Weekend Travel Essentials For Lazy Summer Skincare

I don't travel well. Or rather, I don't prepare for travel well. I always feel stressed out of proportion about the packing stage, and having a multi-step skincare routine complicates even a simple weekend trip by car. Rather than fuss with what skincare to bring, I just grabbed necessities off my sink.

Does anyone else have issues with the sudden appearance of skin troubles during travel? It's like one's cycle; always picks the worst possible time to visit. With that in mind, I prepared for a skin rebellion just in case. They say that what you prepare for doesn't happen, after all.

I managed to snap these in between intermittent summer showers.

It fit in a ziploc, at least. A large one.

In this post:

• Sunscreen
• Double Cleansers
• Clear Pores & Soothe Skin
• Brighten & Moisturize
• Nullify Blemishes
• Cushion and Concealer
• Mist because it's @#^$# hot out and heat makes me crabby

Also, these photos will not only feature "Skincare I Brought With Me to My In-Laws' House" but also "Random Items I Pilfered From My Bemused Mother-In-Law's Decor For Photo Props" and "Gifts Of Quirky Things She Correctly Thought I'd Like, Such As Old Books And Shiny Things" because hey, you work with what you have on hand when you're travelling. It's ... a metaphor. Something about necessity, or something.

Anyway, here's what I brought to keep me safe, sane, and with as few surprise pimples as possible.

Sulwhasoo Golden Bird 2017 Limited Edition Cushion

Forget what I had planned to review, my Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion Brightening Golden Bird 2017 Limited Edition beauty is here! It's time for photos, swatches, more photos, and also photos. Because rawr.

I'm such a sucker for metallic accents like this. The shinier, the better! #magpiethings

There are two Limited Edition versions of the Perfecting cushions, the regular Perfecting and the Perfecting Brightening; this is the latter. They're both gorgeous though, it was hard to choose. You all know I'm forever a ho for fan of all things Sulwhasoo and their Peony 2014 Limited Edition Cushion is one of my prized K-Beauty possessions.

Sulwhasoo releases Limited Edition cushions and powders every few years, but the last few have left my enthusiasm flaccid and my wallet happy. When this magical baby showed up on my Instagram feed (courtesy of enabler Julie of @pdxbeautful) my skincare boner sprang to attention and I set out to get my hands on it stat.

In this post

• Photos of the Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion Brightening Golden Bird 2017 Limited Edition
• Where to get the Limited Edition cushions
• What cushions fit into this case for more shade options
• Swatches of #11 and #13 vs Mac NC10 and NC15

I've reviewed the Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion #13 and I've been using the Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion Brightening #11 for a while. I'll be doing a full review of it in the future, but right now, it's all about this cushion case.

Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion #13 Review & Swatches

I used to hate cushions.  I didn't like the unsanitary concept, the limited shade ranges, the high price point and low product volume, the lack of samples for colour matching before purchase, and after the DIY cushion method was a hot mess, I gave up on the idea as just a runaway hype train.

I was wrong, kinda.  Like their BB cream counterparts, shade ranges are limited although there are signs that's improving, and I was relieved to hear that cushions are apparently formulated with the maximum preservative concentration possible to offset the hygiene concerns.  There are now cushions for every budget and one really shouldn't be using them for longer than a few months anyway, but unfortunately there's still a dearth of options should you want to test to see if a cushion shade will fit you before you buy.  There are adorable tiny cushions out there, but they're rare.

That means swatches are critical to the "sight unseen" buying process of cushions.  As fellow Snailcast podcaster Tracy of Fanserviced-b put it during our episode on cushions,"people who swatch cushions are first in line for heaven" so it's time for me to pay it forward.

Insert in #13 via a buying service + Limited Edition Peony cushion purchased from 11st

One of the things I love about cushions is the ability to swap in different inserts but keep the same case; I managed to get my paws on one of the 2014 limited edition Sulwhasoo Peony cushion cases last year, although I purchased it in a shade I knew was wrong for me.  That's no barrier-- I simply purchased some refill inserts and swapped those in instead.  You can read more on how to use 11st here: Level Up Your K-Beauty Obsession: a Guide to 11st + My 1st 'Real' Cushion!

In this post:

• Product details
• Ingredients
• Comparison swatches of Mac NC15, Sulwhasoo Perfecting Brightening #17, and Sulwhasoo Perfecting #13
• Cushion demo & why I shouldn't apply makeup in my bathroom
• Instagram 10k thank-you giveaway details

In an effort to be thorough, I'll be providing both arm swatches comparing the Sulwhasoo cushions I have next to Mac NC15, and also face swatches as well, so you can see the coverage, finish, and what it looks like on a real face.  When I finish this review, I'm going to try to drink away the image of my bare skin in HD.  Clearly I need to get back on the PIH (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation) fading wagon after slacking off on actives for the summer.

K-Beauty On the Road: Inappropriate Sheetmasking & Involuntary Strobing

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you've no doubt already seen/heard my special-event-attendance woes leading up to this weekend; I live a hectic life full of important things like reorganizing my spreadsheet or inventorying my sheet masks, not to mention writing a blog post every weekend and working 60 hours a week at my day job.  This means social outings that require the trappings of non-hermit life such as well-behaved skin, makeup, and spanx is more than I can handle.

Having had to do it a few weekends in a row has me ready to retire from human contact until at least midsummer.  Stress and troubled skin is a bad combination, but weddings are one of those events that you can't really dodge, so I took advantage of our out-of-state drive and loaded our car trunk with (I kid you not) a cardboard box full of skincare, makeup, and sheet masks.  Being 'ready' was beyond my means, but this was as close as it was going to get.

