Let It Glow, Let It Glow, Let It Glow! 3 Products For Luminous And Radiant Winter Skin

image by Kelly Cappelli

During fall and winter your skin tends to look a little flat and dull.
Bronzers typically look orangey and somewhat odd on winter complexions, and most highlighters look shimmery or glittery and make your winter skin look crazy.

On my speaking tour for Luca Magazine I talked about adding glow to your complexion, and I've had so many messages from ladies in my audience asking me to go back over the products I talked about.

I posted last week about the gel bronzer that I use every single day,
read about it here. Today lets look at the three products I swear by and use both myself and in my pro makeup kit to make the complexion glow:

3 Amazing Products For Luminous And Radiant Winter Skin

Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow

I'm crazy about this product! When I want an all over glow to the skin, not as a wet look, but a healthy gleam that looks like sunshine beaming out from within, I use Charlotte Tilbury's Wonderglow. 
It doubles up as a pre-makeup primer, or on days when I don't feel like wearing makeup I wear it alone. 
Available online at CharlotteTilbury.com $55

Marc Jacobs Glow Stick Spotlight 700

I love this one for running highlight along cheekbones, collarbones and shoulders. Highlight shouldn't be sparkly, it should illuminate and radiate, and this product makes the skin luminous and glowy.
The stick form makes it easy to swipe it across the skin, but I prefer to use a duo fiber makeup brush. You can apply the Marc Jacobs Glow Stick Spotlight 700 either before foundation or after, (or both!), and can make it a subtle glow or ramp it up to a super sheen - you're in charge!
Available online at MarcJacobsBeauty.com $42

Radiance Glow Hydrating Starter 

At  half the price of the others the Pony Effect Radiance Glow Hydrating Starter brightens and illuminates the skin, giving it a gorgeous glow while hydrating it and minimizing fine lines and wrinkles. It also acts like a primer, smoothing the skin and readying it for foundation. You can wear it alone or under makeup.
This product sells out quickly. If you like it order a second one sooner rather than later.
Available online at Memebox.com $21

The Modern Girl's Guide To Korean Skin Care

I talk about Korean skin care all the time.
I just taught another Beauty 101 class, and all the ladies were asking me about K-Beauty and which products I used and what all these things men, so in their honor, here is a blogpost dedicated to breaking down the parts of Korean Skin Care.

Korean women are considered to have the best skin in the world, and obsess over which products they use.
Making the change to Korean products has been the best thing I have ever done for my skin and it has never looked better.

South Korea is not only the mecca of skin care it is actually the world leader in research and development of skin care products. Korean skin care utilizes technologies we don't have yet in America, so these products are really high performance and give you absolutely amazing results.

The Korean skin care system is based on layering products and targeting very specific skin concerns. I added each category of product in one at a time so that I could see if they made a difference, and if layering them was worth it. It was.

The following post is a break down of each of the main components that make up the Korean skin care regimen. You can use them all, or if that is too overwhelming just pick and choose the parts that work for you.

You can find Korean skin care in various stores (such as Sephora), or you can order them online. I buy online from Memebox, the largest purveyor of Korean skin care products. They are based in the San Francisco area so everything ships out quickly and arrives in 3 - 5 days. 

I write about Korean skin care and Memebox often, and normally post about my orders when they arrive. If you go to the search bar and type in either Memebox or Korean skin care you will get a list of them all. 

West Face East, How To Layer Your Skin Care Korean-Style

Korean Skin Care - Where Do You Begin??

Disclaimer: Memebox does not sponsor this blog and does not give me free product. I buy every product I talk about, show you, or use. 
I do have affiliate marketing with Memebox through a third party. This means that if you order from any of the links in this post my blog may earn a few cents.

One of my recent Memebox orders. All these amazing products for around $100!

1. The Cleanse

The Korean skin cleanse is actually a two step process. One cleanse to dissolve makeup, the second to clean the skin.
Personally I just do a single step cleanse, using a cleansing oil. I use I'm Cleansing Oil from Memebox. It dissolves makeup (even waterproof mascara!) and leaves my skin feeling super soft and supple.
You should cleanse your skin with a product designed for your skin type. If you have oily skin or get breakouts you need cleansing products designed to lift away excess sebum and help deep cleanse the complexion.
If you have dry, irritated or sensitive skin you need very gentle cleansing products.
Find Korean cleaning products here.

