O.S.T. Original Pure Vitamin C20 Serum & Vitamin Sleep 9 to 5 Crema

While taking photos for today's entry I was planning to write two separate reviews. After thinking the topic over I came to the conclusion that it seems more sensible to describe both products at the same time, as they are supposed to work better together. Uhmmm, really? I have mixed feelings, mainly because of the difference in quality between them... Let's see what's going on.

As the spring has come it’s time to change skincare routine - for me it’s always a focus on hydration and UV protection (winter time is for AHA peels and post-peel regeneration). Although vitamin C can be used all year round (and like so I'm doing it) -  it's in the spring/summer when it has a special place in my skincare. Ascorbic acid is an AHA after all, so one way or another it contributes to a gentle exfoliation of dead skin cells. I care more for its brightening properties and supporting the collagen production. Many times I wrote that my main problem are stubborn sun spots (melasma), so choosing cosmetics for my face I focus on the selection of components having the brightening fame(eg. ascorbic acid, vitamin B3 aka niacinamide, arbutin, kojic acid).

Nature Republic Snail Solution Foam Cleanser

I was planning something completely different today, more elaborate and detailed etc. but last Saturday I threw myself into the wonderful world of "do it yourself" mixtures so other interesting things have to wait. I need to monitor the progress on my skin and since I expect "miracles", it may take a while ;) Hopefully it’s going to be worth it ;)

I haven’t reviewed a face cleanser yet so here it is today. Nature Republic Snail Solution Foam Cleanser is my current second cleaner (my oil-based one is Banila Co. Clean It Zero reviewed here) in a double-cleanse routine.

Sorry about the photo quality... The UK's lack of sun is not very helpful...

INGREDIENTS

A foam cleanser... The ingredients don’t throw me on my knees but ultimately it is only to wash your face... I don’t  have much of a problem with irritation/rash etc. after this type of products. I'm not a 100% real ingredients snob, certainly not in the case of something that is supposed to remove make-up traces from my face. The only thing for face washing my skin can’t stand is an ordinary soap. Although Nature Republic Snail Solution Foam Cleanser has a rather higher pH (with my water it’s around 7), it does not hurt me. Well, the cleanser pH is important if you don’t use pH adjusting toner before your pH dependent actives (AHA/BHA/ascorbic acid). Or if you have acne, as I believe it’s important to keep the right pH balance on your skin in order not to be giving it an easy ride on your face. It’s just my point of view but again, my face is not sensitive and most of the time I do use a low pH face wash (with lactic acid, one of my favourite skincare ingredients) because it happens to additionally hydrate my face.

CosDNA analysis here, if someone wants it. Just remember it’s more for reference than anything else ;) We should know our skin and its needs best.

TEXTURE

Thick cream, with addition of water turns into a relatively rich foam. Veryyy efficient. Little goes a long way. A pea-sized amount is enough to wash my entire face.

PERFORMANCE

As a second cleanser is OK... I can not completely discredit it, or write paeans to it either. It’s OK used after my oil-based cleanser. Although it would not be able to remove make-up on its own. My normal/combo skin is literally SQUEAKY clean after using it so I guess it’s a bit too good at removing everything from your skin surface - including the lipid barrier... Not recommended for dry and sensitive skin.

PRICE

Bought from Roseroseshop for around £5 / 7$

SUMMARY

It is just an OK cleanser. Cleanses the skin VERY THOROUGHLY. Not moisturizing. Snail mucus somewhere at the end of the list :/ Will repurchase? NO

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Planowałam zupełnie coś innego na dzisiaj, bardziej rozbudowanego itd., ale ponieważ przedwczoraj rzuciłam się w wir cudownych “zrób to sam” mieszanin, to niektóre ciekawe rzeczy muszą poczekać. Muszę monitorować postęp a ponieważ oczekuję “cudów”, to może to chwilę potrwać ;)

Produktu do mycia twarzy jeszcze nie było, więc pojawia się dzisiaj. Nature Republic Snail Solution Foam Cleanser używam jako drugi zmywacz (moim pierwszym “zmywaczem” jest Banila Co. Clean It Zero, recenzja tutaj) w podwójnym oczyszczaniu twarzy.

