[Review] Skinmiso x Wishtrend T-zone Serum

The first signs of aging starts before the age of 29.

I'm 28 this year, and I'm already starting to feel panicky because recently, I found visible pores in the patch between my cheeks and my nose! Something like this part here... ㅠ.ㅠ

And blackheads, white heads are becoming a real issue on my t-zone too. My skin has always been on the dry side, but ever since I moved to Singapore, it has adjusted to the humidity and became more combination, dry (inner dry but outer oily on the T-zone).

Many of us rely on black head peels to regularly remove black heads. However, when we do so, our pores are opened and widened, not many remember to tighten and close up the pores to prevent impurities in the environment from entering the skin and irritating it. That's why sometimes, certain people say that black head peels actually lead to bigger pores. It's not the peels that's the issue in my opinion; it's the fact that they forget to tighten the pores after they yank the black heads out of the skin that widens pores.

A few years ago, I started using a combination of different serums for different purposes (hydrating, firming, whitening, clearing spots, pore tightening). I love my pore tightening serum from Korea's derm, but it's running out... T.T So when Wishtrend sent me this T-zone serum from Skinmiso, I was hoping this would be a good replacement for my pore tightening serum.

1. The Product

SKINMISO T-ZONE SERUM

2. Price

USD34.99 on wishtrend.com

3. Packaging

With a simple light blue on white color motif, the packaging looks clean cut. I wouldn't say it looks very expensive just from the packaging because there is no inner angled flap holding the nozzle bottle in place, however there IS an reinforced thicker paper inside the box, so the box doesn't feel too flimsy. The glass bottle itself is a fat cylindrical bottle, pretty cute looking and looks like it can last a long time.

I love nozzle drip bottles. Better control of amount, and you feel like a chemist. Nuff said.

The side of the box that is in Korean. Basically translates into the following:
(1) Functions of the serum: 
- To tighten T-zone pore and boost elasticity
- Also helps to whiten the skin

(2) Directions: 
After toning the skin lightly, use an appropriate amount of the serum and softly spread onto the t-zone skin, tap lightly all over the skin until fully absorbed.

(3) Things to take note of: 
The usual, stop using immediately when the product doesn't suit the skin; when red spots, itch etc occur. Keep in a cool and dry place. Don't use on broken skin etc.

4. Shelf Life

Produced on 6th May 2013, and expires two years later on 2015.

5. Ingredient List

YAY lots of plant/floral extracts, no wonder there is a hint of floral smell that seems quite natural. (list taken from wishtrend.com)

6. Functions

(taken from wishtrend.com)

+ Pore Tightening

+ Pore Purifying

+ Control Excessive Sebum

+ Skin Elasticity

+ Actualize Velvet-looking skin 

7. Application

Here we put the serum to the test! tinyceci first tried it out on the back of her hand to test for texture. It actually feels pretty watery and not very thick, and absorbs very quickly into the skin. Skin really feels mattified on first use. 

tinyceci has been using this serum for two weeks. Whilst it does tighten pores and matifies the skin (the oil control on t-zone is pretty awesome), tinyceci's new facial beautician/the lovely lady boss Veronica commented that my t-zone is oily but so dehydrated from the inside, she was having SO MUCH TROUBLE getting the blackheads/whiteheads off my nose! ㅠ.ㅠ(from Nourish Naturally, go check them out! I think this is one of the few facial/nail salons in Singapore that has awesome quality facials with a personal touch.)

Lesson learned: I should have used a blackhead remover first (as recommended on the site) and then a deeply hydrating serum before using this SKINMISO T-zone serum. I'd imagine it to have much better effects next month! Maybe I should try these two as well~ ㅋㅋㅋ

Verdict

Pros

Feels very nice on skin

Easy to apply with nozzle drip

Really matifies skin

Skin feels soft and even without bumps from pores

Unisex, get your boyfriend, brother or dad to use this to get rid of strawberry noses

Quite a lot of product in the bottle, will last at least half a year to a year

Cons

YOU MUST exfoliate and remove all blackheads, whiteheads first for best results

Recommended for: 

- Ladies and Gents with oily T-zone, big pores, uneven skin texture

- Those who need better control oil/sebum production under makeup

Not Recommended for:

- Those who have completely dry skin 

Want to try this product? 

Check out the wishtrend site!

