the beach they add in just the right amount of moisture so that makeup will go on evenly and look pretty.
I travel with individual packs of Elisha Coy Snail Hydrogel Eye Patches that I order online from Memebox. They are super convenient to travel with!

It’s no secret that I have been totally wowed by Korean skincare (K-Beauty) for a very long time.

I write about it allll the time. I get so annoyed at over priced skincare products in department stores, that are all consumed with packaging and with their celebrity endorsement, and that make almost no difference to the condition of your skin. I like products that make a huge difference to your skin, a difference that you can see and feel in the first few days.

And that’s what happens with state of the art Korean skincare products.

I’m also enthralled with the K-Beauty 10 Step Skincare Regimen and how they layer their products.

Many of my readers want to try it but don’t know where to start, and the thought of suddenly going to a 10 Step Program is far too overwhelming, so today lets talk about one Korean skincare product that you can add into your current skincare program. It can be your starter Korean Skincare product.

Essence.

Its Skin Power 10 YE Effector

This is a category of skincare product that for the most part we don’t have here in America as part of our normal skincare routines, with the exception of SK II’s Facial Treatment Essence

The closest thing to it here would be a serum.

Serums are typically heavy and leave a film on the skin. They are designed to have a few active ingredients that penetrate more deeply than a moisturizer, and deal with specific skin issues.

Korean essences tend to be much more lightweight and at the same time more concentrated.

You use an essence after cleansing and toning and before moisturizing.

What I love is that they disappear into the skin and don’t leave a slimy film on the surface. (If you have that extra layer on the surface of the skin makeup will slide around and disappear).

What are your skin concerns? Maybe you have a dull complexion and dark spots. Or maybe you have blackheads and enlarged pores but your skin is also dehydrated? Maybe you are concerned with aging and your skin is dry.

Whatever skin concerns you have there is an essence for each one.

Another thing I love about essences is that you don’t have to break the bank buying them. The first time I bought essence I didn’t know what to get, so I bought several different ones by It’s Skin for only $11 each. And they were fantastic!
Some good Essences to try are the It’s Skin Power 10 series.
The Its Skin Power 10 YE Effector revives skin and improves it’s texture and clarity.

K-Beauty-Essence
The It’s Skin Power 10 SYN AKE Essence firms and rejuvenates the skin, and goes to work on fine lines and wrinkles.

The Power 10 Li Effector is all about brightening the skin and going after skin imperfections caused by the sun’s damaging rays. Freckles, sun spots and redness are targeted, and it also soothes irritated skin.

Vitamin-C-Essence

The Power 10 VC Effector is all about Vitamin C. It brightens skin, refines skin texture and gives you visable results within a few days!

Ampoules

K-Beauty-Ampoule

Not sure about trying an essence? Another option is to make an Ampoule your first K-Beauty product. An Ampoule sits on the other side of serum. It’s super charged, super potent and has higher concentrations of the active ingredients. Ampoules are like a super booster for your skin.
You use a small drop after cleansing and toning, before moisturizing.

Again you choose one that is specific to your skin concerns. If I am more concerned about hydration and maybe a little less concerned about Vitamin C, I will buy a super hydrating Ampoule and a Vitamin C essence.
Scinic’s Propolis Ampoule helps your skin’s cells to regenerate healthier and stronger, giving you a complexion that is clearer, firmer and brighter. And it’s only $20!
K-Beauty-Ampules
The CosRx Centella Blemish Ampoule is to clear up troubled skin, give some sebum control and provide a protective barrier to help your skin recover.

(Actually I buy all kinds of different essences and ampoules just because they are so affordable and yet so high performance)

Once you start using Korean skincare products there really is no turning back. Your skin looks so amazing!

I buy my Korean beauty products on the world’s largest online Korean Beauty store, Memebox. Everything ships from California so it gets to my house within a couple of days.

Finally, finally, winter is on it’s way out and spring is here!
As you are packing away your winter clothes and readying your home for the new season, it is also time to do a little spring cleaning on your complexion.

Winter is the worst season for your skin. Between the harsh, cold weather and warm to hot air with central heating and open fires, those of us who are not celebrities or supermodels tend to get overly sensitive, irritated, dried out skin.
Now is the time to restore your skin, get it glowing and vibrant again and ready for spring.

