[Review] Heimish Artless Glow Base SPF50/PA+++

September 9, 2018September 9, 2018 KimLeave a comment

It was only until a year or so ago that I started to wear sunscreen on my face daily. That was also exactly the same time that I discovered k-beauty. Sunscreen is the number one anti ageing secret for Koreans so they use it religiously, as do I (now).

I’ve learnt that a lot of Korean sunscreens have chemical filters, also known as organic sunscreens. This works by absorbing uv rays before they can penetrate the skin and cause damage. PA means Protection Grade of UVA rays, so the more “+” the better.

I was first introduced to the brand when I bought the (now famous) All Clean Balm. It was my first (first) cleanser so I remember it well. Because it was such an awesome product, I wanted to try more from Heimish. I couldn’t find too much (only a short blurb below) about the company itself but judging from the aesthetics, they feel to be more a modern and polished brand. You can tell this from their packaging alone. Their use of pastel pink, white and rose gold accents is very well done. They have a range (not massive) of skincare and cosmetics.

I’ve been using this for awhile and since it’s almost out, I thought I’d share my thoughts on it. Please keep on reading if you’re interested in my thoughts on this sunscreen.

About Heimish

from stylekorean.com

Heimish expresses a modern and chic style. with common and natural makeup to realize “No More Normal”. It is a common makeup that anyone can use. It effortlessly draws attention and can win one’s heart even if applied lightly. It should not be “your makeup”, but “you, wearing the makeup” that grabs attention. include dailism, all clean balm to help you achieve this season’s hottest looks.

Product claims

from stylekorean.com

A tone up base that brightens your complexion

Highly moisturising sun care

Herb extracts to protect your skin

I would definitely agree with the first two points. It does bring life back into my face, even after a sleepless night. It also is very moisturising, so for oilier skin types, you probably won’t need a moisturiser beforehand.

Cost

$20 AUD from ebay, roseroseshop. 40ml

Ingredients

from ohlolly.com

Water, Butylene Glycol, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid, Stearyl Alcohol, Triethanolamine, Octocrylene, Niacinamide, Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, CI 77891(titanium dioxide), CI 77019 (mica), PEG-100 Stearate , Hydrogenated Lecithin, Glyceryl Stearate, Beeswax, Caprylyl Glycol, Carbomer, Adenosine, Disodium Edta, Tin Oxide, Carmine, Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Flower/Leaf Extract, Origanum Majorana Leaf Extract, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Extract, Fragrance

This sunscreen also has titanium dioxide which is found in physical sunscreens. Physical filters deflect uv rays, creating a barrier on top of your skin, rather than absorbing like chemical. Plant extracts (help fight free radicals) mentioned in the claims are at the bottom of the list whereas Niacinamide is in the top ten.

Packaging

The sunscreen is housed in a sleek squeezy tube with a twist rose gold cap. As mentioned earlier, the packaging is sleek and modern. For people who like taking “shelfies”, this would be a pretty one to have.

Heimish Artless Glow Base SPF50/PA+++ — Pretty rose gold lid with a sleek tube.

Consistency

It is a little on the thick side but easy to work with once you rub it into the skin. It has a slight pink tinge to it (was hard to capture), for the tone up effect I guess. The texture is emollient, similar to a rich cream moisturiser. It absorbs completely on my skin (NC30), leaving it dewy and glowy, without any sign of a white cast. I did notice however, that if you apply too much you may get a slight white cast, so best to work in sections on the face and keep rubbing until fully absorbed.

Scent

It smells a bit like the sunscreen that we all know (and hate) but it isn’t bad. I think the plant extracts help with making it more pleasant. You can’t smell it once it’s absorbed on the face.

How to use

I’ve been using this for the best part of autumn/winter so I would apply it after moisturiser. I squeeze around a pea sized amount and rub it onto my face, working in sections because it is thicker and needs a bit more attention.

I usually use sunscreen as my primer, a) to save time and b) it usually works well under makeup. This one sits under makeup fine and gives me the look of a glowy primer. This just means that my many primers are sitting idle. Sometimes I would apply a pore filling primer on top (in the t-zone) but not on week days. Typically, you’re supposed to wait a few minutes before applying foundation or whatever your base is, but I don’t have time for that! Works well when I slather everything else on top so that’s all that matters.

Final thoughts

Rating: 5/5 (love it, holy grail status!)

This is a great sunscreen. It delivers on its claims, protects my face from the sun and also works nicely as primer. The “tone up” just describes the glow and brightness it gives you so don’t be deterred by that. Because it can be used in place of a primer (any sunscreen could if it doesn’t pill or make your makeup weird), it doesn’t feel like a chore to apply it.

The added bonus of glow and dew is great too, it gives you a nice radiance, not a disco ball bam like tin man or anything. Would highly recommend this Artless Glow Base.

All of the sunscreens I have used have been chemical as they are known for being easier to apply, without giving you a white cast. This glow base has not broken me out or irritated my skin whatsoever. Sensitive skin types, please do a patch test before slathering it on. Also please take note of the ingredients list before buying any sunscreen because alcohol (the bad ones) are sometimes high up on the list. I tend to avoid those ones.

If I was at the beach however, I would opt for physical with SPF, for all over UVB and UVA protection. I couldn’t care less if I had a white cast on the beach and they’re not so apparent these days anyway. But for daily use on my face, chemical works fine and now I can’t go out without it. I use chemical exfoliants and retinol which all causes skin sensitivity to the sun. So wearing sun protection for me is a no brainer. My only regret is not wearing it sooner!!

Have you tried this glow base? What is your favourite sunscreen?

My favourite face oils

July 29, 2018July 29, 2018 Kim3 Comments

Face oils are a new discovery for me and I have Renee (Gothamista) to thank for my new found love with them. She loves applying oils in her routine and I can definitely resonate with her.

It’s been pretty cold here in Sydney since it’s winter so my skin has been drinking up basically anything I have been putting on my face.

I’ve decided that applying oils is my favourite step in my routine and it’s due to some fantastic discoveries which I will be sharing today. I normally apply it after my serum step and before a moisturiser, in the PM. If you’re interested in finding out what they are, please keep on reading.

Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Face Oil

Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil

This oil is one of Renee’s (Gothamista) favourites and I bought it pretty much because of her. I’m slowly trying out Drunk Elephant’s range and buying minis makes it more affordable since the line isn’t cheap. The Nightbright Duo (also includes T.L.C. Framboos™ Glycolic Night Serum), which is still available, from mecca seemed like a good starting point.

Claims:

from drunkelephant.com

Like rehab for your skin, this wonder-working, luxury facial oil, high in critical antioxidants tocopherol (vitamin E), tochotrienol, phenolic compounds and flavinoids, and rich in omegas 6 and 9, helps to moisturize, rejuvenate and nourish skin while restoring a youthful glow. Straight from the “pip” of the marula fruit, our Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil is untouched by any chemical or fragrance, natural or synthetic and remains in its purest form.

Ingredients:

Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil

Why I love it:

Cold pressed is a technique where the oils are obtained by pressing fruit and seeds, which retains its nutrition and efficacy. I love the fact that it is cold pressed and how lovely and pure this oil is. It feels nourishing, moisturising and comforting, like a warm blanket to my face. It doesn’t literally make it feel warm or anything, it just feels pleasant. It does give me an overall glow and best of all it is the most fast absorbing of all the oils I will be talking about. For some reason I thought it might feel heavy and not absorb on my combo skin since it has “luxury” in its name, but it’s quite the opposite. It still takes a minute to absorb but leaves no residue. Light enough to use during the day for people with drier skin. There is no scent.

The packaging is in a pump since I have the mini size and I generally use two pumps into my palm, rub my both my palms together and press it into my face. I use this technique with all the oils, only the amount of oil used varies.

I’ve been using retinol and AHA serums (interchangeably) at night so applying this over the top and sometimes with no moisturiser, really agrees with my skin.

Price:

I purchased this in a Nightbright duo which also has the T.L.C. Framboos™ Glycolic Night Serum for $40 AUD from mecca.com.au. Both are 8ml. I recently re-purchased this duo because I love both products so much and adore the practical pump packaging. The full size packaging has the standard pipet applicator.

The oil by itself is available in two sizes:
$58 AUD 15ml and $105 for 30ml from mecca.com.au and from the brand’s website drunkelephant.com.

Urang Whitening Blue Oil Serum

I’m going to sound like a broken record but this is yet another oil which Renee recommended. Man this woman’s influence on me is sending me and I’m sure all of her subscribers, broke! As usual, as soon as she had mentioned it the second time, I was trying to find it online. Only ohlolly.com stocked it. Being in Australia, we’re disadvantaged in terms of accessibility of products which are only sold in the US.

Their official and only stockists, ohlolly.com has an absurd shipping fee which I refused to pay and this oil from Urang is already quite expensive. I scoured ebay and found a seller which also sold the mini sized versions so I pounced and here we are.

Claims:

from ohlolly.com

A masterfully blended, all natural face oil serum that brightens, heals and protects skin. Wonderfully lightweight and hydrating, Brightening Blue Oil Serum quickly absorbs into skin to energize and transform dull skin into a radiant complexion.

Ingredients:

Camellia Sinensis Seed Oil, Tocopherol, (-)-alpha-bisabolol, *Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Oil (*Organic ingredient)

Why I love it:

There are only four ingredients in this product, all of which claim to hydrate, even out skin tone and reduce the appearance of wrinkles and hyper pigmentation. The latter always catches my eye because I have PIH from pimples as well as sun spots, both of which I am forever trying to find magical serums for. I also love anything with green tea and it’s the first ingredient. Tocopherol is a form of vitamin E and alpha-bisabolol is from the bark of the candeia tree in Brazil. I’ve read that bisabolol is also an active derived from the German Chamomile.

Urang Whitening Blue Oil Serum – slight tinge of blue and is runny.

I have used quite a bit of this product already and I do feel like it brightens my skin. My whole PM routine is about brightening anyway so it fitted right in. It’s also hard to tell if this has really helped because I use other brightening products too. My skin does feel plump and healthy after use and I simply enjoy using it which are enough reasons for me. It’s a very pretty oil, I love its beautiful blue colour which is naturally from the chamomilla recutita flower. There is a slight scent but it’s very soothing and light. There are no artificial dyes or synthetic fragrances in this oil which I appreciate. Also important to note is that when Korean products are advertised as “whitening” they mean brightening. There is no “tone-up” effect to this product, thankfully since I despise those kind of products. They’ve actually now renamed it to be “brightening” now probably to avoid any confusion.

Urang stands for (Ultimate Radiant + Natural Glow) and the creator Jina Lee is an holistic aromatherapist and wanted to create a brand which would have natural, organic products and for them to safe for the whole family, since she is a mother herself. I haven’t come across any Korean brands with this type of notion and it’s really great that Urang has. The brand is also vegan and cruelty free. Urang sounds like the Korean version of RMS Beauty! I am definitely keen to buy the full size version (the packaging is so beautiful!) and try other products in her line. If only they were more accessible internationally!!

Price:

I bough the travel size 15ml from ebay *, $28.12 USD.

Available from ohlolly.com:
$35 USD for 15ml and $59 USD for 30ml.

Blossom Jeju 100% Pure Camellia Dry Oil

Claims:

from blossomjeju.com

This legendary, 100 percent pure Camellia Oil is rich in vitamin E and essential fatty acids to deeply hydrate and nourish skin.

Grown organically in Jeju island in Korea, the multitasking formula contains astonishing healing, conditioning, and antiaging properties to create a youthful-looking complexion.

Ingredients:

Camellia Seed Oil

Why I love it:

I first tried the Camellia Soombi Essence Oil from this brand which I really loved. It was another one recommended by Renee. Since that oil is expensive I decided to try this version which is marketed as being a dry oil. I think it’s actually better than the Soombi because there is no fragrance and is also half the price. It is fast absorbing and can be used during the AM. I only use two drops if I layer makeup over the top. Otherwise at night, I can use three drops.

Camellia seed oil is known to be light but hydrating and full of antioxidants. All products in the Blossum Jeju line are sourced from Jeju island, which is also known as Korea’s “Hawaii”. It’s common for many k-beauty brands to source ingredients from this island. Definitely an island I would want to visit if I ever visited South Korea.

Price:

$36 AUD, 20ml from ebay

Whamisa Organic Flowers Face Oil

When I was first discovering k-beauty, I read and watched lots of Glow Recipe articles and videos. Sarah and Christine really know their stuff and one of the major brands that they curate is Whamisa. They are well known for fermenting ingredients in their formulations so of course I had to try for myself. This product has fermented flower filtrates as well as a nice blend of oils. I bought a few products from ebay since Glow Recipe’s shipping is pricey to Australia. This oil is probably my favourite product that I have tried so far from the brand. Whamisa also now has an Aussie website so products are much easier to attain, yay! 🙂

I’ve seen this oil in different packaging too, a frosted clear bottle instead of the brown bottle which I have. Not sure which is newer but I’m fairly certain the products are the same.

Claims

from whamisa.co.uk

Organic argan and camellia seed oil star in this miracle blend of natural and organic oils which also includes olive fruit, jojoba seed, carrot seed, evening primrose and flower ferment filtrates. Improves skin’s immunity, elasticity and protects from environmental damage. Creates a natural barrier locking in nutrients and hydration.

