2015 in Review, Part II: My Favourite K-Beauty Tips, Concepts, & Trends of 2015

In Part I: My Favourite K-Beauty Products of 2015, I listed what I consider to be the best products I've used in 2015, but the products are only part of the story.  As a counterpart to the simple shout out to the tangible products that caught my eye in 2015, this post is about the trends, habits, concepts, and thoughts I have on K-Beauty in 2015.

It's a different beast than it was in the early days of this blog; K-Beauty is now available in Sephora, Target, Amazon Prime, even outlets like TJ Maxx and Marshall's, making it readily available in mainstream shopping venues.  K-Beauty has also evolved and shaped itself to meet the needs of international customers, and the international Asian beauty product fan community has produced some fascinating discussions in the last year.  So this post will be the intangible best of 2015, to balance the light-hearted and unashamed consumerism of the 'best of' product list.

In this post: My Favourite Tips, Concepts, & Trends of 2015

• K-Beauty goes mainstream: does it have to be Korean to be K-Beauty?
• The most influential concepts of 2015
• Healthy habits: things I adopted and let go of in 2015, for the better
• Top tips from 2015: things that made my life easier
• Trends I loved in 2015 and will continue to love in 2016

If you don't care for long swaths of rumination, I'd recommend bailing out now for 2015 in Review, Part I: My Favourite K-Beauty Products of 2015, and here's a Chinchilla sipping tea for some cuteness as you escape.  If you're down for some heavy discussion of some serious topics mixed in with the fun bits, let's do this!

Enjoying my Afternoon Tea🐭😘

A video posted by BuBu The Chinchilla (@cute_bubu) on Jan 30, 2015 at 7:42am PST

This tea-sipping Chinchilla speaks to me on a philosophical level, at least the part of me that loves tea and small furry cute things.  Let's roll!

2015 in Review, Part I: My Favourite K-Beauty Products of 2015

This year has been definitely been an exciting time for K-Beauty and Asian beauty product fans; long-time fans have seen what was originally a grassroots niche become mainstream.  We've seen the advent of products carried in Sephora, Amazon, and other major retailers, regularly featured in major magazines like Vogue and Allure, and even book releases on the subject- K-Beauty and AB (Asian beauty products) has really come into its own this year, and it's the time of year for 'best of' posts, so here's mine!

The amazing scent of this wreath makes up for the needles everywhere.  Mostly.

There will be two parts to this post, the first a light-hearted rundown of products, and the second a more reflective discussion of the themes, concepts, tips, trends, etc, of 2015.

In this post: Favourite Products of 2015

• Favourite Cleansers of 2015

• Favourite First cleanser

• Favourite Foaming Cleanser

• Favourite Travel Cleanser

• Favourite Cleansing Tool & Honourable Mention

• Favourite Acne & Anti-Aging Products of 2015

• Favourite Skincare of 2015

• Favourite Toner

• Favourite Essences

• Favourite Serum

• Favourite Cream (and overall top pick for 2015!)

• Favourite Sheet Masks

• Favourite Sunscreen

• Favourite Makeup of 2015

• Favourite Base Makeup

• Favourite Lip Product

The more serious-toned Part II is here: 2015 in Review, Part II: My Favourite K-Beauty Tips, Concepts, & Trends of 2015, and includes:

• K-Beauty goes mainstream: does it have to be Korean to be K-Beauty?
• The most influential concepts of 2015
• Healthy habits: things I adopted and let go of in 2015, for the better
• Top tips from 2015: things that made my life easier
• Trends I loved in 2015 and will continue to love in 2016

It should go without saying that this is just my personal list of top picks; please don't be offended if your favourite isn't here!  This year has seen a lot of interesting developments beyond just the products, so rather than just focus on the tangible products, I'll also be giving a shout-out to the intangible developments that excited me the most in Part II- now finished and linked above.

Powder Cleanser Comparison Review: Tosowoong, O'slee, Su:m37, & Tatcha

As I've mentioned before, it's really easy to write reviews of products that you either loved or hated, but it's harder to write about things which are simply mediocre.  Those bland reviews still have value, even if there's little to say about them, so I like to knock out a few at a time and compare them to other products if possible.

Today I'll be doing a comparison review of 4 powder cleansers I've used, and why only one of them has a spot in my cleanser wardrobe.

Secret weapon to create better foam with powder cleansers: konjac sponge or foaming net!

Powder cleansers are relatively new to me (as in, the last year or so), but I became interested in them when I discovered that many of them are actually low-pH as well as being super fun to use.  Since my dive into the research behind low-pH skincare was so compelling as to convince me to give up my old HG cleanser, I've been on a bit of a mission to find cleanser options that thrilled me in addition to being low-pH, since that's simply not enough on its own.

