Showing posts with label Asian Beauty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asian Beauty. Show all posts

Brand Overview: Energy Brushes

Monday, February 17, 2020


Energy is another brand of Chinese brushes that I really enjoy. I've had the pleasure of accumulating quite a few over the last four years and it is high time that I did a brand overview. Like the brand ShouShouLang, not too many English reviews are out there. This is both understandable and lamentable, I think the word needs to get out about how some of these brushes are the absolute bees' knees.


50 Words or Less Reviews: Some Things I Like

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Happy 2020!

My first post this year is a shorter one. Just some items I like.


Manyo Factory, Revisited

Tuesday, November 6, 2018


About a year and a half ago, I wrote an overview of my favorite skincare brand, Manyo Factory. I thought it’d be fun to revisit the brand and see if my feelings are unchanged. Spoiler alert: still love it to bits. Some of the products have dropped out of rotation (or downgraded to I’ll Buy it On Sale status) while some have been repurchased quite a few times.

Dr Jart+ Peptidin Serum: Skincare for People Who Don't Like Skincare

Thursday, August 30, 2018



In February of this year, I picked up Dr.Jart+ Peptidin Blue Energy Effect Serum mostly because of the ingredient list. Glancing over the very long list, quite a few ingredients really jumped out at me. In particular, I had been reading about copper peptides and the effect it had on skin health and noted that I had only one other GHK-Cu product - my Manyo Factory Lactobacillus Bifida Mist.






It also contained borage, which produces the blue flowers shown above. Borage is a great source of antioxidants. Full disclosure, the leaf pictured is comfrey not borage, but borage leaves don't lay flat nicely for photos. Whew. I felt like such a phony without disclosing that. 



Ingredients:

Aqua, Methylpropanediol, Glycerol 1,2-Hexanediol, Niacinamide, Capric/Caprylic Triglycerides, Polyglycerin-3, Borago Officinalis Extract, Algae Extract, Eclipta Prostrata (False Daisy) Leaf Extract, Melia Azadirachta (Chinaberry) Leaf Extract, Melia Azadirachta (Chinaberry) Flower Extract, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Pteris Multifida Extract, Cynara Scolymus (Artichoke) Leaf Extract, Coccinia Indica (Ivy Gourd) Fruit Extract, Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Flower Extract, Ocimum Sanctum (Tulsi) Leaf Extract, Nymphaea Alba (Water Lily) Flower Extract, Curcuma Longa (Tumeric) Root Extract, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Centaurea Cyanus (Cornflower) Flower Water, Nymphaea caerulea Extract (Egyptian Lotus) Hydrogenated lecithin,Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Cyclohexasiloxane, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate,VP Copolymer, Xantham Gum, Adenosine, Carbomer, Fructo-Oligosaccharides, β-Glucans, Edetate Disodium,Tromethamine, Polyquaternium-5,Butylene Glycol, Inositol, Propanediol, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Dipropylene glycol, Sodium Palmitoyl Proline, Cholesterol,Vitamin B12, Glycine, Dipalmitoyl hydroxyproline, Sodium Cocoyl Alaninate, Acetyl, Glutamine, Serine,Glutamic Acid, Aspartic acid, Leucine, Alanine, L-Lysine, Arginine, Tyrosine, Phenylalanine, Valine, Threonine, Proline, Isoleucine, Histidine, Methionine, Cysteine, Acetyl Hexapeptide-3, GHK-Cu Tripeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-3, Hexapeptide-9, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylyl Glycol
I went in and put in parenthesis the layman's term for most plants.

In addition to borage extract, there's niacinamide and algae extract, two ingredients that my skin really likes. The niacinamide brightens and algae is wonderfully moisturizing. Peptidin contains a whole host of plant extracts, most of which I am not very familiar with. I was more interested in the peptides listed at the end, which are known to increase collagen production and improve skin health. With such an extensive list of plant components, I'm surprised that my skin didn't react poorly to this serum. Many of these plants I've never tried before/didn't even know they were utilized in skincare. 


The bottle is a bright royal blue, and one of the sturdiest I've encountered in skincare. It's just so solid. 40mL of product sits inside. The cap has a twist up button/dropper that dispenses the serum, a mechanism that I'm extremely fond of. 

The serum is a translucent, barely blue liquid that is neither sticky nor oily. The scent is faint, lightly herbal/floral selling.  It's pretty moisturizing on its own and I think it's a great candidate for someone who doesn't want to put on very many skincare products. If you already have a pretty well established routine with hydrating steps and skin nourishing ingredients, you're not likely to see much of a difference, in texture or tone. However, if at the end of the day all you want to do is wash your face, dab on a serum and maybe smear on a cream (we'll see) before bed instead of some long winded routine, this is for you. It's a good maintenance serum - if you're not looking to reduce acne, deep spots, wrinkles, etc but just want something hydrating and with components that address anti-aging, this would fit the bill.   

I don't know if I would repurchase this for myself because I'm down for a multi-step skincare routine, but I think this is the sort of thing that I would buy for my mom.

In the US, this is sold as Dr Jart+ Peptidin Firming Serum. It's $48 at Sephora.

This product doesn't seem to be widely released, especially not in the US. A lot of Dr Jart+ stockists don't seem to carry this yet. Your best bet is to buy it from SweetCorea ($21),  Amazon ($32), StyleKorean ($31) or eBay ($27).

Product featured was purchased by me. Post contains affiliate links. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy. 

G9Skin Pink Blur Eye Patches

Tuesday, August 14, 2018


Today's review is of patches made by G9 Skin, an offshoot of the Korean brand Berrisom. These Pink Blur Eye Patches boasted eight different berries and are also very sparkly pink.  I bought one tub of eye gels last year and liked them enough to repurchase at the beginning of this year, which I'm just now cracking open.


