Beauty Review: Etude House Dear Girls Oil Control Pact

If you know me, you know I love Etude House. They may not be the best for skincare, but for makeup, they combine three of my favorite things: affordable, good quality, and cute as heck. So, I thought I'd introduce one of my favorite Etude products, the Dear Girls Oil Control Pact.

It's not such a big deal now that we're moving into the dry, frozen wasteland they call winter here, but in the summer, as the temperature and humidity climb, this product is a gift. It's purpose is right there on the label: to control oil. I've always heard that my oily skin is a blessing that will keep me looking young and fresh until I'm a zillion years old, but so far it just seems to make me shiny and spotty. Yay?

Well, I've got CC cream for the spotty, and this little pact for the shiny. It comes with a foam applicator...pad...thingy...(they let me teach English, imagine that!) but I prefer to use a soft brush for a lighter dusting. There's no color, so it can go on top of your preferred concealer, CC/BB cream, or even just on a no-makeup day to cut down on

LOOK HOW CUTE AND PRETTY

My one complaint is that if you accidentally use too much it won't always blend in with your makeup, giving you that powdery/flakey look which is just so...not attractive. But that's more an issue of user error than an actual problem with the product.

Would I recommend this product: If you're an oily mess like me, yes~! If not, you're probably fine without it. Buy yourself some sparkly eyeliner instead.

Where to buy: Etude House (aka my home away from home). I've got the cute pink membership card to prove it!

Beauty Review: Covered in Bees!

It's been almost a year since I did any beauty reviews (it's because I became ugly!) and since the last thing I wrote about was the Nature Republic Bee Venom Cream, I figured I'd continue that theme with the Nature Republic Bee Venom Cleansing Foam that I've been using recently, since it's lovely and smells like...well I can't quite decide what it smells like but I love it.

Bees!

Initially, I picked this up on a whim because I was out of town and needed something to wash my face with. I feel like I'm going to keep picking up more products from this line as time goes by, because everything I've tried has been great.

The bee venom line seems to be mostly for "problem" skin aka the dreaded pimples. While my skin is a thousand times better than it was in high school, I still suffer from the curse of oily skin, but I hate using products that really dry out my face, because I also have incredibly sensitive skin. It turns red if you so much as give it a dirty look.

Bees bees bees!

It's your basic creamy foamy cleanser, with a nice fresh scent that I can't define but that I enjoy regardless. I've been using it for about a month now, and my skin is noticeably less prone to breakouts and generally just in better shape.

Would I recommend this product: Fo sho. It's a little more expensive than a generic cleanser, but I really feel like it has helped my skin.

Where to buy: If you're lucky enough to live somewhere with a Nature Republic, buy it there~ If not, here it is on Amazon. Enjoy~

Mandu for Breakfast: Jeonju Food Tour Part 2

Hopefully you've recovered from the feast that was Part 1, because I have yet more food to talk to you about. I pretty much always have food to talk about, so it's a wonder I ever write about anything else on this blog. First stop of the day? Dumplings.

I know, eating dumplings for breakfast sounds weird, but in our defense A) we slept in pretty late and B) don't be such a square.

Mandu god is watching you.

According to a friend of a friend this place is pretty famous, and if a long line is a good judge of quality, then by that alone this place would win awards. It stretched down the street and around a corner, and some people even had snacks to sustain them during the wait.

Working hard in that tiny space!

The setup in this place is perfect. The line moves past the display of freshly made dumplings, so you have a chance to think about your order before you get to the front. As we watched, they were continuously bringing out fresh wares. Apparently this place is famous for the shrimp mandu, but since I can't eat shrimp, we made sure to get a full selection.

Shrimp balls and kimchi mandu.

If it had been up to me we would have ended up with one of everything, but fortunately Joon could handle the pressure and managed to buy a more reasonable amount.

Sexy close-up shot.

Pictured here, from left to right: 8-pack of kimchi mandu, 1 fried mandu with noodles inside, 2 spicy kimchi mandu, 2 shrimp mandu, and 1 tortilla wrapped fusion...thing. And dixie cup for scale. We practically had to fight a couple to keep our seats, but we were clearly there first and he was just being a big greedy jerk.

I cannot stress how huge, delicious, and hugely delicious these were. The spicy ones were the perfect amount of spicy, too; just enough to give it a kick without covering up the flavor. If I lived in Jeonju, I'd probably brave the line at least once a week to stuff my face with these pockets of heaven. I'd also become horribly fat, so it's probably better that I stay in Wonju.

Our final stop was Cafe Manil Manil, for the patbingsu that had eluded us the day before. The owner was really nice, and even remembered us! Patbingsu isn't exactly a winter food, but in the warm cafe with the sun shining through the many windows, it was easy to forget the chilly weather.

Very natural, comfortable feeling.