In this post:

• What is a powder cleanser?
• Tosowoong Enzyme Powder Wash review
• O'slee Rosehip Hydra-White Cleansing Powder review
• Su:m37 White Award Enzyme Powder wash review
• Tatcha Polished Rice Enzyme Powder review (sorta)

Before we jump in, I'd like to remind folks that skincare is the ultimate YMMV (your mileage may vary) so what worked best or worst for me is totally dependent on my skin and experience, and it doesn't necessarily mean that your skin will react the same way.

Let's do this!

Sometimes I Never Learn: 3 Things I Always Regret Purchasing

A while back I wrote a post about The Painful Path to K-Beauty Wisdom: 7 Mistakes Beginners Make, which covered some of the most common beginner mistakes that I see people make over and over.  Some of them were mistakes I made myself, some ones I've observed are common in general.

What about mistakes that I keep making, even though I'm dangerously close to being a K-Beauty hipster who keenly remembers the days when BB creams could only be bought directly from Asia,  Korean skincare hadn't yet caught on, and snail filtrate was still unthinkable?  (Ooo, I can feel myself growing a curled-stache & glitterbeard at the very thought.  Quick, get me a Portland craft beer and a pair of suspenders!)   Surely I should know better by now, right?

Sigh.  Somehow, there are a few mistakes that I keep making, despite really knowing better by now, and I'm going to 'fess up.  For someone who is as seriously interested in mindfulness in purchasing and self-care, it's awkward to to talk about the things that I still struggle with but, I'm going to do it anyway!

Beginner's Dilemma: Getting Organized & In Control of Your Stash

As I mentioned in my last post Beginner's Dilemma: Overwhelmed on the Order of Your Specific Products? I was inspired to switch up my plans for another post and instead focus on some of the most frequently asked questions I've been getting lately.  The focus of these posts is not to give you yet another in-depth guide like the ones you've no doubt already read, because chances are you've already read them and you're still confused.

These posts are short, to the point, and tactical in nature- last week I gave a simple 3-step method of figuring out where your specific products go in order.  This week I'm going to hit up how to get your stash under control, so you don't feel overwhelmed by your spending, your storage, or your lack of organization.

"How do you store/organize your stash?"

Answer:

You don't have to, at least not physically.  You can organize it, and control it, without having to constantly be re-organizing your drawers and shelves with the same resigned dread one normally reserves for deep-cleaning one's shower stall or refrigerator.  You just need to re-think your organizational methods- and you'll have a great opportunity to do some exploration of your personal philosophy while you do it.

I personally use a spreadsheet, but that's not the only method.  I've also overhauled my spreadsheet, so that it's even more observer-friendly- any time you want to see exactly what I'm up to and which products I'm using for what step, just head over here and take a peep.

No one should feel overwhelmed or negative about something that's ultimately self-care.  Skincare is enough of a journey on its own without evoking feelings of loss of control, so time to put that stash in its place and show it who's the alpha here!

Beginner's Dilemma: Overwhelmed on the Order of Your Specific Products?

This week I had a post partially written in the theme of The Painful Path to K-Beauty Wisdom: 7 Mistakes Beginners Make, about mistakes that I still seem to be making despite knowing better, when I abruptly realized there's a post I need to write first.  I realized I had something like 20-odd hours worth of replies to catch up on, and many of them were the same questions.  When that happens, it means there's a larger need that deserves its own post.

I feel badly when I don't have time to reply because we're all on this skincare journey together and I care about how things are going for you, but I want you all to know that I do read every comment even if I don't always have the time to reply (and it can take up to 20 min to answer a single comment depending on how complex it is or if I need to research something) and therefore I'm looking at hours devoted to replying to comments every few days.  As it sometimes happens, I found myself replying to the same kind of questions over and over, and I realized it would be better for me to stop what I was doing and write the post that you all needed.  So that's what I'm doing today.

I'll be doing more of these and then linking them together; today's post is for all those who have a giant list of products they have, or have not yet, purchased and are lost on where their own specific products go:

"I'm overwhelmed. How do I put my specific products in order?"

Subset question:

"I've read the posts on Putting your products in order, including pH dependent acids and Multi-Step Korean Skincare Routine for visuals, but I need help applying it to my specific products, here's the list: *cue flood of products that would take me an hour to research on what they are/what they do*  Please help me I am so lost!"

Answer:

First, breathe; one does not learn how become a master tailor in a single day.  Also, I apologize for not replying to you, but the simple fact is that I don't have the hour to spend researching about your specific products unless they're already things that I know.  If I've only got 10 min to spare for comment replies, I've answered someone else's simple question about where to buy a type of sheetmask and a second person's question about what I didn't like about a product.  It grieves me to leave your question unanswered, but I don't have the time to answer it, and I don't like saying "read the guides" if you've obviously read them and are still confused.

So here's what to do: