Unboxing Beauty

Crossposted at Akoco

Let’s talk about nightly skincare!!  As I get more educated about skincare and my skin needs, I find that I have use different skincare based on seasons and whether it is a morning or evening routine.  As a beauty blogger, some of my choices are due to testing out new products, but I do follow my personal skincare guidelines, such as lighter gel like products during the summer, more occulsives at nighttime, balms are good in the winter and so on.  I also have more steps than most people in my skincare routines, but you can have a great skincare routine that takes care of all of your needs with just a few products. The secret to that is to identify what your skincare issues are and how you wish to address them.   All products in this blog post were provided by online K-Beauty shop Akoco

Skin Type/Concerns: Oily, blemish prone, pores, aging skin with fine lines/wrinkles and hyper-pigmentation (both sun damage and PIH)

I received these products complementary to review and was not paid.  All reviews are my own honest opinion and  I never have been asked to write copy for a brand.  This blog post might contain promo codes, affiliate and referral links, which using my links will help generate a small commission that helps support my blog at no extra cost to you.

Nighttime routines are really important as when you are sleeping, your body is busy at work.  Your skin needs to recover daily; think of it as a reset or reboot. Overnight, your skin trying to repair itself and having a good solid nighttime routine can help provide your skin with beneficial nutrients and ingredients.   So take some time, think about your needs and come up with a list.

For me, my main issues are blemishes, wrinkles, skin texture.  I have oily skin, but it tends to get dehydrated. My goals are to find products that will help with those issues and give my skin the extra boost it needs while it repairs itself overnight.   Finding ingredients that are multi-tasking also help as well – such as how to get radiant skin and fight blemishes at the same time. I wanted to keep the list of skincare products small, so I have only four products to showcase, but you can add in specific skincare products based on your needs.  I personally added an eye cream and also a retinol product to this routine.

First Essence Treatment: Ahhh, this product can be confusing as it has the word ESSENCE in it, so let me explain.  There are two types of essences: the first type is a traditional essence, which is thicker than water and is used somewhere between the toner and moisturizer steps.   I use those types of essences interchangeably with serums. And then there is the other type of essence, called First Treatment Essence (FTE) and is also known as First Essence, Treatment Essence and/or Treatment Toners.  These are very watery concentrated formulas with fermented ingredients, very nutrient-enriched and it preps your skin, while providing benefits that will help reduce/prevent fine lines and wrinkles, dull and uneven skin tones.    These are boosters and provide an instant shot of hydration and nutrients to your skin and prep your skin to accept your other skincare products.   

Neogen Dermalogy Real Ferment Micro Essence is an FTE – its name really gives it way:   Ferments and Essence = FTE. This contains over 93% fermented ingredients, like bifida ferment and saccharomyces along with hydrating birch sap and brightening rice extracts ~ best of all, there is no scent!  A lot of FTE’s have a distinctive odor to them that takes some time getting used to! Another bonus in this FTE is the addition of amino acids which have a ton of benefits for your skin: maintaining hydration, protect from free radical damage, soothes, strengthens while reducing fine lines and wrinkles.   Neogen’s FTE is a watery product, skin friendly at a pH level of a 5 and is great for multiple layers before moving onto to my next step, which is another Neogen product. 

Ingredients: Bifida Ferment Lysate, Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate (28%), Betula Alba Juice (17%), Rice Ferment Filtrate (Sake)(9%), Aspergillus Ferment, Glycerin, Dipropylene Glycol, Methyl Gluceth-20, Water, Betaine, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract Ethylhexylglycerin, Trehalose, Lactobacillus, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Caprylyl Glycol, Trideceth-10, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Tromethamine, 1,2-Hexanediol, Tropolone, Allantoin, Butylene Glycol, Coptis Japonica Extract, Arginine, Hydroxypropyl, Methylcellulose, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Calcium, Carbonate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Adenosine, Niacinamide, Dextrin, Glycine, Serine, Glutamic Acid, Aspartic Acid, Leucine, Alanine, Lysine, Tyrosine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Threonine, Valine, Isoleucine, Phenoxyethanol, Histidine, Methionine, Cysteine  cosDNA

