I'm a professed skin care junkie, and a skeptical one at that. I loathe false advertising and gimmick-style products, which why I am SUPER excited to share my top 5 beauty essentials you absolutely NEED to include in your monthly skin care routine leading up to your wedding day.
Having healthy skin is so important before your wedding day and can enhance your makeup two fold! That means a nicer foundation glow, a more natural strobing or contouring effect and it goes right down to the way your skin absorbs makeup. With healthy and properly moisturized skin, your makeup won't look like it's "sitting" on top of your face. - You know what I mean! Cakey foundation, wrinkles you've never seen before in full display etc etc
For the last two years, I've been investing in my skin care. I've also made myself a promise- to only purchase highest quality creams, oils, serums, tonners and sheet masks. And I'm not shy to admit having had $400 IPL laser facials to repair and soothe my super sensitive skin in the hopes to wear barely-there makeup. #liveyourbestlife am I right!??!
So before I go into detail on my facial routine and why I love the following products, here are a few of my personal skin facts... because not every product I use will work the same for you... which obviously your results may vary.
MY SKIN TYPE
FAIR / SCANDINAVIAN SKIN TYPE
HIGHLY SENSITIVE
DOES NOT ABSORB SKIN CARE PRODUCTS WELL
SLIGHT ROSACIA ON CHEEKS
MINIMAL SUN SPOTS & SIGNS OF AGING
DRY TO COMBINATION
Truth be told, my skins in pretty good condition...
SOUTH KOREAN OBSESSED #SOKOGLAM
So how did this journey start?!
To be honest it was a random trip to Nordstroms when my girlfriend- scolded me for purchasing a "mildly" expensive jacket.
“You should be investing that much into your skin care girl!!!!” ”
And she's right. How can I justify that purchase and then cheap out on self-care. And to make a long story short, she introduced me to the wonderful world of South Korean skin care products and that little thing called THE 10 STEP KOREAN SKIN CARE ROUTINE......
SHEET MASK ADDICT!
After doing some mega research, to kick off the whole skin care makeover experience I decided to do the 7-day Sheet Mask Challenge. I knew my skin was in bad shape, so this seemed like the perfect way into prepping my face for the 10 Step Korean Skin Care Routine I so desperately wanted to master. But I also wasn't going to put just any old sheet mask on my face... you know the basic of basic Shoppers Drug Mart brands you used to purchase every time you had a sleep over with your girlfriends in high-school. Number one- they never worked and number two.... I just didn't see the benefit suffocating under a slimy ill fitted piece of cloth... I needed to re-educate myself on the whole concept before committing.
So I turned to SOKO GLAM. and their blog called The Klog - now my newest addiction. After reading a few articles I settled on the Green Tea Pre Care + Moisturizing sheet mask which was recommended and developed by SOKO's editor. I really loved the fact that it was a gelly mask. So instead of being a creepy mummy, it felt like I had a velvety layer of Jello on my face....I know it sounds weird - but I loved it. And even better, my skin LOVED it.
The results were astounding. After just 3 days my face was looking super hydrated, plump with a serious J-LO glow. Charlotte Cho the editor of SOKO GLAM collaborated to create this latest innovative sheet mask. The hydrogel mask is infused with whole green tea leaves to ensure that your skin is getting high-quality ingredients straight from the source. Green tea is a natural antioxidant that cools, de-puffs and soothes acne-prone skin. I did learn one valuable lesson when looking for the perfect sheet mask.... careful choosing any Korean products that include the term "lightning". It's a subtle word for "whitening" aka bleaching the skin. No bueno if you're trying to keep a tan or have super sensitive skin... the whitening can be intense.
My 5 Step Korean Skin Care Routine
Once I gave my skin that boost I jumped right into using these 5 products + 1 extra lil something you deffinitely need in your like - like yesterday!
Seve de Bamboo Eye Matte $34
This eye cream helps to visibly reduce the signs of fatigue such as fine lines, dark under-eye circles and dehydrated skin. This moisture-rich gel-like moisturizer contains Bamboo Sap, which helps to intensely hydrate the sensitive eye area for a healthy glowing look as well as Bamboo Fiber, which helps to lock in the moisture, diminishing the look of fine lines. AM & PM ladies! Although it didn't get rid of my inherited dark circle - thanks mom, It did improve the plumpness around my upper cheek bones.
PHA Moisture Renewal Power Cream $25
I'm new to acids and normally have very sensitive skin. BHAs or AHAs can leave your skin red and irritated. That’s when you need PHAs (polyhydroxy acids), a gentler acid that's also effective in eliminating dead skin cells and smoothing skin texture. This cream is formulated with 3% PHA to give your skin the exfoliation it needs while hydrating your skin with 50% coconut fruit extract and 2% niacinamide, If your dry or dehydrated, this cream is amazing for intense moisture your skin needs. The first morning I woke up after using this moisturizer--- I looked like I had slept for a year. My skin tone was incredibly even with my inherent dark circles actually minimized.
Eye Envy $65
So I like breaking the rules...and Eye Envy isn't SK or what you could consider part of the traditional 10 steps- but I like to mix things up and this miracle serum is a daily must. I first saw its results on my sister. She came over for dinner and I thought she had a new fresh set of mink lash extensions. NOPE! She had just finished 1 month of the Eye Envy. And so I had to try it. 1 month exactly and I had doll lashes. I highly recommend.
Neogen Real Fresh Green Tea Cleansing stick $24
The Neogen Real Fresh Green Tea Cleansing Stick is a travel-friendly cleanser created by Charlotte Cho that offers a 3-in-1, travel-friendly experience. Formulated with 13 natural oils to breakdown makeup, natural green tea leaves to exfoliate and a low pH to gently cleanse your skin. This cleanser will lead the way to bright, clean skin. Perfect product to take on your honeymoon ;)
Benton Snail Bee High Content Pack $20
This sheet mask is made of pure cotton and is soaked in snail mucin to deeply nourish and hydrate irritated skin. Bee venom extract helps improves skin tone and texture. I know what you're thinking- and with sensitive skin I was leery about the Bee venom. But fear not my lovelies! No stinging at all. Now one of these sheet masks actually gave me the same results that I got after a full 7 days of sheet masking. I personally believe that everyone skin absorbs things differently and mine just so happens to love...snails ;)
Hanacure Set $110
The only product that I though was too good to be true- but bought it anyway. I blame Drew Barrymore - queen of all facial junkies, who posted it to her IG and endorsed it. Since this kit is always sold out, I ended up waiting 3 months for it. And every minute spent waiting was worth it. The technology behind it is intense and granted the older your skin is- the more results you'll see. So what did it do to my face?! One things for sure, it increased the circulation in my skin two-fold. The mask naturally tightens on your face as it dries while pulling out impurities. From the first mask to the third you could see a huge difference in the color of the product after it dried. After one treatment I literally couldn't believe that it had erased some little pesky sun spots on my forehead. I did all four treatments, once a week for a month. Now I'll be scaling down a bit and doing 1 a month as maintenance. FYI if you order there'll be about $20 worth of duties...
Adding 5 More Steps
I'm building up to the 10 step method and will share along the way right here on my blog! So stay tuned and follow along on our IG @toast.events
