Dirge of Duds: Reviews of Mizon Almighty Cold Cream, Acence Blemish Control Gel, & Good Night White Sleeping Mask

This week I'm going to be doing something a little different, because different is interesting and St. Snail knows I need "interesting" to get through this backlog of products that need review.  Why the backlog?  Because they bored me.

It's really easy to write reviews of things that you either loved or hated, but it's a lot harder to review things that are on the scale of "didn't really like it" to "sorta bland."  I can summon the burning fires of bloggerly rage about things that my skin violently rejected, but mediocre is tough!

Today's batch of boring products: Mizon edition

Then I feel guilty for being so behind on reviewing things long since discarded or even emptied, but I can't bring myself to spend all weekend writing about something that doesn't interest me.  So here's the Dirge of Duds: a series of mini-reviews to clear the backlog of products that I mildly disliked, felt ambivalent about, tolerated, or had tepid feelings about them one way or the other.

In this post:

• Mizon Acence Blemish Control Soothing Gel Cream Review
• Mizon Good Night White Sleeping Mask Review
• Mizon Almighty Cold Cream Cleansing & Massage Review

I'll be providing details, ingredients lists, and brief thoughts about each.  Onward to slay the Dragon of Dullness!

Multi-Step Korean Skincare Routine: Winter/Spring 2015, Part II: Current Products

In Part I, we looked at the basic steps that make up a multi-step Asian routine, and how I customize my routine based off how my skin is feeling.  

I also mentioned that you don't have to use Asian products, although I have found that Asian products are best suited to a multi-step routine.  Multitaskers are actually not always a good thing; sometimes you want the right tool for the job.

It's a rabbit hole, though, because sometimes you find yourself wanting a cream for oily days, one for normal days, and one for dry days, and then maybe a mist for a little extra hydration, and that whitening serum looks promising, and you haven't found an oil cleanser that works for you just yet, and the next thing you know, your daily lineup options look like this:

It's just as terrifying the second time, isn't it? (Click image for large size)

So do you really need all of that?  Of course not.  But it is possible to use it all and make your skin happy by doing so, as long as you only use what your skin actually needs, and you don't open more products than you can actually use up in 3-6 months.  (So says skin goddess Go Hyun Jung, if you google image search her, you'll see why I listen to her wisdom.)

In this post:

• Visuals of my current products/their order of use (pt. I)
• My actual base routine (pt. I)
• How I add in optional steps (pt. I)
• Think 'steps', not 'products' (pt. I)
• My current product lineup for each step (pt. II)

Multi-Step Korean Skincare Routine: Winter/Spring 2015

You may have heard about the multi-step skincare routine popular in Asia, particularly where women (or men, for that matter) can use anywhere from 10-20 products in a single day.

This is a really challenging concept for westerners, because we are taught not to overload our skin, that excess products are actually harmful, less is more, etc.  Indeed, you might look at this image of all the products I potentially might use in a day, and be horrified:

Behold the fearsome product line-up of my Winter/Spring 2015 routine! (Click image for large size)

Before you panic or decide I am crazy, there are two things to keep in mind: 1. the key word here is "potentially" meaning I don't use them all at once, and 2. the Asian skincare philosophy is all about customization.
  

My daily routine is actually quite simple (I promise) but I have a huge range of products I may potentially add in depending on the weather, what I'm going to be doing that day, but most importantly, what my skin feels like it needs.

In this post:

• Visuals of my current products/their order of use (pt. I)
• My actual base routine (pt. I)
• How I add in optional steps (pt. I)
• Think 'steps', not 'products' (pt. I)
• My current product lineup for each step (pt. II)

Sulwhasoo Gentle Cleansing Oil Review

Oil cleansers, sigh.  I have a toxic, co-dependent relationship with them; on the one hand, I need them to properly remove my sunscreen and makeup, but on the other hand they're highly comedogenic for me because my skin's mission in life is to clog its pores at all costs.

This means I buy, try, and hate a lot of oil/balm/sherbet cleansers in my quest to find something that 1. takes off my sunscreen and makeup completely, 2. rinses/emulsifies completely, and 3. doesn't break me out.   I am asking a lot, I know.

This week I will be reviewing the Sulwhasoo Gentle Cleansing Oil (travel size) which I managed to completely empty despite it being, well, an oil cleanser.

This weekend I needed to take a picture that spanned about 5 feet, so my lightbox was useless; deciding to go ahead and continue with the same set up including the dark background = regret

I was quite pleased to see that the Sulwhasoo Gentle Cleansing Oil comes in sample/travel sizes, because I can safely assume every oil/balm/sherbet cleanser out here is going to be hated passionately by my skin.  It's just statistical probability at this point, and becomes a matter of how much my skin is going to hate it.

