What’s new in Kbeauty vol. 1

Korean beauty companies come out with new products like how MAC comes out with five collections a month.  I’ll be starting this new series called “What’s new in Kbeauty” to showcase what Korean cosmetic companies have recently released in South Korea.  I have noticed quite a few big Korean cosmetic companies collaborating with crowd-favorite cartoons such as Garfield, Betty Boop, and even Kaokao Friends!  I’m totally loving the collaboration and it definitely makes me look twice and want to buy it just because I watched the cartoon or read the comic growing up as a kid. |▰◕△◕▰|  Just take my money!! Let’s see what these companies have to offer, LETS GO~

First off, let’s start with A’pieu.  I’m not familiar with this brand since I believe it is a smaller brand compared to companies like Etude House and Tony Moly, but I got sucked in with their limited edition Garfield BB cushion that came out recently.  Sadly I can’t read Korean, so I can’t get too in-depth with what the company is all about.  Their price point is very affordable, starting at about 2,000 won and up and I think this company targets teens and students, ages 14-22 maybe?  I shop around Testerkorea and I see that their cream blushers are priced at 4,000 won ($4 USD) and their BB cushions are 5,500 won ($5.50 USD) so the price point definitely sucks me in.

A’pieu came out with this adorable “gelato” line mask which I have been seeing all over my Instagram and facebook feeds.  The packaging so so adorable!! The jar is just like a waffle cone hehe. Too bad they don’t come like an ice cream scoop and cream.  These masks are 5,800 Won ($4.90 USD) each and contain 100 mL.

The “cream” one (럽 인 젤라또 마스크) is made with rice which I’m guessing it is for brightening since it is a very common ingredient used in asian beauty for its brightening properties.  I sadly cannot translate the writing since it is all in a picture but I will guess from the promo picture, so please bare with me ʕ•ૅૄ•ʔ.

The second mask (럽 인 젤라또 마스크; that’s the Korean name of the product) is made with pistachio, green tea powder, and red bean powder. Pistachio is great for the skin as it has anti-inflammatory properties since it contains vitamins A and E, natural moisturizer from the oil content within the nut, and fights aging from the potent content of antioxidants that tends to neutralize free radicals.  Seems like this mask is targeted toward black heads, which I definitely need to give a try since my nose always reproduces blackheads overnight… Ridiculous right?

Cucumber gel has been popping up left and right with Korean cosmetic companies, it has become the new aloe gel trend for sure. A’pieu has also jumped onto the bandwagon with their version of a cucumber gel called “waterful cucumber soothing gel” retailing for 1,800 Won ($1.61 USD) and contains 145 mL.  Cucumber gel is a natural source of vitamin B1, and vitamin C which is good for treating pimples, enzymatic freckles, pimples, blackheads, wrinkles, and of course dryness while being lightweight on the skin.  They definitely rolled all these cucumber gels right on time for summer since you can use the cucumber gel to cool down the temperature of your skin while hydrating it from the harsh sunlight.  You could also use it as an under-eye treatment by mixing cucumber gel and ice water, soaking it with cotton pads, and placing it under the eye.  I would do this in advance, mixing the water and cucumber gel in bulk and soaking cotton pads and sticking it into the fridge and using it as a morning under-eye de-puffer.

Something else that came around right on time is A’pieu’s new “speedy head cooler” retailing for 3,800 Won ($3.39 USD).  I have seen a product like this while I was watching the second season of Get it Beauty (season 2, episode 20), but because they blur out the actual packaging and the brand, I could not find the product to buy.  Why would you need this?  Well first off this is an aerosol canned chiller for your scalp since during the summertime, everyone is slathering away screen away on their face and body, but we all forget about our scalp.  There is really no way to apply sunscreen onto your scalp, that’s why there is the head cooler.  You take the can, place the comb-like tip, and push it against your scalp, activating a sudden blast of chilly air to bring the temperature of your scalp down.  Did you know the optimal body temperature of a human body, especially the face, is 36 degrees Celsius? For each degree higher it is, your skin ages ten times, so please make sure your scalp is not burning or aging!  I need to get at least four bottles of this, one for me at work in the hot kitchen, one for my hot-headed boyfriend when he gets upset, and one for my dad who also is hot-headed LOL.  At that affordable price, I can afford it (｡☉౪ ⊙｡).

How to use it ^

BB cushion has taken over my makeup routine as it is easy to use and cuts down my base makeup in half.  RyanRoar, which I stumbled on Instagram and see many times on the Korean cosmetic group I joined a while ago, posted up a quick post on A’pieu’s new collaboration with Garfield to create this limited edition packaging for their Air fit BB cushion.  Of course, I had to get it!  If you haven’t seen this in my Testerkorea haul, click here. It retails for only 5,800 won ($5.18 USD) and contains 13.5 g of product. I think it is the cheapest BB cushion I have seen on the market and for that price, you really can’t go wrong.  I’ll be trying this product out and doing a full review on it, so please stay tuned for that.