2. The Exfoliation

The next step in the Korean skin care system is the exfoliation.
From scrubs to enzyme masks to peels, the pathway to smooth, glowing skin is exfoliation. Be careful not to exfoliate too frequently or too aggressively, and choose the formulation you need to meet your skin type. 
Sensitive and irritated skins need to be especially careful because aggressive or abrasive exfoliators can make skin even more sensitive and irritated. Exfoliating every couple of weeks is ideal for most skins.
Explore Korean exfoliators here

3. The Refresher

After cleansing your skin the next daily step is a refresher. That can be a facial mist (my favorite) or a softening toner. The refresher softens and prepares the skin for the treatment and moisturizing products that follow.
See Korean refreshers here

4. The Essence

Korean women consider this to be the most important step in their skin care regime. Essences combine multiple intensive ingredients into a super concentrated form (you really only need one drop) and then transports them deep into the skin. They are lightweight in texture, so the surface of your skin doesn't feel slimy or oily, and they are skin concern specific, so you target the issues that you want to work on. Aging/dehydration/acne/excess oil/lightening and brightening - you name it there's an essence for it. You can also layer essences and tackle multiple skin issues at the same time.
Find essences here

5. The Ampoule

An ampoule is a super-charged, highly concentrated serum that again you only need a tiny amount of and that go super deep into the skin (much deeper than the average serum or moisturizer). 
Again this product is skin concern specific. You look at what you want to fix about your skin, whether its smoothing the texture, brightening, super hydrating, anti aging - you name it there's an ampoule for it.
The results are sensational and your skin will love you for adding ampoule into daily routine! If you are using both an essence and an ampoule the essence goes on first.

6. The Emulsion

So far if you are doing all the steps in the Korean system you have been targeting skin concerns and deep treating them. Now it's time to start moisturizing the skin. Emulsions are lightweight moisturizers. You can use them alone, or as the next step after your ampoule. They give you all the moisturizing that you need without being really heavy on the skin.
During the day you would follow this with an SPF product and then put on your makeup. (but when your skin gets all glowy and healthy from using this skin system you will find that you both want and need much less makeup than you currently wear!)

7. The Sleeping Pack

Korean women really understand the importance of super moisturizing the skin to keep it soft, supple, glowing and healthy, so at night after all these steps they apply a sleeping pack, which seals all the prior products in for the night. A sleeping pack has a similar texture to a night cream, but is slightly more gel-like. It doesn't leave a film on your skin, doesn't mess up your pillow case, it just absorbs in and makes the magic happen!
Find Sleeping Packs here.

8. Sheet Masks

Every week you should do a mask, whether it's for hydration, brightening, clearing blackheads, cleaning your skin, or whichever issue you want extra help with.
Sheet masks are great because they get a completely even coating of product and seal it into the skin. Also they're not messy, which I love.
If you are not a sheet mask girl Korean skin care is full of regular mask options too.
See Korean skin care masks here

Find Korean skin care products for oily skin and breakouts
Find Korean skin care products for normal and dry skins

My Latest Order From Memebox!!

I just got a new shipment of skin care from Memebox! 

I didn't get anything new this time around, it's all replacing products that are running out, but there are some really cool products here that you need to know about.

For the ladies who came to hear me speak at the Pinner's Conference in Dallas, (and those I will be speaking to at Pinner's Conferences in Arizona and Utah) these are the products I was telling you about - magnificent Korean skin care!

Anyway, here is what I bought:

Ariul Spa Water 24 Hour Moisturizing Mist

I swear by the Korean skin mists.

I spritz them on after cleansing and any time my skin needs juicing up. 

They are great to spritz on over makeup during the day, especially if you sit in front of a computer screen all day, or if your complexion just needs a breath of fresh air.

I've tried a bunch of them and have never had a bad one. If the one I'm using is out of stock I just buy whatever else looks good.

Scinic Snail All In One Ampoule

It took me a long time to get on board with using a product called snail slime.

It took me a really long time.

But then I eventually tried it and can honestly say my skin has never ever looked better. Scinic Snail All In One Ampoule makes your skin look smooth and glowing and really really healthy.

I use it morning and night after cleansing and spritzing and before moisturizing. My skin has never looked smoother and it just glows! I haven't actually finished my first bottle yet, but the product is so incredible I really don't want to chance it being sold out when I'm ready for more.

