Disclosure: This is a press sample kindly sent from Memebox.com. I am not compensated for my views. Some affiliate links are used in this post. Clicking on an affiliate link returns a small sum to me at no cost to you as the consumer. Doing so is appreciated as it helps to support this blog. If you are curious about my policy on press samples, affiliate links, and sponsors, please see my disclaimer and policies.
Often K-beauty 'veterans' recommend sampling products before purchasing the full-size, especially for those battling acne and nursing sensitive skin. This way it is less likely that you will end up with full-size products that did not work for you. 'Veterans' also tend to accumulate samples to take when traveling because it's easier to meet airport guidelines with sample packets, as opposed to decanting your routine into little bottles.
For anyone who is still easing their way into a Korean beauty skincare routine, I'll be reviewing the steps of the full Korean skincare routine using this Mini K-beauty Starter Kit from Memebox (with first impressions to boot) that contains:
6 deluxe samples from brands like Innisfree, Botanic Farm, Goodal, and Benton.
12 regular size samples from brands like CosRX, It's Skin, Skinfood, and Innisfree.
The kit contains an entire K-beauty routine in 1 box.
The post below is to illustrate an end-state Korean beauty routine only.
Unless your skin is very receptive to most skincare products, please do not begin using everything at once.
One of the tenets of Korean beauty is to "KNOW THY SKIN". What this means is that you want to figure out which products and ingredients are helpful, and which products and ingredients are harmful to your skin. To figure any of this out, it is helpful to have incorporated only 1 new product at a time. Otherwise how will you know which is the product that makes you glow? And which is the product that makes your cystic acne multiply?
The links to the full-size products are included in line with the routine below. Let's get started!
 |
| Arranged roughly in order of application |
Morning Skincare Routine
1 | Foam cleanse with the Benton Honest Cleansing Foam.
INGREDIENTS Water, Potassium Stearate, Glycerin, Potassium Myristate, Potassium Laurate, Butylene Glycol, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Sorbitan Olivate, Polyquaternium-10, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Camellia Sinensis Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Polygonum Cuspidatum Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Extract, Althaea Rosea Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Propanediol, Hydrolyzed Pea Protein, Phytosterol, Lecithin, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Squalane, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Ceramide 3, Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract, Pulsatilla Koreana Extract, Usnea Barbata (Lichen) Extract (COSDNA ANALYSIS)
This foaming cleanser is serviceable but not ideal. Eyeballing the ingredients list, I like that it contains gentler foaming agents (but there are 4 of them), and it seems like it could be quite calming and moisturizing as the rest of the list is pretty targeted toward dry skin. Sounds good right? The catch is that the pH of the product clocks in at 8 which can lead your skin to feel stripped and dry, and potentially impair your acid mantle making your skin more hospitable to acne-causing bacteria. Based on my prior experiences and because I have dry skin, I hesitate to use cleansers with a pH of 8 or above on my face, but I did test it twice. The cleanser is a pearly cream that turns into a fairly standard foam easily with a hit of water. Compared to the last pH 8 cleanser I tried, my skin tolerated this one better. There was no tingling, no reddening, no stripping my face dry, but I just couldn't get past the voice in the back of my head telling me that this is pretty much a skincare sin akin to eating a KFC double down. No visible harm, no visible foul was done to my skin, but it's not going to crack my wishlist, ever. The deluxe sample has enough product to last about 4-5 uses. See some swatches and another opinion about the cleanser at Pico Prince.
2 | (OPTIONAL) Exfoliate with your choice of exfoliant(s) for the day.
The CosRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid is for controlling pores and blackheads. It smells like nothing and is very light, just a bit heavier than water for the skin. I recommend using this during the day. The satchet contains enough product for 2-3 uses. Ingredients are here.