[Review] Klairs Illumination Supple Blemish Cream

I have a love & hate relationship with BB creams which goes all the way back to year 2006, where I first moved to Seoul and started out using BB creams. I started with Hanskin, and was totally blown away by the almost "magical" qualities BB creams have in correcting the skin tone and flaws. Although blessed with almost no breakouts in my pubescent years, I have always been very self conscious of my freckles since I was a little girl, which only worsened as I grew older because of the lack of sunblock usage. I didn't realize the BB cream I was using clogged up my pores, and before long, I had the worst break out ever lasting for almost 1.5 years! Obviously it wasn't as serious as Singaporean blogger Bun Bun's case, but still it was to the extent where I couldn't wear makeup to conceal my acne and nothing, IPL or chemical peels or what nots, could heal me. I was totally devastated and gave up on BB cream. Went back to using foundation for the next few years until two years ago, I found a BB cream from a Korean dermatological brand which didn't break me out and stuck with it ever since.

I have been hearing my Korean girlfriends rave about Klairs for the longest time. One of my former coworkers in TFS who's now in Nivea Korea, swears by Klairs from skincare to makeup! To be honest, I was pretty skeptical of Klairs initially because too many Korean brands have been trying to "sound western" and doing the kiehl's style of marketing floating around. So, when I was presented with this Klairs BB cream from wishtrend, I immediately checked out all the Korean reviews in Daum and naver. And OMG, I was really surprised at how many positive reviews Klairs Illumination Supple Blemish Cream received!

1. The Product

Klairs Illumination Supple Blemish Cream 
SPF40, PA+++

THERE IS NO ANIMAL TESTING!!! ^_______________^

It is also:

Alcohol Free and Paraben Free! 
Great to know for skin care ingredient freaks like tinyceci.

2. Price 

Currently retails for USD18.50 at 20% off (usual price USD22.99) on wishtrend.com. 

3. Packaging

I love this toothpaste-like tube packaging! Unlike most other BB creams which comes in an oblong squeeze tube form, this one comes in a long, thin tube form, sort of like 페리오 (perioe) mini? It feels really handy, although it wasn't really that much easier to squeeze out the BB cream. Okay, I'm just really into pretty packaging! ^^   

Here's 페리오 치약 for reference ㅋㅋㅋ

Another plus point is the clever use of an angular flap within the box to prevent the product from moving around! I love the monogram of klairs imprinted on the innerside of the box, so pretty~~ ㅋ ♥ It really adds on to the sophistication of the packaging. ^^

One thing that tinyceci didn't really like was that the nozzle didn't come vacuum sealed. Luckily, it felt pretty tightly closed when tiny first opened it so there shouldn't be any pre-oxidization of the product. ^^

Also, there's a small typo 오타 on the word "illuminating" on both the box and the product itself. Spelled as "illuminaiting". Hope dear klairs correct this little mistake on their next batch of products! ^^

4. Shelf Life

Most BB creams have a shelf life of 12 months once opened. Same for this BB cream!

The date of expiry is 5th May 2015 which is pretty okay, and omg 05.05.05? lol! What an awesome coincidence! ^^

5. Ingredient list

I've read many Korean reviews raving about this BB cream being THE BB cream for sensitive skin, and true enough, the ingredients look really okay on a glance.

Ingredient list in 한국어

Ingredient list in English

On the English label, it is stated that the BB cream shouldn't be used on broken skin, and that we should avoid using on blemishes, pimple, irritated or sunburned skin. However, there's nothing like that in the Korean label. Looks like we will have to test it out to find out if this BB will cause break outs or not. ㅎㅎ

6. Functions

I took this from the original Korean site; and basically this Klairs Illumination Supple Blemish Cream can apparently:

1) Correct the original skin tone without altering your original skin color. So no more worries about having an alien head with different skin tone from the rest of your body~

2) 3-pronged function with "Moisture Battery" Hyaluronic Acid! Basically it has suncare, whitening and wrinkle correcting, so fret no more about BB cream drying out your skin~

3) Sunblock + Primer + Finish = great for busy ladies who want to finish makeup in 5 minutes! If you apply this in the morning, the sebum control powder particles will make sure that your skin remains dewy and fresh up till afternoon. :)

6. Oil Blotter Test

Taken from the original site, Klairs BB is touted to less oily then other BBs. Check this picture for a comparison between Klairs Illumination Supple Blemish Cream vs another brand before and after 30 minutes.

The bottom left and right pictures also show how Klairs' BB is not sticky. ^^ Definitely a plus point.

Seems like this would be a good product for ladies with oily, combination skin!

7. Application

I have combination/dry skin, FYI. 

Tried applying it on two occasions, once for 5 hours, went out and stayed in an indoor environment. And another today, for about 4 hours, in a mostly outdoor environment.

