I finally got my Roseroseshop haul! It didn't take as long as I thought it would to arrive, which is good. Everything arrived safely and I'm excited to start using my new products.

Onto the haul photos!

I picked up the Mizon Black Snail cream, Mizon Collagen Power eye cream, Nature Republic's charcoal mask, a Skinfood essence and cleanser, and a spatula for scooping out creams in jars.

Mizon has two versions of their snail cream, and this is the black version which is basically the "upgraded" version. I've read some reviews, and some people prefer the basic version while others prefer this version. I've never tried the basic version, but I'm hoping this snail cream will do some good to my skin troubles at least. 

Hurray for hauls! I've got more hauls on the way, courtesy of Black Friday shopping madness, so I'm excited to greet the mailman again. 

Reviews for these products will likely come in 2-3 months, as I incorporate the products into my skincare regime and test out the long-term effects :)

I'm back with another review! My friend picked this up for me in Hong Kong during our summer break, and I've been using it ever since Sept. 

So here is the ingredient list, along with its purpose and how to use it. Pretty swell.

I mainly use it when my skin is having problems or when I feel like my skin's in need of a deep cleanse. It works pretty well, as it is easier to extract white heads/pimples afterwards. The mask feels hot, the instant I put it on my face. It's a weird feeling, as none of my other masks do that, but it feels nice. It also smells immensely like black sesame when I have it on, but my skin does not smell like black sesame afterwards, which is good.

This mask feels thick, and that made it difficult to slather on an even layer on my face. I usually just go for the trouble spots and layer it on there, and just put some on everywhere else.

As you can kinda tell, my cheeks have been giving me problems lately, along with my forehead/t-zone area. The thickness of this mask makes it difficult to get an even layer like my other masks, but I like the aftereffects. Would I buy this again? The answer is no. I like skinfood products, but this mask is kind of annoying to use, alongside the huge granules of black sesame inside, which I'm scared will do something to the overall ecosystem, as they seem kind of hard to break down.

Skinfood's Black Sesame Hot Mask is a cool product, and it's relatively cheap so it wasn't too bad. It works well enough, but there are better products on the market. I feel like it's more of a quick fix instead of a long term solution for my troubled skin.

Cue the confetti! Canada really gets the short end of the stick when it comes to beauty subscription boxes but rejoice! Birchbox has bridged their way into our waters.

I cancelled my Ipsy subscription two months ago, as I wasn't enjoying the products I received and the bags weren't really useful (cheap material and small). Birchbox and Ipsy has almost the same price (maybe a few cents difference?), so I will see how much better Birchbox is compared to Ipsy. I'll probably stay on it until the Christmas box, at least.

Hurray!

Hello! I am finally back, after this unplanned hiatus from blogging. School has been getting me, and I hadn't tried anything new in a while, so I thought I'd try incorporating this essence into my skincare routine.

Mizon Pore Refine Silky Essence "gently clears out dead or dulling skin cell debris and helps to tighten pores and firm skin giving skin a silky feel. It immediately makes pores look visibly smaller by filling pores with nutritive silky essence. It adequately controls oils for a clean and refreshed complexion all day!" (source)

For the record, I use the Skinfood Thermal Water toner before using this essence. This essence is quickly absorbed into my skin, leaving it dry and tight before my night moisturizer. The silky feeling is real. My skin feels so smooth after putting this on. As for "making pores look visibly smaller".... that's debatable. I don't notice my pores becoming smaller but my pores are not very "big" to begin with. 

There's no discernible scent from this product, which is a big bonus. It's thin, but not as thin as some aqua products, and not as thick as a day moisturizer either. 

I like this essence, compared to other essences I've tried in the past, but the "pore refine" part... I don't know if that actually works for me or not. I will continue using up my sample to the last drop, try some other essence samples, and see which products I will incorporate into my skincare routine. 

Mizon Pore Refine Silky Essence is available at Urban Outfitters, Amazon.com, and eBay. None of the links are referral links, I do not make money by putting these links on here.