Etude House is definitely my favorite Korean beauty brand out there as they tung on the little girl who dreams of being a princess. They do send me pink bird boxes every month to review their products for you guys, so I do pay close attention to what they release. Here are some things they have released in the past month.

They came out with this genius quad-ended brush that is great for on the go.  Sephora actually has something like this but it is magnetic.  My boyfriend actually got me the Sephora one a while ago, I think he was even more advance and on-trend then me HAHA.

Etude House come out with limited edition colors to add to their Play 101 pencils which I am a big big fan of.  They won’t budge on the water line, pigmented and multi-use as you can use it on your eye, cheek and lips.  I still need to do an updated review on these, but here is my post on my old blog if you want to check it out. I usually don’t like to try new mascaras since a lot of the time it doesn’t really work and I waste time and money.  Etude House included this mascara in the June box and surprisingly, it worked amazingly with my lashes!  They kept my curl up with their gel waterproof formula, and the brush is quite interesting.  Check here for the full June pink bird box to see this mascara in more detail.  Overall I really recommend you guys give this mascara a try ヾ(@゜∇゜@)ノ.  The pink color looks amazing, but I wouldn’t know when and where I could wear it sadly.

The cutest thing which is selling out left and right is their super duper cute Etti spa headband retailing for 4,000 won. I really want one for myself but it is selling out super fast and being marked up double the price, I’ll just sew my own :S.  They also came out with a hairbrush which you can stand up on your vanity and it has a mirror on the other side.  Not only those two essential products, they also came out with empty palettes that you can fill up with your own eyeshadows.  This is great since they are better bang for your buck as the big palette that holds 24 eyeshadows is only 16,000 Won (a little less than $16 USD) but sadly, the palettes are not magnetized.  If that does not bother you, you can always just pop in your own magnetics.  I got myself the eight pan palettes in my Testerkorea haul, so if you would like to see real-life pictures, click here.

Innisfree has been one of those brands which I wanted to try for a long time.  Then when I want to order some things, I don’t know what to order.  Sigh… They recently came out with the Jeju limited edition collection which includes limited edition Jeju-inspired designs on their BB cushion.  I want to get one, however, I don’t know if the formula will work for me since it seems to have quite a matte finish.  For those that have tried it already, let me know if the finish of the BB cushion is drying or not, I’d love to know.

They all look so pretty! The first one has to be my favourite out of the three though.

These are called “Innisfree glow liquid shadows” which are, like what the name states, cream eyeshadows that you can either use as a base or just on its own for a wash of color.  They’re also pretty!

In addition to the Jeju collection, they also have these Jeju Island-inspired nail polishes which I really can see how it ties in with the Jeju theme.  I love all the colors! It is so island, chill, laid back, hippie vibe, the definition of Jeju for sure.  I need to go there one day, it is a must!

The last products promoted in this collection are five limited edition liners with the scuba diver print on the cap.  Not sure if I would personally buy these colored liners for everyday use but they are fun.  I’d really love to see if those turquoise liners are pigmented enough…  Has anyone out there tried it?

This might seem silly, but I want that water bottle!  I have been trying to train myself to drink more water since I’d say I’m quite dehydrated.  I could go a day with just one cup of water. Not good! We should be consuming at least 8 cups of water to keep everything working normally, organs, brain, blood, everything.  The water bottle has a juicer built into it and you can pop it out to use it.  UGH, I need to buy it haha.Skinfood came out with this really interesting BB cushion that comes as an aerosol can.  It is supposed to have a cooling effect, not how that will work.  I saw one review on youtube from a Korean beauty vlogger and she said there was a strong scent that wouldn’t go away, so not sure if I would want to try this if it smells toxicccccc on my face. NO!

Tony Moly is known for its cute fruit packaging, panda, and cooky mayo hair treatments.  It was no surprise they would add a new fruit to their already popular fruit line, mango sunscreen which came right on time for summer!  Of course, I got sucked into the cute packaging as well and got me one :P.  So far I can say that this sunscreen doesn’t leave my skin sticky but it does leave my skin kind of greasy, especially if you were to use it underneath your makeup and take flash photography.  I was taking pictures for another post on a day I was using this sunscreen and WOW, I have never ever seen my face so oiled before.  You could almost fry bacon with the amount of grease that was on my face.  In person, it doesn’t look too greasy, but if you have oily skin, I’d skip on this sunscreen and try one that is gel-type.

Another company that has come out with a cucumber gel is Tony Moly!  I honestly think it is the same thing, but just packaged differently.Alongside with cucumber gel, Tony Moly so far is the only company that I can see on the internet with BAMBOO soothing gel?  What the….  I think this is the first time that I have seen bamboo as a skin care ingredient.  I’d love to see how this pans out and what are skin benefits it provides. If any of you guys know what the skincare benefits panda’s main food source it carries, please let me know below!  Excuse my ignorance….

That is it for the round-up for the first post of this series.  Let me know if you guys like it and want me to continue. ⊂(^(工)^)⊃