We're moving!

Yup! That's right! I'm moving the beauty part of this blog to maskwithfriends.com! 

I've decided to dedicate an entire blog to my love for facial masks, facial packs and body patches.I'm hoping that a new blog dedicated to masks, mainly Asian masks, will encourage me to actually start making a dent in my very large collection. It finally dawned on me that beauty products do expire and I only have one face. It's gonna take me a while to actually get through all my masks before they all expire. I hope to post at least 3-4 time a week. Let's hope I actually follow through with this promise this time around. 

I've recently discovered a new hobby: boutique fitness studios. I really like how these studios have very small classes and the trainers actually pay attention to me! But if you actually look at the prices of these boutique fitness studios, it will scare most people away. I'm going to try a few studios near me while taking advantage of their new student discounts and other membership discounts. I'm a complete newbie in this realm, and hopefully at the end of my personal fitness journey I'll go from "I have no idea what I'm doing" to "I know what I like and I'll stick with it". But if this doesn't workout I will always go back to my regular gym and hangout with my iPad and treadmill.  

Tosowoong Rice Paper Pack Review

I've been wanting to write this review for the longest time but keep putting it off. So today I decided I will complete this review.  I bought the Tosowoong Rice Paper Pack because I'm a sucker for gimmicky things. This mask is suppose to be a cheaper version of hydrogel and it's a DIY kind of thing we can do with regular rice paper used for spring rolls. Just imagine, while making spring rolls, I'm also making my masks lol. 

Major ingredients are wild rice extract, rice germ extract, rice extract. 

This mask is rich natural derived vitamin B, E and minerals. This mask will brighten and whiten the skin.  

The directions for using the mask.

How to use 
1. Open the tray and pour essence on all over the rice paper. 
2. Close the tray and make sure each buttons were closed tightly. 
3. Lift the tray with both hands and move left and right 3-5 times gently to all the essence spread out evenly. 
4. Open the tray after 2 minutes and apply rice paper on your face. 
5. Remove after 20 minutes and pat your face several times to absorb the remaining essence. 

The rice paper pack comes in two pieces. The essence is in packet on the left and the try rice paper mask is on the right. 

Here is a close up of the dry mask. It's like a crispy sheet of rice paper. I thought I was going to break it if I lifted the mask. The mask is in a tray that's also the shape of the mask, cute! It's there to help the mask soak in the essence. 

Pouring the essence into mask holder. 

After pouring in the essence I allow the essence to soak into the mask. But I noticed that the essence has not completely soaked in and there were some dry patches that required additional soaking. After about 10 minutes of soaking in the essence, I decided it's time to put the mask on. I just have to say it was very hard to get this mask on.

As you can see the edges were curled in and hardly stayed on my skin. When I try to take the mask out of the tray., the mask adhered to itself and didn't want to come apart. The only good thing about it was that it became stretchy and flexible, but the stretching made the eye holes super big (as seen in the previous picture).

Here is the other side of my face. This is not looking good for this mask. I'm not sure how how I feel about this mask. I think this will be my last time using this mask. It's a little too time consuming and frustrating to use daily or even weekly. It was fun to try, but I don't think it's gonna make me want to start putting rice paper on my face. 

Innisfree Skin Solution Mask - Trouble Care Review

I was having some skin trouble recently, mainly with redness, and decided to try the Innisfree Skin Solution - Trouble Care mask. I happen to have lot of these particular masks and wanted to start using them. 

The following description is taken directly from the Innisfree World's website:

[ Trouble care solution for reddish and dehydrated skin!]

1. Reddish skin care solution - propolis
Propolis extracted from the honeycomb is well-known for its moisturizing effect and making a healthy and clear skin.

2. Jeju green complex
Jeju green complex that consists of green tea, tangerine, cactus, camellia leaves and orchid keep your skin healthy.

3. Unbleached pure cotton pad
1) Unbleached and non-fluorescence eco-friendly sheet.
2) Made with structurally undamaged cotton for smooth application.
3) The microhole structure of the cotton pad holds in the essence, having a good absorbing power.