The CosRX AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid is for tackling whiteheads and 'closed comedones' which are pink bumps that seem like clogged pores that have yet to come to a head. This product is also helpful for anti-aging purposes. It also smells like nothing and is just a tad heavier than water. I recommend using this at night, as AHA's make your skin more sensitive to the sun. The satchet contains enough product for 2-3 uses. Ingredients are here.
The SkinFood Black Sugar Mask Wash Off is a scrub that is helpful to smooth away dry flakes. I recommend using this either day or night, any time you need it. This stuff is magic. It smells amazing, like black sugar and lemon, and leaves your skin very smooth. This sample pack is enough for at least 3 uses. Ingredients are here.
3 | (OPTIONAL) Use light moisturizer(s).
The kit comes with 8 different types of light moisturizers. It's best to use products from thinnest and wateriest to thickest and oiliest. You can use as few or as many as you would like. Some people find that their sunscreen is moisturizing enough for them and skip moisturizers altogether, others really enjoy layering lots of different products.
The Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Skin is a clear green-tinged, thin, watery hydrating toner that smells extremely nice. It's got a hint of fruity green freshness and is cooling on the skin. It features 86.9% green tea extract. The green tea is a great source of antioxidants which will help boost skin health by protecting against damage done by aggressors in the environment. This would go on as one of the first moisturizers. Ingredients are here.
The It's Skin satchets each contain a different serum from the "XYZ Effector 10" line. I'm not particularly fond of It's Skin effectors because I find that their ingredients lists under deliver. Many of the effectors feature excellent star ingredients, but do not seem to include much of the advertised ingredient. Serums are usually very concentrated. With that said though, these It's Skin effectors are priced very fairly. If you're looking for an affordable serum, these could work for you.
The WH effector features skin brightening arbutin and is very watery. It smells nicely botanical and is pleasant to use. This is the effector I have been most pleased with. Ingredients are here.
The SYN-AKE effector contains snake venom which is an experimental anti-aging ingredient that may stimulate collagen synthesis. This one is a cloudy, watery serum texture that smells like baby powder or just that generic cosmetic smell. I don't normally purchase anti-aging products with experimental ingredients myself. Ingredients are here.
The point of the VC effector is for its natural vitamin C derivative to brighten the skin and relieve any sun spots or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation ("acne scars"). It smells very citrusy and has the same texture as the SYN-AKE - the cloudy, watery serum. I would not purchase this one myself based on the ingredients list. Ingredients are here.
The YE effector features yeast extract. It's a serum texture and smells very fermented. I'm on the fence about this one but am leaning towards not endorsing a purchase. Ingredients are here.
The PO effector features the Korean Houttuynia Cordata plant which is great for sensitive skin and those with dermatitis. This contains and smells like alcohol. It is very light, and suited more for oily skin types. It's a bit watery yet mostly creamy lotion texture which would go on after any watery products. I most definitely would not purchase this myself. I wouldn't purchase this one myself due to the alcohol and scent. Ingredients are here.
The CosRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence is a favorite of mine. I've reviewed it in full before on the blog here. It contains 96% snail extract and is super gooey yet light and soothing. To read about the benefits of snail mucin and see the ingredients list, please head over to the full review. It's not only available at a reasonable price here, but also as part of some great value sets here and here.
The Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Lotion would go on after the watery toners and serums before it as it is a white lotion or emulsion texture. Similar to the Skin, it's extremely pleasant. Ingredients are here.
4 | (OPTIONAL) Use heavier moisturizer(s).
The Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Cream is a great light-weight cream for daytime, especially for those with oily or normal skin. It also smells fruity, green, and fresh. The ingredients are here.
I do not recommend using the Goodal Moisture Barrier Cream in the mornings as it is quite heavy, and will not play nicely with sunscreens or makeup.
5 | WEAR SUNSCREEN (not included).
One of the most important, yet most overlooked steps in skincare is using sunscreen. The sun is responsible for skin cancer and studies have attributed 80-90% of all skin aging to the sun. It causes wrinkles, fine lines, age spots, and can even make your acne look worse! It causes those unsightly dark spots that often arise around partially healed pimples. Here is a link to some of the sunscreens I used in 2015. There are 7 reviews in all.
