My rescue plan for after-party skin

So we just finished celebrating the Chuseok holiday here in South Korea (kind of like the Korean version of Thanksgiving). This meant a week off from work and, for me and my pals, a week of very hard partying in Seoul. Do you know what 7 days of tequilla shots, no sleep, caffeine fixes, pizzas, cigarettes and no proper cleansing routine leaves you with? The complexion of Wednesday Adams and a chin zit the size of Mount Snowdon. On top of that feeling sluggish, bloated and generally lethargic and fed up. Why is it that all of life's guilty little pleasures leave such a long legacy on your mind and body afterwards? Harrumph :(

On the bus home I hatched my masterplan for reviving my inner Audrey Hepburn (ha ha, I wish- but still it's always good to have a strong goal). I have been needing just such an excuse as this to try out some of the Laneige product line which Bubzbeauty has promoted so eloquently in her Youtube videos. They are a little pricier than regular Korean beauty brands but having read many favourable reviews of their products online I went shopping in the faith that the higher cost would reflect the quality of the products. Before heading to my local Aritaum store (which stocks the Laneige line) I stopped briefly at Homeplus to stock up on fruit and veggies, FORCING myself to pass by the cheese aisle in the process, because no matter how many dream creams we apply on the outside the real detox has to start from within.

Afterwards, with help from the sales lady at Aritaum I stocked up on the following items from the Laneige shelves:

Multi Cleanser (22,000Won), Strawberry Yoghurt Pack (20,000W) & Water Sleeping Pack (25,000W)

I was also given 2 x 50ml 'service' bottles of the Laneige Power Essential Skin, which is a toner, and the Balancing Emulsion, a moisturiser, which I am delighted with.

(Sorry for the baaad quality pics, my camera is terrible and I'm saving for a new one!)

I couldn't wait to try out the Multi Cleanser so as soon as I was under the shower spray I scraped my hair back and went to work on my face with a coin sized amount. First, I should say I'm pretty obsessed with cleansers right now. I wear full make up every day so when the night time comes I want to make sure every last scrap of the moisturiser, face make up and powder which has been layered on my face all day is off before going to sleep. I have pores that tend to clog easily so this is important for me to prevent blackheads. I have recently got into the habit of double cleansing in order to ensure complete removal of dirt but I can honestly say with this product I didn't feel the second wash was absolutely necessary, my skin was literally squeaking it was so clean after the second wash. This is no surprise when you read the leaflet and it describes the product as "a new 4-in-1 cleanser removes makeup, removes sunscreen, exfoliates and cleanses at once. Removes base makeup, such as sun cream, BB cream, and foundation, as well as colour makeup". I may just have found my Holy Grail of facial cleansers right here. The formula is lightly fragranced and contains loads of tiny little microbeads which are so fine they feel like very finely milled grains sloughing away into your pores while you cleanse. Not in an abrasive way, the effect is mild enough that you do not feel you are stripping or damaging your skin at all. Despite this I probably won't use this every day even though the leaflet says you can, I'm too wary of stripping the skin of natural oils with every day exfoliation. However I will definately be reaching for this product at least 3-4 times a week and I will confidently say this product is worth every penny spent on it.

Rating: 5/5

After giving my pores the rinse cycle with the wonderous multi cleanser I reached straight for the Strawberry Yoghurt Pack. I was really looking forward to trying this out as I believe it is one of Laneige's best sellers. When I unscrewed the lid the pot was sealed with a hygenic foil which I like to see. Inside the pot the product was exactly as descibed- the smell and consistency of a smooth strawberry yoghurt, complete with little red strawberry seeds. It was a job to stop myself from grabbing a banana, dipping it in and eating it as I usually do with my breakfast yoghurt every morning! The smell is very appealing, just like a fresh strawberry yoghurt or smoothie and I even like the way the lid design has a little whip in it just like the inside is really full of creamy yoghurt. The product itself is very light and wet and easy to apply. It felt pleasing while it was on my skin and I felt like my skin was absorbing the mask while I left it on. I kept it on for about 30 minutes while I watched the first episode of the new series of Dexter (obsessed) while I supplemented my detox with a Power Tea (green tea bag, wedge of lemon and hot water). When I rinsed the product off from my face my skin felt revived and fresh as is the usual feeling after just washing off a mask. However, after around 10 minutes I could feel my skin begining to tighten as it became dried out. After reading up more about this product on makeupalley I discovered the mask should only be worn after applying a refiner to the skin so I will have to try this method next time I use the pack to see if this minimises the drying out effect it had on my skin after removal. I hope so as I was a little dissapointed with this after-effect having been so pleased with the product up until that point.

Rating: 3/5


I finished my skin spa sesh with the Water Sleeping Pack but I want to use this at least a week befor reviewing it so there will be more on this one later. Come on Audrey, I know you're in there!