* Please note that the dark spots found on the mask are the cotton seeds, not foreign substance from the manufacturing process. "

 I remember reading some forums where people were concerned about the dark spots in the mask. After remember is disclaimer from their website, I'm actually happy that they are using unbleached pure cotton pad and didn't even remove the cotton seeds.

Ingredients: Water, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycerin, 1,2-Hexanediol, Xanthan Gum, Polyglutamic Acid, Propolis Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tangerine Peel Extract, The green Tea Extract, Prickly Pear Extract, Camellia Leaf Extract, Orchid Extract, Butylene Glycol, Panthenol, Allantoin, Phenoxyethanol, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance

Below, you can see how the mask fits with on my face. Sorry for the sideways glance, I needed to see the camera.

I like the fit of the Innisfree masks, it's a little big in the mouth area, but the nose fits well and there's not a lot of bunching up in the chin area. The essence in this mask is watery and smooth, it's not sticky when it dries. I don't think I noticed anything big difference after one use, but my skin does feel hydrated and claimed. 

Miss-Spa Hand Treatment Gloves Review

One of the most neglected body parts are my hands and feet. I really like the hand and feet masks from Korea and was very surprised to find them in the US. I saw these Miss-Spa gloves at a local discount store and had to grab them and test them out. If these are as good as the Korean ones, then I don't even have to haul them from Korea anymore. 

I grabbed the Moisture-Intense Hand Treatment Gloves. Each packet contains 1 pair of gloves, which means this is a one-time use item. I paid $1.99 for these so I think the price is comparable or even lower than it's Korean counterpart.

The packaging claims the gloves "hydrates and restores hands to a silky soft touch." It also claims to have no paraben, fragrance or pigment. 

Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Mineral Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, Polysorbate 60, Bataine, Clyceryl Stearate SE, Polyacrylamide, C13-14 Isoparafin, Laureth-7, Cetearyl Alcohol, Clyceryl Stearate, PEG-100, Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Propanediol, Caprylyl Clycol, Illicium Verum (Anise) Fruit Extract, Beeswax, Demethicone, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Arginine, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Mentha Pierita (Peppermint) oil, Lavadula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Rosmarinus Officialis (Rosemary)Leaf Oil, Cupressus Sempervirens Oil, Allantoin, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Disodium EDTA, Ceramide 3, Sodium Hyaluronate, Beta-Glucan, Natto Gum.

As I looked over the ingredients, I really didn't know what most of these chemicals were until I got to Isoparafin, which is used in a lot of hand and feet treatments. I do want to note that they use various plant oils in, which are listed close to the bottom, and yet I can't seem to smell any of them on my hands.

The gloves are your standard hand mask gloves. There area two layers, the plastic layer that keeps the essence in and the cotton sheet layer that actually touches my hands and keeps the essence on my hands. When I put these gloves on, I immediately noticed that they have a lot of essence in each glove. I would massage my hands to work the essence into my skin. I kept the gloves on for the recommended twenty minutes. When I took off the gloves, there's still plenty of white essence on my skin which I also massaged into my skin. 

Everything was well and I liked the feel of my hands after the treatment, but when I tried to smell my hands, I noticed a unpleasant odor. My hand had a chemically smell, and it made me dislike these gloves very much. I know the gloves from Korea are leave my hands with floral or fruity scent. But these were pretty bad, I sniffed my hands a second time and decided I needed to wash them. I could not keep this scent on my hands in case I transfer it to my clothes. 

I would say these gloves are good as a treatment, but carries a bad scent. Since I had to wash my hands almost right after the treatment, I don't think I got the full benefits from it. I personally won't buy them again due to the smell, hopefully I can find another brand in the US soon. 

TonyMoly Body Corset Patch Review

Recently, I got really into body patching. Most body patches are used to help firm and tighten the skin. The part of the body I like to concentrate on is my stomach so I bought a bunch of different body patches to test out. 

One of them is the TonyMoly Body Corset Patch. Each pouch contains two patches which is a great for testing them out. I liked this patch at first because it's a dry patch, so I don't make a mess with the gels and hydrogels. It is suppose to work like a corset and make your skin tighter and help extenuate the waist. 

