My skincare story

So not everyone had the luxury to go to the dermatologist on a regular or even have Youtube at the tip of their finger.  Back in my days, Youtube was just a platform for random and weird videos.  There were those rare videos on how to do your make up but rarely any on skincare.  In this post I will be telling you my skincare story, my journey to the present and how Korean cosmetic changed my life.  Sounds a bit dramatic but it is true.  So let’s get started shall we? ヽ(〃･ω･)ﾉ

You are going to cringe when I tell you this, but growing up as a child I never got into the habit of washing my face.  Like EVER!  My mother had the regular routine of cleanser, and moisturizer but that was about it.  She always told me to wash my face and kept nit picking me to get rid of my horrendous blackheads but never really gave me the tools to do it.  In the beginning of high school one day, I was looking in the mirror and saw these weird bumps which weren’t red nor did any puss come out.  I was confused as to where it came from and was frustrated since I couldn’t find any answers.

Couple days after, I found myself strolling in the department store and somehow ended up in the Clinique counter. I remembered as a kid that my mother would always go to Clinique to buy glosses and skincare products, so I had a bit trust in the brand. The lady at the counter asked me if I needed help with anything so I started telling her about my little problem to which she replied by using the Clinique toner with a cotton ball and proceeded to wipe the back of my hand.  She did a quick test with some clear film on the hand that was wiped and the hand that wasn’t.  The one that wasn’t had clear grey residue while the other didn’t.  I was so fascinated by how clean my skin felt afterwards and decided to come back with my mother to ask her to purchase it for me since I didn’t really have any money in my bank since I didn’t get allowance.  But I just broke down and spent the only $75 I had in my bank to save my skin.  I remembered going home all proud in finally getting myself some “real” skincare items, I even placed all three of the products on my bedroom counter as a reminder to cleanse my face.

Now this was before I had any knowledge as to what my skin type was, how everyone has different skin types and which products you should be using according to your skin condition.  I used the Clinique liquid facial soap mild for three years or so and remember my skin feeling super dry after and tight.  Back then I thought that was what “clean” was suppose to feel like.  After I would use the toner which made my skin even more dry and I couldn’t wait to slather on my moisturizer.  Looking back, all those products were RUINING my skin.  They are absolutely horrible!  Cleansers should not make your skin tight in any way, oily or dry skin!  The toner was essentially pure alcohol and the moisturizer was not moisturizing enough in any way.  Even after I used the moisturizer, my skin still felt dry so I thought I just needed to use a bit more.
This went on for about three to four years.  I didn’t want to venture out into trying any other skincare products because they were so expensive!! Even to this day, I refuse to use any skincare products that are sold in the western market because I can find better products in the Korean market that is a lot more affordable, doesn’t break my bank and they are more effective for my skin.  The only other western skincare product I used after that was L’occitane’s shea moisturizer which was awesome but covering up your dead some with more moisture does not help the cause.  Scrubs like St. Ives did nothing for my peeling dead skin that would cling onto dear life.  I thought my skin was hopeless.I did buy some Korean cosmetics here and there on eBay, but I only stuck to the few brands I knew which were Etude House, Skinfood and the face shop.  I didn’t know much about the other brands that were offered and never ventured out.  My feelings then for KBeauty was neutral and still stuck with drugstore and online brands offered in North America.

Last year, 2014, I got introduced to a online company called Memebox.  I forgot who I was watching but I remembered seeing a hot pink box that was super affordable, retailing for $23 or $32, and there was tons and tons of products inside including make up and skincare.  I thought to myself, WOW this is totally worth it and it is not a subscription based box, EVEN BETTER!  So I got hooked into Memebox.  Also around this time, I discovered this amazing show called “get it beauty”, which is a Korean beauty skin that teaches you tips and tricks on how to take are of your skin, hair, make up and nails.  Anything and everything was taught on the show by field experts that worked with celebrities and the concepts of the show were amazing.  They had blind tests, DIY and even showed quirky things like the built in fan mirror I bought as well.

I’m really glad I stumbled upon Memebox, I could easily say they changed my life and my skin.  Prior to learning about the ways Korean/ Asian women and men took care of their skin, it gave me a better understanding of how to take care of it and which products were best for our different types of skin.  You might think it is a pain in the ass to wash your face with 10 steps, but once you get used to it, it becomes second nature and you will notice a huge difference.

I preach about KBeauty on my blog because it is super affordable and they come up with the most innovative, most interesting products with amazingly cute packaging. Not only that, their products are high quality whether you want to believe it or not.  I have found products like Secret Key lemon D-toc peeling gel which is here to stay and is easily my holy grail product to get rid of my dead skin.

The Korean way of skincare opened my eyes and created a better understanding for me in the way you should be taking care of your skin, whether you are a male or a female.  The western culture doesn’t have the heavy emphasis on skincare and it is almost brushed under the table.  All they teach is use cleanser, toner maybe, buy some expensive serums to see results tomorrow and use some moisturizer, and sunscreen is for the summertime.  Doesn’t matter if you are a westerner or Asian, Korean way of skincare is the way to go.  That is my bias thinking hehe.

P.S. I wasn’t paid to make love to Memebox or anything in this post, I just really admire them as a company and their mission to bring KBeauty more accessible to the world.  Sadly they don’t ship internationally anymore but they will always hold a place in my heart.  I still am getting through the mountain of products from all the buying I did from them last year haha. Slowly but surely….

Now that I have told you my skincare story, what is your’s?  What products did you first start to use? Have you gotten into KBeauty and did it change your life?  Let me know in the comments down below!  I’d love to hear your story.

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