Etude House [Mal:Gem] Kit Review

This came with two products from the Skin [Mal:Gem] range which are the Smoother Exfoliation Toner and the Moist Deep Moisture Care Freshener.

This whole range is just toners. Mal:Gem comes from the Korean pronunciation of the Hangul symbols for cleanness, clarity and pureness. The six toners are Fresh, Smoother, Moist, Deep Moist, Essential and Emulsion. I got the Smoother and the Deep Moist.

It also came with some cotton pads, but they are just normal cotton pads and I don’t tend to use them in my skincare routine since I prefer my hands, so I haven’t reviewed them here, sorry!

The packaging of these is very clean and classy. A more mature look than Etude House normally go for and one of the main reasons I was intrigued by this kit. The full size bottles look like frosted glass, but are actually a thick plastic which is better for my clumsy hands and morning stumbles, but it looks fancy. The white background and colour accent for each different type is a cool touch as well. The Smoother toner has a subtle floral pink design on it and the Deep Moist has dark blue raindrops.

The Skin [Mal:Gem] Smoother Exfoliation Toner is a watery light, toner that is meant for dry, hyperpigmented and trouble prone skin. It claims to remove all dead skin cells, leaving soft and smooth skin underneath. The active ingredients for it are fruit acids in green grape.

First off, I do not have dry skin, but I found this worked quite well for me. The watery style of it helped I think. I used it for the equivalent of a month before the sample ran out and that was using it day and night so a little goes a long way.

When I started using this, I had a couple of hormonal breakouts I had been unsuccessfully trying to clear up. This managed it in about a week. The angry, red spots were clamed on the first day and visibly reduced on the second. My condition kept improving until, by the end of the week, the spots were barely visible at all. Two more days and even the slightest trace was gone.

I also liked the smell of this, quite citrus-y with floral hints. It smelled clean and that made me hopeful that my break out would be gone soon.

It absorbed very quickly on my skin and left no residue which I really like, however it did find it drying. I thought this odd since it is supposed to be for dry skin and mine has oily tendencies, but I found this drying. I would only use it on days where my skin felt especially oily or I had a break out and it would clear up both problems easily but I would have to moisturize more to compensate for the dryness.

I probably would get a full-size of this because the value is really good and it would be handy to have around when I need help with break outs. I wouldn’t be able to use it as my absolute go-to because of the dryness thing though.

The Skin [Mal:Gem] Deep Moist Moisture Care Freshener, however, was a very moisturizing product. It is filled with nutrients to provide the skin with vitamins and is aimed at dry and sensitive skin.

The smell was similar to the Smoother one, but I found a more rosy floral current than a jasmine-y one.

I used this toner first when trying them out, but this is partly what caused my break-outs which the Smoother had to come in to fix up. It was way too moisturizing for me. My oily skin really did not appreciate it.

The consistency is much thicker than the Smoother option and the feel of my skin was sticky and heavy. I really didn’t enjoy it at all.

I tried a few different methods in using this to see if anything would work for me. They were as follows:

1) I used it normally as a toner, but this broke me out pretty badly and then a hormonal break out worsened it. This was when I brought it the Smoother toner instead.

2) After my skin had calmed down, I used it in the emulsion stage instead, but with a cream over the top of it, it still broke me out. Again, I called in the Smoother.

3) I used it as a Night Cream. After my previous experiences, I knew I wouldn’t be able to use it during the day. As a night cream it worked pretty well and I didn’t break out. However, I have so many other nicer creams that I didn’t really use it much after discovering this. I used up the last of it as a crutch in between running out of one cream, but not wanting to start another while waiting for this new one to be shipped to me. And also, I like using them up. I want to get my money’s worth. Even as a night cream though, it was sticky and heavy and I didn’t really like using it. It also only needed a small amount so it took ages for me to use up.

I think this would be good for people with dry skin. It didn’t liken to my skin very much at all, but I can imagine it would be a different story on another skin type.

Conclusion

Etude House Skin [Mal:Gem] Smoother Exfoliation Toner

Smell: 2/3 – Pretty good

Face Feel: 1/3 – Drying

Effectiveness: 2/3 – Cleared my break-outs

Packaging: 2/3 – Clean and classy

Price vs. Worth: 2/3 – Good price for the amount you get.

Total: 9/15 – A good product to have if I have any break-outs, but if I find something that clears them up without drying me out, I will start using that instead.

Where to get it…

RoseRoseShop: 9,600won

TesterKorea: 9,600won

W2Beauty: 20, 095won

Etude House Skin [Mal:Gem] Moist Deep Moisture Care Freshener

Smell: 2/3 – OK, not great though

Face Feel: 0/3 – Sticky and heavy

Effectiveness: 1/3 – Made me break-out twice.

Packaging: 2/3 – Really nice

Price vs. Worth: 2/3 – For the right skin type, this is really good value.

Total: 7/15 – This product is clearly not aimed at my skin type and I think it would be really good for people with dry skin. It is deeply moisturizing and I think it would help that a lot.

Where to get it…

RoseRoseShop: 9,600won

TesterKorea: 9,600won

W2Beauty: 20,095won

My overall view of this for myself was a hit and a miss. I really liked like the packaging and I think it is excellent value for the full-size versions. It’s just a shame it made me break out, but that’s OK, I still enjoyed trying it out. As a kit though, I don’t really think these two products go together. One that is drying and another that is too moisturizing. They should do two different kits instead since there are definitely more fitting products in the line that suit each much better. They should rename this the Polar Opposites Skin Care Kit or The Everyday Kit for Combination Skin That is Bipolar In Its Combination-ness, or do you think that’s too wordy?

Next time I will be reviewing my last Etude House kit from the first haul I got. It is the Etude House Like 20 Skin Care Kit.

So until then, Tschüss!

X

– L

Etude House Collagen Moistfull Enriched Skin Care Kit

Today I will be reviewing this kit from Etude House:

It contains three products from the Collagen Moistfull range which are: a freshener, an emulsion and an enriched cream.

After doing some research on the Etude House website, I noticed that is called “Enriched Care Kit” because all three of the products are described as “richly textured.” This means that the products are all a thicker consistency than the average. This intimidates me a bit, because I don’t really like feeling like I’ve got stuff on my face. I think it comes from a recurring nightmare I have where I’m a fly whose face is smooshed into a spider web and it’s sticky and gross and the panicked feeling of constant danger makes me hyperventilate.

