Favorite Asian Brands Beauty Products Part I- Buying Tips
Hi all,
I'm sorry I was missing in action for about a week, I was actually away on a conference and was unable to post as I had originally planned so I'm sorry for the post-less week but I am back! Today I will be sharing with you Part I of my favorite Asian Brand Beauty Products (this post will list my personal tips and recommendations and part II will have the actual products and you can find them this weekend).
I didn't start using Asian beauty products until 3 years ago because growing up here in the States I was definitely spoiled with the amount of choices I have available. I also had this misconception about Asian beauty products because many of them have scary labels such as "skin brightening", "bleaching cream", and "whitening cream". It can be really frightening to use products on my face/body that I can't read/understand that may have harmful levels of chemicals like mercury (for whitening skin).
Tips:
In general, I do a lot of research before purchasing any beauty,body and hair product and this was no exception. Purchasing products at an Asian Beauty Shop such as Face Shop or an Asian Mart like Daiso can be intimidating because some of them may not have English translation. What's great about living in 2014 is that you can find pretty much anything on the internet including cosmetic ingredients.
Now with that said, Tip #1- Look for Major Brands:
I tend to stick to big international Asian brands (Skin Food, Face Shop, Etude House, etc) and American/European brands who have special product line in Asia such as Bobbi Brown, Clinque, Pantene, Chanel, etc. If it's not a major brand and I can't find a legitimate website, I usually think twice before purchasing it.
Tip #2- Whitening is not necessarily bleaching:
What you'll notice with purchasing Asian beauty products is that lot of them are aim for women who want to "brighten" and "whiten" their skin. Some of the ingredients contain chemicals that are aimed at removing acne scars or dark spots (not all are harmful- many products contain natural based ingredients like rice, lemon, witch hazel or charcoal).
Tip #3- Let's talk about the 2 S's- SPF and Shades:
What's great about buying a moisturizer or foundation from an Asian brand or products aim at the Asian market is that many of them probably have higher SPF than the ones here in the United States. I remember when I was shopping with my aunt before our trip to Singapore/Indonesia she was looking for a Bobbi Brown foundation with SPF 50 for her friend and not only did the Bobbi Brown here not have the shade, they also only carried foundation with SPF 15. One of the major foundation issue here in the States especially if you live in the four seasons climate is that in the summer time, your foundation will be just fall off or crease or be sticky. Asian foundations and BB creams are formulated so that they are less sticky on the face because countries like Indonesia for example is right on the equator, you need the higher SPF and a formula that is light for everyday use in hot tropical weather.
The second thing is shades. If you read my Clinique foundation post you'll know that I had to get a second shade of foundation because the one I had too much pink undertone for me now that it's winter and I'm pale. So just as I have problem color matching my skin to a lot foundations here, if you have a darker skin, unfortunately the reality is that the Asian brands' darkest shades might still not be dark enough for you.
Tip #4- Buying online from a reputable seller:
My final tip is when you buy online, try to stick to known websites. And even when purchasing from Ebay, check the seller's rating and reviews (super important!). If you plan on buying multiple products, contact the seller in advanced to see if they'll combine the products so you save money on shipping. On Ebay if you add multiple items on your cart from the same sellers, you have the option of getting a price/quote from the seller directly which is really convenient. Many of them will also offer free shipping and some will thrown in some free samples. If you are in the east coast you can find a lot of Korean cosmetic at shops inside H Mart or a Korean beauty store- Face Shop in New York City. For Japanese cosmetic you can check out the beauty shop inside of Mitsuwa (Japanese Supermarket).
That's all of the tips that I have for you today. I hope you'll find them helpful in case you want to venture out and try some Asian beauty products. As always, if you have any questions or comments please post them below.
Until next time,
Jessica
I'm sorry I was missing in action for about a week, I was actually away on a conference and was unable to post as I had originally planned so I'm sorry for the post-less week but I am back! Today I will be sharing with you Part I of my favorite Asian Brand Beauty Products (this post will list my personal tips and recommendations and part II will have the actual products and you can find them this weekend).
I didn't start using Asian beauty products until 3 years ago because growing up here in the States I was definitely spoiled with the amount of choices I have available. I also had this misconception about Asian beauty products because many of them have scary labels such as "skin brightening", "bleaching cream", and "whitening cream". It can be really frightening to use products on my face/body that I can't read/understand that may have harmful levels of chemicals like mercury (for whitening skin).
Tips:
In general, I do a lot of research before purchasing any beauty,body and hair product and this was no exception. Purchasing products at an Asian Beauty Shop such as Face Shop or an Asian Mart like Daiso can be intimidating because some of them may not have English translation. What's great about living in 2014 is that you can find pretty much anything on the internet including cosmetic ingredients.
Now with that said, Tip #1- Look for Major Brands:
I tend to stick to big international Asian brands (Skin Food, Face Shop, Etude House, etc) and American/European brands who have special product line in Asia such as Bobbi Brown, Clinque, Pantene, Chanel, etc. If it's not a major brand and I can't find a legitimate website, I usually think twice before purchasing it.
Tip #2- Whitening is not necessarily bleaching:
What you'll notice with purchasing Asian beauty products is that lot of them are aim for women who want to "brighten" and "whiten" their skin. Some of the ingredients contain chemicals that are aimed at removing acne scars or dark spots (not all are harmful- many products contain natural based ingredients like rice, lemon, witch hazel or charcoal).
Tip #3- Let's talk about the 2 S's- SPF and Shades:
What's great about buying a moisturizer or foundation from an Asian brand or products aim at the Asian market is that many of them probably have higher SPF than the ones here in the United States. I remember when I was shopping with my aunt before our trip to Singapore/Indonesia she was looking for a Bobbi Brown foundation with SPF 50 for her friend and not only did the Bobbi Brown here not have the shade, they also only carried foundation with SPF 15. One of the major foundation issue here in the States especially if you live in the four seasons climate is that in the summer time, your foundation will be just fall off or crease or be sticky. Asian foundations and BB creams are formulated so that they are less sticky on the face because countries like Indonesia for example is right on the equator, you need the higher SPF and a formula that is light for everyday use in hot tropical weather.
The second thing is shades. If you read my Clinique foundation post you'll know that I had to get a second shade of foundation because the one I had too much pink undertone for me now that it's winter and I'm pale. So just as I have problem color matching my skin to a lot foundations here, if you have a darker skin, unfortunately the reality is that the Asian brands' darkest shades might still not be dark enough for you.
Tip #4- Buying online from a reputable seller:
My final tip is when you buy online, try to stick to known websites. And even when purchasing from Ebay, check the seller's rating and reviews (super important!). If you plan on buying multiple products, contact the seller in advanced to see if they'll combine the products so you save money on shipping. On Ebay if you add multiple items on your cart from the same sellers, you have the option of getting a price/quote from the seller directly which is really convenient. Many of them will also offer free shipping and some will thrown in some free samples. If you are in the east coast you can find a lot of Korean cosmetic at shops inside H Mart or a Korean beauty store- Face Shop in New York City. For Japanese cosmetic you can check out the beauty shop inside of Mitsuwa (Japanese Supermarket).
That's all of the tips that I have for you today. I hope you'll find them helpful in case you want to venture out and try some Asian beauty products. As always, if you have any questions or comments please post them below.
Until next time,
Jessica