Scinic Snail Matrix Cream

I don't actually know what this one was intended for, but as a girl who skin tends to lean towards dryness I use this one at night and at the moment during the day too. It's very concentrated, so a little goes a very long way.
Scinic Snail Matrix Cream is a fabulous moisturizer that doesn't leave your skin feeling greasy, but makes it look radiant and healthy. (and only costs $12!!) The texture is quite different, and of course there's the whole snail equation going on, but again the results are just amazing! Now that I'm back from Italy I'm going to order some back up bottles of it - none of these products are even slightly expensive, so it's not a problem to order up several of anything you try and love. And I really love this one.

I'm Cleansing Oil

I swear by oil cleansers. They are just the absolute best. Memebox has two oil cleansers, this one for normal to dry skins and another one for oily skin, both are called I'm Cleansing Oil

What I love about oil cleansers is that they dissolve makeup, give your skin a gentle cleanse, and leave it feeling soft and supple.

For oily skin girls - don't be afraid! Oil lifts away oil, so you get cleansed without stripping your skin.

For normal or dry skinned girls an oil cleanser won't strip your skin or leave it feeling dried out or sensitive. It just feels like silk.

Again, the Memebox product is not only super good, it's also super inexpensive.

Memebox products ship out of California, so arrive within about 3 days.

The Wonderfully Weird Makeup Trend Sweeping Korea

I'm absolutely obsessed with K-Beauty. 
I swear by Korean skin care. I can honestly say my skin has never ever looked better. It looks firm and smooth and it glows. 
In fact today a new order of skin care products arrived from Memebox. I order all my skin care products through them - they are so inexpensive especially when compared to Sephora's pricing, and because they ship out of San Francisco they get here in about 3 days.

Learn how to layer your skin care Korean style 

Anyway when I opened the Vogue.com email in my inbox today there was a story about K-Beauty, which of course got my attention.

I can't say that I will actually try this technique. Apart from the fact that I'm sure it would go hilariously wrong for me, I'm into super glowy looking skin, rather than matte. But I can imagine it going crazy on Instagram :))

The Wonderfully Weird Makeup Trick That’s Sweeping Korea

by Monica Kim for Vogue.com

image via Vogue.com

“It’s the hot tip in K-beauty right now.” This, I’m told constantly, and always take with a fat grain of salt. But at dinner in Seoul last week with a particularly plugged-in friend, I heard that a rather unorthodox trick called jamsu makeup (roughly translated to “diving” or “submerging”) had swept the city this summer, producing a perfectly matte, melt-proof face with little more than a bottle of baby powder and a basin of water. Given the thick humidity enveloping both the U.S. and Korea of late, I was at least intrigued by the wholly whimsical proposition.

It was purportedly a Japanese beauty blogger who sparked the trend on YouTube, though it quickly became a Korean sensation. The novel technique bears some similarity to “baking”—setting your makeup with powder and body heat—but feels rather next-level. First, cleanse and moisturize, then swipe on primer, foundation, and concealer, per usual. Then, shake heavy handfuls of Johnson’s Baby Powder onto your palms (though any loose powder will do) and pat it on freely, releasing clouds of it into the air until a pale kabuki-style base appears. Filling a sink with cool water, plunge your powdered complexion into the bath and hold it there for no more than 30 seconds. Finally, pat your face dry, and finish the rest of your look with a lasting, pitch-perfect canvas.

“If you have dry skin, don’t push your face in the water too long,” my friend says, adding that one might take a facial mist and spray liberally, instead. A bit reluctantly, I dunk my Ringu-esque head in the sink for some 15 seconds, feeling (frankly) ridiculous. But, I quickly find, the results are beyond. Yes, my skin is intensely matte, but also incredibly smooth and even-toned. Better yet, when shading in my arches and applying liner, there is no oil-induced glide, allowing me to craft fine, pencil-thin strokes that are the best brow-work I’ve done in ages—all thanks to a $4 tin of drugstore powder. It lasts remarkably well with no under-eye smudging and, I’m frequently told, my face looks softer and even younger—appropriately enough, like the skin on a baby’s bottom.

 Learn more about Korean skin care here and here  and here

Summer Beauty Essentials ~ 7 Skin Care Must Haves

Summer is the season of skin.
There is no other season when it is more important that your skin is radiant and glowing. Summer requires you to either go bare skinned, or at least trick your makeup to look like you are going bare skinned.
Summer is also all about travel, and nothing is guaranteed to jack your skin up quite like travel does, so you need to have a game-plan in place.