I have aging skin so I need something to help with preventing moisture loss, keeping my skin supple and deeply moisturize.  Collagen is a tricky product for me, as I have broken out in blemishes with collagen products in the past, but I do believe that was more about a specific brand’s formulation and not with collagen itself.   Our bodies naturally produce collagen, which is part of your dermal layer – when you are young, your skin is firm and elastic, but as we age, our collagen product slows down, causing sagging, wrinkles and even a decline in skin moisture.   Collagen will deeply moisturize, while providing a radiance and glow to your skin. Its molecules are too large to penetrate your skin but they do prevent moisture loss and keep your skin supple. 

Neogen Dermalogy Collagen Lifting Serum comes in this amazing bottle that looks like that famous Ovalia Egg Chair in the movie Men In Black – and the round bottle does swivel in the “chair”!  This is a beautiful amber colored serum that is very lightweight and fluid, so it absorbs quickly and without any sticky tacky residue. It has a slight floral scent to it that disappears quickly.  This contains 1,000ppm of hydrolyzed collagen, along with some nice anti-aging peptides, including copper tripeptide-1. Fermented soybean, oh so good for dehydrated skin, is also in here, providing more hydrating, moisturizing benefits.   This really helps fill my skin with moisture and gives my skin that nice chock chok look.

Ingredients: purified water, butylene glycol, glycerin, modified alcohol, 1,2-hexanediol, sodium hyaluronate, adenosine, acetyl hexapeptide-8, ,palmitoyl pentapeptide-4, copper tripeptide-1, hydrolyzed collagen (1,000 ppm), baobab tree leaf extract, lactobacillus/soybean fermented extract, lotus seed extract, plum extract, pomegranate extract, cacao extract, jania rubens extract, xanthan gum, carbomer, tromethamine, ethylhexylglycerin, phenoxyethanol, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, fragrance cosDNA

Now I need to care for my zits, which I decided to choose a product that will not only help with that, but also provide more glowy skin.  Seriously, I cannot have enough glow! CNP Propolis Energy Ampule — honestly, I wanted to try this after I saw it on the K-Drama Hotel Del Luna!  What is propolis? Propolis is created by honey bees by using the sap from evergreens or the sap on conifer, evergreens and other trees whose leafs are needle-like.   This sap is then combined with beeswax and results in a sticky, resinous goo that is used to build their hives, which is why it is also known as bee-glue! Propolis has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years, and is known for its anti-bacteria, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal properties as well as speeding up the healing time on wounds.  It contains anti-oxidant properties due to its slew of vitamins and minerals, with over 50 different flavonoids.

Propolis also is an emollient, so it is not only a good blemish and anti-aging treatment, it also moisturizes your skin as well.  We humans have not been able to synthesized propolis with the same properties – it is that much of a mystery to us! I will go out on a limb and say I love propolis a little bit more than honey as a skincare ingredient.  Alas, as an oily skinned person, most propolis products are too sticky and tacky for my skin type, so I am looking for a thinner, more watery type of propolis product without the dewy tacky finish. CNP Propolis Energy Ampule looks like it would be a thicker product, but it isn’t.  This gel-like fluid has a lovely faint spicy floral herbal scent to it and it also contains moisturizing and healing beta glucan along with anti-aging peptides. This is so lovely and despite its lightweight texture, any rough or dry, flaky spots are softened quickly and it provides a nice long lasting radiance to my skin, while not clogging my pores and it helps keep my skin clear.  

Ingredients: Water, Propolis Extract, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, 1,2-Hexanediol, Polysorbate 20, Sophora Angustifolia Root Extract, Imperata Cylindrica Root Extract, Propanediol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Carbomer, Arginine, Madecassoside, Allantoin, Punica Granatum Fruit Extract, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract, Ficus Carica (Fig) Fruit Extract, Codonopsis Lanceolata Root Extract, Phenoxyethanol, PEG-8, Pentylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Disodium Edta, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Beta-Glucan, Sodium Citrate, Hydroxyphenyl Propamidobenzoic Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Lactate, Potassium Sorbate, Honey Extract, Polysorbate 20, Citric Acid, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Biotin, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 cosDNA

