More Korean Beauty Products!

Maybe I should stop buying stuff online? Nah! I ordered a bunch more fun Korean products from online again. These are all from the same Korea Depart website that I posted a little while ago.

If you aren't into beauty, feel free to skip this post and move on to another one!

I got these face blotting papers ENTIRELY because I LOVED the dinosaurs. And, as it turned out, they were fantastic oil blotters. It comes with a mirror and a pad, so you don't have to touch the papers-or your face. I used all mine, and then cut my own to fit the container. I love it!

I got these with the intention of bringing them to the gym, and on vacations, so I don't have to bring my normal makeup remover and cotton pads (they never travel well). It feels great on my skin, but is not the greatest at removing eye makeup, which is unfortunate.  I still bring them to the gym though, so not a total loss.

These are, without a doubt, some of my favourite hand creams! They smell so nice, make my skin feel wonderful, and leave it feeling soft and supple, but not greasy.

These are the free samples that came with the order. I haven't actually used any of them yet  >.<

This was the ENTIRE reason for the order. I LOVE these hair masks which take away a lot of the damage of colouring my hair. You guys may have noticed, but  my hair takes a lot of upkeep, so I need to use a lot of product to keep my hair healthy, shiny and beautiful, and, seriously, these hair masks work wonders. My hair feels fantastic for nearly a week after using just one, and I will use these things until I die, or lose all  my hair. Seriously.

This BB cream is pretty meh on its own. I find it too thick, too makeup-y and just not spreadable. That said, when I mix it 50/50 with a regular moisturizer, I find it to be great. Good coverage, nice colour, not too obvious, and quite blendable. I won't buy it again, but it won't go to waste either.

May Nail Swatches!

I've been a little remiss in posting, my apologies. Intensive classes are intensive. But, I hope to remedy this by doing this post now! I will hopefully also be writing a few more before my upcoming exams, and throw them in the queue.

But, for now, nails!
Official Disclaimer! I have been working a lot lately, so my nails have not been taken care of as well as I usually do. I also haven't been painting them that often, what with the whole kitchen work thing and all. This means that there may not be a nails post next month. You've been forewarned!

First up, a Korean brand of nail polish! I ordered this from KoreaDepart (the online store I bought all that Korean makeup from a few posts back) a long time ago. I actually specifically bought this colour to be my Avatar Aang/Airbender art colour. I never used it for that though. It is, however, a delightful spring colour. I used white cherry blossom decals that I got in Korea as well. Cute, right?
The polish is by Etude House and has a name, but I can't translate it. It also seems to be discontinued from the KoreaDepart site, but may be available from other sites that sell Korean cosmetics. If you look for it, and find it, please let me know!

 I got this one by NYC because it matched my new dress perfectly. I wanted to look coordinated for my wedding anniversary date (pics soon!) and thought the nails would be a great addition. Now, like I said, the brand is NYC, so its pretty cheap (about $1.00CDN) and that shows in the quality of the product. I had it on less than 6 hours before it chipped BIG across several nails. I was not impressed. I have several bottles of this brand, and its great for one night bouts, but not for long term wear. This colour is called Sidewalkers.

Only 2 polishes for my lovelies this time. I had 2 other colour changes this month, but both looked like crap. Maybe I'll re-do them with some nail art, and see if they look better.
Until next time!
xox

Korean Beauty products!

A few months ago, I ordered a bunch of beauty products from Korea. They arrived a few months ago (don't worry, it didn't take MONTHS for it to get here-more like a week) and I've been using them this past while, and want to review/gush about a few of them. If this isn't your kind of thing, move along and come back later, or look at my other posts!

So, of course, I ordered things that weren't just beauty products-there were a number of foods and snacks that I missed. I ordered cheese bokki and these super yummy bon bons. I wanted to order my fave Korean chips, which are honey and cinnamon flavoured, but I cannot remember the name of them-do any of you guys know?

Anyways, to the beauty products! Before we continue, I should add that all of this is ordered from Korea Depart, which is an online Korean department store. You can order food, beauty products, makeup, clothing, specialty items, and hair products all from the same site, which cuts down on shipping costs. Well, sorta. The shipping is still expensive, but much cheaper than ordering it all separably.

 First up, BB cream by Nature Republic. I actually love this brand quite a bit. They are really good about using many natural ingredients in their products, which make them small very lovely. This BB cream goes on well, gives good coverage, smells super great and lasts a long time. The price is quite good too, coming in at $5.00USD per container.

CC cream is actually different than BB cream. While BB cream acts more like makeup with skin care, CC cream is designed to be skin care that is able to smooth the skin, hide dark spots, and be a makeup base. This is a brand that I have never worked with before, and, frankly, its kinda meh. I get a nice coverage, yes, but it also makes me skin so pale, I should be in a Twilight movie. The SPF (50) and price are quite nice though-$7.00USD

Tony Moly egg pore cleaning is amazing. I LOVE Tony Moly as a brand. It is just fantastic. I love the pore cleanser series-its super smooth, super foamy and FEELS like its cleaning deep. It has nice little beads that exfoliate the skin, that are big enough to not cause irritation, and able to be used daily. Which I do.  I find my skin has been smoother since using it. At $6.00USD I call it pretty awesome.