Trying to put that memory aside (yeuch), I also discovered that they all have the goal of supplying collagen and moisture to the skin to improve the health and look of it. I was surprised by this, given the name; I assumed it would paint my eyebrows red and give me the look of a sexy pitted prune. But no, what you read it what you get.

Onto the review portion now…

The Facial Freshener is a thick, semi-opaque toner. I could only use this at night since it was way too heavy during the day. The smell is quite nice and it is light so it doesn’t leave the smell as a constant reminder of how thick this is.

I use a dime-size amount of my hands and rub them together before patting onto my face. Usually, with toners, the product absorbs quickly and I move straight onto an essence, but with this one, I had to wait while it absorbed and even then, I could still “feel” it on my face. I did not like that. It’s supposed to be a toner! That is just weird!

When I was using this, I was using it intermittently with another toner I had because I would only use this one on cold, dry days when I needed more moisture at night. I still couldn’t use it during the day, even in the dead of winter. I didn’t figure it out for a while, but this toner would actually make me break out.

When a get breakouts it is normally because I have been using a new product and three or four days after using it my skin will reject it and throw itself into a blemish parade. I didn’t know what product it was with this one, because I wasn’t using it consistently and my skin would immediately break out. Just one or two, nothing rash, but because it normally takes a while for my skin to erupt in displeasure, I didn’t connect it for a while. This was stupid of me, in retrospect.

After eventually linking them through a period of trial and error with my otherwise great skin care routine, I got rid of this. I had never had a toner break me out before, so this was a first.

Needless to say, I wouldn’t buy a full-size version of this unless I was playing one of those old crones in Macbeth and had developed a severe aversion to prosthetics.

The Emulsion was a lot better, but that was not hard given the circumstances. I didn’t make me break out which is a huge positive, but everything else I found pretty meh.

The scent, like the facial freshener is pleasant and not overpowering. It is not too sweet either which I find quite a few products to be.

Consistency-wise, it wasn’t too bad. It was actually lighter than some emulsions I’ve tried so that was good for me since I could use it both day and night. It worked well for both and didn’t make me too oily during the day.

I did notice the firming of some fine lines and my skin was definitely more hydrated after using this. It helped maintain moisture while not making me oily. My face would feel soft and supple after using this.

This also lasted me a long time since I found I didn’t need to use much to cover my entire face.

I have to say though, I wasn’t wowed by this product. I liked it, but it just didn’t have anything that really appealed to me. I used it right to the end of the sample as I try to do with most things I get, but it was mostly because I was waiting on another emulsion to arrive. I probably wouldn’t buy a full-size version of this because I have tried other ones that I have absolutely loved so would rather buy those.

The enriched cream is a thick, opaque white cream that does instantly hydrate your skin. The scent is nice and light and a little goes a long way with this.

I could tell the difference when I used this concerning its moisturising capabilities and I even noticed a firming effect which I normally don’t with products that work for those long-term goals.

It would glide effortlessly onto my skin and felt soft and silky, but it would leave a slight residue, even with only a minimal amount used. The residue it left, meant I could only use this at night since if I used it during the day, my hair would get stuck to it and my fringe would eventually look like I had glued it there Gomez from the Addams family-style.

I was pretty impressed with the functioning of this product, it definitely did what it set out to do which is really nice to be able to see. Unfortunately, it is a cream and there are just so many of them out there. I wouldn’t buy this full-size because there are others I like the feel of more on my skin. I would, however, buy this for my mum, or my friend JD who both have dry skin. I think this would be excellent for them. My oily skin just doesn’t like being tested quite this much.

Conclusion

This kit was interesting to try, but I wouldn’t buy any of the products for myself. I would recommend them as good options for people with dry skin, particularly the emulsion and enriched cream. I was very unimpressed with the freshener so I probably wouldn’t recommend that.

Here’s my breakdown:

Etude House Collagen Moistfull Facial Freshener

Smell: 2/3 – OK

Face Feel: 1/3 – Meh

Effectiveness: 0/3 – break-outs 😦

Packaging: 2/3 – OK

Price vs. Worth: 1/3 – Meh

Total: 6/15 – The smell and the packaging saved this from utter disrepute, but this just makes me think I ought to devise a new system where other merits are given more weight.

Where you can get it…

RoseRoseShop: 9,600won

TesterKorea: 1,000won for 15mL sample

W2Beauty: 21,232won

Etude House Collagen Moistfull Emulsion

Smell: 2/3 – OK

Face Feel: 2/3 – OK

Effectiveness: 1/3 – Meh

Packaging: 2/3

Price vs. Worth: 2/3

Total: 9/15 – A middling product. It’s OK, just not my favourite.

Where to get it…

RoseRoseShop: only in kits

TesterKorea: 1,000won for 15mL sample

W2Beauty: 21,232won

Etude House Collagen Moistfull Enriched Cream

Smell: 2/3 – OK

Face Feel: 2/3 – OK

Effectiveness: 2/3 – works, but made me too oily.

Packaging: 2/3 – OK

Price vs. Worth: –

Total: 8/12 – Sadly this had been discontinued apart from some random kits and samples floating around. That’s a shame because I probably would have bought this as a present at some point, but the interesting-looking Super Collagen range seems to have taken over it instead.

Where to get it…

I couldn’t find any of the full-size, but there are a few kits and samples of this in places if you really needed to find it.

I did not like this Kit as much as others I have tried, even as much as other Collagen Moistfull kits I have tried, but it was interesting to learn about all the same. Every Kit is an adventure! Yadda yadda. Hopefully next time I will have better luck.

The next review I am doing is yes, another kit, and yet again, from Etude House, but this time it is the Skin [Mal:Gem} Kit.

Until then,

X

– L

SAMPLE STASH!!! Nature Republic Edition

Today, I am going to review three free samples from nature Republic I received with my order from TesterKorea.com when I bought my first haul.

They are:

• Nature Republic Super Aqua Super Aqua Max Combination Watery Cream
• Nature Republic Sun 50+ Power Lasting California Aloe Sun Block SPF50+ PA+++
• Nature Republic Advanced Cell Boosting Night Cream

These samples made me fall in love a bit with Nature Republic. I really liked all three of these samples, and since, at the time, I had only just started getting into Korean skincare, I had not yet heard of the brand.

Nature Republic is one of those Captain Planet brands that try to use natural, Earth-bound ingredients. My general view of the brand is pretty good and they have a few products that people absolutely rave over. I was pretty happy to receive some of their samples once I had found out more about them.