So far, I have applied hydrating, moisturizing anti-aging and blemish healing products on my face.  I have oily skin, so right now, I only need one more step. If you have drier skin, you should add a moisturizer before applying a sleeping mask pack. Why do you need a sleeping mask pack?  Good question! You can use a cream, I know I have but make sure it is an occlusive cream. A sleeping mask pack is more occlusive than most moisturizers and the reason for this is simple. It helps lock in all of your other skin care products and can reduce trans-epidermal water loss, which is very important as you sleep.  One thing to note ~ occlusive ingredients do not bring moisture into your skin, but use the existing moisture to reabsorb it back into the skin, due to its barrier function. That is why just a sleeping pack is not enough at night; you need to ensure that you have done a hydrating skincare routine before locking it all in with a sleeping mask pack. Occlusives don’t feel that great on my oily skin for day time use as I find them too greasy and too oily, but for nighttime use, I do not mind.  Your skin needs to recover and with a good occlusive product, it can help reset or reboot your skin, resulting in smoother and softer skin when you wake up. Your skin will repair itself overnight, so using a product with beneficial nutrients and ingredients as your last step will create a protective barrier to lock in ingredients and prevent your skin from drying out. 

My Sleeping Mask Pack is by Laneige.  Laneige has several sleeping mask packs:  their original Water Sleeping Mask, brand new CICA Sleeping Mask and the one I totally adore, Water Sleeping Mask in Lavender.  If you have very dry or damaged skin, I recommend the CICA version as it really works well for repairing. The Lavender version is just my favorite, from the lovely light lavender scent, to its gel texture that just melts away when I apply it on my skin.  This contains a couple of patented compounds

• Sleep-Tox™ Purification Technology: This contains hunza apricot and evening primrose extracts to help repair, restore and purifies your skin.
• Moisture Wrap™ Technology: This sleeping mask pack will create a porous moisture film on your skin and it uses hydro ion mineral water, a super charged mineral rich water filled with zinc, manganese, magnesium, sodium, calcium, and potassium to help supply moisture to your skin throughout the night. 

Ingredients: water, butylene glycol, cyclopentasiloxane, glycerin, cyclohexasiloxane, trehalose, ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP copolymer, polysorbate 20, phenoxyethanol, dimethicone, polyacrylic acid, dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, propanediol, dimethiconol, tromethamine, ethylhexylglycerin, stearyl behenate, fragrance, polyglyceryl-3 methylglucose distearate, 1,2-hexanediol, disodium EDTA, chenopodium quinoa seed extract, potassium alginate, linalool, magnesium sulfate, calcium chloride, hydroxypropyl bispalmitamide mea,beta-glucan, inulin lauryl carbamate, manganese sulfate, limonene, oenothera biennis (evening primrose) root extract, alcohol, caprylyl glycol, zinc sulfate, potassium sorbate, prunus armeniaca (apricot) fruit extract, citric acid, tocopherol, sodium hyaluronate, ascorbyl glucoside  cosDNA

This really locks in my other skin care products – my skin is pretty shiny by this time, but I am going to bed.  The magic comes in the morning – when I wake up, I just rinse off the remains of my night care routine. My skin is still soft, supple with no dryness or tightness, looking more radiant, refreshed and rested.  It helps calm down redness and blemishes and despite its light gel texture, I would say this works for all skin types. My sleep skincare routine has done its job!! You don’t need a lot of products to have a great skincare routine

 

Where to Purchase

You can find these products and a lot more at Akoco!  They ship both internationally and also have a warehouse in the USA, so any products that state “Ships from USA” will be sent faster to USA residents.   Shipping is free with purchases $50.00 or more.  Use affiliate code MICHELE to save an additional 5% on your purchases

• Neogen Dermalogy Real Ferment Micro Essence  150 mL $45.00 but on sale for $38.00
• CNP Propolis Energy Ampule   35 mL  $33.00
• Neogen Dermalogy Collagen Lifting Serum  85 mL $27.00 
• Laneige Water Sleeping Mask in Lavender  70 mL $28.00

[ disclaimer:  products received complementary in exchange for review ]