Evening Skincare Routine
1 | Oil cleanse with the Botanic Farm Grain Ferment Cleansing Sherbet.
INGREDIENTS Cetyl ethylhexanoate, caprylic/capric triglyceride, PEG-20 glyceryl triisostearate, polyethylene, PEG-10 isostearate, rice ferment filtrate (sake) 100ppm, saccharomyces/rice bran ferment 100ppm, lactobacillus/soybean ferment extract 100ppm, trihydroxystearin, tocopheryl acetate, butylene glycol, phenoxyethanol, fragrance, (COSDNA ANALYSIS)
This is BY FAR my favorite balm cleanser in terms of texture. Other balms feel like wax/solidified oil. This one feels a bit more jelly-like. It even beats out the cult Banila Co Clean It Zeros and the mouthwateringly berry-scented Shara Shara Berry Cleansing Sherbet for me. It cleanses just as well and smells very fresh and light. I've plans to pick up a full-size when I run out of oil cleansers. See a full review highlighting its makeup removing powers at Fiddy Snails.
2 | Foam cleanse with the Benton Honest Cleansing Foam.
INGREDIENTS Water, Potassium Stearate, Glycerin, Potassium Myristate, Potassium Laurate, Butylene Glycol, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Sorbitan Olivate, Polyquaternium-10, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Camellia Sinensis Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Polygonum Cuspidatum Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Extract, Althaea Rosea Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Propanediol, Hydrolyzed Pea Protein, Phytosterol, Lecithin, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Squalane, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Ceramide 3, Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract, Pulsatilla Koreana Extract, Usnea Barbata (Lichen) Extract (COSDNA ANALYSIS)
This foaming cleanser is serviceable but not ideal. Eyeballing the ingredients list, I like that it contains gentler foaming agents (but there are 4 of them), and it seems like it could be quite calming and moisturizing as the rest of the list is pretty targeted toward dry skin. Sounds good right? The catch is that the pH of the product clocks in at 8 which can lead your skin to feel stripped and dry, and potentially impair your acid mantle making your skin more hospitable to acne-causing bacteria. Based on my prior experiences and because I have dry skin, I hesitate to use cleansers with a pH of 8 or above on my face, but I did test it twice. The cleanser is a pearly cream that turns into a fairly standard foam easily with a hit of water. Compared to the last pH 8 cleanser I tried, my skin tolerated this one better. There was no tingling, no reddening, no stripping my face dry, but I just couldn't get past the voice in the back of my head telling me that this is pretty much a skincare sin akin to eating a KFC double down. No visible harm, no visible foul was done to my skin, but it's not going to crack my wishlist, ever. The deluxe sample has enough product to last about 4-5 uses. See some swatches and another opinion about the cleanser at Pico Prince.
3 | (OPTIONAL) Exfoliate with your choice of exfoliant(s) for the day.
The CosRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid is for controlling pores and blackheads. It smells like nothing and is very light, just a bit heavier than water for the skin. I recommend using this during the day. The satchet contains enough product for 2-3 uses. Ingredients are here.
The CosRX AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid is for tackling whiteheads and 'closed comedones' which are pink bumps that seem like clogged pores that have yet to come to a head. This product is also helpful for anti-aging purposes. It also smells like nothing and is just a tad heavier than water. I recommend using this at night, as AHA's make your skin more sensitive to the sun. The satchet contains enough product for 2-3 uses. Ingredients are here.
The SkinFood Black Sugar Mask Wash Off is a scrub that is helpful to smooth away dry flakes. I recommend using this either day or night, any time you need it. This stuff is magic. It smells amazing, like black sugar and lemon, and leaves your skin very smooth. This sample pack is enough for at least 3 uses. Ingredients are here.
4 | (OPTIONAL) Use light moisturizer(s).