Ingredients

from whamisa.co.uk

*Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, *Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, *Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, *Corylus Avellana (Hazel) Seed Oil, *Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin) Seed Oil, *Lactobacillus/Chrysanthemum Sinense Flower Ferment Filtrate, *Lactobacillus/Nelumbium Speciosum Flower Ferment Filtrate, *Lactobacillus/Taraxacum Officinale (Dandelion) Rhizome/Root Ferment Filtrate, ***Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, ***Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract, ***Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Anibae Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Geranium Maculatum Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, d-Limonene, Linalol

Why I love it:

This oil has significantly more ingredients than the other three oils. And because of this, the fragrance is also more apparent. It isn’t offensive or synthetic, it smells natural. It does disappear once you apply it to your skin so it doesn’t bother me. Companies adding artificial fragrances bother me. There’s a great mix of organic oils in the ingredients list, Argan and Camellia Seed both at the top, it’s a good way to get a cocktail of them in the one go.

This is probably the least absorbing of the four, on my skin anyway. I generally use this in the PM and only use one or two drops because it is a heavier formula. For my combo skin, I am at the risk of looking greasy if I use anymore than this. With the right amount, my skin feels moisturised and I don’t even need a moisturiser when I use this.

Price:

$25.99 USD, 30ml from ebay *

Have you tried any of these oils? If so let me know your thoughts 🙂 If you have any recommendations for me, I would love to hear about them 🙂

Please note: links in this post marked with an * are affiliate links. They provide me with a small commission, if you should choose to use them for a purchase, without any extra cost to you 🙂

[Review] Wishtrend – Pure Vitamin C 21.5 Advanced Serum

May 14, 2018June 30, 2018 Kim1 Comment

I use Vitamin C for two main purposes, to lighten post inflammatory hyper-pigmentation (PIH) and Post Inflammatory Erythema (PIE), in layman’s terms are sunspots/freckles and dark acne scarring. Ascorbic acid or L-ascorbic acid, in its pure form is generally a great antioxidant for this purpose since its a major skin brightener.

I used Wishtrend’s Pure Vitamin C 21.5 Advanced Serum for about 4 months and I’m ready to share my thoughts on it.

About Wishtrend

Wishtrend is a online k-beauty store who are under the same Wish Company umbrella as Klairs. They sell products under their own brand as well as curate other well known k-beauty brands such as Mizon, Skinmiso and more.

Cost

$26.35 AUD, purchased from Wishtrend’s eBay Store *

Ingredients (from wishtrend.com)

Hippophae Rhamnoides Water (70%), Ascorbic Acid (21.5%), Sodium Lactate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Panthenol, Cassia Obtusifolia Seed Extract, Allantoin, Xanthan Gum, Ethyl Hexanediol

Pure Vitamin C 21.5 Advanced Serum – ingredients list and instructions

The short ingredient list was appealing and is what captured my attention. A past Vitamin C serum I had used also sold by Wishtrend, the TIAM My Signature C-Source, had a much larger ingredient list which freaked out my skin and gave me cystic acne 😮

Claims

The product seems to have undergone a reformulation though I can’t compare it to the original since I never used it.

With an upgraded formula with more of the effects but less the ingredients,
the Pure Vitamin C 21.5% Advanced Serum has been transformed to have even greater hydration and absorption without the stickiness. It conditions and restores balance to replenish and retain moisture in the skin with the optimal 21.5% of pure vitamin C.

Packaging

The serum is housed in a dark glass bottle with a red label. You get 30 ml of product and a dropper as the applicator. It seems like this type of packaging is common amongst Vitamin C serums. I guess its more cost effective than using (innovative) packaging like Drunk Elephant’s C-Firma Day Serum. With this type of packaging, its easy to let air into the product, and since ascorbic acid is naturally unstable and can easily oxidise, you need to make sure you keep this serum in the fridge (instructed on the box) and seal it up as soon as you’re done.

How to use

Since I keep the serum in my fridge I need to remember to walk over there and grab it. This was a pain and something I never got used to doing. I have a full time job and not a lot of time to get ready in the morning (because I prefer to sleep) so having to go grab it was always a nuisance.

There are some in instructions in English on the back on how to use but this is how I use it. After cleansing and drying my face, I would dispense two or three drops into the palm of my hand. I would then frantically close the bottle to prevent air from entering the bottle. Then using my index finger, I would start to spot treat areas where I have pigmentation spots caused either from the sun or acne.