Here are 7 must have summer beauty essential skin care products.

Your first thought has to be the climate you are traveling to, or how your home climate is changing.
The oil cleansers that I swear by in dry climates often don't cut it in humid places. There is every chance that your normal moisturizer either won't be enough or will be too much over the summer months, or at your summer travel destination. Before you travel, or before you invest in new products for home, factor in the humidity or lack of, and buy your skin care in travel sizes.

Cleansers

If you are going somewhere  humid you may need a foaming cleanser or a wash formula. If you are going somewhere hot and dry an oil cleanser or a milk cleanser may be your saving grace.
Not sure which direction to go? 

Try Innisfree Green Tea Cleansing Water at only $12 it's a steal.



Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist

Greatest thing ever! I take this on the plane with me to spritz on when my skin feels dry.
In dry places it can boost your moisturizer, in humid places sometimes its all I use. It's a lifesaver.

Sunscreen.

The most important thing that you can do for your skin is wear sunscreen every day. Broad spectrum, (UVA and UVB protection) with a high SPF. It's non negotiable.

Try Kiehls Super Fluid SPF 50 available at Nordstrom

An Exfoliator.

Hot weather and extra sunscreen can make your skin get congested and make the texture feel thick. 

Help it stay clear and smooth with a gentle exfoliator or enzyme mask/peel. 

A Dry Oil

I am obsessed with facial oils for intense moisture, the nourishing properties they have and for how they make the skin glow. But when you are on a beach vacation or somewhere humid adding an oil into your skin care regimen can leave you feeling downright greasy. And who needs that? 

So when I travel I always have Tatcha's travel sized dry finish Camelia Oil with me. (Not only does it make your skin look phenomenal it also soothes and calms it  it after a day at the beach. Makeup glides on over top and doesn't slip away due to the dry finish.

Sheet Masks

Whether you are dry and need hydration or whether you are oily and need help clearing your skin, there's a sheet mask for you. Use them once per week all summer and your skin will be gorgeous!
Memebox has a limited time offer of their Summer Mask Bundle. 11 hydrating sheet masks for only $18! If this is sold out when you go to their website, go to their masks section and pick and choose what you need based on your skin concern.

Eye Gels

These are the greatest thing when you are feeling or looking tired, or when you need an under-eye booster. The morning after the night before they will soothe and de-puff your hungover eyes, they totally revitalize you after a long flight, and after a day at the beach they add in just the right amount of moisture so that makeup will go on evenly and look pretty.
I travel with individual packs of Elisha Coy Snail Hydrogel Eye Patches that I order online from Memebox. They are super convenient to travel with!

8 Travel Beauty Essentials

Summertime is all about heading out on vacation.
I'm packing at the moment for a month in Italy leading two Glam Italia Tours (make sure you follow us on Instagram!) so it seemed like a really good time to talk about Travel beauty Essentials.

Travel is tough on your skin.
Air travel is tough on your skin.
Just being in a different climate or in a place with different water can be really tough on your skin.
No one wants to deal with crazy breakouts (hello humidity!) or look dried out like the crypt keeper while they are on vacation. Especially me! So I have 8 beauty essentials that travel with me everywhere I go in the world as well as here in America, to make sure my skin looks great, which in turn makes me feel great!

Allianz Global Assistance Travel Insurance. Get a free quote.

Remember too that especially for summer travel you really don't want to be cavorting around with a full face of makeup on, trying to cover up breakouts.

1. Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist

This is one of my all time favorite skin care products and is just the absolute greatest thing to have with you when you are flying, especially on long haul/international flights. In fact it is the holy grail of travel skin care products!
I don't wear makeup when I fly (just brows and a bold lip) because quite apart from the fact that makeup looks hellacious when you land, your skin is fighting enough battles at 38,000 feet in hours of regurgitated air - it doesn't need to battle foundation as well.
When you have bare skin, even if that means cleansing your face after takeoff, you can pamper, or at least hydrate your skin by spritzing this gorgeous mist during the flight.I swear you can feel your skin relax every time you do!
The full size bottle is allowable in your cabin baggage, but many of the Tatcha products including the Dewy Skin Mist also come in travel size.

2. Tatcha Indigo Soothing Silk Hand Cream

I got my hands on the Indigo collection from Tatcha a few years ago when winter weather was tearing up my skin. The Indigo collection are healing products, and to this day I still travel with a travel sized tube of Tatcha's Indigo Soothing Silk Hand Cream. In flight it keeps my hands and cuticles from getting dried out and nasty, and the tube is small enough to keep in my handbag while I'm out and about.

