KOREAN MAKE UP AND SKIN CARE PRODUCTS - PART ONE

I love, love, love Korean beauty products!  I have been using them for quite a while and I have to say I don't think I have purchased a single dud.  From skincare to make up to hair care, every product I have tried has been worth repurchasing.  That is saying an awful lot because I am picky and I have all kinds of skin, make up and hair issues that I have never been able to deal with until taking a chance on some of these rather foreign sounding products.  They really give you your money's worth!
So, I am going to walk you through...
First off, there are so many new sources popping up that buying these things is not a problem.  Understanding the different ingredients and attitude towards beauty and make up might be the bigger issue.  Not all products have a lot of English on the label. But,  South Korea has very high standards; these products use more natural and plant-based ingredients than most western products and they are usually very helpful in store or online with all questions.   I will direct you to very legit sources, so truly,... no worries.
  I'm breaking this subject into a 3 part post because there is soooo much to cover.  This first part is to show the packaging, marketing, and just plain unusual visuals for most people unaccustomed to Asian products.

These three are somewhat unsettling in their childlike imagery.  I'm not sure but I think the idea is that you are using a product to achieve a more youthful skin... "Goodbye Oil Tank"?  Obviously something got lost in the translation but I'm sure if you have an oily skin issue this product is for you.

The  'pig nose' black head strip, sounds gross but I would wager that this 3 step kit does a better job than the Biore one strip.  I'm not sure how a vibrating action is going to make your foundation more 'jewelry' like, but they do put a lot of research into these products and I won't poo-poo it until I've tried it.  The 'whitening' products are mostly 'brightening' in that they are not going to bleach your skin, they are going to usually have a high SPF and a a light tone coverage. 'Milky Dress' and 'White Virgin' may sound contradictory but it's just one of those uortunate word choices.

These three make up products are from Etude House, a very popular make up brand.  They seem to love fairy tale packaging.  The fragrance of Versailles looks a lot like Disneyland castle but 'Etoinette' is happy there.  And who can possibly resist buying Princess Happy Ending blush. ( I bought a bunch of these and gave them to friends!)  The thing is, these are not cute novelty items. They are amazingly high quality products that in my opinion kick ass. Their  American counterparts don't really give the same value for money spent.

Moving on from the slightly creepy packaging, there is also some crazy cute packaging like this!

The Tony Moly brand has lots of cute animal packaging, even for their serious skin care products  (I use the Panda night cream that comes in a cute Panda jar. It looks more like a gift from a children's birthday party but honestly it's a serious night cream.)

The issue here is just a matter of translation.  The fact is that they are putting amazing ingredients into these lip tints and they are not only color rich but full of natural skin conditioning plant extracts.


I wanted to cover these odd marketing and mostly just bad English translations so that you would understand that this is part of the process when starting out on your K Beauty journey.  Do not be put off by this and don't think this is just for teens.  These are grown up products and many are amazing multi-taskers.  In Part Two I am going to give you help on how and where to buy these products and in Part Three I will give a review of some of my faves... spoil alert - the adorbs picture at the top, Peri's Tint,  is one of them : ) !