This is a cleanser that is used for that blackhead problem area of the nose (we all have it, there's no shame in it!). This is part of a set by Holika Holika, which had a cleanser and a massage oil and a nose peel. Now, we only bought this steam starter, as we already have the sticky peel things. Now, the peels are totally required for this to be any good. Ideally, get the whole set if you can. Its a great starter kit and really works well. This item is $4.00, and the set is $8.00.

Oh Happy Days by Etude House is just fantastic. I loved the way my hands felt after using it. I actually went through this container in just over a month, I loved it so much. It smelled great as well. My husband didn't like the smell really, but whatever. It was light and floral, and super summery. At $3.00 its pretty much a steal.

Finally, another cleanser. This one is by The Face Shop, and is a lemon cleanser that is really good for more oily skin. it helps reduce redness and the acid in the lemon helps to 'burn' away the top layer of dead skin cells. I use this daily (in the morning to get off all the sleepy dirt on my skin) and my skin is super soft all day. It foams up really nicely and each bottle lasts a long time. Again, the price is amazing too-$4.00USD

I hope you guys enjoyed this little review-if you have any questions about these products, or others like it, or want me to do a video showing how to use them,  feel free to drop me a line!

Aging, and things you should know

Firstly, here is the video that all the rest of the blog will be focused on

I would also like to add that changing the diet is also a great way to keep the body healthy for a long time. Like, giving up all that fatty crap that you don't need (ie. bacon, chips) or at least lowering your intake to a moderate amount is super good for you.

Anyways, here are some links to some of the various things I suggested, in no particular order.
I should also mention that I am obsessed with Korean body care products. I find them better quality, longer lasting, and more potent than many North American brands. I HIGHLY recommend the following Korean brands: Lioele, Skin Food, Face Shop, Holika Holia, Innisfree, Missha, It's Skin, Too Cool for School (makeup only) and Etude House.

Face Creams
**First, some tips. If you don't know your skin type, use combination type. It is much easier than trying normal, and then wondering what the fuck happened to parts of your skin. Combination is also great for year round, because it focuses on both excess oil and dryness, so is a nice balance for different seasons. Also? Know your allergies!

Creams with SPF
SPF Fresh Essentials*
Ultra Calming SPF*
*the non spf creams are great for night as well
Skin Food BB cream (My absolute favourite!)

Body Creams!
Skin Food Shea butter
Innisfree Cheery Blossom Lotion 
St Ives Body Lotion 

Tanning
Million Dollar Tan
Jergens Natural Glow

I'll add, and repost this as I find more things I love, and will gladly take others suggestions as well!

Reminiscing

I got together with all the Vancity SCH crew from first semester, and we got to talking about Korea, and remembering things that we did, and enjoyed together. There was a soon to be going to Korea girl with us as well, so we were telling her about all the cool-and not cool-things to see and do.

And, you know what? There are a lot of things that I miss about living in Korea. I mean, more than just the free rent thing.

I kinda forgot how much fun I had there, what with the less awesome second semester. But, overall, it was an AMAZING time. I hope that I can have more experiences like that in the future.

The people are one of the things I miss the most, and, even though I know that i can see them, theoretically, whenever I want to, I don't think that we will all be together in a big group again. To be honest, that sort of makes me sad.
But, I also don't want to live in the past. I want to see all of these people, my friends, again, in my other travels.

I know that I'll see some of them on my San Fran trip, I just hope that a few more make the short trip to see me as well.

Chinatown Wanderings

While I still have 2 more exams to study for, I decided to take the day off (or most of the day off) and take a nice walk with my man to Vancouver's Chinatown. It's one of the biggest outside of China, which is kinda cool, and, having been to China now, I feel that it's pretty damn authentic.

I tried to get my hair super cute for the adventure, since it's all freshly shaved, but, man, short hair is a BITCH to curl.

We wandered around, did a bit of shopping, and went to the botanical gardens. I love the gardens when the sun is setting, which is some obscenely early time here in Canada. I kinda miss not feeling like I need to go to bed at 5:00pm. Like, seriously.

I finally managed to fine some vegetarian friendly kimchi (김치) for some kimchi bokembop. (김치보금밥) which is one of the meals that I miss the most from Korea. It is spicy kimchi, with vegetables in a rice, with a sunny-side up egg on top. It is delightful, and really warming and filling, especially on a cold night. Which today is. I THINK it might be the coldest day we've had yet here in Vancity. And, really, it isn't much to complain about, since it is 5C (41F), and much of Canada is much colder than that. It IS Winter, after all.

