Step 8 - Essence: Now this is where as westerners, we head toward uncharted territory. I'm still new to this step, but as I understand it an essence is supposed to be the halfway between a toner and a serum. I.e. more nourishing than a toner, and less concentrated than a serum despite containing ample active ingredients. Confused yet? After a looooot of research I learned that the best selling essences were the Japanese SKII facial treatment and an apparent dupe Korean brand Missha - Time Revolution the first treatment. Both are anti-aging and contain yeast extracts, SKII - galactomyces, Missha - Saccharomyces. Who knows what the difference between them is? Many sources claim that there is none as they're both derived from fungi, however to me that's like saying aloe vera and poison ivy are the same because they're both plants. So darn perplexing, which is the better ingredient is still a mystery to me. However, I have been using samples of both and the results are in: the SKII essence smells like feet, but does make my skin feel smooth and supple. Pitera is the regenerating ingredient (apparently discovered in sake breweries as the hands of the workers looked so much younger than their faces did) but I've decided prolonged use is required to ascertain the truth behind this claim. The Missha essence smells less awful, yet I'm totally unconvinced that it makes any difference to the surface of my skin whatsoever. In any case after the use of a single sample I've decided to go for a whole different product altogether which I'll be reviewing in the weeks to come.
Step 9 - Treatment 2 Sebum Control: Tosowoong Pore RX tightening serum works wonders on my skin instantly upon application, it creates a wonderful smooth and matifiying feel equal to that of my Smashbox primer. What I will say however, is that it does leave my skin a tiny bit flaky particularly on my nose if I use it twice in a day. Continued use has seen a noticeable shrinkage of my pores, which is great.
When hormones are sending me on a trip to greaseville and I want to get super medieval on that oil, I'll also use my Lange matifying green clay mask as part of my deep cleanse.
Step 10 - Treatment 3 Sheet Mask: O-H M-Y G-O-D separate post alert! I am a sheet mask addict, you name it I've got it. My collection is such that I can use these at least twice a week for an entire year. Yup, I've gone a little insane. They are amazing; they are cotton masks soaked in essence that you wear for approx. 20 minutes or so (I tend to leave them on for 30) and you just relax and let your skin soak up all the active ingredients. There are so many different brands and so many different types it's easy to go a little nuts. I have a lot of fun on a vast scale with these, more to come soon :)
Step 11 - Moisturiser: I use a light lotion during the day to avoid that heavy feeling while I'm out and about. It absorbs into the skin quite quickly so long as I only use a small amount, and I'm quite content with using this Hada labo one for the time being. It contains super hyaluronic acid (it's pretty much in the name) that intensely moisturises the skin and restores its self hydrating abilities that have been slowly diminishing with age, thanks to such environmental factors as UV rays and air pollution. A light lotion will sort me out for now as I don't tend to suffer from dry skin and I don't want to stimulate oil production.
At night if my skin needs a bit more hydration I will pat a very small amount of my DHC olive virgin oil (another Japanese best seller) on an ad hoc basis, so I will use once a week if that, however I might need to increase frequency during the winter months. It's ok, will probably replace with a thick night cream once used up. Alternatively I might see how it fares on my hair as a pre-shampoo conditioning treatment.
Step 12 - Sleeping pack: This is my chosen sleeping mask because it contains dragon's blood (the silly little goth girl in me loves this) which is anti-aging and the packaging is super cool. Quite pleased with this so far :) Only use three times a week.
Step 13 - Eye cream: at the moment I'm using just the one eye cream which specifically targets dark circles underneath the eyes, but I aim to get some more with collagen and retinol to stave off wrinkles and to correct any damage done from repeated pulling and tugging during makeup application (specifically eyeliner). This one works quite well and I have definitely noticed the shadows getting lighter after a few weeks. I have however resigned myself to the fact that they will never fully disappear, as despite my S. American genes I'm quite fair naturally. I keep this in the fridge which helps to give it a little anti-puffiness effect too.
So that's my current routine in a nutshell, and yes ok there are 13 steps but as I mentioned I will skip some on certain days and/or times of the day. As you can see I have fallen head over heels in love with Korean beauty, and I will keep you up to date with any other products I try out in the very near future. Goodbye for now from the skincare junkie!
-Leo-
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