My journey to the Korean 10 step skin care routine was not a straight route to great skin. It entails a lot of wrong products along the road, countless products and money wasted, most of them goes to my neck or body or I have to find a new happy owner. What may seem to be an internet hit sensation product or holy grails for a lot of people seems to give me horrible breakouts. I once thought that if a lot of people raved about it, then it seems credible and that it might have the same effect on me. Oh boy! was i so wrong.
I needed to find out what ingredients contained in those products that are causing those breakouts and bad reactions to me. Up until now I’m still learning and I still havent achieved that flawless skin that I have been dreaming about. And even if I have found a product that worked for me I’m still on the look out for that next great product, then the next one, then the next one…lol!!! my list just goes on.
So without further ado, I would like to introduce to you some of my holy fails. Take note though that this also does not necessarily mean that this will also give you the same effect as what happened to me. Just hope that this will just serve as a guide for you seeking for your ‘the one’. My face just hates me and I just have acne prone and pores that gets easily clogged. But hey, God created us all differently and let’s learn together how to fully embrace it and use it to its maximum potential.
*mildly comedogenic – blue, *comedogenic – red, *irritant – bold, *mild irritant – italics
Innisfree eco science cream 80ml
Ingredients: water, propanediol, glycerin, shea butter, caprylic triglyceride, dicaprylyl ether, phytosqualene, glyceryl stearate, cetearyl alcohol, myristyl myristate, phytostryl glutamate, green tea extract, algae extract, orchid extract, camellia japonica leaf extract, opunita coccinellifera fruit extract, oleanolic acid, citrus unshiu peel extract, cocoa extract, c12-20, c14-22, glyceryl stearate citrate, glyceryl caprylate, dextrin, ceteryl olivate, sorbitan olivate, silica, xanthan gum, sodium phytate, parfum.
smell/texture – slight hint of roses, light brown in color, very thick emollient cream
Ingredient trigger – shea butter
verdict – used for 3days and had breakouts on my forehead. Anything that has shea butter will give me breakouts. Gave this to my sister who has dry skin and this did not break her out. She just uses a minute amout to cover her entire face, months have passed and she barely even dented it. She also has a slight complaint that its very greasy and does not sink in well, its as if it just stays on top.
Laneige Firming Sleeping Pack 50ml
Ingredients – water, butylene glycol, glycerin, trehalose, cyclohexasiloxane, polysorbate20, dimethicone, dimethicone crosspolymer, glyceryl caprylate, stearyl behenate, caprylic triglyceride, ethylhexylglycerin, behenyl alcohol, adenosine, polyglyceryl10, alcohol, sodium stearoyl lactylate, hydroxypropyl bispalmitamide, cetearyl glucoside, tapioca starch, dextrin, theobroma cacao, sodium hyaluronate, beta-glucan, aminobutyric acid, lactobacillus ferment, caprylyl glycol, hydrolyzed collagen, phenoxyethanol, disodium EDTA, fragrance
smell/texture – mild fresh water scent, opaque white, memory gel type that restores itself when distorted.
verdict – There is no ingredient trigger here for me, but as soon as i put this on its so itchy as if I’m allergic to it. At first few uses I just ignored it and went to sleep with it, then at night i would scratch it using the back of my hand, until one night 10 minutes after applying it i could’nt take it, it was sooooo itchy and irritating that I have to wash my face. Never used it again.
Mamonde Rose Water Soothing Gel 300ml
Ingredients – water, rose extract, alcohol, butylene glycol, glycerin, scutellaria baicalensis root extract, sodium hyaluronate, nelumbium speciosum flower extract, prunus mume fruit extract, acrylates, VP copolymer, ethylhexylglycerin, tromethamine, peg-60, hydroxyethyl acrylate, dimethicone, disodium EDTA, phenoxyethanol, parfum
smell/texture – clear white thick gel, light roses scent
verdict – when I was just starting to look for a moisturizer I asked someone about what can she recommend for combo oily skin and she recommended this to me. So i immediately bought this without second thoughts. Did not break me out but was totally so drying that upon application my face was so tight and dry. Tried to salvage it by using in my body but it was still so drying for body use, so i decided to gave it away.
Laneige Sunblock Supreme SPF50+ PA+++ 50ml
Ingredients – water, butylene glycol, c12-15, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, bis-ethylhexylxyphenol, ehtylhexyl salicylate, titanium dioxide, cyclopentasiloxane, althea officianlis root extract, anthemis nobilis flower extract, lavender extract, lippa citriodora leaf extract, centella asiatica extract, aloe leaf extract, manganese sulfate, zinc sulfate, magnesium sulfate, silica, phenyl trimethicone, polyarylate13, aluminum stearate, alumina, polyisobutene, polyhydroxystearic acid, stearic acid, carbomer, polysorbate20, disodium EDTA, ethylhexyglycerin, phenoxyethanol, parfum
smell/texture – thick white cream, faint flowery smell, leaves white cast but goes away in a while, semi dewy finish
ingredient triggers – ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, stearic acid
verdict – experienced breakouts upon first use, so I stopped and tried it again, then breakouts again so this one was applied to my body afterwards.
