Spring Cleansing featuring Laneige Fresh Brightening Cleansing Oil and Lip and Eye Remover Waterproof_EX

All through last year, I was really committed to trying out everything I could get my hands on from Innisfree because I love the brand. However before that, I was all about Laneige. I haven’t talked about it much on here but Laneige was my first KBeauty love and I still use their products regularly. My current skincare rotation is quite full at the moment so I haven’t purchased anything from them in a while but two deluxe samples I received as a gift with purchase were too good not to review. Say hello to the Laneige Fresh Brightening Cleansing Oil and the Lip and Eye Remover Waterproof_EX.

Really good cleansing oils can be hard to come by and the Laneige Fresh Brightening Cleansing Oil is one of the best I have tried in a while. It removes all makeup really well, did not irritate my eyes and it is super easy to wash off. No oily residue here! As it turns out however, I ended up using it more as a morning cleanser because it feels very light on the skin and it smells divine. The sweet fruity apricot scent was a nice way to wake me up. The other reason is because it contains nice ingredients like apricot oil and grapefruit extract for a vitamin C boost and I wanted all the benefits to go to my skin and not to removing makeup. You can read more about the cleansing oil here and see the full ingredients’ list. 

Next is the Laneige Lip and Eye Remover Waterproof_EX, a dual-phase remover you need to shake to emulsify. I usually hate all dual-phase makeup removers, they feels too oily, sting my eyes and don’t remove makeup efficiently. I mean, I don’t want to spend minutes tugging at my eyes to remove minimal makeup and non-waterproof mascara. I doubt I’ll be discarding my beloved Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil, but this makeup remover blew me away. It really makes eye makeup and lip stain disappear without any tug-of-war and lo and behold it doesn’t leave an oily film all over my lids! All this without any eye stinging. I was also impressed that it actually removes lip stains easily, my lips did not react negatively to it and it didn’t leave an unpleasant taste on my lips either. I know many like using a separate eye makeup remover and I think this is quite a good one. If you want to read more about it and see a detailed ingredient’s list, head over to the official Laneige website here.

You can find Laneige products from their beauty counters, Amore Pacific stores as well as online and in Target in the USA (though they do not offer all products). Laneige offers many international website which should help you find where to buy their products in your country. You can find the general international one in English here. 

How to Get your Skin Winter Ready

With the weather getting colder (still no real snow here, only freezing rain…) I thought I could share with you my favorite products to get my skin winter ready and survive the change in temperature. All the products focus on hydration and give super soft skin. Aside from using moisturizer there are many other ways to boost hydration in your skincare routine.

1. Kora Organics Age-Defying AHA Facial Exfoliator: a beautiful exfoliator that uses fruit acids and natural granules to remove dead skin cells and leave you with baby-soft skin. 

2. Laneige Water Bank Eye Gel: this light-weight gel deeply moisturizes your under eye area and it makes your concealer go on super smoothly. I love how it provides non-greasy hydration. 

3. Caudalie Lip Conditioner: a great lip balm that protects your lips and helps seal in moisture while adding a bit of hydration. It also makes a great base for other lip products. 

4. Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Shea Butter: more of a light cream cleanser, this little gem make your skin feel super soft and hydrated instead of tight and dry. It also smells amazing!

5. Innisfree Canola Honey Hydro Gel Mask: a super nourishing gel sheet mask that works quickly and really allows the essence to penetrate deeply into your skin. 

 6. Laneige Water Sleeping Mask: one of my all-time favorite, this mask will add loads of moisture to your skin and make it super soft come morning. This is also an inflight essential for me. 

I hope you enjoyed this little list and find it useful to keep your skin in top condition this winter. Do let me know your favorites in the comments below and you can expect detailed reviews on all the products I have not reviewed yet soon. 

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask

Ever since I fell in love with the Dior Crème de Rose Lip Balm, I have been trying to find other products that can compare. So far, nothing has even come close to the perfection of Dior, but a new product recently caught my eye. Laneige has been known for years for its incredible Water Sleeping Mask and they have now released a Lip Sleeping Mask. I love a good lip treatment so as soon as it was released I knew I had to put it to the test.

This mask contains a berry complex to deliver a strong dose of antioxidants to your lips and it is also formulated with Laneige’s powerful Moisture WrapTM. It is designed to be applied at night before you go to bed and will leave you with soft and hydrated lips come morning. It has a lovely strawberry scent and has a pretty light pink color. The pot also comes with a cute pink spatula to allow you to scoop out and apply the mask while being hygienic.