50 Words or Less: This Stuff Has Gotta Go

Wednesday, August 1, 2018


I'm having difficulties coming to grips with how it is already August, I truly never want this summer to end. Today's installment of 50 Words or Less is a collection of products that I need to destash. A lot of these products just broke me out, I get acne very easily from skincare. 

Manyo Factory 2 Week Express Program

Saturday, July 28, 2018



I have no desire to be any whiter (or tanner, it goes both ways) but I did want to tackle some small patches of melasma that were getting rougher, darker, and larger with each passing month. The patches were getting dark enough that I would have to apply concealer in a couple layers over that spot. My paternal grandmother had similar melasma on her cheeks and over her lifetime, they deepened in color and increased in size. To be fair, she was living through a time when SPF didn't have much traction (Cultural Revolution in China, so I mean forget sun care, skincare isn't even a thing), and I'm taking note, hoping to avoid those dark patches when I'm older. MelodyCosme recently had a sale and I purchased the Manyo Factory 2 Week Express Program to take those dark spots head on.

Manyo Factory Midnight Regenerating Cream

Saturday, January 20, 2018
 A new Manyo Factory product came out last fall and I very eagerly used a shipping service to obtain it (click here for my review of KoreanBuddy). With 'Regnerating' in the name and a Tardis blue tube, you'd expect a whole new face, a la Time Lord.

Shangpree Marine Energy Eye Mask

Monday, October 2, 2017

Good morning! 

Here at MakeupWithdrawal, I've blogged about quite a few masks - particularly in the last six months. A topic that doesn't come up as often, actually never, is eye care. Today's product is a cross over, small gel masks that target the eye region. The Shangpree Marine Energy Eye Mask has been a favorite in the past few months, and definitely deserves to be the first eye skincare product reviewed on the blog.

Review: Neogen Green Tea Real Fresh Cleansing Stick

Saturday, September 9, 2017
 
Good morning!

I'm smitten with sticks. Things in stick form, to be specific. A few weeks ago I wrote about switching from bringing liquid foundation to stick on travels and it made me kind of wonder - why couldn't more of my makeup/skincare products be in sticks? It'd certainly make for easier packing, less liquid products to shove in that tiny quart size bag when I fly. Suddenly I wanted everything in a stick, including cleanser. That led me to Neogen Green Tea Real Fresh Cleansing Stick.


Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Good morning!

Do you ever find yourself buying skincare cult favorites, hoping for the same result that others rave about? Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner is possibly one of the most popular toners in kbeauty. It's always wining some sort of award or mention, product of the month or year. With such accolades, I found it impossible to resist. Having used it for the last few months, I figure that's long enough to write a review.


[Yungo by ReEn] The First Hair Cleansing Treatment & Ampule Drop Essence

Thursday, August 24, 2017
It's been a while since I reviewed any haircare on the blog, today I'd like to talk about a brand that was first introduced to me by my sister. She had originally picked [Yungo] The First Hair Cleansing Treatment when Memebox was having those ludicrous clearance sales earlier this year. When we met up in Shanghai, I had the chance to try this product for myself, and ultimately I ordered the Ampule as well.

Manyo Factory Lactobacillus Bifida Mist

Friday, July 21, 2017


This is without a doubt, a product that I never thought I would ever care very much about. This plain brown spray bottle doesn't score many points for looks, but after a few months of use the Manyo Factory Lactobacillus Bifida Mist inside is one of my favorite substances ever. 

Mask Madness, Vol. VI: Sulwhasoo Clarifying Mask EX

Monday, July 17, 2017
Good evening!

I've been hitting this Sulwhasoo mask pretty regularly lately, enough so that I've managed to finish the tube in less than two months. The Sulwhasoo Clarifying Mask EX is a peel off mask from this Korean high end skincare brand. While I've used a few deluxe sized items from Sulwhasoo, I think this is the first product that I used long enough to write a full review.


[The SAEM] Cover Perfection Tip Concealer

Thursday, July 13, 2017


During the "winter" (CA winter, go ahead and laugh), I have been loving the moisturizing A'Pieu Creamy Moist Concealer, I wanted something more light weight feeling for summer. It's been hitting 110F in my area, and whatever I picked had to survive high temps. I recently bought a few shades of  The Saem's Cover Perfection Tip Concealer and have been riding out the heat waves with this product.

A Few Chikuhodo GSN Brushes

Friday, July 7, 2017



At the beginning of this year I ordered my first Chikuhodo fude and ended up buying a few more from the GSN series last month. I thought I would group my reviews of the four GSN brushes into one post.

Mask Madness Vol 2: Bonvivant Illuminator Whitening Water Gel Mask

Monday, February 27, 2017

I love my sheet masks, I really do. However in recent months I've decided to make an effort to incorporate more masks that are housed in jars or bottles that can be recycled in order to cut down on my packaging waste. One of the first ones that I ordered while weaning off sheet masks was this Bonvivant Illuminator Whitening Water Gel Mask.


Review: [innisfree] No-Sebum Mineral Powder and Blur Primer

Sunday, November 27, 2016

For the great part of the last year, I actually considered the oil production on my face to be at an all time low. I rarely found myself blotting ( it took me over a year and a half to finish a packet of Tatcha blotting papers) or even bringing along pressed powder in my purse. However in the last few months there's been an ongoing out-of-control sebum party going in my tzone and I find myself needing more products to keep myself from looking greasy, because you can't call the cops on your androgens.