Benton Snail Bee High Content Steam Cream 50g
Ingredients – snail secretion filtrate, glycerin, butylene glycol, cetyl ethylhexanoate, cetearyl olivate, sodium hyaluronate, niacinamide, stearic acid, behenyl alcohol, phytosqualene, human oligopeptide, bee venom, arbutin, adenosine, sunflower seed oil, safflower seed oil, argania spinosa kernel oil, glyceryl stearate, arginine, carbomer, urea, tocopheryl acetate, plantago asiatica extract, laminaria digitata extract, diospyros kaki leaf extract, willow bark extract, elm extract, pentylene glycol, zanthoxylum piperitum fruit extract, pulsatilla koreana extract, lichen extract
smell/texture – almost no scent, white thick viscous cream that has a slight dewy finish
ingredient trigger – sunflower oil, stearic acid
verdict – In my search for that holy grail cream I stumbled upon this and was i so excited to try this, it has honey and snail in one. A lot of users and bloggers that have combo or oily skin type have been raving about this so i wanted to give it a shot. Unfortunately, my pores clogs up at sunflower oil, this was suppose to be non-comedogenic for most people but for me, sunflower oil is one major no no ingredient for my face. This cream created major bumps, redness and pimples all over my face that took me months to recover and regain what i have achieved in my journey towards pimple free skin. This cream went to my neck.
Evacarma Bird’s Nest 24k Gold Aqua Cream 70ml
Ingredients – deep sea water, glycerin, cyclopentasiloxane, glyceryl acrylate, PVM/VA copolymer, niacinamide, shea butter, cyclomethicone, bis-peg-18methyl, butylene glycol, dimethicone, 1,2-hexanidol, polysorbate50, glyceryl stearate, peg100, gold, cetearyl alcohol, caprylic triglyceride, zanthoxylum piperitum fruit extract, pulsatilla koreana extract, lichen extract, glyceryl stearate, sodium hyaluronate, beeswax flavor, triethanolamine, carbormer, dimethicone crosspolymer, tocopherel acetate, xanthan gum, bird’s nest extract, adenosine, aloe leaf extract, green tea extract, pomegranate extract, lemon extract, blueberry extract, kiwi extract, strawberry extract
smell/texture – white thick semi viscous gel cream with a strong flowery artificial scent
ingredient trigger – shea butter, triethanolamine
verdict – this is an exclusive product distributed by korea depart. contains 3,000mg of bird’s nest extract. Gave this a try since it was 70% off on korea depart’s website and with all those great reviews to back it up. I snagged this deal. Used for 2 weeks and gave me horrible cystic acnes. Gave this one to my mom her skin is dry and she almost never get acne and in 1week of use she had breakouts on her chin. Will definitely not recommend this to anybody.
Elizavecca Green Piggy Collagen Jella Pack 100ml
ingredients – `hydrolyzed collagen, water, dipropylene glycol, peg240, glycerin, glyceryl stearate, peg100, caprylic triglyceride, macadamia seed oil, dimethicone, methylparaben, sodium hyaluronate, phenoxyethanol, allantoin, cocoa seed extract, tocopheryl acetate, polyglutamic acid, soybean ferment extract, propylparaben, adenosine, disodium EDTA, parfum
smell/texture – beige in color, memory gel type that restores itself when distorted, weird awful strong bubblegum artificial scent. Smells like artificial cheap drugstore shampoos. gross!!!
verdict – the moment i opened this jar. ewww… i cant take the smell and a definite complete waste of money. It’s not even worth the money for trying it even once. No way am I going to put that on my body because of the horrible smell let alone my face. It will just ruin everything that I have worked hard for. Gave this one away. Sorry was not able to swatch this. I’m one angry bird alright. Bought this because of all that hype and thought might as well give it a try, oh but all of these are just marketing ploy to get people buying. Bought it at $8 on sale, now its currently $4, no wonder its on sale, clearly nobody wants it.
My Benton Steam Cream just arrived, fingers crossed (My skin is very acne-prone ><). Although I LOVE the essence ❤
Btw, great reviews, I'm liking your blog already, OMG! Have to check the other posts. Keep up the good work!
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yeah! i know how it feels. let me know how it goes
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Very well written post 🙂
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thank you☺️☺️☺️
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Thank you for giving such honest reviews!! I also thought that all Korean products are safe and will not cause breakouts especially those products that are made for a specific skin type.
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we have the same experience with the Laneige Firming Sleeping Pack, i thought it would be great since i keep seeing it everywhere but nah
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glad to know im not the only one
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