Korean Skincare. YAY or NAY?

" pibu gwanli "
​: skincare
​

The strange yet abundant and oddly addictive world of korean skincare. Tbh, I wasn't a big fan until after university. I became a convert/lover of Korean skincare after my trip in Korea, in which I vlog-ed about on my youtube channel  (watch it here). In high school, everyone caught onto the whole 'K-wave' thing and lots of girls were sporting the 'dewy','fair', neon pink cheeks and ombre lips sort of makeup looks. I was still very much into sports, not so much sporting any 'new looks' besides the sport shoes and the chlorine bleached hair. 

The only exception to be my obvious oblivion was of course The Face Shop . The Face Shop - Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam was and still is my Holy Grail, do note that there is one with exfoliating beads and one without. I used to use the exfoliating one when I had oiler skin but now I prefer the normal foam one. The older I get, the more gentle I have to
be with my skin. (and wear sun screen!- says every article I've read)

Here's the real catch! Kuching K-beauty lovers can start rejoicing
because NATURE SMART has now opened in The Spring Mall,
while 50% of the store is predominantly The Face Shop products;
the store now also carries new brands like: BEYOND, TOMARU,
BEYOND THE REMEDY, CNP LABORATORY, DEARPACKER
and MAKEREMAKE. They also have plans of adding more brands
into the mix down the road.

ONE STOP BEAUTY HAVEN!

Nature Smart, from LG Household & Health Care (LG H&H) has
a philosophy :
​
" Most beautiful things are from nature."

A quick introduction of Nature Smart brands

1. The Face Shop
The Face Shop is literally everywhere and is the most commercially successful and recognisable Korean brand with it's famous tagline  'Natural Story'. The Face Shop products remain the main featured brand in the Nature Smart Store.

2. BEYOND
An ethical and eco-friendly brand, abiding by 10 eco philosophies for sustainable living. Among these are: no parabens and minimum waste in production chain management.

3. Beyond The Remedy
Beauty using root energy. The brand uses Root Therapy Complex™ and Root Drop™ patented technology to beautify the skin. It also only uses ingredients earned through Happy Root Extract™ that does not harm live plants while extracting medicinal components from their roots.

4. TOMARU
"Tamara" means creating a high beauty standard. *look at me learning korean :>" They fuse a combination of modern technology with traditional Korean guru recipe to produce skincare that is gentle yet potent.

5. CNP Laboratory
I was recommended this by quite a few friends when I was in Korea. It's a skincare range developed by skin doctors (always a plus to have medical input) by the founder Dr Lee Dong-Won at the renowned CNP Skin Specialist Clinic in Korea.
Famous for their peeling booster and ampoules! I NEED!

6. DEARPACKER
I love love love their packaging. IMO, it's the best of the lot. They stock all kinds of masks and the designs are inspired by the symbolic aesthetics of different countries.

7. MAKEREMAKE
(read: nah-kay-ray-mahkay)
This brand is a specialist in everything to do with cleansing, using fresh whole food ingredients and 7 free formulas -
NO PARABEN,  TEA, SYNTHETHIC COLOURING, MINERAL OILS, TRICLOSAN, SLS & PHENOXYETHANOL.


_

I was given a nice goody bag of new products to try and it's been a fun week of chucking multiple product on my face and waiting to see what happens. Thankfully my face is still very much intact and I'm happy with the results. I managed to pick out my favourites down below!
​

I spent the afternoon with Nicole from The Face Shop and she shared so many tips and tricks to maintaining great skin. She mentioned that she had problematic skin before and that using a mask (either cream or sheet) at night really made a big difference. My mum uses the Raspberry Root Sleeping Mask from The Face Shop and I often steal some off her. It's slightly tacky but really hydrating and I can notice the obvious glow the following morning.

Also, I asked Nicole "when should one start using an anti-ageing skincare line?" We both couldn't be definite but we settled on the age of 25, because prevention is always better than cure.  I have 1 more year before my bank account is buried
behind theanti-ageing counter. Until then, I'm still on team #brightening.

Seriously, get the Rice Water Bright Cleansing Foam.


-

NATURE SMART x THE FACE SHOP
Open now in The Spring Mall Kuching,
First floor.
​


xo
Joyce