First up is the Nature Republic Aqua Super Aqua Max Combination Watery Cream. This is the green colour one, and it is important to research before buying one of these. There are three colours: Blue, Green and Pink. The pink is for dry skin, blue for oily and I received the green one for combination skin, which works out well for me!

I have seen quite a few reviews where the person just bought the blue version thinking it looked “fresher” or just letting general Hollywood symbolism get the better of them. A lot complained that it didn’t work because they had bought the wrong skin type. What a bunch of ninnies. Don’t make that same mistake. You have two eyes and a brain, it even differentiates itself in the title (green says Max Combination, whereas the blue says Max Moisture). I suppose ought to forgive if you can’t read, but then I would also know you would be faking in order to get sympathy because you CAN read if you are reading this. If you have no eyes or no brain, I can probably forgive you though.

I have oily skin around my T-zone, but my cheeks and neck can be dry, and I love, love, love this cream.

The packaging is super classy and so passes the bathroom shelf test. I love the lid. It looks like a lopsided swirl of soft serve, which is how my ones always ended up when I was a kid at McDonald’s. Speaking of which, I’m sure you used to be able to serve yourself soft serve at McDonald’s. In New Zealand at least. Does anyone know for sure? I may be mixing it up with a different restaurant and just projecting the McDonald’s imagery into the memories.

I love the smell of this as well. It smells vaguely marine-y and just nice. There is definitely a hint of salt in there. I’m not that great with placing smells, which is bad for my inevitable career as New Zealand’s premier whisky taster (I wish).

The marine-esque smell is probably due to the 30 different marine plant extracts that are in this cream. The Nature Republic website promises these form a protective layer over your skin to ensure a continuous 24 hours moisturizing and firming effect.

As ludicrous a claim as that is, I would say that while it is obviously exaggerated, that is what it does achieve.

One sample lasted me two night applications and one morning, too. It easily covered my entire face and neck.

The mineral moisture provided by this cream makes for a refreshing skin feel and I revelled in how nice it made my face feel.

It absorbed quickly, but did leave a small amount of sticky residue. At first, I was a bit bothered by this, but due to the effects the cream had, I decided I didn’t mind that at all. I just left my hair up a little longer in the morning to make sure it all had time to absorb before I let it down. I hate when my hair gets stuck on my face because I hardly ever use any product on it, so it tends to super absorb anything it comes into contact with and will sit limply on the side of my head and slowly infect the other strands around it like some Super Influenza Follicle.

The effect this had overnight and during the day was the same and made my skin stay hydrated, but did not produce oiliness. I don’t know how, but you shouldn’t look a gift crocodile in the snout. I know it’s supposed to be gift horse, but that makes no sense, in my experience, horses kick, not bite. Crocodiles bite. And crocodiles are pretty badass; do you remember Steve Irwin death rolling underwater with crocs of The Crocodile Hunter? That was some of the best television of my adolescence.

All in all, this cream lives up to its hype and I really want to score myself a full-size version of it once I have gone through the rest of my creams.

The Nature Republic Sun 50+ Power Lasting California Aloe Sun Block SPF50+ PA+++ is probably the best sunscreen I have tried to date.

The packaging is fun and warm and happy and the smell of it is really nice. I thought I could detect a hint of coconut oil in there somewhere, mixed in with the aloe vera, but that may have been my imagination, or the giant tub of coconut oil in my bathroom.

What I found amazing with this product was that the cream felt really light on my skin, but the coverage was thick. I knew without a doubt that no sun was going to get through this bad boy.

This one also left my skin very moisturized, and I felt no drying out like some of the other ones I have tried. It didn’t feel oily either which is essential for my T-zone which speaks fluent Olive, Canola and Peanut in terms of oiliness.

Since I have quite a few samples of this, I use it as my sunscreen when I’m going to be out in the sun all day. I am definitely saving up for the full-size product, but it is a bit spensy. Totally worth it though.

The last product I am reviewing as a sample is the Nature Republic Advanced Cell Boosting Night Cream.

Obviously, this is to be used at night, since it is too thick and creamy for during the day. I thought at first that it would be too much for my oily skin, but this was really great.

For such a thick cream it absorbs surprisingly fast into the skin and leaves it feeling so smooth and silky, I kept wanting to run my hands over it. Only a little is needed each night as well, so the tub would last a long time.

I really liked this cream and after doing a bit more research I found what its primary objectives are which is to strengthen elasticity and revitalize the skin. It is soft and nutrient rich which provides vitality which brightens and softens the skin.

I felt like it did this even during the small amount of time the sample afforded me. I would definitely save up to buy the full-size version of this.

All in all, these were great first impressions for my Nature Republic immersion. I loved all three of them and they made me want to expand my collection of goods.

For sample reviews, I won’t post a breakdown like my other ones, since I wanted these to be a general overview and I like to try products for about a month or so before reviewing them fully. I will instead give them over to my emoticon rating system:

Nature Republic Aqua Super Aqua Max Combination Watery Cream: ^_^

Nature Republic Sun 50+ Power Lasting California Aloe Sun Block SPF50+ PA+++: ^_^

Nature Republic Advanced Cell Boosting Night Cream: ^_^

That’s three happy faces from me!

Next time will be review of another kit, the Etude House Collagen Moistfull Enriched Skin Care Kit! I know, I know, I got a lot of Etude House Moistfull Collagen stuff, but I couldn’t help it!

Ciao, bellas.

X

– L

Etude House Moistfull Super Collagen Super Trial Kit Review

So, this kit actually came with an item that I have already reviewed called the Moistfull Super Collagen Ampoule Essence which I will put a link to here, but there were also two other items in the set I had not tried before. They were: Sunprise Must Daily SPF50+ PA+++ and the I’m Blooming Moisture Cleansing Foam.

I’ll start with the Sunprise Must Daily SPF50+ PA+++ sun cream.

This is quite similar to the other Etude House sun cream I already reviewed here, but I enjoyed using this one slightly more.

This one has a lighter, more sea-breezy fragrance, and yes, I know that nice salty tang of sea air is just rotting seaweed, but who cares? It smells good. Mmmm… rotting seaweed.

As with the All Proof sun cream, this covers both face, and neck for only a little amount of product. I get no break outs from this and it doesn’t make me oily. It is not sticky and absorbs quickly. Make-up goes on smoothly after the application of this.

Now for the things that are different. This sun cream has a slightly lighter consistency than the All Proof one, which I like even more for facial use. There is not much difference, but I would say it is like wearing an 8 denier stocking rather than a 10 denier one. It doesn’t look like much, but feels silkier on.