I loved the dark cherrywood of this desk so much that I'm writing this covered in sawdust. More on that later.

I'm actually already a few hours overdue to be asleep for an early morning workday, so this post is going to be brief (ahahaha no) and terrifying; I'm going to include a demonstration of the cushion + (accidental) highlighter on my skin.

I've also finally figured out how to properly create a linked table of contents (I think), so you can now just jump to the section you want, woo!

In this post:

• Preparing my skin in advance
• What I brought with me
• Unedited photos of the Hera cushion
• Unedited photos of my face wearing the Hera cushion (I need a drink.)

I need an adult, or preferably an adult beverage, but then I'd fall asleep at my computer and the rest of this post would be endless lines of "dfghjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj" and then possibly a tweet tomorrow about how I caused an electrical fire by drooling into my keyboard.  If you don't want to see how my repurposed highlighter + cushion looked after a full night of wear, duck out after the money shots of the cushion.  You've been warned!

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.

Beginner Friendly Korean Buying Service: A Dowaja Review

Today's post is going to feature some of my favourite things: snails, hanbang, pH testing, sheet masks, nerdiness, spreadsheets, and buying services.  Also lots of haul eyecandy of all of the above.

The haul in all it's "please don't start raining until after I finish this photo" glory.

There's no haul quite as special as a buying service haul; when your grabby hands get a hold of goodies that would otherwise never be within your reach.  The thrill of trying new, strange things is something I'm absolutely addicted to, and buying services help me supply that habit.

In this post:

• Korean buying service 101
• A sad update
• My experience with Dowaja vs other buying services
• The goods: what I bought, where I bought it, and what it cost
• Final thoughts

I had to call in a complaint on my new USPS delivery person to get it, but this haul is finally here and there's snails, hanbang, pH strips, and sample swag waiting.  Let's do this!

Travel SOS: Taking a 10 Step Skincare Routine on the Road with Poor Planning

While having a Multi-Step Korean Skincare Routine is awesome for customization whether it's the Winter or Summer, it also means that travelling is a bit of a nightmare.  Last week I was out of state, and since we would be gone a full week, I mistakenly assumed that we would be checking a bag and thus figured I could pack the full-size bottles that make up my current routine.

The night before we flew out, I got ready to pack and was was advised by my bewildered spouse that we would not be checking a bag.  Cue panic!  How was I going to fit my routine in a carry-on?!

The dreaded 3-1-1 TSA guideline.  Image from here

If you aren't familiar with the American TSA rules for carry-ons, anything liquid has specific rules, namely:

3-1-1 for carry-ons. Liquids, gels, aerosols, creams and pastes must be 3.4 ounces (100ml) or less per container; must be in 1 quart-sized, clear, plastic, zip-top bag; 1 bag per passenger placed in screening bin. The bag limits the total liquid volume each traveler can bring.

A quart-sized ziploc bag is not a lot of space when even your "pared-down" Summer routine looks like this:

Image from my Updated Multi-Step Korean Skincare Routine Summer 2015: Sheet Masks Galore post

If I had planned ahead, I could have purchased all the airless pump bottles I would need to decant everything I wanted, and played tetris until I had the perfect combination.  Sadly, I had time for neither.

In this post:

• The 411 on my 3-1-1
• My 'dry goods' and makeup
• What I took with me and why
• What I regretted not bringing

So with no time to order bottles, what did I do?

Making the Most out of K-Beauty: 5 Simple Hacks

I'm gearing up for a major post that will take a few weeks of hard research, so here's a fun little list of things I do on the regular and thought I'd share while I work on some in-depth projects in the background!

The usual suspects

The best part is that everything is either readily available (including from Amazon), repurposing what you already have, or just using things differently.

In this post:

Tips for:

• Avoiding shipping 'sticker shock'
• Cushion problems solved
• DIY sheet masks are the new hotness
• Get a perfect sheet mask fit with little effort
• Mists are more useful than you'd think

Also includes two bonus tips for even more cushion enabling usefulness.

Level Up Your K-Beauty Obsession: a Guide to 11st + My 1st 'Real' Cushion!

Ever heard of 11st?  You may have seen it in the Guide to Shopping for Hard-to-Find Korean Products When You Don’t Know Korean, under the list of Korean sites where one can search and browse for goodies you'd like to buy directly from Korea using a buying service, like Avecko.

What you might not know, is that 11st also has an English version (link) where you can purchase Korean goods directly from the site and they'll ship internationally, no buying service required!  Here's the catch, though: they only offer EMS shipping, which costs an arm and a leg.

But wait!  There's COUPONS!  Specifically, a coupon to discount EMS shipping.  I'm going to show you how to use it!  #EnablerModeActivated!  Take this sheet mask and muffle the shrieks from your wallet, because this is happening.

Waheee, English everywhere, without the aid of Google Translate!

While not as complex as using Avecko or another buying service, it's still not entirely user-friendly unless you've used it before.  This is why I'm going to take you, start-to-finish, screencap-by-screencap, through the process including the final haul-erific result.**.  

In this post:

• Registering for the site and downloading the coupon
• Finding what you want and using the filter system
• Navigating the perplexing multiple options on each product page
• Estimating shipping costs and refunds
• Checking out, applying the coupon, and the confirmation process
• Domestic and International Tracking
• Photos of the gorgeous things I purchased!

Lots, and lots of photos.

** Er, mostly?  I already had an 11st account so I won't be able to show the full registration process and downloading of the coupon, but luckily those parts are fairly easy to follow.

Onward, and beware there are many, MANY screenshots ahead!