In both indoor and outdoors, I didn't have the feeling that my makeup was melting or that icky oily feeling. It was very comfortable wearing Klairs BB out and running about. However, when I blotted my forehead, the paper was completely soaked. tinyceci has inner dry outer oily skin, especially serious on the T-zone, so my guess is my T-zone overcompensated. My other BB cream, however, did not secrete that much oil.

8. Color Tone Comparison

Took this from the original website too! The Klairs Illumination Supple Blemish Cream is definitely much brighter than other brands. It looks a little more yellow toned than others and thus looks more suitable for Asian skin with yellow undertones.

tinyceci has more of a fair skin with pink undertones, I use Chanel BR20, MAC NC20.

Verdict

Pros

Easy to apply
Just a little product is enough to cover the whole face

Provides a dewy finish and very comfortable to wear out in hot weather

Doesn't ashen out or darken as the day goes on

Pretty and handy packaging
Smells like soap? :P

Cons

Too much oil secretion for inner dry skin type

Recommended for:

- Ladies with normal, oily skin type looking for sebum control type BB cream
- Skin with yellow undertones
- Great for summer!

Not Recommended for:

- Those who dislike soapy scents

- Those who tend to have inner dry but outside oily skin

Want it?

Get it here from the wishtrend site or from qoo10!

[Review] Wishtrend + Elisha Coy Always Nuddy CC Cream

Having lived in Korea for 6 years, it has never been an issue for me to buy anything online (I ♥♥♥ gmarket and korean couriers) since well, I speak and write in Korean. But very often than not, my dear friends from all over the world who love (or are curious about) Korean skincare and cosmetic products, could not find any online site where they research on and purchase their favorite Korean products due to language barrier. ㅠ.ㅠ

So. When I first got to know about Wishtrend, I was a little suspicious since most, if not all Korean websites tend to have terrible English and are hardly user friendly for global customers. But my doubts were all cleared once I clicked on the webpage and surfed around.

The Hub of Korean Beauty Secrets

O. M .G

Everything is in English! And it runs so smoothly! Not buggy at all... :D Impressive.

Okay, so the website passed with flying colors.

Now onto the product array.

To be honest, the brands wishtrend offers might not sound as familiar as the usual Korean 'brand shops' such as The Face Shop, Missha, Nature Republic, Tony Moly, Skinfood etc. But I believe this is because wishtrend focuses on bringing products which were previously exclusively word of mouth best sellers within domestic Korea, to the world. Brands like Elisha Coy, O.S.T and skin79 were ALWAYS on homeshopping and my Korean friends' moms would always rave about those brands. 

There were soooo many choices to choose from in Korea and I was pretty lost, as well. However, since I used to be in charge of global marketing communication for The Face Shop Korean Headquarters, I pretty much didn't need to choose any other brand. Perks of the job! ㅋㅋㅋㅋ  

So when I received the Elisha Coy Always Nuddy CC cream from wishtrend, it was actually my first CC cream and first Elisha Coy product! (By the way, the shipping from wishtrend's side is lightning fast! Too bad it seems way too much time was wasted between clearing the customs here and singpost to the house)

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But I digress.

1. The Product

Elisha Coy Always Nuddy CC Cream

Wondering what in the world is "nuddy"? LOL it's actually konglish for nude clear 쌩얼(Ssaeng-eol)-like skin. I'd imagine many of our western friends to pronounce this as they were to pronounce "nutty" with a d sound instead of t. Anyways, it's supposed to be pronounced as "noo-dy" or, like the slang "nudie".

So just how different is CC cream from BB cream? CC cream here means Complete Correction; and focuses more on skincare functions than makeup functions. Meaning, CC cream is the perfect answer for ladies blessed with great skin with no trouble but just want to give it a healthy glow. Or, if you belong to the less fortunate population like me, I love the clear translucent barely there makeup finish BB cream creates, but don't you just hate how BB cream never lasts for more than a few hours? CC cream is supposed to a good base for filling up pores before applying BB cream or foundation, making it last longer. 

2. Price 

Retails for USD34.99 on wishtrend.com. 

3. Packaging

The packaging is the standard tube type, like most BB creams in the Korean market for easy adjustment of how much product to squeeze out. What I really love about these tubes is that when you reach the point where you can't get any more product out, you can easily cut them into two with a pair of scissors and scrape the remnants of the cream and use it for a few more days! ^^  

Although I love the nozzle since it really helps preventing too much product coming out all at once, the new product came without a safety seal, which is supposed to prevent oxidization of the product. Hmm... >:|

4. Shelf Life

Once opened, we have to finish the product in 12 months before discarding. Do take note of this symbol when you open any new products!

