As the season transitions abruptly from Summer to Fall, I find myself with dealing with debilitating allergies. What was once a sniffle and a cough now has me spending my Labor Day weekend sick in bed with flu-like symptoms. Why? However, the best thing about being sick is that I don’t have to go into work. I kicked back, warmed up some hot water for tea and watched tons of movies and shows on Netflix.
What the new season brings as well is drier air. Knowing this, I decided to revamp my skincare routine and incorporate more moisture, because my skin is DRY with a capital DRY and so sensitive. So this is going to be my fall routine and I may change things up (I’m looking at you organic toner from the Body Shop). Without further ado, here is my skincare routine for dry sensitive skin:
Toner – Body Shop Aloe Calming Toner (on the chopping block to be replaced soon)
Essence – Homemade water, aloe gel and lavender essential oil mixture
Serum – Nature Republic Real Squeeze Ampoule (for dry skin)
(PM) (3xs a week) Mask – Various kinds by Dermal Korea Collagen Essence
Emulsion – Mizon Intensive Skin Barrier Emulsion
Spot Treatment – Mizon All in One Snail Repair Cream (for discoloration)
Moisturizer – Innisfree Green Tea Seed Cream
(AM) SPF – Etude House Beauty Shot Face Blur
Hope that helps somewhat with your dry, sensitive skin as well! You might notice that I have basically three creams that I use from step 7 to 9, but I think that definitely works for me. My skin needs heavy moisture just on it’s own, not to mention I live in a dry climate. I’m hoping to replace the toner with something a little more hydrating and less bleh…
What routine works best for you? What products are you feeling ready to cut out of your routine?
I winced in embarrassment as I held a mirror up to the finished product of my foundation tester at the Estee Lauder makeup counter. I always hated how prominently displayed the makeup counters were. It was as if they wanted every single human and domesticated animal in the store to witness the three range shit show that was going on on my face. In case on lookers couldn’t tell by the fact that my face was about three shades lighter than the rest of me, I was trying on foundations and it wasn’t going well. On my list of things I wanted to get done that day, looking like Lindsay Lohan in court for drug charges wasn’t one of them. I was a HOT mess, but I didn’t know what else to do. Everything I tried on was either too drying, too heavy, the wrong color entirely, or burned the living hades out of my skin because of whatever chemicals were in it. I was so done. I’m pretty sure I could have a job at the Estee Lauder makeup counter because I’m pretty sure I’ve tried every one of their foundations, and everything else in between because they like to throw in gift bags with their other products.
Nothing was working on my skin, not even the expensive stuff like Estee Lauder! Then I discovered that there is happiness in this world in the form of Korean foundation cushions. I came across the existence of these godly blessings after searching through the Asian Beauty subreddit. I learned that yes, I can purchase Korean foundations and yes, they do make relatively darker shades. But exactly how dark?
So keep in mind that Korea is a homogeneous country with similar beauty standards and such. In other words, there isn’t an abundance of Kerry Washington type brown ladies walking around. Therefore, when I say tan/dark skin, I don’t mean that on the U.S scale. I mean that on a Korean scale, which doesn’t get much darker than me, but if you do have dark skin, you have a few options.
So let’s talk about the Missha Cushion. This foundation doesn’t get super dark, however it is good if you have medium/tan skin. I will go into some options for those with darker skin tones. So this product is a very hydrating, light-medium covering foundation that is safe for sensitive skin and super dry skin. I have been using this product for over a year and have no desire to switch to anything else. I love it!! And I can sing its praises for days, but lets get to the nitty gritty. I have medium skin and this is what it looks like with the Missha cusion:
My skin has never look that good! EVER. It is clear and radiant and for once I actually feel pretty. And to answer your question, yes, I am wearing a Korean Hangbok in this photo. I used to be very active in the Korean Students Association in college and I performed a fan dance (buchaechum) with them. But back to the Missha, the shade I am using is #27 Honey Beige. It’s easy to get intimidated because there is so much freaking beige (it’s like watching an episode of Flip or Flip on HGTV), but if you have similar skin to mine, the #27 should work wonders. There is also a #31 shade that is even darker. Here is a link to a blogger who tried out this color so you can get a better idea of the shade:
Let’s just be real. The struggle is absolutely real to find s foundation that works for the darker skinned ladies. There are only a few colors available in Korea and in the U.S sometimes they completely miss the mark. But never give up! Never surrender!
Also, if you guys have any more recommendations for Korean foundation for dark skin, lemme know in the comments! 🙂
Noona Natural Hair and Beauty 