The other, most important point is that this one didn’t make me dry out. It moisturised and held all day and felt great on. When I say it felt great on, I mean I couldn’t feel it at all. I don’t like feeling things on my face, make-up included. I wouldn’t wear a backpack of rocks during my work hours and I wouldn’t wear the face equivalent of that. I like to pretend that the “me” with make-up and skin care products on is the real me just shining through brighter rather than a mask I have put on in order to face the world. So, in that respect, this one also scores points.

And what do points mean? Prizes, that’s right. (If you are not familiar with I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, download some podcasts and then come play Mornington Crescent with me).

I have now tried quite a few Korean sunscreens, but this one is still one of my favourites, not my ultimate favourite, but for the price of this, I buy it more often because the value is just so good.

This is a really good sunscreen and I will definitely have a bit of a freak out if they ever discontinue it.

Now I will move on to the I’m Blooming Moisture Cleansing Foam.

This doesn’t really have much of a smell, pretty blah. But if you don’t like products having a scent, that would be a good thing.

This cleanses, but it really isn’t anything special. My face feels better after using my other cleansers and it feels OK to use, but not amazing.

The packaging is quite cute, but not as cute as other products from Etude House.

It is supposed to help brighten your complexion, but I never noticed any difference.

Honestly, there isn’t much to say about this, which says more to me than anything I could say.

Conclusion

Etude House Sunprise Must Daily SPF50+ PA+++

Smell: 3/3 – Yummy seaweed

Face Feel: 3/3 – Light and smooth

Effectiveness: 3/3 – Lasts all day

Packaging: 3/3 – Very cute

Price vs. Worth: 3/3 – Performance outweighs the price in my opinion

Total: 15/15 – A perfect score. This is a great sunscreen. I like it for its good quality and its great price. This isn’t a Holy Grail one for me, because while good, there are others I like more.. I buy this one mostly because of the great price and I find it works really well for the weekdays where I am not in the sun so much. I use my Holy Grail one (to be reviewed later) on the weekends when I am out and about a lot more.

Where to get it:

RoseRoseShop: 6,800won

TesterKorea: N/A

W2Beauty: 15,172won

Etude House I’m Blooming Moisture Cleansing Foam

Smell: 1/3 – Wasn’t any really, and for me that loses points

Face Feel: 1/3 – Meh

Effectiveness: 1/3 – Meh

Packaging: 1/3 – OK, nothing spectacular

Price vs. Worth: 2/3 – Price is OK for the amount you get.

Total: 6/15 – This is just so boring. Nothing special in any way, shape or form.

Where to get it:

RoseRoseShop: 2,170won in the Etude House Moistfull Super Collagen Super Trial Kit or 2,100won for 10 samples

TesterKorea: 7,200won

W2Beauty: N/A

This kit was a bit of a disappointment to me, there are definitely better kits out there, the Travel Kit I already reviewed being one of them. I wouldn’t buy this again for myself or as a gift for someone else. The cleansing foam is very boring and while I like the sunscreen very much and the ampoule essence is good, there are better options.

Next time I will do a Sample Stash review of three Nature Republic samples I got free from TesterKorea.com.

Till then, lovelies!

X

– L

Innisfree Green Barley Special Kit Review

Innisfree Green Barley Special Kit Review

So today I will be reviewing the Kit of Green Barley products I got in my TesterKorea haul. Inside the packet are three varieties of the range. They are the Green Barley Multi Cleansing Tissue, the Green Barley Powder Wash, and the Miracle Bubble Ball.

First, I will start with a little bit about the Green Barley range. The green barley is harvested form Jeju, an island off Korea known to have many plants and other materials known for their restorative properties when introduced into skincare lines.

Green barely in particular, is known to remove skin impurities and help create a clear, smooth skin finish. They are also purported to be very gentle and therefore, suitable for anyone with sensitive skin.

To start off my skincare routine, I would use a Green Barley Multi Cleansing Tissue. I would often use these in conjunction with a cleansing oil and a cleansing foam if I had been out at an event and had worn more make-up than usual as a consequence.

I found I normally needed two cleansing tissues to do the job properly and then still needed a cleansing oil for my eye and lip make-up. I considered this to be pretty poor since I wear more make-up when I have something on, but I really don’t wear that much. Just slightly more eye-liner and maybe an eye shadow. If I’m going really crazy, I will wear a blush. I do use my airbrush foundation system if I am going out and need to stay fresh looking all night though, hence the more thorough cleansing routine when I’m home.

The scent these have is clean and greasy, I kind of like it, but I think that’s because it reminded my of a whisky, so I’m not sure if many other people would enjoy it as much as I did.

Sadly, I really did not like this product very much. I really enjoy Inniasfree products normally, but this range isn’t very moisturising and the cleansing tissue left me dry. Something I normally am not since I have normal to oily skin.

This cleansing tissue is kind of like Two and a Half Men. Two and a Half Men pretends to be a comedy and throws canned laughter in for you like a paint by numbers version of television. If you took the laugh track out, you would realise how stilted and unimaginative the entire thing is. That’s how I felt about this. It tells me it is a cleansing tissue and makes itself look like a cleansing tissue, but it doesn’t really do any of the things a good cleansing tissue should do. And neither does Two and a Half Men. That show is just terrible. Really, puerile filth, taking up half an hour of decent airwaves space. What a waste of technology, time and brain function. The fact that I even know its title and that annoyingly catchy theme song makes me feel physically sick.

The Green Barley Powder Wash is quite interesting to use. The kit came with three or four sachets of the powder wash and the first time I used it, I tried pouring it into my hand and then adding water to foam it up.

I’m quite a clumsy person oftentimes, so that technique didn’t work out so well and I ended up losing most of it down the sink while trying to juggle balancing my hand and turning the tap on so juuuust the right amount of water comes out.

The second time I was smarter and poured the sachet onto an already wet Miracle Bubble Ball and lathered it up on that. This time is worked well and it foamed awesomely.

After having used the cleansing tissue, I was expecting to have more of the dry feeling from using this, but I was pleasantly surprised. The smell is again, grassy (considering it’s barley, durrr) and the foam felt nice and light on my face and spread easily.

Rinsing it off with water after massaging for a minute or two, my face felt clean , but not tight or too squeaky. It felt smooth and soothed.

I would really like to try more of this to see how I liked it on a longer term basis seeing as I only used it over four nights before the sachets were gone. First impression was really great though. I’m not sure if this is actually the case, but I like the idea (or illusion) that a powder wash would use less chemicals because it is in a powder. Surely a liquid or gel based one would need more chemicals to keep it that way? Well, that’s my line of thinking, so I liked the powder option for this reason as well.

