Working in an airconditioned office, scoffing wine three nights a week, combined with my lazy attitude towards religiously following a beefy skincare routine (*slaps wrist*) means I have a great work-life balance but my skin is always crying out for some hydration. When The Face Shop gave me the opportunity to go to Korea, the Mecca for everything skincare, I jumped at the chance. I was anxious and excited to find a cure for my particularly lacklustre skin. Landing in Seoul, we could not help but notice that EVERY Korean woman had flawless skin!
After several K-Beauty sessions by The Face Shop team and Liah Yoo, Korea’s leading beauty blogger, we hit the streets of Myeong-dong and Daehyeon-dong more inspired than ever. And obviously we returned home with suitcases full of weird and wonderful K-Beauty supplies that held the secrets to hydrated, glowing skin.
Moving on to what I’ve actually adopted into my daily routine - though it may seem complicated at first, it follows the basic rule everyone knows - cleanse, tone and moisturise (see, so simple!) and features seven products all aiming at cleansing, brightening and amping up hydration.
The triple-cleanse
All K-Beauty principles focus heavily on cleansing and their techniques are elaborate, often two, if not three steps. In the evenings, because I’m wearing makeup, I start off with a cotton pad soaked in the The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Lip & Eye Makeup Remover. This is bi-phased solution is hardy enough to whip off waterproof mascara and stubborn liquid lipstick yet gentle enough not to sting your eyes.
To get rid of my base makeup, I go with one or two pumps of the The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Cleansing Water on my dry face with a cotton pad.
For the final cleansing step, I use the The Face Shop Rice Bran All-In-One Cleanser to get rid of any residue left behind from the oil. My skin feels squeaky clean but still nourished and more importantly my face is completely makeup-free.
In the morning, things are a bit speedier; one pump of the All-in-One Cleanser seems to give me a good, clean base that’s ready for toning!
7-step toning
The most interesting K-Beauty technique I learnt in Korea is the ‘7 Skin Method’ - wherein you repeat the toning step seven times. By layering this essence toner, you allow the product to penetrate the skin efficiently and effectively leaving it deeply hydrated and firm. This concept seemed a bit bizarre and tedious at first, but when I was made to try it out myself, I was hooked!
How do I go about it, you ask? For the first layer, I simply swipe a pea-sized amount of The Face Shop White Seed Brightening Toner across my face with a cotton pad. For the next six layers, I press an equal amount of toner into my face with my hands leaving a gap of 1-2 minutes between each step. Confession: when I’m in a rush in the morning, I don’t actually end up repeating the process seven times, but even if I manage to get in 3-4 reps, I can feel the difference! It is an almost instant refresh to tired, dehydrated skin! I have been doing this for three weeks now and my skin looks plump and happy.
Layering up
Here’s when things start getting real glowy. For serum, I press the light textured The Face Shop White Seed Brightening Serum onto my face which my skin seems to drink up. Next, the silky-smooth The Face Shop White Seed Brightening Lotion gets layered on over the serum and patted into skin. This lotion leaves behind a dewy glow that makes you look lit from within. For the finale, I use The Face Shop White Seed Blanclouding White Moisture Cream which has a pillow-like, whipped texture, and does a fab job of holding the moisture in!
With this routine in place, it looks like my skin and I are going to get along just fine! Thank you, Korea, and The Face Shop for my happy, glowing skin!