The date of manufacturing is 4th March 2013 which is really recent! Received this nearing the end of April. tinyceci loves her skincare and makeup products fresh. 

The instructions and descriptions of the product are all in English (No Korean version though) which is really awesome! I wonder if Korean customers would complain about this though... ^^;;

5. Ingredient list

Elisha Coy seems to have taken extra care in formulating this product! Lots of seed extract, floral water etc. 

"Certified by Eco-Cert, more than 20 hydrating ingredients soothe skin and protect moisture from evaporating from long last hydration." - From the box

But no English for ingredient list...? ㅠ.ㅠ This product contains Dimethicone. So it may not be suitable for those with serious acne since it might clog up pores. Other than that, everything else looks great! THUMBS UP!! 

6. Oil Blotter Test

There are little color capsules captured in this picture here! Can you see?  Anyway, I decided to do a oil blotting test since my friends who also tried out this product before me commented that it might be a little heavy and oily as the day went on.

So I dropped a wee bit of product onto a piece of blotting paper. And here are the results after 15 and 30 minutes.

Seems like this would be a good product for ladies working in dry environments like air conditioned offices or colder and dry countries! Otherwise, it might be a wee bit heavy for long hours of outdoor use.

7. Application

I have combination/dry skin, FYI. 

Here, I tried blending some CC cream onto the back of hand to better show you the dramatic effects of the before & after. Can you see? My dull skin became so glowy after blending in the the product! 반짝 반짝 눈이 부셔!~ ㅋㅋㅋ

8. Color Change

I then wiped off the product with a wet tissue and this is the result! The color capsules have blended with my skin tone and became beige! Really amazing... So the brightening effect isn't due to the whiteness of the cream, but because it really "activated" on contact with my skin. ^^

9. Consistency Test

To check out the consistency of this product, you might want to check out my friend, karisa-chan's awesome review on this CC cream!

Verdict

Pros

Easy to apply 

Provides a dewy finish 

Great to mix and blend with BB creams which you find too ashy or drying

Lots of Eco-Cert ingredients

FUN!

Cons

May be a little oily

Recommended for:

- Ladies with dull skin looking to brighten up and even skin tone (Can wear it on its own)

- Ladies exposed to long hours in dry environments like air conditioned offices (Wear it as a base under BB cream or foundation)

- Those heading over to dry countries for vacation

Not Recommended for:

- Those with oily skin and spend long hours outdoors in the summer sun (Maybe a little too heavy)

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So, how was that?

Whilst surfing wishtrend, I also saw these two really awesome deals! tinyceci simply can't resist the word "SALE". *hides*._.

[SKINMISO] Pore beauty nose pack & Comedo remover Set

Touted to be the "World's Best-Selling nose pack of All Time". OMG I wantttttt!!!!! Now there's a *GASP* 40% DISCOUNT (!!!!!!!!!!!) for all these:

Discount from: USD 36.98 -> USD 22.20)

Pore & Blackhead treatment

1Step Mask 10 sheet /

2Step Mask 10 sheet /  

Pore minimizing Essence 15ml /

Comedo remover ★

From the site:+ Sold over 5,000 pcs a day group buy in Korea+ Ranked the best selling item in Singapore No.1 commerce. (2012)+ Not taping remover type+ No stimulus

[Elishacoy] 3D Spin Cleaner + Blackhead Brush + Vita Capsule Cleanser

Ever since a couple of years ago, spin facial cleaners have been all the rage. I have been dying to try but they have always been SOOOOO expensive... ㅠㅠ This bundle sale is soooo tempting!!!

GET 1 : Body (Machine) + Facial Brush (71.80 USD)

GET 2 : Blackhead Brush, Value (18.20 USD)

GET 3 : Vita Capsule Cleanser, Value (30.00 USD)

Discount from: 120 USD -> 72 USD

If you would like to try out the Elisha Coy CC Cream or the other products I recommended, there are two ways to get it.

1) Head over to wishtrend.com

There is a voucher you guys can use:

-Voucher Code: RFXLSCOZ ( 3 USD voucher / Able to combine with other voucher)
-Expiry date:  the end of 2013
-Minimum Amount to Use: over 20 USD order 

2) Check out wishtrend's Qoo10 store

There is currently an early bird discount at SGD14.99 on Qoo10 Singapore (not incl. of shipping SGD4 for Eurasia) ^^

Last but not least, like wishtrend on facebook to be in the loop for newest hot products and latest promotions!

Thanks for reading! ^^ 빠이~ ♥