The Miracle Bubble Ball is probably one of my greatest acquisitions from any haul I have done. It works so well and is easy to keep clean. It is a spongy ball with lots of fibres which stick the product inside it and then you add water and pump it in your hand.

I find with my Miracle Bubble Ball, I only need to use about half the amount of product I would normally with just my hands because it makes so much lather that you don’t need any more.

I just wet my Miracle Bubble Ball thoroughly and pump with in my hand while adding the water to make sure it goes through the entire ball and then add some product on the top of it. Then come the lathering part.

It’s so good! I use it in the shower with my body washes and then in the morning s and evenings for cleansing. All it needs is a thorough going over with water to make sure all the product is gone in between uses.

As much as I my Mubble (Miracle Bubble), I’m not sure if it loves me. Almost every day it tries to escape from my bathroom shelf and rolls away onto my sink and then in the bath if it manages all the way across. I swear I don’t touch anything else near it on the shelf and I have measured for myself how level my partner made the shelves, but it still dos it. Maybe it’s like a cat, if you give it too much love, it will just ignore you. Maybe like my own cat, I should ignore my Mubble instead and it will come crawling back to me.

Conclusion:

Innisfree Green Barley Multi Cleansing Tissue

Smell: 2/3 – Grassy, I like it, but others might not

Face Feel: 0/3 – Harsh and dry

Effectiveness: 0/3 Had to use 2 each time, so it can’t be counted as a success

Packaging: 2/3 – Simple, but nice

Price vs. Worth: 1/3 – I think the price could be better for what it is.

Total: 5/15 – As you can tell, I really didn’t like this one. I would recommend buying the kit to try before you get the full-size 50 sheets of disappointment

Where to get it:

RoseRoseShop: 5,850 won (50 sheets)

TesterKorea: 3,360 – only in sample size in Innisfree Green Barley Special Kit

W2Beauty: 10,806 won

Innisfree Green Barley Powder Wash

Smell: 2/3 – Grassy again

Face Feel: 2/3 – Clean and smooth

Effectiveness: 2/3 – Cleansed well

Packaging: 2/3 – nice and simple

Price vs. Worth: 2/3 – Good if you prefer powder cleansers

Total: 10/15 – I found this to be an OK cleanser, I have tried better and worse ones. I liked the powder aspect of it.

Where to get it:

RoseRoseShop: 3,800 – only in sample size in Innisfree Green Barley Special Kit

TesterKorea: 3,360 – only in sample size in Innisfree Green Barley Special Kit

W2Beauty: 21,612 won

Innisfree Green Barley Miracle Bubble Ball

Smell: not applicable

Face Feel: not applicable

Effectiveness: 3/3 – Amazing!

Packaging: not applicable

Price v. Worth: 3/3 – Only available in the kit, but totally worth it!

Total: 6/6 – A 100% result for this, because it’s L’oreal (worth it). I would definitely buy a few kits just so I could give this item to my friends and family

Where to get it:

RoseRoseShop: 3,800 – Only in Innisfree Green Barley Special Kit

TesterKorea: 3,360 – Only in Innisfree Green Barley Special Kit

W2Beauty: N/A

Honestly, I felt like this kit was worth the money just for the Miracle Bubble Ball, but it was fun to try the Powder Wash as something new. Not cool, though Cleansing Tissue, not cool. I wouldn’t buy the Powder Wash in it’s full size most likely, and I wish they sold Miracle Bubble Balls on their own, but this was a fun little experiment for me and I did enjoy trying them out.

My next beauty review will be another Etude House one. It is of the Moistfull Super Collagen Super Trial Kit.

Thanks, see you then!

X

– L

Why I Choose What I Choose…

I thought I would do a post about why in my reviews I choose to use the prices from RoseRoseShop, TesterKorea and W2Beauty.

These are the three I use primarily. I sometimes use other websites when I’m after something specific or they have a sale.

What I have found in general is that most websites stock different brands. There are a couple of brands that make it over all of them pretty universally, like Etude House and TonyMoly, but mostly you get a huge range of brands with different websites.

I look at prices all across the board and then toss up shipping and delivery times and customer service before deciding which website I will use for a haul.

Mostly I have been using the three I cite in my reviews. I will break down why:

RoseRoseShop

RoseRoseShop has so many products. Just so, so many. They also have a decent selection of samples if I want to try something out without buying the full-size version. And if I really like something and want to bulk up in fear of it being discontinued, I can buy items wholesale (if available). They carry the biggest brands from Korea, but you can still find a few surprises if you search deep enough. My amazing Bombi Secret Snail cream came from there and I haven’t been able to find it anywhere else.

Shipping is OK, and they do have a section with free shipping items in it if you hate the added cost of it (which, who wouldn’t?). Delivery is pretty long if you choose the least expensive option though. It can take up to a month to receive a parcel from them which frustrates me to no end. This may be because I live in a small country with not many incoming flights from Korea, but still, a month is a loooong time.

The customer service at RoseRoseShop is not brilliant either. They once sent me the wrong item and when I sent off an email about it I received nothing in reply. I wasn’t too bothered since the price of the item I got was exactly the same as the one I wanted, but the product was terrible and not anything like what I ordered. That was a shame, and I have used them less as a result.

The pricing at RoseRoseShop is amazing though. It is lighter on the wallet than a lot of other places, but you have to bear in mind you will pay between $20-$30 for shipping at the end. They will sometimes put a voucher code on the checkout page to give you 10% off on full-priced items, as long as you look for it, this always helps out.

It is a pretty easy site to navigate and they do keep tracking updated so you can look at its progress. Although watching it sit in Incheon for three weeks can be very disheartening. It is a pretty good place to start.

TesterKorea

TesterKorea is where I started out. I was primarily looking at kits and samples to try a whole range of goods in one go. They have both full-size and sample version of most products and there are a lot of them. There are some different brands from RoseRoseShop here, but mostly the same.

I find this site easier to navigate than RoseRoseShop, mainly because the search function is better. They are a great range of sale items and you can always pick up good deals on the website. They seem to sell out of items quickly though so if you want something and put in your shopping cart but “sleep on it” before purchasing, be warned, it will most likely be sold out. This happens to me too often. It’s like bungee jumping, you are super excited getting there and putting the harness on, but as soon as you get to the edge you’re like “Is this worth the $199?” and then you chicken out, or attempt to flirt with the instructor beside you who just gives you a look of abject pity at the sight of your pale, wide-eyed, terrified face. That’s what online shopping is like for me sometimes. I put items into my cart and happily go through choosing shipping options, but then those words “PAY NOW” loom up and I back away like a cat that has realised there is a dog around the corner.