Nuxe Reve de Miel Nourishing Lip Balm.

I have tried so many lip balms, but this one I keep coming back to. 
It's nice and heavy, doesn't dry out or strip your lip, and softens and moisturizes like no other!

Fly in comfort with Lufthansa

Eye Gels

Have you ever had a good look at people deplaning from a long international flight? They always look beaten up around the eyes. The same goes for when you've spent time out in hot weather, be it pool-side, at the ocean, on a boat - you name it.
I am a huge fan of eye gels. I use them on the plane (if people around me are sleeping), sometimes I will slip them on and then put my sleeping mask over top. I use them while I am away too.
What they do is super hydrate the under eye area, depuff, revitalize, and make the under eye look refreshed. I'm not sure that they say they take out the blue/grey under your eyes, but I am convinced that they do. Maybe they get the blood circulating through the area or maybe the nutrients just reflect off something glorious, but either way they are wonderful!
I buy my eye gels online at Memebox. They are very inexpensive and worth their weight in gold!

Facial Oil

I treat myself to Tatcha's Camellia Facial Oil when I travel.
It comes in travel size, so you don't have to break the bank to get it.
I use it during the flight and also every day while I'm away. It super hydrates and nourishes the skin, so your complexion looks luminous, but it also has a dry finish, so you don't look slimy. It is fantastic!

Oribe Dry Texturing Spray

Have you ever smelled Oribe products??? They smell heavenly.
Have you ever smelled hair after a long haul flight??  Quite apart from the fact that your hair looks lank and flat after a long flight, 8 hours plus in that stale, over-circulated air makes your hair smell. It's gross. Especially gross when you are standing in long lines of humans waiting to go through passport control. Especially gross when you are going to be met with a big, long hug on the other side of customs and immigration.
So I always pack the travel size of Oribe Dry Texturing spray in my hand luggage. It works like a dry shampoo to give your hairdo some body, and it smells so fabulous you won't be worried about anyone burying their face in your hair.

Stila Aqua Glow Gel Bronzer

This one is a recent addition to my travel arsenal, but it is fantastic!
When you deplane after a long flight your skin has a nasty grey hue to it. No one (who hasn't flown first class) looks fantastic after a long flight, everyone looks hellish.
If you try to put color back into your complexion with a bronzing powder it sits on top of that ashen skin and looks orange. 

Last year I started using Stila's Aqua Glow Perfecting Bronzer gel and I totally love it! You just put a tiny amount in the general area of the apples of your cheeks and buff it out with your finger. Run a little across your forehead where the sun would hit you and you instantly look lovely.
The great thing is that you don't have to get all perfect with it. It's really sheer and buildable, and just looks like gorgeous skin. The color is lovely too, and it doesn't get streaky or turn orange.


2. Sheet Masks

This is one of my not-so-secret travel beauty secrets! When I arrive at my hotel or vacation rental I take 20 minutes of quiet time with a sheet mask. (of course you cleanse your skin first!). Sheet masks infuse your skin with nutrients, are soothing and cooling and hydrating, leaving your skin luminous and glowing every after a trans-world flight. 
If I'm going somewhere humid I know my skin is going to break out or give me some form of grief, so I pack some sheet masks that deal with black heads or breakouts. If I'm going somewhere beachy I know I need some extra hydrating. If I get too much sun or sand has left my skin feeling gritty or sensitive I use an aloe based sheet mask.
They are very inexpensive - only a couple of dollars each, and they are slim and lie flat in your suitcase so they take up no room at all, making them your perfect travel companion! I order mine online at Memebox, and always add a few into every order I place. (And I place lots of orders at Memebox!)

I'm Crazy About These New Highlighters

So this was my Sunday morning. Finally a break from working incessantly, finally a Sunday off. 

An espresso, some pink roses, finally getting a chance to look through W magazine, and playing with these 2 new makeup products I got from Memebox with my most recent order.

As much as I obsess over their Korean skin care products I have never ventured into the other side of K-Beauty, the makeup products.

If I was to be completely honest I would tell you that I bought the panda bear thing as a gift for my friend's daughter.

Because let's face it, it looks like something a super young teen would like, right? And it cost $10.
It's called the Panda's Dream Brightening Eye Base.