Ingredients: Acrylates Copolymer, Camellia Sinensis Left Extract, Sorbitan Laurate, Lauroyl Proline, Capsicum Annuum Fruit Extract, Garcinia Cambogia Fruit Extract, Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Seed Extract.

Front side

The patch is actually really big and covers the entire stomach and more. I'm still confused on which side is the top and which is the bottom, I guess it just depends on the person using it. 

Adhesive side 

The shiny plastic layer covers the sticky tape side that sticks to the skin. I think of it as a giant sticker for my skin.

Directions: Apply to clean dry, and hairless part of your body, After six to eight hours, please remove and patch gently. 

Front side after use

I applied this patch on my stomach before I went to bed and removed it when I got up 8 hours later. The package states "This corset patch cares for your body smoothly by delivering effective ingredients with warm feeling."

Adhesive side after use

But to be honest, I didn't feel the warm feeling coming from this patch. I just felt like a giant sheet stuck to my stomach and makes movements uncomfortable. I learned to apply the patch in a way that my skin is out stretched out since the patch itself is stretchy it's better to allow it to move with your skin. But other than a novelty item, I don't think this patch does much for me. I will use the second patch again and see if I sense the warm feeling the second time around. For now I don't think I will be repurchasing this patch for body shaping again. 

Sheet Masks of the week

I love masks! There I said it I have proclaimed my love for masks. This post is dedicated to sheet masks. Sheet masks are slowly becoming a mainstream product in the US, but my Asian friends have been all over them years ago.

Holika Holika Juicy Mask Sheet in Tea Tree

Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Alcohol, Sodium Hyaluronate, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Allantoin, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance. 

I love tea tree products. I have been a long time fan The Body Shop tea tree line and continue to incorporate products in my routine. Every time I feel like my face is at the verge of a massive breakout I use a tea tree mask. I really like this mask. There's a lot of essence in the mask and the pouch. It's cooling and really juicy as the it's name described. I would definitely by it again especially since I found them for 2,400 won for a 3 pack.

Dear, Klairs Rick Moist Soothing Sheet Mask

Ingredients: Water, Sodium Hyaluronate, Butylene Glycol, Peg-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Allantoin, Dimethyl Sulfone, Betaine, Natto Gum, Disodium Edta, Centella Asiatica Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Carbomer, Arginine, Lysine Hcl, Proline, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Theanine, Acetyl Methionine, Chlorphenesin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Panthenol, Luffa Cylindrica Fruit/Leaf/Stem Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Althaea Rosea Flower Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Apium Graveolens (Celery) Extract, Brassica Oleracea Capitata (Cabbage) Leaf Extract, Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Extract, Brassica Rapa (Turnip) Leaf Extract, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Root Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Extract, Solanum Lycopersicum (Tomato) Fruit/Leaf/Stem Extract, Perfume, Linalool, Methylisothiazolinone

This mask has received great reception everywhere and I really want to love this mask, but my skin won't let that happen. For some odd reason this is the only sheet mask I ever had a bad reaction to. My skin got really red and hot after the recommended 15-20 minutes. I'm very sad that this mask didn't work out for me, but hey this is just 1 of the few hundred masks I have to test out. 

Beauty Friends Royal Jelly Essence Mask Sheet Pack

I can't find the ingredients list for this mask, but since my face liked it enough not to turn red and hot like the Klairs sheet mask did. This is the first royal jelly I've used so far. It gives me a tingling sensation on my skin. The mask is suppose to be moisturizing and tightening and I believe the tingling sensation that is for the tightening effect. My face does feel moisturized after using it and I like how the essence is not sticky after is dries, which annoys me. I enjoy seeking out new makes from smaller brands, it's like a treasure hunt. 

It's Skin Aloe Calming Mask Sheet

Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Aloe Barbadensis Left Juice, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Camellia Sinesis Leaf extract, Camellia Japonica Flower Extract, Polysorbate 80, Triethanolamine, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Parfum, Disodium EDTA, Methylparaben

Who can say no to Nichkhun! I do have to admit that I bought this mask for his face. I had a hard time opening it up since the little opening gaps are close to his head. But enough about Nichkhun, let's talk about the mask. This soothing mask did not sooth my skin. To be honest it actually made my face red and inflamed. Another mask that disagrees with my skin, sadness. Who knows how many masks will disagree with me. Mask 2 of hundreds that doesn't agree with me. 

