Targeted skincare with Holika Holika 3D Medi Masks (Skin18)

*DISCLAIMER - Item(s) sent by Skin18 for the purpose of testing/reviewing. I am not being financially compensated for this review. All words and opinions are my own.*

It is always an exciting day when a new sheetmask makes its way into my hands.  I had heard of Holika Holika before but had yet to try any of their products.  Skin18.com was kind enough to send me some of their masks to see what all the buzz was about.  So let's target some areas...shall we?

Details:

Holika Holika 3D Medi masks - 5 types (lifting, whitening, aqua, pore, soothing)
retails for: $4.40 USD on skin18.com
1 sheet mask per envelope

Let us now discuss particulars on these fellas...

Aqua was first.  3D Medi Aqua was here to deliver intense moisture into the skin with the help of glacier water, hyaluronic acid and Betaine.  Its particular skin conditioning checks were moisturizing, smooth skin, healthy skin and skin balance.  I did find this to power punch me in the face with moisture!  This, along with the other two masks Ill mention, was juicy as all get out!  After wearing this one for about 20 minutes, skin was plump, glossy and super soft.

3D Medi Lifting contained Collagen, Protein Complex and Adenosine to help intensely lift the skin.  Its particular checks were anti-wrinkle, nutrition supply, lifting, skin power.  Now, I was not expecting this mask to lift or add too much in the way of anti-wrinkle.  I imagine a series of these used for weeks would garner a more dramatic result.  But after the recommend wear time, skin was bright, soft, and bouncy.

3D Medi Whitening I was super excited about.  With Vitamin C, Vitamin E derivative and Vitamin B6, its skin conditioning checks promised brightening skin tone, whitening, skin purification and vitality.  After my 20 or so minutes, skin was indeed bright, soft and super hydrated.  Again, a mask that I would think would need a couple of weekly applications to garner more discernible results.

Fit:

Here is where I have the biggest problem...this mask was not made for someone for my face shape.  It had a lot of cuts around the mask, which did help me try to budge it into the best place possible, but the 3D aspect of this just did not work out for me.  The forehead area had gaps along the seam which dried out faster than other areas of the mask.  Same goes for chin and nose.  The eye holes were super close together so mask kept getting into my eyes.  The chin flaps were an amazing bonus.  That sucker held on nice and tight for about 80% of the duration of the mask.  Once it started to dry from the gaps, the flaps did loosen a bit.

Results:

Cannot say enough about how much moisture these put onto my skin.  Skin was soft and pliable after these treatments.  But they did leave skin with a pretty sticky residue that I tried to have work with my other skincare.  Unfortunately that did not work.  So for the last mask I just rinsed off the residue and continued with my routine.

I enjoyed most of the attributes of these masks.  Would love to see them come out with another face shape and give it another go!  If you are looking to try out the 3D trend...why not start here?

To check out these Holika Holika masks...check them out at Skin18.com HERE.

Always remember guys and gals...with skincare, your mileage may vary!

*DISCLAIMER - Item(s) sent by Skin18 for the purpose of testing/reviewing. I am not being financially compensated for this review. All words and opinions are my own.*

dear Klairs Illuminating Supple Blemish Cream SPF40, PA+++

*DISCLAIMER - Item(s) sent by 08liter in exchange for an honest review.  I am not being financially compensated for this review.  All words and opinions are 100% my own.*

As I am becoming more active about my skincare routine, I researched and fell hard for Korean beauty.  Yup, officially obsessed with kbeauty now, and though I am still a newb, I have found some products I already love and some that I am super excited to try.  One of those products is a tried and true BB Cream.  A BB Cream, or blemish balm, is a workhorse, kind of does it all products.  It does everything from color correction, wrinkle care, brightens, whitens, sun care, pore care, oil control...the list goes on and on.  Here in the states, many "bb creams" are released, but none come close to asian bb creams.

Thanks to 08liter.com I had the chance to try a lovely bb by the name of dear Klairs Illuminating Supple Blemish Cream SPF 40, PA+++.