Every time I wake up after using this, my lips feel soft and hydrated. It really improves the appearance of your lips, they look fuller and you cannot see any dehydration lines. This is marketed as something you use at night, but I love using this during the day. It looks very glossy on the lips and it instantly makes your lips look softer and plumper. I also love that, as I wear it through the day, my lips will look better instead of getting dry and dehydrated. I wouldn’t apply a lipstick over it because of its finish, but it looks really pretty over a stain or on its own. 

Now how does it compare to the Dior balm? Well both have a waxy texture in the pot, but they both turn into a super glossy cream once applied to the lips. I would say the Laneige is equally as softening as the Dior one, however the Dior is more nourishing and slightly more hydrating. So far, I can safely say that the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask is the closest product to the Dior Crème de Rose, it gives amazing results and while it is not at the level of the Dior, it is less expensive and you get more product. Both are incredible lip treatments, so choosing one really comes down to availability and your budget, but rest assured, I’m sure you will enjoy both.

You can get the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask from any laneige counter as well as from Asian beauty stores and websites (like YesStyle) that carry the brand. I got mine on Ebay from a reputable seller. 

What's in My Beauty Travel Bag

I went on a trip recently for my graduation and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share with you all what I like to bring in my beauty bag. Skincare is very important to me when travelling because you never know when your skin might freak out and it’s nice to have everything you might to get things back to normal. Full disclosure, I brought quite a few things this time because I wanted to relax in the hotel and have options.

First we have haircare products, I tend to decant mine into smaller bottles and I’m very low maintenance with my hair. The dry shampoo is a must though because my hair can get a bit oily when I travel (not sure why).   

        

- Colab Sheer Invisible Dry Shampoo in London (reviewed here in New York scent, but this one is lovely too, very fresh and sophisticated)

- Clear Total Care Shampoo (here)

- Clear Total Care Conditioner (here)

- Kérastase Ciment Thermique 

For my body I just bring a scrub and a lotion, the hotel’s soap and shower gel are usually fine. I typically like their lotions too, but I wanted to bring something nice with me just in case and this mini tube did not take up a lot of space.

- St-Ives Blemish Control Apricot Scrub

- Crabtree and Evelyn Rosewater Body Lotion

Lastly, here’s everything I brought for my skincare routine, including extra treats like masks and patches in case a pesky spot decided to show its face. It  might look like a lot but honestly everything fit into my travel bag and most items are quite small. Samples and minis are always super useful so I love stocking up on them.          

- Shu Uemura Anti/Oxi Skin Refining Cleansing Oil

- Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser (here)

- Innisfree Eco Safety Aqua Daily Sun Gel SPF30/PA++

- Indeed Laboratories Hydraluron

- Innisfree White Tone Up Sleeping Pack

- Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner (here)

- Innisfree Green Tea Balancing skin

- Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Lotion

- Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum (here)

- Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Cream

- Laneige Water Bank Eye Gel (here)

- Innisfree Green Tea It's Real Squeeze Mask (here)

- Innisfree Volcanic Pore Clay Mask (here)

- Primera Peeling Facial Intensive

- Ren Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask

- The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil (here)

- Innisfree Bija Anti-Trouble Spot Patch (here)

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into my travel beauty bag and that it will help you when you need to pack for a future trip. Out of everything, the Innisfree samples were the most useful so I highly recommend you try out a few. You can read more about them here. I have linked every product I have reviewed and you can purchase all the products from different retailers since none of them are limited edition. 

Laneige Water Bank Eye Gel

Eye creams are starting to have a moment, I mean a few years ago they were mostly targeted for more mature skin and were incredibly rich. I am still in my early twenties and very thick rich creams usually give me milia (tiny bumps) under my eyes and they take forever to go away. Finding a light cream that makes a difference can be difficult, but thankfully Laneige has come to the rescue with their Water Bank Eye Gel.

This light-weight eye gel hydrates your under eye area without feeling sticky and has lasting effects all day. The gel is cooling to the touch so it refreshes the skin and can help with puffiness. It also has soothing properties making it great for dry and irritated skin (you might want to test it out first if you have severe irritation because it contains fragrance).

