K-Beauty Products with Tsundoku Girl

Today the fantastic Tsundoku Girl is talking all about her favourite K-beauty products, what they do for you and why you should try them! Along with a fantastic discount for her favourite store. Once you have read this post, don’t forget to check out her blog, Twitter and Instagram for more K-Beauty ideas! 

The other day, I was walking through my local shopping centre with Spotify on, playing a playlist of popular new tracks. I was surprised to hear a few Korean tracks mixed in with the big names of the Western world, from Post Malone to Ed Sheeran and Ariana Grande. I wandered into TK Maxx and was greeted by a Korean beauty section, selling everything from sheet masks to scrubs, oil cleansers to overnight moisturising packs. Next up, I popped into Superdrug and spotted not only another K-beauty section, but also that all the products by popular skincare company Simple were branded with “Made in Korea” on the front to draw customers in. I went home that night, switched on Netflix and browsed the catalogue, which contained a huge and growing catalogue of K-dramas. I browsed through Facebook on my Samsung phone (also Korean) and saw a story about a film called Parasite becoming the first Korean film to win the prestigious Palme d’Or award. 

Now, this is by no means an extensive list of South Korea’s impact, but it’s a pretty sure sign that the country, which is around two times smaller and 10 hours’ flight from the United Kingdom, is rapidly growing in popularity and influence. When you think of South Korea, you likely think of its world-famous K-pop industry, but another thing that’s become synonymous with the country is K-beauty and its famous 10 step regime for perfect skin.

But what is it?! What’s the routine that’s got the beauty and skincare world so excited? Well, let me tell you!

Step 1: Oil cleanser

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Rhianna ? (@tsundokugirl) on Jan 7, 2019 at 6:16am PST

You’ve gotta start with a totally clean canvas before you begin your skincare. To do this, you start with the famous double-cleanse, made up of this step and step 2. An oil cleanser is actually great for all skin types (yes, even oily skin!) as it works by pulling dirt, excess oils and grime from the day out of your pores and melting it away.

Step 2: Water-based/foam cleanser

These are the type of cleansers you’re more used to seeing. I’ve been exploring Korean cleansers and I’m totally addicted to Neogen’s Real Fresh Foam cleansers – they’re super easy to use (just pump some foam into your hand), wash off super easily without any residue, and make your face feel soft without stripping it and making it feel tight.

Step 3: Exfoliate

Definitely don’t do this every day, but once or twice a week will buff any dead skin cells off your face and even out skin texture. It’s almost like the sandpaper you buff wood with before varnishing it – it makes the next step work better too!

Step 4: Tone

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Rhianna ? (@tsundokugirl) on Jan 15, 2019 at 6:23am PST

A toner works by prepping your skin for your next products by balancing your skin’s pH levels. It also preps your skin in a different way. Imagine your face is a dry sponge. If you put soap on top of the sponge, it doesn’t get absorbed by the sponge – in fact, it sits on top. However, if you wet the sponge, it sinks in, spreads and gets absorbed. That’s what toner does for you!

Step 5: Essence

When I first started K-beauty, I was both confused and sceptical about essence. It definitely sounds like a marketing ploy to make you buy more products – or maybe like something you’d find in Snape’s lab. Either way, I wasn’t sure. Anyway, fast-forward to now, where I’ve got a year of K-beauty under my belt, and I can say it does work! It’s no overnight miracle product of course, but I’ve found it to even out my skin tone and reduce dark circles a little.

They’re almost like a hybrid of a toner and a moisturiser – like a very light lotion. They’re full of good-for-the-skin goodies like vitamin C and hyaluronic acid, so they moisturise, boost cell turnover and just generally rejuvenate your skin. It’s often said to be the secret weapon of K-beauty!

Step 6: Serum

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Rhianna ? (@tsundokugirl) on Feb 22, 2019 at 6:15am PST

A serum is where you get personal. Dry skin? You want a hydrating serum with oils. Oily skin? Perhaps a lighter vitamin C serum with tea tree. Ageing skin? Go for a hyaluronic acid and collagen serum. The list goes on. Basically, serum is almost like a heavier essence, designed combat your specific skin troubles.

Step 7: Sheet masks

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Rhianna ? (@tsundokugirl) on Dec 20, 2018 at 11:33am PST

You’ve seen these knocking around the shops loads and loads lately, haven’t you?! This is a beauty product that’s very much synonymous with Korea again. They’re soaked in a magical skin elixir of your choosing, then the actual mask forms a block so the ingredients have no choice but to absorb into your skin. They usually take around 10 – 20 minutes, and can target everything from oiliness to flaky skin, ageing skin, spots, irritation, sun damage and more.

Step 8: Eye cream

I don’t need to explain this one, do I?! But in all seriousness, an eye cream is a great product to have, as using your normal moisturiser on your eyes can often cause milia (annoying little lumpy bumps) through being too heavy for that delicate area. Eye creams are lighter, more concentrated and have different ratios of ingredients for better impact, plus you need much smaller amounts so they’re not actually as pricey as you think considering how long they last! There’s plenty of low-priced eye creams anyway – price doesn’t guarantee quality. In fact, when I visited Korea, the skincare products were super cheap, yet such high quality! Their ethos is that the cheaper it is (and the cuter the packaging), the more likely it is that people will want to use it.

Step 9: Moisturiser/sleeping packs

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Rhianna ? (@tsundokugirl) on Nov 26, 2018 at 6:35am PST

Again, everyone knows what a moisturiser is. It works as the final step, locking in all the goodness you’ve already added to your face. You can also buy sleeping packs, which are moisturisers you apply a thick layer of before bed, wait about 10 minutes for it to sink in a bit, then sleep. It’s normal for them to feel a bit sticky when you initially apply it, but in the morning, you’ll wake up with a face as soft as a peach!

Step 10: Sun cream!

Yep, even in winter! You should be wearing sunscreen all year round – if not for protection against sun damage, for protection against skin cancer. Over 80% of ageing is said to be caused by sun damage, and that still happens on an overcast, chilly day in mid-November. You’re supposed to use the equivalent of a teaspoon on your face and neck, and reapply every two hours (or just every two hours that you’re actually outdoors). 

Korean and Japanese sunscreens are the best I’ve tried – they’re non-sticky, light, moisturising and make a great base for my make up. My personal favourites are Etude House Sunprise Mild Airy Finish, Missha Sun Milk and Biore UV Aqua Rich Gel. The last two in particular are also quite moisturising, the first two are great for creating a smooth base for makeup, and all are great for mattifying the skin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Rhianna ? (@tsundokugirl) on Oct 13, 2018 at 11:36am PDT

I hope you’ve enjoyed my guest post on Sarah’s blog! If you did, please feel free to come and say hi below! I’m also happy to offer any K-beauty advice that I can 🙂  If you’re thinking of buying Korean products, you can use my code “RHIANNA” on Yesstyle.com, which is where I buy all my K-beauty products from!

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