Moving on, their discount system is pretty good. After you have made a few orders with them, you get to move up the ladder. You start out at the CUTE ranking and then after a while you move up to GIRL and so on. The best part about this is when you move up to GIRL for example, you get 4% off your orders. This increases with every threshold you cross. It’s pretty awesome.

Their shipping options cost around the same as RoseRoseShop but their delivery times are much better, I normally receive my products between one to two weeks, which I find an acceptable wait considering how far New Zealand is.

The prices are generally similar to RoseRseShop, so you are getting a good deal there.

The TesterKorea customer service is really good and they always have Service Announcements on their home page is there is a delay with shipping or a problem with te site or anything. I find that very helpful. My issue was that I made quite a big order a few weeks ago so I could make packs for my friends and family of Korean goods for Christmas. Unfortunately, a few of the items I wanted were out of stock, but I was contacted a day later to alert me of this and I when I replied, I got an answer straight away. The issue was resolved within three emails and I had been give the option to either have my money back or choose between a few similar items. I chose to swap to a new item that had just been released that I had been eyeing anyway, so it worked out really well. I was very impressed that this did not affect the amount of time it took to deliver. Well done TesterKorea!

I would recommend this for someone who wants to start, but doesn’t really know what they want or what they will like. Like me! I just got a buttload of stuff at first and picked and chose what worked for me and what didn’t. Then, if you used the product hygenically, you can give them away to friends and family who will think you’re the coolest.

W2Beauty

W2Beauty, as you can tell from the reviews, is more expensive than the other sites. But the site has a lot of great products and Alice, who runs the site, is just incredible. I have read a lot of interviews with her and she is really cool.

One of the biggest reasons I use W2Beauty despite their price point is because shipping is free! There is a $2.50 standard charge or the tracking, but the rest is free! That’s definitely a huge boon. The delivery time is pretty good as well, ranging between 1-2 weeks like TesterKorea.

The other reason I use W2Beauty is because of the customer service. Alice is amazing and concerns herself with any issues that arise and the problems are always solved. This is really important to me when I have to ship goods from far away. There is a returns policy and I just love knowing that if anything went wrong, I would be confident that I wouldn’t be duped or swindled or swashbuckled or any other 17^th century term for cheekily robbed.

I have been using W2Beauty more and more because of this and they have been having amazing deals lately that I can’t keep away from.

I hope that helps.

Ta ta,

X

– L

Etude House Travel Kit Review

When I got my first haul, I decided to buy a lot of gift sets because they were very decently priced and they allowed me to try a variety of different products all at once. One of these kits was the Etude House Travel Kit.

The words “Travel Kit” make a few assumptions. Assumption A is that you are travelling. Either like a gypsy, or for holiday or business. Unfortunately for me, Kiwis can only fly when they save up enough to attach themselves to metal-winged monstrosities. We are an island nation and we accept this, but flying is expensive. That’s why so many Kiwis just stay overseas and don’t bother paying extra for that pesky return fare.

Assumption B is that Etude House thinks it knows what the absolute skincare essentials are for when and if you are, indeed, travelling.

Here is what Etude House believes you definitely need when going away: Moistfull Super Collagen Ampoule Essence, Milky You One Step Cleansing Foam, Hello Wash Raspberry & Cranberry Body Wash, Sunprise All Proof SPF50+ PA+++.

As a basic package, I think this probably would be good for travelling. All the items are made of plastic and under the 100mL allowance.

I have to say that I love samples. I prefer them over full-size versions. I like that they will only last me a couple of weeks and then I can try something new. When there are so many options to try, it’s a really good way to start. And then if you don’t like something, there’s no pressure really because it was very inexpensive and you can just move on to something else. Especially if, *dun dun dunnnn* it makes you break out. Those two words are basically the Avada Kadavra of skincare.

Due to my methodical nature, I will review them, in the order given above. This will always happen whenever I review anything and if I don’t, alert the authorities because it’s an imposter.

The Moistfull Super Collagen Ampoule Essence is from a pretty well-known range of Moistfull Collagen products from Etude House. They have an entire cornucopia of varieties with this kind and it’s specific benefits are that it contains 90% Super Collagen in a gel texture. Super Collagen firms and smooths skin to keep the appearance of skin young. It also provides moisture to aid absorption into skin.

The packaging is pretty classy, not as cute as Etude’s other lines. Probably to appeal to more mature women since teenagers rarely need to “firm” up their face. Unless they’re of a Bejamin Button persuasion. The sample was a pale orange coloured plastic bottle with an orange top and the full-size version looks like it is an ombre white going to orange style.

The smell isn’t really anything to note as it is very light and does not last when putting it onto the skin. But for those interested, it is kind of a floral-y fruit-y, fresh-y smell. Nothing particularly discernible. It’s like when you walk into a mall food court and you can tell it smells like food, you just don’t know what food. And if you haven’t been to a mall food court, well done you, and also don’t. They are gross. Even if it looks clean and nice and the people behind the counters are smiling (ha!), don’t be fooled, grossness will still abound. I seriously once had a curry at a mall food court and the chicken had a blue iridescent tinge to it. Using the word “tinge” at all when it come to food is a bad idea and, needless to say, things did not go well for me that night.

I found that one sample bottle of this product lasted me three weeks or so even using it day and night. Only a little amount was needed to cover my face and neck and I really liked the feeling it left. It is light and absorbs quickly into the skin. As its name implies, it is also moisturising and did a good job of that.

While I really enjoyed the feeling of this and it is a good essence, it isn’t the best one I have tried personally. It is very good at maintaining good skin, and improved my skin slightly, but I didn’t see any super amazing results. I don’t really need much “firming” though, so maybe I didn’t see anything drastic because of that. I might buy the full-size version of this in the future when that sad inevitability reaches my forlorn skin.

The Milky You One Step Cleansing Foam is a bit of an anomaly. Etude House claims that you only need to us this one product for all your cleansing needs. Ipsofacto, you do not need to use an oil cleanser to remove makeup as this will do it for you.

Here is a direct quote from Etude House’s website on the benefits of this product: “This cleansing foam cleanses in just one step, instantly melting away dirt, impurities and make-up for moist and smooth baby skin.”

