There has always been a lot of fuss about korean skincare. It's a great staple in the skincare world and I did my research on it as well. It's just not exactly easy to get your hands on it in central Europe. That's where we have a little cheap replacement for you.
Recently, I wandered around my favorite Rossmann, as I sometimes do, and this new pink panel took my attention. Everything looked very Japan-like and asian with sakura motives and colors. I loved it. Reading on, I found out that it's actually a korean skincare inspired skincare range. How exciting is that? I was stoked.
There are 5 products in total and they are sold only at Rossmann stores. It's built as a 5-step routine, I will stock up on all five products soon, and it's supposed to use effective natural ingredients and just make your skin amazing and glowy and healthy, much like korean skincare does.
I love the packaging so much. Everything looks way more expensive, than it is. I love the sakura motives and the smell and vibe of everything. I really like that someone went into this trend in a budget friendly way. There's plenty of products in more high end makeup stores, but I don't really have that much money to splurge on korean skincare. This is giving me very similar vibes and maybe it won't give you the exact same sensation, but I feel like it's worth the try, especially for the price.
Step 1 is a cleanser (79 Crowns) with aloe vera and teatree oil, which should hydrate and sooth the skin and deeply cleanse it at the same time. I use cleansers everyday in the shower after makeup removal and I use many different ones, according to what my skin needs at the moment.
Step 2 is a toner (79 Crowns), which is my personal favorite step in skincare routine. Everyone who doesn't use toner should try it for a week to see, how dirty can your skin get just during sleeping. Anyway, this toner has aloe vera, cherry blossom extract and also hyaluronic acid, which makes me think that it won't dry out your skin. According to the website, is also brightens your skin and removes impurities.
Step 3 is a serum (169 Crowns). I have been obsessed with serums of all kinds and I use them, again, according to what my skin needs at the moment. This serum is said to follow the glass skin trend, it has hyaluronic acid, aloe vera and also retinol, which I found in the online description, not on the box. However, I am impressed. It should revitalize your skin and retinol is known to reduce wrinkles, so this will hopefully be worth it.
Step 4 is a sheet mask (39 Crowns). It's known, that masks, and sheet masks in particular, are important part of korean skincare. I personaly really enjoy a good sheet mask, they tend to be very hydrating and nourishing. This one has again, aloe vera and hyaluronic acid, just like the other products, and also ginseng, which has been a pretty popular ingredient as well.
Step 5 is the last step, and it's a day cream (139 Crowns). I believe in day and night creams, but I tend to go for more gel like creams, because I don't like creams that are too heavy. This one has aloe vera and hyaluronic acid and also Centella asiatica. It's antibacterial, protects the skin and helps with its regeneration.
Those are website claims and descriptions. The prices are very, very neat and reasonable. The most expensive thing is the serum, which I kinda expected, because serums tend to be a little more on the pricey side. The website says that it's limited edition, which is shame in my opinion, because all the products look very nice.
I did purchase all of these, and I did use them for around a month to see what I really think about them. I cannot really judge a skincare range without really trying it out and seeing how my skin reacts in a longer time horizon. So I took a month to see how I like these products and how I feel about them.
The Toner
The smell of the toner was leaving me a little sceptical at first, because it smells very nice and fresh and flowery and not like it's going to do much. Oh boy, was I wrong about that. After several usages, I was pretty sure that this one does as good of a job as my other toners. The mess it removed from my face every morning and evening was very worrying and impressive at the same time.
I am very sensitive to trying new toner specifically, usually I go for more acne-preventing ones, because my face tends to act weird when I don't really deep clean it everyday, but this toner is working like a charm without leaving it irritated or too dry. I feel like that's why people sometimes don't use toners, because they are too drying and too aggresive. This one is totally the opposite and I think, that for sensitive skin or as your try-out toner, this is a perfect product. I am very happy with it, and I don't even tend to go back to my acne-preventing toners. Just when I have very bad skin for some reason.
The Serum
I even took this on a vacation with me to test it out and it's a really nice everyday and night kind of serum. It makes my skin feel super hydrated and plump, but it's not too thick and it absorbs really quickly and well. It also doesn't make your skin feel sticky at all and you can apply more serums and products on top as you wish, because it's not overpowering on the skin. For the price, I cannot recommend this enough, I think it's one of the best hydrating serums I've tried.
If you're just getting into skincare and feel like trying a serum I would really recommend this one or some kind of vitamin one or antioxidant one, just to get used to adding steps into your routine and seeing the results. This serum really feels like making a difference to me and hydrating serums or essences is something, I've always used since I started making my routine worth the time. I cannot live without a good serum and since this collection is a limited edition, I think I'll have to buy a bowl of these serums.
I actually used up the serum before I finished writing this blog post, so that may tell you how much I liked it. I would really like to repurchase it, if it's still possible.
The Day Cream
The day cream is a little thicker than what I'm used to. I tend to go for very light or gel creams, because I hate the feeling of a thick face cream on my face. Especially in the summer, it makes me feel like my face is sweating the cream off instead of soaking it in.
This one is kind of one of these. I don't think I could use it all summer, but it's very nourishing and if you put just a little amount, it feels heavy just for a little bit before it sinks into your skin. It's sinking way better than I expected and it also smells amazing. If you have dry skin, I think this could be a very good face cream for you. It makes your skin feel very nice and soft, but it's not slippery enough to put SPF over it or something like that, so it won't make you feel too greasy. I like it, but I still prefer my gel creams because of the consistency.
However, I really enjoy using it as my night cream, because when I go to bed, I don't mind a heavier face cream and, as I said, it's very nourishing so I wake up with very soft face everytime I use it. I think it's a very nice product, that's got its place in my routine now.
The Cleanser
I was very surprised with this one. I've never had a cleanser that would be this foamy (except for a foam, duh) and also it makes your face squeeky clean, which I really like, because it gives you a feeling of very well cleansed and restarted skin. I love that. It also smells very nice and doesn't dry you out even when it gives you such a nice and clean feel. It's one of my favorite cleansers at this moment and I cannot stop using it.
I also use it a lot when my skin isn't the greatest and there's a bit of texture and blemishes. The tea-tree is just a miracle, everytime I use this cleanser and my tea-tree toner from Body Shop, everything bad on my skin is just gone in a day or two. I love it.
The Sheet Mask
I am a big sheet mask fan, however, my face is probably just not suited for them because it's really hard to find one that actually fits me. I use mostly japanese sheet masks, because my aunt lives in Japan and she sends me these here and there. And these are totally incredible! I haven't really found something similar in Europe yet. So I was hoping, this one could be a similar quality, since all of these products are actually made in Korea.
I really liked that the sheet mask is soaking with the serum and there's plenty more in the bag after you take it out. That was a nice serum stash for me the next day. The product is really nice and nourishing. It smells great and it feels great. It's one of the best sheetmasks I've tried from a european brand and I would repurchase it for sure. Even the shape wasn't too off for my big face.
Final thoughts...
Overall, I really liked this collection and after using it for a couple weeks, I am sad, it's not a permanent thing. The serum is amazing, the toner is something I would buy again and I don't know what I'm gonna do when I run out of the cleanser.
The sheet mask is really nice and the day cream is nice as well, but I would say, that those are not must haves, just optional haves. I still really liked them though, and if you come across the collection, don't hesitate and grab something, because for the price it's probably closest to Korean skincare as it can get in that price range.
Have you tried any of these products? Let me know how you liked them in the comments below and thank you for reading!