Once I’ve spot treated the affected areas, I would rub my palms together and pat the leftover product onto the rest of my face. This stuff absorbs fast so you need to work quickly. I would then promptly return the serum and its box to the fridge in fear of oxidation. I would then continue with the rest of my routine. There is an area of debate whether niacinamide and vitamin c would lose efficacy if used in the same routine, so I just tend to not use essence (mine contains niacinamide) in the mornings when I’m using vitamin c, just as a precautionary.

~~Something to note which is quite important is that ascorbic acid can increase your skin’s sensitivity to the sun. Especially in such a large dose as this one.~~ If you are using this during the day, you HAVE to wear sunscreen. Its a non negotiable. This is also the case when using any type of acid which chemically exfoliates the skin. Update: Acids increases sensitivity because you are basically shedding skin. Vitamin C actually boosts the effectiveness of your sunscreen so it’s still important to wear it.

Consistency

Pure Vitamin C 21.5 Advanced Serum - ingredients list and instructions — Pure Vitamin C 21.5 Advanced Serum – watery consistency

It is runny with no viscosity which I see as good and bad. Good because it’s easily absorbable and bad because it can get tricky with application (the whole trying to screw the cap back with one hand thing). The good outweighs the bad in this case. True to the claims, it does not leave any sticky residue.

In its freshest form and by keeping in the fridge, the colour should remain clear. If this changes to anything else, it means the serum has oxidised and is no longer effective. As mentioned, I had mine for 4 months and it still maintained its translucency.

Scent

Smells very slightly of chemicals which dissipates on contact with the skin.

The TIAM My Signature C-Source, smelt like oranges which I didn’t mind either, the product just didn’t work for me. I’ve also used the Klairs Freshly Juiced, and while the name sounds like something that would smell pleasant, it smelt like iron which was unpleasant. The Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum also smelt like this (why?!).

Final thoughts

Rating: 3/5 (it's ok but will not repurchase)

I was afraid that this serum would break me out like the Tiam one did but luckily it didn’t. It also didn’t cause any irritation.

In terms of effectiveness, I didn’t see any significant changes over the 4 months I used it. I applied it every other morning because it had such a high percentage of ascorbic acid. I liked its elegant consistency because it felt like nothing once applied and also appreciated that it had little to no scent. Perhaps my overall skin did appear brighter but I needed more than that, especially at 21.5%. With humectants such as sodium hyaluronate and panthenol within the ingredients list I would’ve expected to also feel some hydration but I didn’t.

Not seeing any significant lightening of my spots wasn’t the main issue I had with it, and its probably not all this serum’s fault. As I mentioned, using vitamin c during the day can cause sensitivity to the sun. I ALWAYS wear sunscreen but I felt like with such a high dose of ascorbic acid, one application of sunscreen in the morning just wasn’t enough. I work in an office and only pop out a couple of times before the sun goes down. I know these are lame reasons but I just don’t reapply sunscreen. I felt like I was getting more sensitive to the sun (we are closer to the ozone hole here in oz) and I’m pretty certain that this vitamin c serum is what was causing it. I saw a couple more sun spots appear and my PIE and PIH just weren’t getting any lighter even though I adequately slather sunscreen on my face. Don’t get me wrong, when I do get regular sun exposure I do reapply, but on work days when I have a face full of makeup, I just don’t.

I guess I could still use it at night but I already have serums which like to use and have proven to be more effective (for different purposes). I have also read that using vitamin c serums during the day can also have other benefits like helping fight free radicals and protection against environmental pollutants.

I think that this has been my final experiment with vitamin c serums for awhile. The fact that it’s also so (so!) high maintenance deters me from using it. Keeping it in the fridge and limiting its exposure to air is a pain because I’m simply lazy. They usually have a life span of 3 months (less if you don’t refrigerate) anyway so having to repurchase would also get expensive and annoying. Again if I did see results I could possibly continue to overlook the inconveniences and repurchase but the cons really outweighed the pros.

I’m perfectly ok to use skincare where ascorbic acid (or its derivates) isn’t the main ingredient like in moisturisers and serums/ampoules so I’m not dissing it completely. I’ve just concluded that my skin is too sensitive for it when it’s in its purest form which is sad 😦

Have you tried any vitamin c serums and how did they work out for you? Would love to hear about your experiences in the comments 🙂

Please note: links in this post marked with an * are affiliate links. They provide me with a small commission, if you should choose to use them for a purchase, without any extra cost to you 🙂