The kit comes with 8 different types of light moisturizers. It's best to use products from thinnest and wateriest to thickest and oiliest. You can use as few or as many as you would like.
The Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Skin is a pale green, thin, watery hydrating toner that smells extremely nice. It's got a hint of fruity green freshness and is cooling on the skin. It features 86.9% green tea extract. The green tea is a great source of antioxidants which will help boost skin health by protecting against damage done by aggressors in the environment. This would go on as one of the first moisturizers. Ingredients are here.
The It's Skin satchets each contain a different serum from the "XYZ Effector 10" line. I'm not particularly fond of It's Skin effectors because I find that their ingredients lists under deliver. Many of the effectors feature excellent star ingredients, but do not seem to include much of the advertised ingredient. Serums are usually very concentrated. With that said though, these It's Skin effectors are priced very fairly. If you're looking for an affordable serum, these could work for you.
The WH effector features skin brightening arbutin and is very watery. It smells nicely botanical and is pleasant to use. This is the effector I have been most pleased with. Ingredients are here.
The SYN-AKE effector contains snake venom which is an experimental anti-aging ingredient that may stimulate collagen synthesis. This one is a cloudy, watery serum texture that smells like baby powder or just that generic cosmetic smell. I don't normally purchase anti-aging products with experimental ingredients myself. Ingredients are here.
The point of the VC effector is for its natural vitamin C derivative to brighten the skin and relieve any sun spots or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation ("acne scars"). It smells very citrusy and has the same texture as the SYN-AKE - the cloudy, watery serum. I would not purchase this one myself based on the ingredients list. Ingredients are here.
The PO effector features the Korean Houttuynia Cordata plant which is great for sensitive skin and those with dermatitis. This contains and smells like alcohol. It is very light, and suited more for oily skin types. It's a bit watery yet mostly creamy lotion texture which would go on after any watery products. I most definitely would not purchase this myself. I wouldn't purchase this one myself due to the alcohol and scent. Ingredients are here.
The YE effector features yeast extract. It's a serum texture and smells very fermented. I'm on the fence about this one but am leaning towards not endorsing a purchase. Ingredients are here.
The CosRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence is a favorite of mine. I've reviewed it in full before on the blog here. It contains 96% snail extract and is super gooey yet light and soothing. To read about the benefits of snail mucin and see the ingredients list, please head over to the full review. It's not only available at a reasonable price here, but also as part of some great value sets here and here.
The Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Lotion would go on after the watery toners and serums before it as it is a pale green lotion or emulsion texture. Similar to the Skin, it's extremely pleasant. Ingredients are here.
5 | (OPTIONAL) Use heavier moisturizer(s).
The Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Cream is a great light-weight cream for daytime, especially for those with oily or normal skin. It also smells fruity, green, and fresh. The ingredients are here.
6 | (OPTIONAL) Seal in the moisture with the Goodal Moisture Barrier Cream.
Although this product is called a cream, it's not. It's a waxy balm. This product is contains mango butter which is quite solid and hard to melt. It also contains mistletoe and other Korean botanical extracts. I would not repurchase this one because it smells fermented, and not in a nice way, more in a rotten fruit way, and it doesn't melt quite enough to spread easily onto the face without pulling and tugging on the skin. I prefer to seal moisture in with facial oils which give me lighter, brighter, and softer skin in the morning. A current favorite is marula oil. Ingredients are here.
I hope this wasn't too boring for those of you who have been living the K-beauty life. And for those who are new, I hope it wasn't overwhelming at all.
How did this routine compare to your own? Will you be looking into any of these products?
Disclosure: This is a press sample kindly sent from Memebox.com. I am not compensated for my views. Some affiliate links are used in this post. Clicking on an affiliate link returns a small sum to me at no cost to you as the consumer. Doing so is appreciated as it helps to support this blog. If you are curious about my policy on press samples, affiliate links, and sponsors, please see my disclaimer and policies.
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