I love this eye gel, every time I use it I am left with fresh looking eyes. The gel gives me just enough hydration and it does help reduce minimal puffiness. Unlike other creams I have tried, this does not cause any milia, but it is potent enough to make a visible difference. Also, I noticed this seems to help lighten dark circles, granted mine are not very bad, but when I use it constantly my under eye area looks brighter. If you are looking for something to help minimize wrinkles than I’m not sure this will give you the results you are looking for, but if you are still young or simply looking for a basic eye care product I highly recommend this one.

The Water Bank Eye Gel comes in a huge glass jar that will last you a very long time because you only need to use a little. I love the packaging, it looks gorgeous and very chic, also what can I say, blue is my favorite color and this shade is just lovely. It also comes with a cute little spatula so you don’t have to worry about putting your fingers in the jar, it is all very hygienic.  

I bought my Laneige Water Bank Eye Gel from Amore Pacific (the parent company) on Ebay, but you can also get it from Sasa. It might also be available in your local Amore Pacific/Laneige store or any Asian beauty store or website.

What I Bring in My Carry-On Beauty Bag

Hello everyone today I have a little round-up of what I always keep in my carry-on bag beauty-wise when I’m flying somewhere. I try to keep it minimal but effective. The recycled air on a plane can really dry your skin out, so it is super important to take care of it whether you’re on a long-haul flight or a short one.

First of all I always have a mini bottle of Bioderma micellar water (reviewed here) to remove my makeup. My skin hates flying, so I cannot wear makeup on a plane or I always get spots, clogged pores and uneven texture. None of that makes for a pleasant landing. I simply pour the a little bit of the water on a cotton pad and gently wipe it around my face. Voilà you have clean skin in seconds.

Next I apply a moisturizer, this time I was using the Innisfree Canola Honey Serum (link) and the Laneige Water Bank Gel Cream. Honestly the products I use usually vary depending on the samples I have on hand, but I love Korean moisturizers because they are super hydrating.

Afterwards, I seal everything in with a nice facial mist. I often use simple rose water, but I also love the Innisfree Olive Real Oil Mist (link) for a more hydrating effect. Also it has a super fine mist so it doesn’t get everywhere and it doesn’t have a strong scent that might offend other passengers. Throughout the flight I will usually keep misting every hour to make sure my face stays moisturized and because I love how refreshing it feels.

Lastly if I’m flying at night or am on a long-haul flight, I will also apply a face mask. My absolute favorite is the Laneige Water Sleeping Mask, an amazing mask that moisturizes your skin and nourishes it so you can wake up to softer, plumper skin. It also smells divine and the mask goes on clear so you won’t scare off the other passengers. I always try to have samples of this on hand or I will put some in a little travel jar. I also want to start using sheet masks like the Innisfree Green Tea It's Real Squeeze Mask (reviewed here) to further help soothe and nourish my skin during a long-haul flight.

I pack everything in a clear pouch, the one pictured above is an old one from Sephora that I love, and make sure nothing is over 100ml so I don’t have any troubles going through security. I also carry a lip balm and hand cream with me but those are usually in my purse. I hope this will give you some ideas of what to bring with you on your next flight. 

Laneige Multi Cleanser

The Laneige Multi Cleanser was all the rage a few years ago and it is also the first Korean skincare product I ever used. In all honesty I do not use this cleanser as much anymore, I prefer cleansing oils, but I know many still enjoy foaming cleanser and this one really impressed me.

Unlike a lot of cleansers, the Multi Cleanser is actually designed to remove makeup, sunscreen and exfoliate lightly all whilst cleaning your skin. I went through several tubes of it and I can say that it removes all makeup really well and easily. After use the skin feels clean, but because it is a foaming cleanser it can be a bit stripping so should always follow with some sort of moisturizer (which you should do no matter what cleanser you use anyways). However, it never dried my skin out like some other cleansing foams do. Another thing to note is that I cannot use this to remove eye makeup because it stings my eyes, but it is not market as something you can use on your eye area.   

As for the exfoliating function you cannot really feel it on your face, the creamy formula does not contain actual beads, but rather Papain enzymes that work very gently. After using it, my skin looked bright and refreshed.

You can visit the Laneige website for more information on the Multi Cleanser and their other products.

I got Laneige Multi Cleanser from Ebay for about 25$ but you can find it at a Laneige counter if you live in Asia. You can also purchase it in an Amore Pacific store in Canada and from Target in the United States.