Klairs Illuminating Supple Blemish Cream

Here we have dear Klairs Illuminating Supple Blemish Cream!  Here are its particulars...

+Plastic Tube with screw top
+Contains 40ml of cream product
+Retails anywhere from $18 - 22 USD.  Can be found at known outlets like Amazon, wishtrend, etc.
+Contains SPF 40, PA+++
+Claims - to whiten, provides wrinkle care and sebum control

Let's just get this out of the way first....western BB creams have NOTHING on its Asian counterparts. What we get here are nothing more than glorified tinted moisturizers.  From high end to drug store, I have yet to find one that promises or delivers like I heard eastern BB creams can.

Since this experience was my first with what I deemed a legit BB cream, I had no idea what to expect.  Unfortunately, a few weeks before I received this, I had gotten a tan from helping a friend move.  And boy did I tan.  Let's just say if you know you are going to be outdoors moving with no sun cover, don't buy new foundations just days before :/.

Here we have Klairs Illuminating Supple Blemish Cream, one heavy swatch and one blended.  This was taken with no flash, under kitchen/day lights.

Here is the BB cream taken with flash photography under the same kitchen/day lights.







Experience:
* Scent -  a light, pleasant combo of makeup and skincare, fades a few minutes after application.  I think even those that do not like scented products would not mind this.
* Texture - lightweight in texture, but with enough body to spread evenly.  Once blended, skin feels tacky for a few minutes.
* Application - melts nicely into the skin.  Even when applied in 2 or 3 layers (for discoloration), it layered nicely over itself and over my current concealer.  Once on, product remains tacky for a few moments.  Does dry down to a skin feel, but dewy appearance.
* Wear - This wore lovely on the skin, no primer, but I did set with a powder. 6 hours had lapsed before I noticed any immediate need to blot/reapply powder.  Skin feels soft throughout the day.  I did notice that this wore rather thickly in my hairline and stuck around that way for a while.  Brush application there seemed best for avoiding that.
* Color - As far as I know, this only comes in one shade.  Had I been the color I usually am around winter, this would have been a good match.  I did notice a heavy white cast, due to the sun protection, and also on the face, this made me look a bit grey.  It was nothing a bit of correcting with powder couldn't fix.

pre application

post application

Have been loving the feel and look of my skin during this trial with Klairs.  Look forward to seeing my skin in a few weeks and also getting my hands on some more Klairs products!

Enjoy, D

Let's Get Sheet Faced! A facial mask story...

As I am getting older, I find that I am always on the lookout for new skincare that will benefit my skin and give me results.  From high end to drug store, I tend to try whatever I can to see what best fits into my beauty regimen.  Yes, I am 34 years old, just turned a few weeks ago and though I can thank my mother and father for passing some very good genes down, it also takes work to keep what you have going :).

With that, I have gotten completely obsessed with the Asian skincare community.  From reddit to instagram to blogs, I have been soaking up as much information as I can from fellow beauty lovers out there about what is new, what is worth trying and what works.

From an array of products, I chose to start my foray into Asian skincare with sheet masks.  Sheets masks, in basic terms, are a sheet of fabric (like cotton), gel, or other synthetic that is soaked in a serum or essence, is worn for a period of time to hyper introduce and soak those serums into your skin!

I will have more in-depth posts as my journey with face masks continues, but I wanted to give you a glimpse of what I've used recently.

From Top, clockwise...

Tony Moly I'm Real masks in Clear Skin, Nutrition, Elasticity, Skin Purifying, Skin Purifying - Makgeoll, Skin Soothing  [KOREA]

Absolute New York Exfoliating Foot Mask  [KOREA]

Miniso Moisturizing Stretch Facial Mask - Snail

SNP Animal Otter Aqua Mask  [KOREA]

Epielle Facial Essence masks in Green Tea & Aloe, Firming & Lifting Vitamin C  [KOREA]

Benton Cosmetic Snail Bee High Content Mask Pack  [KOREA]

As stated before, detailed reviews about these masks is coming.  And also the plethora of other Asian skincare I have picked up along the way...

Stay tuned :)