So I decided to open it, then intrigued at the white, glowing product inside, I decided to try it because once again, let's face it, how could a white, glowy product do anything functional on the face?

But guess what? It's brilliant. As in seriously brilliant. Not "pretty good for $10"  kind of brilliant, but "are you kidding me???" kind of brilliant.

It is an under eye product designed to pop a fresh light out from the under eye area. It softens fine lines and wrinkles, depuffs and soothes the under eye area, somehow diminishes dark circles and bags under the eyes - it's pretty amazing! I totally don't get it - it is packaged for 12 year olds, costs nothing, and delivers a multi layered, hard core punch like you cannot even imagine! 
This is a product for women of all ages.

I have worn it every day this week in lieu of concealer. I could still do with a little color corrector if I felt so inclined, but realistically the way it lightens, brightens and awakens the under eye I just think why bother?

On a shoot I would lay a color corrector above or below it, but for everyday (and night) it is just fantastic! Touche Eclat style fantastic.

I have also been looking for a highlighting product that isn't too shimmery or glittery. Most highlighters have particles that are too big and cause a mad flickering or shimmering on the skin that makes it look like you've highlighted and don't have a clue what you're doing.

I seem to universally hate 95% of them, especially the ones touted by Instagram stars.

Side Note

I teach a pro makeup artistry program and constantly get into battle with students who think that because a "makeup enthusiast" on IG has 2 million followers and endorses a highlighter or bronzer, they must be right.  No, they quite possibly know that product is junk, but they make huge dollars from affiliate marketing with that brand, so they will say whatever it takes to sell the products and make the commissions. That's how they make money.

I have affiliate marketing on this blog, but only talk about products I actually use, which is why you see the same products talked about over and over. 
I talk about what I use. And Memebox has never sent me free product or tried to have me shill products for them.

Anyway, I decided to try the I'm Multi Stick ST01 Luster Light highlighter out - it's only $15 so no big deal if I didn't like it. And again this product too is fabulous!

It gives you a very controllable highlight that glows from within rather than sparkles from the surface. In fact it has no sparkles at all. With this product you don't look like you've been at Sephora trying on highlighters, you just look like your skin glows, picks up the light and looks absolutely radiant. Even older skin. Again they are probably only marketing this to 20 somethings and younger, but this is fabulous for all skins, even mature skin.

I am ordering another for my pro kit as well as another of the panda bears (before they run out). I'm also going to try the I'm Multi Stick ST20 Luster Bronzer  with my next order too. 
Because it only costs $15 so there's not exactly a lot to lose! And if it's as good as everything else I've tried from Memebox its going to be another winner.

I'm obsessed with cream blushes, and I read recently on another blog that I'm Cream Blush is really good so I'm going to add that in as well.

If you want to try any of these products you can find the here on Memebox.com

Memebox offers free shipping over $35, so if you need to add a couple of dollars to your order to reach $35, try adding in a sheet mask or two. Just look up your skin concern - acne, blackheads, too much oil, dry skin - whatever it is, and find the mask they have for that concern. They are only ever a couple of dollars, are brilliant, and can put you into free shipping!

Korean Skin Care - Where Do You Begin??

I've been getting tons of messages from readers telling me that they want to try Korean skin care, and that they go on the Memebox website but get totally overwhelmed and don't know where to begin.

I hear you!

That's how it was for me too. For me the foray into KBeauty didn't begin with a box of freebies from any company, it started with me stumbling upon the Memebox website by chance, and then trying to figure out what to buy and where to start.

Read about Korean Skin Care here

I didn't start with a 10 step regimen either - I just added in bits and pieces along the way. 
I'm not an easy sell with skin care, because if I don't see a near immediate difference to my skin then I don't want your product. And that's where Korean skin care got me. The difference to my skin has been amazing. My skin has never, ever looked better! 

I sometimes take a side-step over to Tatcha for some high end luxury Japanese skin care, but for the most part it's a little too pricey for me to use on a consistent basis. My everyday skin care game is K Beauty.

So for those of you who are as confused as I was in the beginning, here is a mini guide to where to start on the Memebox website, or in trying Korean skin care for the first time.

My most recent order from Memebox

Start by identifying your skin care concern. Is your skin oily or dry? Do you have breakouts and blackheads? Are you worried about aging?

When you click the skincare tab on the Memebox site it will offer you those options, so you can dive into products specifically to meet your skincare needs.

