Hey, guys! If you’re like me, you avoid problems until they become so large, you just can’t avoid them anymore (ie finals, papers, weight gain, ect.).
This basically happened to my skin last semester when I was stress-eating ramen and G-heav every night. When I first went back home last semester, my parents were horrified. They tried to introduce me to a seven-step Korean regime, but honestly I can’t even eat three full meals a day, so that didn’t work out.
Over the past few months, I devised my own skin routine (aka I just bought a bunch of things that worked out well for me), and my skin has cleared up a lot – in fact, it’s never been better. Drinking lots of water and keeping myself hydrated helped, but these products literally saved my life.
Cleansing: Banilla Co. Clean It Balm
Okay so I love putting on makeup but I hate taking it off, especially because I wear water-proof mascara. I really love the Banilla Clean It Balm because it takes off ALL my makeup – even the toughest waterproof stains – and I can just use it in the shower while I’m washing my face. Because it’s oil based, I usually double cleanse with my Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash (which smells amazing and makes my face feel super soft!)
Moisturizing: Aloe Vera, Nature Republic Super Aqua Max Combination Watery Cream
Moisturizing is a really important part of skin care, especially for the cold winter months. I have combination skin, so occasionally, I’ll get random dry patches. For my super dry patches, I like to use this Aloe Vera moisturizer. But for my daily night time routine, I LOVE using my Nature Republic Super Aqua Max Combination Watery Cream. It’s apparently won a ton of awards (more than I ever will), and I’ve noticed a dramatic difference in my skin after using it every day. It’s so lightweight, it doesn’t make my face oily, and it smells amazing. My skin is always so soft in the morning when I wake up, and it’s helped so much with overall redness and dry patches.
Oily Skin: Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Clay Mousse Mask
This is definitely one of my favorite face masks. It’s not as drying as other clay masks, but it still cleanses and tightens my pores. The consistency is really nice and smooth, and it gives me an amazing cooling sensation. I feel so new after I use it – like I’ve been given a new shot at life. I like to use this in combination with my Black Sugar Scrub. Details on how I use them together down below!
Exfoliating: Black Sugar Scrub
Once every 1-2 weeks, I use this sugar exfoliator to get rid of dead skin cells and brighten up my complexion. I LOVE this scrub – it smells so clean and my face always feels so soft and smooth after I use it. After I use my exfoliator, and scrub away at my old skin, I’ll follow it up with the clay mask – I find that using them in combination helps a lot with clearing out my clogged pores. The sugar exfoliator scrubs the dead skin cells off, and the clay mask helps clean the pores after the layer of dead skin cells have been scrubbed off. I’m not sure how valid this is or how skin layers actually work or if this is even true (I call it Deanna-Science: pseudo-science) but it’s worked really well for me!
Protection: Finally, a bonus product that I try to use every day is my Missha Sun Milk Sunscreen. Everyone always told me how important it was to use sunscreen, but I hated the oily texture and smell almost all facial sunscreen gave off. I’m so happy I found this sunscreen because not only does it smell amazing, but it’s so light I feel like I’m just using a normal moisturizer. I would definitely recommend this to everyone.
Okay, so those are my five favorite Korean skin care products. Links to the products can be found by simply clicking on each photo. I’m always on the hunt for more skin care products, so if there are any that you guys recommend, please let me know in the comments down below. Hope this helps you guys – especially during the upcoming weeks we have ahead!