Here are the two different ways you can use this:

Make-up Remover: Massage the product onto your dry face. Gently roll all over starting with the cheeks, nose then forehead (apparently chins are sooo passe). When the rolling becomes stiff, this means your make-up should have been successfully removed and then you rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water.

Coincidentally, I do NOT understand the word lukewarm. Who was Luke when this was made up? Some tepid fool who stood in the cold rain and someone touched him after he’d been in a sauna for five seconds afterward? If anyone knows, please tell me.

No Make-up Cleanser: Lather product on your hands and then apply to a wet face, gently going over the entire area. Then rinse off with lukewarm water. (Poor Luke.)

Now, I did not find that the first option worked at all, it felt weird and rough on my skin and I did not like it. I tried three times, and each time it was awful, not matter how gentle I was. This left me with option number 2, which did work, but I thought it left me feeling quite “tight” in the face. That’s a very weird expression, because it’s not like I was being stretched or anything, but there you go.

There is a distinct milky smell to this product. Shocker when it is named Milky You. The smell did last for a while during the cleansing process and lingered slightly after doing option 2, but not option 1. I don’t generally like milk unless it is in either the chocolate or shake variety, so this didn’t work for me.

The packaging is super cute though.

Going on to the Hello Wash Raspberry & Cranberry Body Wash. This stuff is pretty awesome.

The packaging is pink! And happy-looking!

See!

The product itself is pink! And it smells amazing!

According to Etude House, it is meant to “embrace you body, delivering soft and moist, healthy skin”.

I used my Miracle Ball from Innisfree to give it a good lathering up (Side note: I LOVE , LOVE, LOVE my Innisfree Miracle Bubble Ball because you only need to used a little bit of product to get maximum lather.), the body wash was really great and made showering a fun-filled experience.

I have nothing bad to say about this. It worked well, smelled great and looked great.

Last of all is the Sunprise All Proof SPF50+ PA+++ sunscreen.

I live in New Zealand and we have a whopping great ozone hole above us and when you got out in the sun, you don’t tan, you burn. The it might, if you’re lucky, go brown. Only after the melanoma has set in though.

You would think that because of this we would have awesome sunscreens here. Well, we don’t. They are horrible, pore-clogging, thick blob monsters that all smell the same and feel disgusting on. They are one of the biggest causes of my sticky hands anxiety. I hate them, but I wear them because you have to.

Enter the Korean sunscreens. I was amazed when I saw how many different varieties of suncare Korea has available. I was a bit disappointed when I first received this in a travel kit though, because I didn’t really deem it to be a necessity. Also I found it quite a boring addition. How wrong I was.

Korean sunscreens are light and delicate and made for facial use, which is untrue of most sunscreens available here in NZ. They have nice scents and cute packaging, and I love them. I love them sooo much. They are not oily like the ones in NZ or make me break-out. They are a god-send.

This particular one was my first introduction to Korean suncreams and after putting off trying it for quite a while, I took the plunge and haven’t looked back. I couldn’t believe how great it felt on my face! And it seemed to last all day, which is a huge bonus.

The smell was kind of floral but did not linger after putting it on. You only need a little amount to cover your entire face and neck and even hands to give a satisfactory amount of coverage. And the best part… your make-up glides on smoothly as if you don’t have sunscreen on at all! The NZ sunscreens make make-up look like a finger painting exercise from a two-year-old, or maybe that’s just me. Oh, it was a purely magical experience.

After I had tried a couple of other Korean sunscreens though, I found that this one was a little drying on my skin. I just didn’t notice those first times due to worshipping at the sunscreen altar.

My Penchant for All Things Shiny

So I mentioned in an earlier post that I love shiny things. And I do. I really, really do. I will pick up anything in a store if it is sparkly or shiny or even if the lighting is hitting it right and the illusion that it is shiny tricks my brain into picking it up, only to toss it back in disgust.

I will say, “Ooh, pretty” to anything as long as it is shiny, sequinny or glittery. It’s pretty bad. I’ve known people with a weakness for chocolate, or kittens, or Italian men, but mine is shiny things. Well, honestly, I have many others, but this is probably the one that leads into the most trouble.

I’m pretty sure I inherited this from my mother who does the same thing. Going into a store and picking up the first shiny thing she sees and saying, “Ooh, look! Pretty….” Sadly for us, there are not so many classy sparkly items out there in the world. They do exist, and we get to see them on celebrities, but rarely in the real world can you find a sparkly, shiny item that works well on a person. It usually looks garish or way too dressed up or just plain ridiculous.

Normally, I can step back and look at the big picture and be like, “Nope, you just look like a disco ball,” and those things are not a good body image to set for yourself. There are instance where I have fallen down, hence why I own a gold sequinned sleeveless, hooded zip-up vest. That’s a lot of adjectives for a single piece of clothing. It is hiding in my costume box pretending I didn’t buy to attempt to look street smart and cool in a bygone era. I have also had successes though. Like my vintage-look flapper beaded dress which is gorgeous and so much fun to wear and looks killer on.

My obsession more often than not leads me astray however. I have gotten separated from my friends/family/school trip due to this affliction and this morning I even blinded myself with the only sliver of sun on my morning drive to work because I decided today would be an excellent time to wear a silver sequinned boob tube underneath a deep V-necked dress.

Of course this was not a good decision. I work in an office, and while is it quite casual, with people wearing jeans and no actual proper dress guidelines, sequinned boob tubes and still unacceptable. If anyone knows of ANY given circumstance in which it would be deemed acceptable, please let me know so I can arrange one immediately.

So, as I was driving to work and the gloomy overcast day was broken through by one very persistent UV ray of skin cancer and Vitamin D, I ended up stunning myself when the light hit my top which reflected off my windscreen and went smack into my eyes. I had to pull over to delve into my humungous bag to find my sunglasses even though tricksy Apollo had decided he’d had enough fun for one day and put his harem of sun beams away for the time being. I was not taking any chances after that. I also found a scarf in my car and wrapped that over my chest to camouflage my stupendously idiotic early morning decision-making.

All this being said, I still love shiny things. Yes, the sequins of my boob tube are chafing me even as I type this, but I don’t really care. Today, I felt comfortable enough with myself and confident enough to think I could pull this off. Even if I have covered it up with a scarf. I feel happy that a shiny thing caused me to feel sexy and fun all day today, because even if no one else can see it, I know it’s there, lurking, waiting to blind some poor schmuck in the face when I walk to the supermarket later.

Shiny things make me smile, and I can laugh at myself, and they help me accept who I am. And that makes them not ridiculous at all.