Innisfree It's Real Squeeze Mask in Bija

Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Ethanol, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract, Betaine, Xanthan Gum, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Ethylhexylglycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Bija Oil(1mg), Sodium Hyaluronate, Tangerine Peel Extract, Orchid Extract, The green Tea Extract, Camellia Leaf Extract, Prickly Pear Extract, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance

I love Innisfree. They are known for all natural products from Jeju Island. I've heard that the Bija masks were for acne prone skin. The Innisfree masks are very thin and absorbent. I used this mask when I didn't have any acne so I need to use it again when I do. It did moisturize my skin and luckily no reaction this time. I bought so many masks during their sales I think I will have to do a post just for Innisfree.  

Walmart Spring Beauty Box Unboxing

I came home on Monday to find about 6 packages waiting for me yay! But I wan't expecting 6 packages, at least not this one from Walmart. I remember subscribing to the Walmart Beauty box sometime last year and got the winter box. I guess I auto-subscribed to all the rest of the boxes to come. For $5 a box, I'm happy to subscribe to it. I get to try a bunch of drug store products that I would not try on my own, so I'm happy to get this surprise!

It's a pretty full box for $5! I got 1 full size lip crayon, 4 deluxe samples and 3 foil sachets. There's a covergirl coupon and a Maybelline ad as well.

Funny thing is this little intro card called it a "Winter" box. I'm a little confused on whether this is Winter Box #2 or Spring box. I'm certain I got a Winter box already because I used the same John Frieda shampoo sample before. Anyways, let's see what goodies are in this box

Dial 7 Day Moisturizing Lotion

Smells like peach candy. It's moisturizing, but also have a sticky texture. I can use it, but won't buy it.

Nivea Smooth Sensation body Lotion

I love Nivea products and this little lotion definitely reaffirmed that. If I ever get through all my lotions and butters from my subscription boxes I'll go back to Nivea. That's a very BIG if!

St. Ives Apricot Scrub

Yes, good old St. Ives Apricot Scrub. The stable in every teenage girl's skincare routine. I remember, as a teenager everyone raved about this scrub and how it's the holy grail to anyone's routine. I too bought one and used it occasionally, but to be honest I'm on to bigger and better thing now. But I'll keep this around for traveling. 

Hard Candy All Glossed Up Hydrating Lip Stain

My goodness, I love lip stain crayons! But why does every subscription company have to give me a nude color! I've gotten full size lipsticks from Birchbox, Wantable, and others and they were all nudes. I am already as pale as a ghost, if I don't get any color on my face I'll scare people away! LOL Side note: my bestie loves nude lip products so she becomes my nude lip product tester.

Dove Pure Care Dry Oil

Cute little tube of hair oil from Dove. I've used a lot of Dove due bulk buying from Costco, so I know Dove is reliable hair care brand. It's in the queue of hair oils to use. I wash my hair every other day so it takes me longer to get through hair products than body care products. 

L'Oreal Color Vibrancy Shampoo and Conditioner

I stopped coloring my hair 2 years ago because it was too much work for me to keep it up. I also have really dry ends already so coloring was not good for my hair. This shampoo really isn't gear towards me, but hey, shampoo is shampoo. I'll keep this one in my travel bag to use on business trips. 

John Frieda Luxurious Volume Shampoo and Conditioner

This one's gonna go in my travel stash too!

TRESemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo

It seems like a lot of companies are pushing dry shampoos these days. This is the second can of dry shampoo I got from Walmart from their 2 boxes. Dry shampoo is another one of those things I just don't go through very fast. I usually only use it when I'm super lazy, recovering from sickness, or traveling. And so this will go in the stash of dry shampoo, and most likely gifted to friends who need one.