So why do I use them?  I'm a firm believer in the Double Cleansing Method, which is a key feature of the Asian skincare philosophy, if sunscreen or makeup is involved.  If you are new to Asian skincare, you can read more about Double Cleansing and the products recommended/formulated for that use here: Cleansing Megapost: Double Cleansing, Cleanser Types, Tools, & Techniques.

In  this post:

• Product Details
• Ingredients Analysis
• Effectiveness Demo
• Final Thoughts

Etude House Real Art Moisture Cleansing Oil Review

Cleansing oils are fabulous inventions; they have all the benefits of the Oil Cleansing Method but unlike traditional OCM blends, they are formulated with extra ingredients so they emulsify with water and can be rinsed off cleanly.  With water.  How crazy is that?

They are a staple in the Korean double cleansing technique, which I discuss in more depth in my  Skincare Discovery: Cleansing Part I megapost if you are unfamiliar with either double cleansing or oil cleansers.  As I mention in the breakdown of double cleansing, the first cleanse is really meant as makeup and sunscreen removal, not actual skin cleansing.  Sunscreen is serious business to remove, I have discovered, and oil cleansers do a wonderful job of it.

The challenge I have found is trying to find an oil cleanser that works for me, as the Holika Holika one I have used is too stripping for daily double cleansing and also broke me out a bit.  After seeing Etude House's Real Art Moisture cleansing oil recommended on Get It Beauty, I figured I'd give it a try.

I love the Mona Lisa 'art' on the packaging, such a cute touch.

Etude House makes several Real Art oils meant for various skin types and troubles, and this one is for dry skin; although I do not have dry skin, my logic was that since I needed an oil cleanser that was less stripping for my double cleanse, a formulation for dry skins should be ultra gentle, right?

I received this oil back at the beginning of August and am only reviewing it now due to the fact that I don't wear makeup often and thus rarely need to double cleanse, that I wanted to confirm the results, and that I wanted to combine it with several other products to verify that it wasn't just a perfect storm triggering my skin's reaction.

Skincare Discovery: Cleansing Part II - Cleansing Tools & Techniques

As I mentioned in Part I of my Skincare Discovery: Cleansing megapost (click here), cleansing is one of those things that people don't reflect on as much as their other products; you stick a soapy thing on your face, you rinse it off, and you proceed with your other products.

I know I ordered cleansers with abandon yet I'd research potential moisturizers to death before purchase, but like everything related to asian skincare, my perspective has evolved.

Can you believe these were just the products and empties I was easily able to find lurking in my bathroom?

Included in this megapost:

• Double Cleansing (Pt. I)
• Cleanser Types (Pt. 1)
• Cleansing Tools (Pt. II)
• Cleansing Techniques (Pt. II)
• PH-conscious vs non-PH conscious cleansing (Pt. II)

If you haven't read Part I, I definitely recommend doing so first for context, but if you're up to speed, read on!

Skincare Discovery: Cleansing Part I - Double Cleansing & Cleanser Types

Sometimes it's a good idea to reflect not just what you put on you face, but how you take it back off.   The last Skincare Discovery post was on layering products (click here for Part I, click here for Part II) to custom-fit your skin's needs rather than struggling to find something that tries to do everything at once and therefore accomplishes nothing.

Cleansing is one of those things that everyone does (at least, I hope they do) but few people really think deeply about.  Or it was possibly just me.  Derp!

Now that I've been obsessed with asian skincare for a few years, the way I clean my face has drastically changed.

Included in this megapost:

• Double Cleansing (Pt. I)
• Cleanser Types (Pt. I)
• Cleansing Tools (Pt. II)
• Cleansing Techniques (Pt. II)
• pH-conscious vs non-pH conscious cleansing (Pt. II)

This post will be a collection of tips and techniques I have gleaned through hours of watching korean beauty shows, videos, and consuming vast quantities of blog posts.

Tonymoly Latte Art Cappuccino Cream-in Scrub Review

This review has been a long time in the making, because it's one of those products that you neither love enough to use often, or hate so much you want to get a PSA out there as soon as possible.

This product is a classic example of me getting suckered into purchasing via a cutesy gimmick/adorable packaging.  Tonymoly in particular is very good at this; their products are never particularly good, yet I continue to pick things up because I fall in love with the packaging.  In this case, I was actually angry because I ordered it thinking it was going to look like this:
"The latte art hearts are so cute!" I thought.  "I love how the bottom of the cup unscrews and reveals the 'coffee'/product inside!"  I thought.   Thus, I bought it.  However, that's not what I got.  Instead, I got this:

I of course furiously started googling as soon as I unboxed it, and I saw to my dismay that it was not a fake, it was in fact the 'new' packaging and I was not going to have any latte hearts greeting me each morning.

I was really hoping the scrub inside would make up for it, but alas, it was pretty firmly mediocre, even if it has an interesting gimmick.  Read on for the full review!