SKŁADNIKI

Krem do mycia twarzy… Składniki nie rzucają na kolana ale ostatecznie to tylko do mycia… Nie mam większego problemu z podrażnieniami po tego typu produktach. Nie jestem 100% składnikowym snobem, napewno nie w przypadku czegoś, co ma mi oczyścić skórę. Jedyną rzeczą do mycia, którego nie znosi moja skóra jest zwykłe mydło. Mimo, że Nature Republic Snail Solution Foam Cleanser ma dość wysokie pH (z moją wodą oscyluje ok. 7), to krzywdy mi nie robi. Analiza CosDNA tutaj, jeśli ktoś chce. Pamiętajmy jednak, że to nie wyrocznia ;)

KONSTYSTENCJA

Gęsty krem, po dodaniu wody zamieniający się w dość bogatą pianę. Baaardzo wydajny. Kulka wielkości zielonego groszku wystarcza do umycia całej twarzy. Dobrze się pieni.

DZIAŁANIE

Jako drugi zmywacz jest ok… Nie mogę go zupełnie zdyskredytować, ani też pisać peanów na jego cześć. Dobrze oczyszcza skórę, użyty po olejowym zmywaczu. Aczkolwiek sam nie byłby w stanie usunąć makijażu. Moja normalna/mieszana skóra jest jednak dosłownie “piszcząca” po jego użyciu, więc trochę za mocno usuwa wszystko z powierzchni skóry - łącznie z barierą lipidową… Nie polecam dla suchej i wrażliwej skóry.

KOSZT

Kupiony na Roseroseshop za ok. 26 zł.

PODSUMOWANIE

Jest tylko OK. MOCNO oczyszcza skórę. Nie nawilża. Śluz slimaka gdzieś na końcu listy :/ Czy kupię ponownie? NIE

Setting powders: Innisfree no-sebum mineral powder vs Skin Food Peach Sake Silky Finish Powder

A quick heads up before I jump onto today’s review. From now on, new posts will be coming every ?Monday(s), as I hopefully managed to organize myself ;) I'll do my best :)

I’ve been meaning to write this comparison for weeks, if not months... One of the reasons is the difficulty in assessing make-up stuff, especially when it comes to a full make-up - I do not feel competent, because I don’t use the whole range of these products. Besides, for some time I’ve been ditching the matte make-up finish as after AHA / BHA and vitamin C (ascorbic acid) treatments my skin needs super hydration and dry powders haven’t seemed to serve me well recently.

Innisfree no-sebum mineral powder and Skin Food Peach Sake Silky Finish Powder are very well-known products, having many followers. Skinfood one was the first one to go through my hands. I don’t remember how it happened, as when I started my adventure with AB skincare/make-up I made few quite random choices... What wasn’t proved to be so bad or unsuccessful - thanks to this I began to explore the Asian cosmetics market and very unlikely (or rather impossible) is my return to western cosmetics. Okay, to the point.

Hada-Labo Koi-Gokujyun Perfect UV Gel SPF50+ PA++++

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It’s been a while since my last entry, thanks to the so-called technical problems. Eventually I had to reinstall the OS but it’s all cool now. So very eagerly I sat down to writing today. I had a little trouble deciding what today's post would be about, mostly because a lot of new things is sitting on my shelf and a few more is on the way ;)

Some time ago I wrote about a pretty decent, Japanese sunscreen Hada-Labo UV Creamy Gel and lamented it was discontinued. My sadness didn’t ast long as I soon found out that there was a new version of this product - in addition, supposedly an improved one. I had a lot of time to test it thoroughly, so today's hero is Hada-Labo Koi-Gokujyun Perfect UV Gel SPF50 + PA ++++

Vicco Turmeric Skin Cream

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Before starting on today’s post I would like to thank you all for your interest in Innisfree The Green Tea Seed Serum post... A few hundred hits during the first two days means a lot to me :) As an aspiring blogger I enjoy your every entry on my blog, each recommendation on G+, a comment or anything else really. I am always happy to read that I am doing something right or maybe some improvement is needed ;) I take everything you say into consideration. Thank you!

Today's post will apply to something else than Korean/Japanese beauty products. I don’t remember how I found the cream I want to write about today - it’s possible that it happened during the intensive search for miraculous solutions to the problem of hyperpigmentation. Anyway, I’m very positively surprised and Vicco Turmeric Skin Cream is the cause.