Real flowers on the tables!

Too cute. Also explains all the old hippie music.

I was thrilled even before our dessert and coffee arrived, because the music in Manil Manil was basically all the music I listened to with my parents when I was younger. I even heard some Eric Clapton, which I don't think I've heard before in Korea.

Americano for an American.

AWW. YISS.

The red beans were just right, not too sweet, and the shaved ice was the kind that a bit milky and sweet, so the two complemented each other delightfully. I also had a nice hot coffee to warm me up, which rounded out the meal perfectly. I feel like this place must get crazy in the summer, but whatever the situation, you should definitely go here if you're in Jeonju.

With that, our adventure finally came to an end. Full and happy, we caught a bus to Seoul, then I caught a second bus back to Wonju, the catching of which is a long story unto itself that I may tell later. If anyone wants more specific directions to any of these places, leave a comment and I'll try to draw a map or get an address.

Eating My Way Through Jeonju: Food Tour Part 1

Long time no see! Or not see, exactly, but...well...anyways. Sorry I didn't write for so long. I got my first bad cold of the season, and while it tried to knock me down, I got up again because, to quote Chumbawumba, "you're never gonna keep me down." I've been working on a longer post about my teaching style and serious stuff like that, but it's taking too long, so instead I'll take you on a food tour of Jeonju! Because who doesn't love food?

Jeonju is about 3 hours from Wonju by bus, but since I was traveling with a friend, I met her in Seoul on Friday night so we could leave together on Saturday morning. Her apartment is super tiny but really cute, and it certainly made me feel grateful for all the space I have to live in these days. 

We caught the 8 AM bus out of Central City and napped for the first couple hours, if only to escape from the Most Depressing TV Program Ever. We were close to the front of the bus, which is usually a great location, because you can watch the TV that they always have going in front. I usually entertain myself by trying to guess the plots of random dramas without hearing the dialogue. This time, though, it was a curse, because for the entirety of the 3 hour bus ride they were showing a program about different places where volunteers go to help people in terrible situations. Causes included: starving children in Africa, homeless people in Seoul, and a little girl whose skin was so fragile even just water touching her felt like alcohol on an open wound. So yeah. That was wonderful to watch.

On the way, we stopped at a rest stop for a bit of leg-stretching and snacking. Korean rest stops are amazing, at least compared to what I've experienced in the states. There is real food, freshly cooked, and lots of different snacks to try. We only had 15 minutes, though, so Joon suggested we get some potatoes. Best. Decision. Ever. 

I'm drooling just looking at this picture.

Maybe it was because I hadn't eaten any breakfast and was starving, but these potatoes were amazing. I nearly choked on one because I was eating too fast. It was really embarrassing. What's great about this snack, though,  is its simplicity. It's just roasted potatoes with salt, but on a chilly November day it's perfect, and at only 2,500 won it's a steal. If you're ever at a rest stop in Korea and you need a snack, you should definitely try this.

As you can see, we chose the perfect time of year to visit. The leaves were all shades of red, orange and yellow, the air was cool and crisp even with the sun out, and all that delicious food was waiting for us to enjoy it.

There were long lines in front of just about every restaurant, so we chose based entirely on length of line. Luckily, we chose well.

Dramatic angles make food more delicious.

Tteokgalbi (I had to look this up) is made from short ribs (galbi) and pork. The meat is mixed together, then shaped into a sort of rectangle before being grilled over charcoal. You can either just eat it straight off the grill with a bit of salt, or dip it in some spicy sauce. If you have the patience you can even make a lettuce wrap with rice and kimchi. Much like the potato snack, I really enjoyed how simple this meal was. 

Beautiful presentation.

Since no meal is complete without soup, we finished off with some nengmyeon, delicious cold noodles. I went for the spicy version, which sadly wasn't actually all that spicy. Still great though!

For dessert we planned to go to Manil Manil, a cafe famous for it's patbingsu. Sadly, they were out of red bean topping for the day, so we had to make a new choice. 

The name of this cafe sounds like "choose me", so we did, and we were not disappointed. It's hard to see in the picture, but flavors ranged from the basics like strawberry and mango and chocolate all the way to grapefruit, blueberry yogurt, and wasabi, I panicked when I got to the front of the line and ordered the first thing I saw, which was strawberry. No regrets. There were slices of real strawberry embedded in the sorbet, and the flavor was just right. Not too sweet, very smooth, just...perfect. 

Just because it's winter doesn't mean I can't eat popsicles.

While we enjoyed our dessert we waited in line at PNB, a famous bakery that's been in business since 1951. While they bake all sorts of things, they're most famous for their chocopies. I didn't know chocopies could be fancy, but I guess you learn something new every day. The line stretched a couple blocks down the street, and each person could only buy 5, for a whopping 8,000 won. After trying one, though, I can see why they're famous. 

