The winning hamster or why it’s hard to be a woman

My turn has come to share my Odyssey. Let’s start with the source data: 38 year old combination skin, which didn’t know that creams existed until 35… As the result, we have what we have: crow’s feet around the eyes, uneven and unhealthy skin tone, post acne spots from years of periodic breakouts, scars from the same thing, forehead wrinkles and nasolabial folds, making the whole face look like a pug on bad days, without the cuteness factor. Woof, this feels like a confession.

As a result, coming out of maternity leave and accidentally looking in the mirror in passing, I got myself together and started to actively look for a solution. I stopped at Clarins, but the the costs definitely weren’t ideal…

A year ago I came across an Anskin mask, which totally filled me with delight. Korean cosmetics peaked my interest, but I didn’t have time to fully research the topic. And then, a couple of months ago, a friend has added me to this group…
I’ve skimmed through posts, which were too numerous to read, smiled at the mention of an internal hamster, was happy that I didn’t have a hamster… Naive! The hamster was dormant! But at the sight of the Korean Tricks group he suddenly woke up and started to read with interest. For the next two weeks, I read! I read for days, binging. I have read all the posts, by the most modest estimations 17 thousand comments.
The hamster was dumbfounded, began to stutter, and then completely lost the gift of speech. Wiping the sweat on my face, caused by this amount of information, I armed myself with a sheet, a pen, and began to take notes.

The hamster gained the ability to speak again. The speech was disjointed and mostly inappropriate. Looking over my notes, I made an effort, turned on my analytical abilities and started to draw charts. The hamster went wild and demanded that nothing be removed from the list. Small offerings like foaming cleansers no longer pacified him. Finally, a very complex (for me) chart was created with the understanding that not everything will work or will be liked, but has to be purchased, especially since the hamster brought his relatives by then.

As a result, today there is a chart of morning and evening routines, and, most importantly, there are results. First of all, the skin became well-groomed and I constantly want to touch it 🙂 The skin tone improved, many small spots disappeared. The forehead wrinkles are getting smoother. Second, my daily ritual of cleaning out pores with a spatula tool is no more. The pores are clear! There’s really nothing to squeeze out… I’m getting more compliments from coworkers, which elevates my mood.

So I present to you my skincare routine. If I messed something up, please correct me.

Morning routine.

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1. Foaming cleanser
Innisfree Green Tea Cleansing Foam
eBay Amazon.

No comments, there are so many compliments for it in the group. Light with a fantastic fragrance.

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2. Toner.
Whamisa Natural Fermentation Organic Flowers Skin Toner
eBay Amazon.

For my taste, the scent of flowers is too strong, especially lavender. But it refreshes the skin so well that I learned to deal with the scent.

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3. Serum
It’s Skin Power 10 Formula Syn-Ake
eBay Amazon.

For spot application to mimic lines (forehead, above the upper lip, etc).
Great for daytime – light and absorbs quickly. The effect takes time to build up, I’ve noticed it on week two. It’s actually hard to wrinkle my forehead now.

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4. Cream
Mizon all-in-one snail repair cream
eBay Amazon.

This is a WOW! Breakouts and pimples disappeared, marks from them too. Non sticky, light, gets absorbed right away. And, most importantly – for right now, it’s the only cream with mattifying effect. I understand that it’s fashionable in Korea to have a shiny face, but I don’t use BB creams and really don’t like when my face shines like it’s been dipped into a salad bowl. After this snail cream, there’s no shine the entire day.

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5. Eye cream
Black caviar eye cream by Holika Holika
eBay Amazon.

This is love. I’ve always had issues with eye creams. They don’t absorb well on me. I’ve been disappointed by Innisfree green tea eye cream, A.H.C. the real eye cream that were positively reviewed in the group… they stayed under my eyes like dead weight. So when I opened this jar and saw something very thick, I immediately started to anxiously consider what part of the body I will slather this on, because my heels are going a little crazy from all the stuff I’m been putting on them. But, this thing absorbed into the skin before my very eyes (like the pun, huh?), smoothed morning lines, and, which is also important, eyeshadow goes over it without any extra treatments needed.

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Evening routine.

Lots was ordered here, so we alternate some of the products.

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1. Foaming cleanser.
Super aqua deep cleanser by Missha
eBay Amazon.

The miracle of miracles.

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2. The entire line It’s Skin Collagen 
eBay Amazon.

Toner, emulsion, serum and cream. A very light line with a pleasant scent (which to me is very important). By morning, the skin is well hydrated and velvety to the touch. I got a bit confused by the emulsion because I’m not used to that consistency, plus the bottles don’t have pumps. At the end, I adapted by applying it to the face like toner with a cotton disc, which results in a more even application. The bottles are huge anyway and will never run out if I apply them drops at a time, and the hamster demands new presents.

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3. Acid toner and peeling serum
MIZON Aha & Bha toner
eBay Amazon

and Mizon AHA 8% Peeling Serum
eBay Amazon.

I alternate the collagen line with acids. The first five minutes there’s slight tingling, but no redness and no irritation, knock on wood. I will report back the results in about a month.

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I apply a non Korean cream from old hoards on top, so I won’t write about it. I’m also in the process of testing a few more tricks and have an immeasurable number of wish items in card, so if my ramblings didn’t bore you, I will post new reviews in time.

Review author Julia Dolinska