Korean skin care technology is vastly superior to the skin care technology here, so the products get very very specific.

Try An Essence

One place to start is by adding in an Essence. Essence is comparable to a serum, targeting specific skin care concerns, but it is much more concentrated and is delivered in a lighter, non greasy formula.

They have an Essence for every skin concern under the sun.

I start my day by rinsing or cleansing my skin, (normally just rinsing, if we are going to be completely honest). I follow that with a skin mist, which softens the skin and has some essence in it.

I have been trying out a different mist each time, and have loved them all. My latest order has the Scinic Aqua EX Jelly Essence Water. I use it after cleaning at night and after rinsing in the morning. Sometimes if my skin is feeling tired I will spritz it on during the day (it's a great product to keep in your desk drawer!) to revive you and make you look fresh again.

I layer my Essences. I normally follow the mist with another formula, in the mornings I use a Vitamin C based Essence so that I can maximize on the antioxidant, skin protecting benefits of Vitamin C, or maybe I go for something lightening and brightening. In the evening I use an Essence that is more about anti aging and extra hydration.

These products are not at all expensive. The It's Skin Essences that I have been using (pictured here) cost between $10 and $13 each. I have yet to see a $100 product here that gives the same kind of result!
Pictured above are It's Skin YE Effector Essence, It's Skin VC Effector Essence and Scinic Aqua Jelly Essence Water.
If any of them are out of stock I just get another one that deals with my specific skin concerns.

Add An Ampoule

In the Korean layering system an Ampoule is used after an essence. Ampoules are even more concentrated powerhouses that get the ingredients penetrating even deeper into the skin. Again you can get really specific to your own skin concerns, and layer things. For example if you feel like your skin is dehydrated and dull you can use an essence for lightening and brightening and an Ampoule for extra moisture.

Or maybe your concerns are blackheads and extra oil and dark spots. All you need to do is layer your concerns one over the next. I get my biggest concern in Ampoule form and the others in Essence.
I try a new Ampoule each time, and each time they have been fabulous. With this order I chose the Scinic Propolis Ampoule, because it's full of antioxidants and nutrients. And because I liked the bottle.

Add A Sleeping Pack

This one took me a while to get on board with, largely because the crazy names they use don't translate so well (Snail Slime and  Donkey Milk Yogurt for starters!) and in the description it sounded like a pillow case ruining step. 
But I'm so glad I did add in sleeping packs. What it is is a final step in the night time skin routine. After you have layered on your mist, your essence, your Ampoule and your emulsion (a lightweight but power packed moisturizer) you seal everything in with a sleeping pack.

The ones I have tried have a slightly gel like texture, but disappear into the skin, creating a fabulous barrier. None of it winds up on your pillowcase!

Try A Peel

I am not a fan of exfoliating scrubs. I always think they scratch up the baby skin underneath and keep you in a perpetual state of rough skin. I prefer to do enzyme peels that gently lift away the dead skin. I dont like peels that feel like fire ants are crawling over your face and I don't want to look like I'm shedding skin either. 
They have peels for every possible skin concern, from oily skin to blackheads, to dry skin, to dull skin - you name it!

I've been using this SNP Peel every other week. It makes my skin look amazing (and feel super fresh), but there is no stinging involved and no flaking. It takes about 10 minutes, and I follow it with a sheet mask.

Add A Sheet Mask

I'm pretty obsessed with these! They are just so very convenient and your skin loves you for it. And they are perfect for travel! After a long flight a sheet mask restores your skin and makes you feel lovely.

My Sunday night routine when I'm not working is to use the peel if it's the right week, and follow it with a sheet mask. I buy several different ones with each order I place, because they only cost a couple of dollars each. Sometimes I want brightening, or tightening, or collagen or anti aging - I often buy them just because I like the look of the package! Regardless, I always see a big difference to my skin.
Check out all the different sheet masks they offer here

If you want to try K Beauty, but are unsure of where to start, or if you don't want to do a 10 step skin care routine, but still want to find out what all the hype is about, try adding in any one of these items, or more, to you daily skin regimen. You will be blown away by the results!

I haven't looked at the K Beauty items available at Sephora, so don't know their pricing, but one of the great things about Korean skin care is that it is so ridiculously affordable! My last entire order from Memebox, pictured at the beginning of this post, only cost $100, came with free shipping, and because it ships out of California it arrived in 3 days!