The History of Whoo Gongjinhyang Seol Whitening Essence Sunscreen SPF46 / PA++

In today’s episode: "In search of the perfect sunscreen... Neverending story" haha! TesterKorea’s January purchase: The History of Whoo Gongjinhyang Seol Whitening Essence Sunscreen SPF46 / PA ++

Today's post will be rather short, but I hope somehow helpful though... It’s brief for one simple reason - I couldn’t find the ingredients list of this product... Unfortunately no ingredients listed on samples that I have owned. However I found something similar on CosDNA which is a CC cream, but I can’t even guess whether my product has similar ingredients or not. If anyone knows anything on this subject (composition etc.) I would be very grateful.

Innisfree The Green Tea Seed Serum

I have a soft spot for Innisfree cosmetics and I love the green tea scent... So I got myself Innisfree The Green Tea Seed Serum ;) Having already had a toner and an essence of the Green Tea collection I thought that maybe it's time for the serum and let’s see how it’ll all work together. More than a month later I can confidently say that it wasn’t a bad move.

Missha: M Perfect Cover SPF42 PA+++ vs M Signature Real Complete SPF25 PA++

I don’t need to introduce anyone to the players of today’s entry. Korean brand Missha is well known to all K-Beauty lovers and is one of the first brands I dealt with. It's easy to guess that I started with a BB cream and my choice fell on Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF42 PA +++, which turned out to be pretty good and it’s a pretty frequent guest on my shelf. After some time I felt lack of comparison ground so I decided to try a different BB of the same label and chose Missha M Signature Real Complete SPF25 PA ++. Both choices were fairly safe, as they are very popular BBs and there’s plenty of information on them. I decided to compare them when I realized that in my case there is a drastic difference between the two. To the point.

Innisfree Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask 100ml

Today, I return to my favourite (apart from the AHA / BHA) topic, which is Asian cosmetics. In the Western Hemisphere, discovering the immense Korean and Japanese market is still quite fresh thing and always interesting. For me personally, phenomenons are UVA / UVB protection products, BB/CC creams (you know it!) but not only those. I’m gradually discovering more and more of new, interesting cosmetics worth mentioning, some of them are already on my shelf. About one of my favs is today’s post.

Innisfree Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask is my absolute favourite when it comes to cleansing the skin. Despite the fact that the Western market is full of this type of products, until I have had found the above-mentioned wonder I wasn’t happy with the results. Let me remind you that the composition of the product, its performance and price are very important for me. I don’t focus on cosmetics within a very high price range, don’t write about what I wouldn’t use and don’t recommend anything if the INCI list puzzles me in a negative way. OK, back to the topic ...

Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk UV Foundation SPF20

Today’s review is brought to you by Ania’s special request ;) Initially, I wasn’t going to mention the product, because all in all I prefer to focus on the Asian cosmetics and I'm not a big fan of foundations (and certainly not those ones made by western brands) - a great number of them clogged me up in the past, or were too opaque, or I'm just too demanding :D But there you go, today I’m reviewing a liquid foundation, which to my surprise I have in my make-up bag and is OK.

Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk UV Foundation SPF20 is today's hero, but quite accidentally I came across it. Having ordered boxes of samples from Korea and Japan, in one of them there were higher end brands samples, Western ones together with Asian ones. In there I found a sample of this foundation, in addition in the shade perfectly matched to my skin... This is what I call coincidence!

Banila Co. Clean It Zero (Original)

It's been a while since the last entry but what is delayed isn’t lost ... I can begin sharing the latest purchase impressions (TesterKorea). I'll start with the product that I’ve been using every day for over a year now and it’s Banila Co. Clean It Zero.

MIZON Water Volume EX Cream

I wondered what was my final feeling about what I want to describe today. At the beginning I was convinced that everything is great; then I realized that something was a bit off. However I eventually reached a balance in the assessment and I can write a few words about MIZON Water Volume EX Cream.

For some time now I’ve been looking for a good daily moisturizer and it has to be something light, preferably gel texture or close to it. Long time ago, there was an Olay gel moisturizer… No longer to be found...

TesterKorea mini haul

I’m beginning New Year with an addition of new cosmetics to the test list :) I couldn’t resist promo price of one product I saw on TesterKorea... and it’s obvious it couldn’t end with just one; besides it’s a long way from South Korea so it makes no sense buying just one thing :D

Today, I’m only briefly describing each of the products. Reviews on them will appear gradually in the near future. Sorry for poor quality of the first photo but I couldn’t wait to unpack the package, so it’s possible my hand was shaky ;)