For one thing, they're pretty big-- bigger than your usual packaged chocopie. Nice rich chocolate, slightly crisp cake, classic marshmallow filling, and a bonus: strawberry cream! I managed to eat only half of one before I was full, but I could easily have shared it with two other people. The line maybe long, but I'd consider this delicious treat to be worth the wait.

Finally, a museum that caters to my interests.

After all that eating we decided we had to walk around a bit before exploding. All this food was located in the middle of a Hanok Village, which meant there were plenty of beautiful buildings and historical things to poke around in and look at. We also stumbled across some kind of performance, elementary school dancers and also some great drumming. 

For dinner, Joon's friend recommended a less well known but delicious beef restaurant. Beef is pretty pricey in Korea, but hey, we were on vacation! What better time to splurge a little?

What dreams are made of.

All this for 35,000 won! NOT BAD, if I do say so myself. A selection of beef to grill, a mountain of side dishes, and some extra vegetable soup that our nice server gave us for free. Speaking of our server, she was the most adorable thing ever. The moment we sat down, this tiny middle-aged woman came over and, upon seeing me, started throwing out random bits of English that she knew. I may have been the first foreigner in the restaurant, based on her reaction. She even mentioned that her daughter studies English in some hagwon. Maybe trying to impress me? I don't know. It was pretty cute.

For dessert we got ice cream macaron sandwiches and then stopped for some bitter and very healthy-tasting tea; the perfect end to a long, delicious day. Stay tuned for day two, which includes famous patbingsu and a series of unfortunate bus events.

Beauty Review: Nature Republic Bee Venom Cream

I picked up this Bee Venom Cream from Nature Republic a while ago, but I wanted to give it time to really start working before I reviewed it on here. What caught my eye immediately was that the packaging said it was "for skin that gets easily irritated and suffers from redness." That is me in a nutshell. Seriously, my skin thinks it's some kind of delicate princess. If you so much as look at it funny it'll get red and dumb. As the weather heats up, this has become even worse, so I decided to try out some Bee Venom Cream. Also, cream with bee venom just sounds cool, right?

69%...heh heh heh

I really like the texture of this cream. I have pretty oily skin, so anything that's really heavy or greasy is not going to last long in my makeup cabinet. This stuff, however, is really light and soaks into my skin without making me feel slimy. The smell is also quite nice, reminding me of beeswax, and in a way kind of...herbal. I dunno, it's hard to explain, but it just smells really clean and natural.

Perfect English! I'm so impressed, Nature Republic

As far as the general redness of my skin, I feel like that's improved? I mean, I didn't take any before pictures to compare to my current after, but I know my skin has been a lot happier lately. I usually just use this at night, because it's humid as a sauna these days so anything more than a light moisturizer for daytime makes me even slimier than usual. I'm sorry if that's an unpleasant image, but things have been pretty unpleasant lately.

Anyways...yeah. Not much to say about this one other than that I like it. I'm super picky about face creams because I hate feeling greasy, but for now this one is a definite winner.

Would I recommend this product: Yes yes yes! My crazy skin seems to have calmed down a lot since I started using this at night, and the smell is just lovely.

Where to buy: If you're in Korea there's Nature Republic stores everywhere, but if not, here it is on Amazon. I know it's a bit pricey, but it lasts a long time~

Beauty Review: Nature Republic Super Aqua Max Fresh Watery Essence

Again with the ridiculously long names. Anyways, I've been using this product for a few months now, and finally getting around to reviewing it! As you may have guessed, I got out of my Etude House rut for once and picked this up from Nature Republic, as I was in need of a lightweight emulsion/essence now that the weather is so hot and I'm a sweaty American. The Super Aqua Max Fresh Watery Essence, which sounds a bit like the name of a mecha, turned out to be exactly what I was looking for.

Okay first off the packaging is really pretty. I love the color, and it really suggest a fresh and cool feeling. Granted, Nature Republic products don't have the cutesy vibe that I usually go for, but the clean, simple lines reflect the clean and simple products you can find at Nature Republic.

SUPER AQUA MAX FRESH TEAM GO!

I skinned it.

As far as the bottle itself, there are pros and cons. Pro #1: it's a really pretty color. I know that's not necessarily a priority but it's just a really nice looking bottle. Pro #2: It has a pump that is also covered by a lid. This makes it easy to dispense just a small amount, while also making it possible to bring this along in a bag if I'm traveling somewhere, without worrying that the pump was going to start covering my clothes in moisturizer. The only con is that the bottle is glass, so if I were to bring this along in a bag I'd have to be very careful to wrap it up in socks or something to keep it from breaking.