Here are three important steps to spring clean your face:

Step One: Change Up Your Cleanser.

In my experience as a makeup artist the single biggest skincare mistake women make is using the wrong cleanser for their skin type. Mostly they are using a cleanser that strips their skin and dries it out.
Personally, I advocate foaming or wash type cleansers only for oil girls and girls battling acne. For anyone else foaming/wash cleansers tend to strip the skin too much.
I am a huge believer in oil cleansers. If your skin is in any way dry, irritated or sensitive an oil cleanser is an amazing choice for you.

For oily skin girls oil cleansers are also fabulous. (I see you backing your way across the room, but hear me out). Think about what happens when you put oil and water together. They separate. They don’t play well together. The truth is, if you want to lift away oil, oil is the best thing to use!

I’m in love with these Korean beauty oil cleansers available from Memebox, the world’s largest online K-Beauty store. (It’s HQ is in northern California, so your order ships from there and arrives in a couple of days, most of the time with free shipping).

Korean-Oil-Cleansers

I’m Cleansing Oil #02 Fresh Oil for oily or combo skin

I’m Cleansing Oil #1 Moist Oil for normal through dry skin.
Oil cleansers dissolve all makeup, and clean your skin beautifully.
At only $14.00 they are a smoking deal. You don’t need much, so they last for ages.

Step Two: Clean a Little Deeper And Remove Dead Cells

With the correct cleanser working for you, now it’s time to get some masks happening.
You need to get rid of all the dead skin cells on the surface that are clogging your pores and making your complexion look dull.
Here are three options from Memebox

Exfoliating Masks
Black Sugar Mask Wash Off $14.70
An exfoliating skin-softening mask that will remove dead skin cells and create a soft, radiant complexion with Brazilian black sugar and helps decrease the number of black and white heads.

If your skin is feeling sensitive or irritated you may want to avoid a scrub style exfoliator. Here are 2 options that give you smooth, radiant skin without scrubbing:
Clay-Skin-Mask

Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask $14.00

Innisfree’s Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay mask is one of Korea’s best skincare items of all time. The award-winning product provides 6 intensive pore care functions which effectively puts the skin at its best state. It minimizes pores by contracting them, control excessive sebum production, exfoliates, removes deep-seated dirt, brightens up skin tone and gives a soothing cooling sensation. It contains Jeju volcanic capsules that has AHA to effectively remove dead skin cells and maintain smooth and soft skin.

Enzyme-Masks

I have this next one in my Memebox shopping cart. I love enzyme peels and very gentle peel-style exfoliators!

SNP Advanced Peeling Gel $15.00

Free your skin from dead skin cells with SNP Advanced Peeling Gel. This peeling gel gently removes skin impurities along with dead skin cells that usually cause rough skin texture and clogged pores. With seaweed extract as its key component, this peeling gel not only removes dead skin but also supplies abundant nutrients to help improve the skin’s overall condition. It also moisturizes the skin to give a softer, smoother skin texture.

Step Three: Nourish

Once you have your skin beautifully cleansed and masked it’s time to add back in nutrients that your skin is craving.
In Korean beauty the final step each night, after loading the skin up with essences and ampoules is to seal all the goodness in with what they call a sleeping pack.
A sleeping pack falls somewhere in between a night-cream and a moisture mask. (don’t worry – they don’t wind up all over your pillowcase).
When you get up in the morning you simply rinse away whatever is left with a warm washcloth.

sleeping-pack-korean-beauty

The Waterest Vital Sleeping Pack is only $25.00
Invigorate and restore radiance to your skin while enjoying a relaxing, beauty sleep! Waterest Vital Sleeping Pack features premium revitalizing natural ingredients that boosts the skin’s nourishment and moisture retention to ensure great skin the very moment you wake up. It contains double-fermented lotus flower extract which delivers moisture to the skin twice as fast. It helps purify and hydrate the skin overnight to give you smooth, soft and glowing skin the very next morning.

And now your skin is spring cleaned and reboosted, and you are looking once again like your most gorgeous self!

Summer Beauty Essentials ~ 7 Skin Care Must Haves