Here are the rest of the inserts from the box. I've stopped shopping at drug stores or even Sephora these days and have been focusing on Asian Beauty products. The US brands are just not as intriguing to me anymore and the only way for me to keep up with the times is through blogs and subscription boxes.

Holika Holika Make-up Starter Review

I got a sample of the Holika Holika Make-up Starter with my order from TesterKorea and decided to try it right away.

This make-up starter is an innovative makeup priming cotton pad. One one side is an exfoliating pad that removes dirt and dead skin cell, and on the other side is a soft cotton that brings moisture to your skin. The priming essence is suppose to make makeup adhere to my skin longer. So it's test it out. 

Here is a translated list of the ingredients of the essence. Nothing pops out at me as horribly bad so I decided to use it on my whole face. I'm really bad at patch testing, I basically patch test with my whole face. Especially when I only have one sample to test. 

Water, Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Triethanolamine, Methylparaben, Collagen, Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract,Phenoxyethanol,Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit/Leaf Extract,Saccharum Officinarum (Sugar Cane) Extract,Acer Saccharum (Sugar Maple) Extract,Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Cereus Grandiflorus (Cactus) Flower Extract, Fragrance,Sodium Hyaluronate,Laminaria japonica  extract,Undaria pinnatifida extract,Enteromorpha compressa extract, Disodium EDTA,Sodium Citrate,Xanthan Gum,Adansonia Digitata Pulp Extract,Anastatica Hierochuntica Extract
(http://www.prettyandcute.com/Holika-Holika-Make-Up-Starter-p5002.html)  

Here is a close up of the exfoliating side of the pad. It looks coarse and painful, but the little exfoliating dots are very gentle, compared to my Mia brush head. I'm not sure why I need to exfoliate right before applying makeup since I usually start with a clean face already. But it's fun to use since this little pad actually has little pocket for my fingers. 

This is the close of the moisturizing side of the pad. It's very soft and full of essence, almost too much essence since there's only one pad and I want to use the essence more then once. But due to sanitary reasons I only used it once. 

I really liked this slightly gimmicky primer pad. It has a lot of essence and made my face feel moisturized. I'm not sure where to stick this in my routine. If I use it last, then the exfoliating pad will scrub off all my previous skincare. If I use it first, then will my skincare products reduce it's effectiveness? 

I would love to get more of these and test out my questions to decide the best way to use them. Looks like someone's making a TeskerKorea order soon (excuses to haul lol).

Banzai Living Cleaning Tissues

In February Beauteque BB Bag out these cleansing tissues instead of the it'S SKIN Mangowhite cleansing tissues as advertised. I wasn't happy to receive them for a couple of reasons but I decided to review them just in case.

Banzai Living: Aloe Cleansing Tissues

These cleansing sheets are sold for $4 for a pack of 30 sheets. As a comparison it'S SKIN Mangowhite cleansing tissues are about $5 per a pack of 50 sheets. I'm feeling like i'm getting cheated since I'm getting a less known brand with less product then what I was originally told I was going to get.

I checked Banzai Living's website and they are mainly based in New York, with a few brick and mortar stores in New York that sales Beauty Credit products. But online, their website doesn't sell Beauty Credit products, but do sell it'S SKIN products. This get's me wondering if Beauteque got their it'S SKIN supplies from them. I subscribed to an Asian beauty bag and I end up getting low end products from and unknown US company, just because they can argue that these are made in Korea. Ha no I don't think so.

On the back of the package, the ingredients list show that Methylparaben (a preservative) is present. Most companies are trying to stay away from the parabens because they could be carcinogenic in high quantities. I checked all my other cleansing sheets and noticed that almost all have some sort of paraben in them. So ok they are not that bad in the paraben department.

I'm current using these sheets to clean my hand and arms after patch testing for photos. They clean relatively well when I use it against highlighters and creams. These sheets have a lot of liquids in them and leaves my hands moist after each use. The aloe scent is noticeable, but not strong.

There's nothing much to complain about these sheets since they are pretty standard. But the idea of it is I would not buy them myself if I were given a choice between these and any other brand from Korea, after all I wanted to try Asian brands, not brands with Asian names.