And now, some photos of the fantastic-and cold- gardens!

xox

Closing Ceremony

I think I've mentioned this before, but part of the program at Soonchunhyang (yup-back to Korea for this post, sorry it's all out of order!) is to attend the closing ceremony. This is where the staff thank everyone, announce some awards, and wish everyone well during the coming two month holiday.

Mostly, we got because A. we have to, since its mandatory, and B. for the free food.

I went for those reasons, but because I also won an award! Go me! Apparently, my exchange Andy and I had never missed a meeting! As such, we won the Best Exchange Pair award. In truth, he was one of my favourite exchanges-we talked about more than just cultural differences. We talked about books, weird phrases in English, and all the kinds of fruit he has never tried. I also taught him about sarcasm. He caught on really quick!

Andy and I are to the right of the pic. The middle pair were also in my list of favourite people at SCH. Bernice, from Vancouver, and Beatrice (chae Hee), who was in my suite. The other international, Garrett, was another of those favourite people!

The ceremony is also an excuse to hang out with friends, before everyone gets too busy with exams, packing, and moving out. 

I mentioned that there's a lot of people I;m going to miss? This is one of them. She was my international suitemate, this second semester, and was also at SCH for my first semester. She's still there right now, and she better miss me! We had a lot of fun together, and I miss her more than I thought I would. She was pretty chronic sick during the semester, so we didn't get to go out as much as I'd have liked, but, there's always over here in North America!

And this is the man and his roommate. I didn't get any pics with my roommate. I didn't see her that often.

I didn't get many pictures with a lot of people, since I was usually the one who was taking the pictures. But there are many people that I miss. Some more than others-especially for the crew in second semester. Later this week, one of my faves is coming up from Texas to visit, so we can go to the Anime Revolution. Otaku fun ftw!

여수 셋

I don't have anything else to say. Consider this the photo post .
Oh, wait, no! I did have something to add! It was disappointing to see that Canada was not in attendance at the international pavilion. Apparently, Korea tried really hard to get my country there, but it just wasn't in Canada's budget. But new fighter jets are.
Also, I have discovered that Sweden is like the awesome parts of Canada, without all the bullshit! So, Viva Sweden!

여수 World Expo 둘

That last post ended on an angry note-just as my first day at the World expo did. That entire day was one disappointment after another. We couldn't get into any of the specialty buildings-like the one on robotics, or the aquarium.
This is what made us decide to go for a second day. Blasphemy, right? Well, we wanted to see the aquarium, and the robots, and the rest of the international pavilions that we missed.

Oh, and the good thing about the first day, the one shining beacon during the otherwise shittastic day was that we found the India pavilion had vegetarian curry. Thank science for India! 인도 FTW!

The second day started off just as beautiful as the first. That is the nice thing about early summer in Korea, before the monsoon season starts. The weather is fantastic-sunny and hot, with long days, and cool nights.
It was also a better start to the day because I A. got a coffee right away B. got to eat some food and C. there seemed to be less ajimmas in attendance. So far, so good.

We tried going to the aquarium right away, but the lineup was slated at 3 hours. The aquarium was on our list of things to do...but 3 hours? 진짜? We bailed on that, and went to the robot pavilion instead. There was still a line up, but it was much more manageable, at 30 minutes.

It was pretty cool, and had some awesome shows and innovations for the future of ocean protection. But, again, it was all in Korean. The good thing about that is that the staff pretty much let Kristan and I wander wherever we wanted, to read the English signs about all the robots and technology. 

After we left, we went to another pavilion....the Marine civilization and city Pavilion, I think. This was where they showed concept 'underwater houses'  so that, once we've destroyed the earth, we can move into the water. Or that's the impression I got. Once again, it was all in Korean. Shocking, I know.

The concept was pretty interesting though, and once the population declines significantly, it isn't an entirely bad idea, once you change a few things.

When we left that building, we discovered it was raining. Being from Vancouver, the rain doesn't bother me much. It did, however, bother the ajimmas. This was when my husband and I looked at each other, smiled, and went to see the line at the aquarium.

Which was a fantastic idea. Many people left, and the line was now at 1 hour, 30. Yes, that is still along time, but, we both wanted to go, so we bit the bullet and waited. And it was awesome! I love aquariums. Hell, I love the ocean, and everything in it. It is such an amazing force of nature...and so beautiful, and balanced. Until humans fuck it all up, of course.

We finished off with the rest of the international pavilions that we had missed the day before. It was all still in Korean, and still angry, and ignorant, but, by this time, I was just too tired to give a fuck.

There was so much potential for the expo...and I was let down, for the most part. It wasn't all bad. I did learn a lot about other countries, and their response to the world's oceans crisis. I got to see an awesome aquarium, which is apparently eco friendly-even though I doubt that Korea knows what eco friendly even means. I got to see Yeosu, which is very pretty.

But I also got to see the full force of the ignorance of Korea, Koreans, and some other parts of the world. As good as the good bits were-i will remember the anger over the indifference of the state of the oceans, and the living coast.