Now, the actual product is, of course, what is most important, and in that regard this stuff is PERFECT. I'm an oily mess even in winter, so with this hot and humid weather, anything I put on my face needs to be very light and not at all oily or greasy. As this is more of an essence or emulsion, I want it to sink in easily without making my face slimy. The texture of this essence is really light and, well, watery. The label doesn't lie. I don't need a lot of moisturizing during the day, so lately this is all I've been using under my BB cream, and I really like how that's working for me.

Would I recommend this product: Certainly for people with more oily skin, but if your skin is dry, you might need something with a bit more kick. It's a bit more expensive than I usually go for, but since it doesn't take very much to cover my face, I can tell it's going to last a long time and be a good investment.

Where to buy: If you live somewhere with Nature Republic stores, that's the easy route. If not, you can go here! Happy shopping~

Beauty Review: Etude House Rich Butter Foot Mask

As I've already admitted to the horrible things I've subjected my hair to, I guess my feet are fair game. Only that they aren't. Fair, that is. I walk everywhere, so the poor things take a beating on a daily basis. Sometimes I wear good shoes, but more often than not I slump around in my ratty old broken sneakers, flats with absolutely no support, or heels. I'm not quite a hobbit, but my feet will win no beauty contests. If that's even a thing.

Anyways! So digression. Much sidetracked. Wow.

In hopes of bringing my feet back from the hell I've subjected them to, I picked up (from Etude House, where else?) the Rich Butter Foot Mask shown in the picture.




WHY IS ETUDE STUFF SO CUTE??

As always, half of what makes Etude House stuff so great is the packaging. So much pink! And flowers! What's not to love?

The process for this was pretty fun, too. As you can see on the package, there are 2 steps. First you apply what is basically a sheet mask, same as you would use for your face, except in more of a foot shape. Then, to quote the instructions "wear footsies...[and]...secure with adhesive tape." FOOTSIES. Footsies. Say it with me. Footsies. Best thing ever.




Footsie-clad feets. Feet. Feetsies?

The great thing about the footsies is that even with the foot mask on, you aren't trapped in one spot while the goo works its magic. It's probably not the best idea to say, go for a run, but you can at least grab a glass of water or answer the phone or whatever it is you have to do. Also, as an added bonus, the tape that comes in the kit is pink. Because Etude House. The other thing I really loved about this mask was the instructions about pressure points on your feet, where to massage for a headache or digestion or eye fatigue.

Result? I certainly liked how pampered I felt after doing this treatment, but I can't say how much it was able to change my horrible feet.

Would I recommend this product: Yes~ The results weren't huge, but it wasn't expensive, and it's nice to feel pampered once in a while. Also, footsies.

Where to buy: If you live in a place with Etude House stores, then you can just drop by. If not, I'm sure it's on the Etude House gmarket store or the like.

 

And finally...

 

FOOTSIES!

Beauty Review: Etude House Silk Scarf Double Care Hair Mask

I have done some unholy things to my hair, from heat styling to bleaching to multiple dye jobs in one week, so when I saw the Etude House Silk Scarf Double Care Hair Mask in my local Etude House, I knew I had to try it.



Etude House will forever have the best packaging.

As you may be able to tell from the picture, the Silk Scarf Double Care Hair Mask not only has the longest name in the universe, it also has two parts to its magical hair treatment system.

1. Hair treatment: a very nice conditioning formula
2. Essence Hair cap: a shower cap blessed by unicorns

The treatment seems pretty standard at first. It's a nice formula, not too heavy, and the smell is really nice. I usually shampoo and condition my hair before doing treatments, but this one said to just apply after shampoo, so I decided to trust the directions and take my chances.

Apply mask, wear cap, become happy. 

Now, what helps this hair treatment stand out from the millions of treatments out there is the "Essence Hair Cap" that comes in the second pouch. It basically looks like a shower cap, but the whole thing is coated in a sort of hair renewing essence, so it adds another layer of help to the system. I also like it because I can never remember to get a shower cap, so it's hard to do the sort of hair treatments that need to be left on for a long time without dripping goo all over my apartment. Not that that ever happened. Honest.

Hashtag no makeup

I don't have any before/after pictures of my hair, so you'll have to take my word for the fact that this was a miracle of modern hair science. I have a lot of trouble with intensive hair treatments because I have very fine hair that likes to be greasy, so a lot of the treatments I've tried just leave me feeling less like a princess and more like Snape. Minus the chip on my shoulder. The SCDCHM (damn the name is even long as an acronym) had all the benefit of an intensive treatment with none of the greasiness. If you've got seriously damaged hair you might needs something more intense, but I liked the lightweight feel of this. It's a treatment you can do and go out afterwards without worrying about slimy hair. 

Would I recommend this product: Yes yes yes! Not only does it work well, it gives you that nice feeling of an at-home spa day.

Where to buy: If you live in a place with Etude House stores, then you can just drop by. If not, here it is on the Etude House gmarket store. Happy shopping~