Does this quasi-profound moment mean I can go buy a metallic pencil skirt before the effectual delusion wears off? Yes, please!

A’Pieu Reviews

The first review I will put up are the items I got from A’Pieu in my first Haul. They are the Eco Fresh Original 100 Essence Start-Up, Eco Fresh Original 100 Essence Finisher and the Pure Bamboo Sheet Mask.

First up is the Eco Fresh Original 100 Essence. I have tried rather unsuccessfully to discover what the specific benefits of this are, but I could not find any. My first proper review and I have already failed. I now cordially invite you to my Pity Party. RSVP by 8 pm, no cake, no presents, no joy, please. And no, you cannot bring the worlds smallest violin to play, I have several stashed away somewhere and, honestly the noise they produce is extremely tinny and smacks of cliché.

Now that’s out of the way, I can only but try to continue. I know I should really have researched this product before I bought the samples, but I didn’t. I bought it because I like shiny things. And the sample packets were a lime green shiny colour. It was very pretty and I immediately put it in my cart solely for that reason.

I got 10 sample packets of this product. I had to look at quite a few reviews before I found out that it was a toner and the other Eco Fresh one was an essence. I used it directly after cleansing my face at night.

Because I was a beginner when I first got this, I used the entire sample on my first night, because that’s what I thought they were, Samples containing the amount for one-time use. Clearly it was way too much and I had masses of excess product sliding around everywhere. Whoops.

Having only used terrible drug store branded toners, which were dry and astringent and awful, this one was a welcome surprise.

It was a much thicker consistency than any other toner I had tried. Nearing opaque in colour, it felt “thick” on my skin. This first time I had used way too much product and took the “dewy” look much too far to just looking “wet”. Not a huge success for me.

The scent was pretty decent. I like my products to have a nice scent, but I dislike anything overpowering. This smelled light and fresh, kind of grassy with spring flowers.

I found it absorbed into my skin pretty quickly even though I used way too much that first time. It did leave a slight stickiness on my face and hands though. I didn’t enjoy that. I definitely one of those people that when they get something sticky on their hands, nothing in the entire world can possibly be right until it is off. It makes me shudder to think of it even now and at the time I got that awful heart clenching feeling. This is just my preference though.

I used the rest of the samples and I did quite like this product. Not enough to get the full-size version though. I prefer my toners more watery than this one was. It did leave my skin softer than when I started using it, but that isn’t hard when I was using nothing. I results were not immediate either. I waited about two weeks before I noticed any improvement. It is still a good toner and it might be better at maintaining good skin, than healing it.

Moving on to the Eco Fresh Original 100 Essence Finisher. This is the essence portion. It is a creamy essence and I found one sample size would last me about three or four days depending how much moisture my skin needed. I tended to use this only in the morning for some reason and it worked well it that capacity.

The smell was the same as the toner and it did absorb into my skin easily.

I did notice a difference with this product on my skin quickly. This was the product in the morning which would hydrate my skin well and keep it a good base for my other steps and make-up.

That being said… I have never considered purchasing this in the full-size or even getting more samples of it. It did work, but it didn’t blow me away like quite a few other products did. If I could find out what it is specifically made for, I could probably find out why I felt like this.

I actually feel kind of bad about it. Like when one of your guy mates gets that look in his eye like he’s about to confess to you and your heart sinks knowing you have to find a gentle way of saying, “I love you… but only in the way I love lamp.” That’s how I feel about this. We get on really well and had some awesome times, but that’s not enough for me. I need that spark, that joie de vivre of having it in my life. And sorry, A’Pieu Eco Fresh, I just don’t. I liked you, but I also don’t miss you terribly.

Now comes the A’Pieu Pure Bamboo Sheet Mask. I really liked this mask sheet. It was incredibly soothing on the skin and moisturised well. I had it on for about twenty minutes and most of the product had absorbed in that time. I just had to tap the excess into my face briefly.

The mask itself is the largest one I have come across thus far and I had to do a lot of scissor contouring before it would fit my face properly, but that’s not really a bother since I have to do this to most sheet masks anyway. It’s better to be too large than too small.

I was weirded out by the eye flaps. I was extremely unsure what to do with them. I am not one for sitting idly so having my sight taken away is bothersome. In the end I chucked on an episode of Parks and Rec and just listened since I have watched that show so much I can visualise it in my head as it plays. Still the eye flaps made me feel even more like Leatherface than mask sheets normally do.

The smell was really nice and did not go all Perfect Storm: Scent Edition when on my face which has happened with some masks I have tried.

After the twenty or so minutes were up, I took the mask off and noticed my skin felt much more moisturised. I had been out in the sun all day and I was pretty dehydrated, so this made a world of difference in helping my skin heal from the beating it took that day.

I would say this is just as good as my favourite My Beauty Diary masks, but I like the variety of the MBD ones more.

Now to stop waffling on and get to the proper review part of this review

A’Pieu Eco Fresh Original 100 Essence Start-Up

Smell: Liked – 2/3
Face Feel: Meh – 1/3
Effectiveness: Meh – 1/3
Packaging: Pretty! – 3/3
Price vs. Worth: Pretty expensive – 0/3

RoseRoseShop = 21,600 won
TesterKorea = 25,920 won
W2Beauty = 41,823.84 won

Total: 7/15 – This seems like a very fair score for my experience. I love the look of the full-size and wouldn’t mind seeing it in my bathroom every morning, but the rest just wasn’t that great for me.

A’Pieu Eco Fresh Original 100 Essence Finisher

Smell: Liked – 2/3
Face Feel: OK-ish – 2/3
Effectiveness: Works – 2/3
Packaging: Pretty as well – 3/3
Price vs. Worth: Expensive – 1/3

RoseRoseShop = 20,000 won
TesterKorea = 25,000
W2Beauty = 37,650 won

Total: 10/15 – I liked this product better than its sister, but I still did not find it outstanding. I wouldn’t buy this full-size when I have found others that are less expensive and work just as well if not better.

A’Pieu Pure Bamboo Sheet Mask

Smell: Great – 2/3
Face Feel: Mmmm, soothing – 3/3
Effectiveness: Results immediate – 3/3
Packaging: Meh – 1/3
Price vs. Worth: Excellent – 3/3

Could only find this at:
TesterKorea = 960 won

Total: 12/15 – This would have marked higher if the packaging was a bit more distinguishable, this would have had very high marks. But there is nothing special or noteworthy about it and I would be hard pressed to find one if I looked through my mask sheet box.

That’s all for today. My next review will be of the Etude House Travel Kit.