Favorite skincare discoveries 2017

Here are my favorite new skincare discoveries for 2017. 2017 was a great year of skincare for me. It was the year where I started my Instagram (koreanskincarebyfie) and about half a year later I decided to start this blog because I wanted to write more in-depth reviews. It was the year where I learned to read ingredients list before purchasing new products. It was also the year where I started to understand what the ingredients actually did for the skin.
I've tested a bunch of products in 2017 and here are the products that really stood out to me. Some of these products are PR gifted but that has in no way influenced my choices.

Klairs Rich Moist Foaming Cleanser*
First of all, I really like the ingredients list. It doesn't contain alcohol or fragrance and it contains a ton of extracts. Due to the special kind of pump, the product is already foam when it comes out. That makes it so much more gentle because you don't have to rub to make it foam and it also makes it easier to spread out on the face. This is without a doubt the most gentle cleanser that I've ever tried. It leaves my face clean but not tight at all. The only con is the smell. It has a strong smell of tea tree and well, I hate the smell of tea tree. I will repurchase this if I ever find it on sale (the price is pretty high considering it only contains 100 ml.).

Klairs Supple Preperation Facial Toner
Before I tried this, I thought that it could never live up to the hype about it but I fell in love with this from the very first application. The texture of product is viscous so I apply it with my hands instead of a cotton pad. I use this in my AM skincare routine almost everyday and I use the 7 skin method. It leaves my skin so hydrated and smooth. A little product goes a long way and even though I use the 7 layers of it, this has lasted for half a year and I still have some left. Just like the Foam Cleanser, this toner doesn't contain alcohol or fragrance. I already have a backup of these for when I empty this bottle.

Laneige Water Bank Essence EX
This essence was lightweight and it absorbed quickly without leaving any sticky residue - it just left my skin smooth and ready for the rest of my routine. I was really surprised by how hydrating it was. The only con about this was the smell. It has the classic 'water bank' smell. It's not unpleasant but it is quite strong. I might purchase full size in the future but for now, I'm just glad that I have another deluxe sample of it in my stash.

Pyunkang Yul Moisture Serum**
This is the first product that I've ever tried from Pyunkang Yul and it won't be the last. The ingredients list is great and I really like that it doesn't contain water. I started using this in the beginning of December where the weather was getting colder and my skin was getting drier. My skin was getting irritated because of the cold weather but this helped calm my skin. This doesn't irritate my skin at all and it's just a pleasure to use. It's moisturizing and it has helped reduce those dry patches.

Sulwhasoo Overnight Vitalizing Mask EX
I've only used this for about a month but I can already say that I'm in love. This has a strong herbal, hanbang high end smell but after I've gotten used to it, I've started to like it. The texture is thick and it feels so luxurious on the skin. It absorbs within a couple of minutes and it leaves a slight residue but that goes away after a while. When I wake up in the morning after using this the night before, my skin feels moisturized and it just looks glowing and plump. This is just perfect for my dry skin and I honestly don't have anything negative to say about it. I've purchased a bunch of samples (ml/price is lower with samples than the full size product) so I won't run out of product anytime soon.

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask Grapefruit
I had the 'Berries' version before this and effect-wise they're the same but this 'Grapefruit' version just smells amazing. This has really saved my dry, chaped lips. Whenever I use this at night, I wake up with moisturized, non-flaky and plump lips. I also use less lipbalm throughout the day if I have used this the night before. As for the price, I would usually feel like $20 is a lot for a lip product unless it's lipstick but in this case, it's money well spend. The jar contains 20 ml. and it lasts forever. I will keep repurchasing this forever because no other lip product I've tried has had such amazing effects.

Skinfood Black Sugar Honey Mask Wash Off***
This is my favorite exfoliating wash off mask. It contains sugar grains to exfoliate. When I apply it, I gently massage my face to exfoliate. I leave it on for 15 minutes and when I wash it off, my skin is baby soft. This doesn't dry out my skin at all, it actually leaves it feeling moisturized. I have half of this left but I've already purchased a backup so I won't run out.

Products marked with * are kindly gifted for review purposes from *www.kocono.dk/, **surisuri.dk/ and ***eopenmarket.com/.

Pyunkang Yul Moisture Serum

For the past month, I've been using this serum from Pyunkang Yul in both my AM and PM skincare routine and I really enjoy it. Ever since my favorite youtuber Gothamista raved about this brand, I've wanted to try it so when Maja from Surisuri.dk offered to send me this serum to test and review, I was ecstatic.

About the brand (from Ohlolly.com):
"Developed by the renowned Pyunkang Oriental Medicine Clinic in Korea, Pyunkang Yul dares to abandon trendy ingredients that are merely for texture or scent.  Each and every ingredient used by Pyunkang Yul has been selected for being the most gentle and safe for skin.  Finding and maintaining the oil and moisture balance in your skin is imperative to achieving healthy skin.  With Pyunkang Yul, your skin will find its optimal balance for a glowing complexion.  Pyunkang Yul is a cruelty-free brand!"

About the product (from Stylekorean.com):
The perfect balance between oil and moisture!
- Maintains the skin's oil-moisture balance and prevents the evaporation of hydration for a longer lasting dewy effect.
- Hypo-allergenic.
- Barberry root extracts work to reduce the temperature of your skin to soothe sensitive, irritated skin.

- Olive oil offers an intense hydration effect and prevents your skin from becoming dry.

Claims
"The moisture serum fully moisturize your skin and helps you nourish softer, smoother and silkier skin texture. The serum provides perfectly optimized moisture balance for healthier skin."

Ingredients
Milk Vetch Root Extract, Butylene Glycol, Olive Oil, Caprlic and Capric, 1,2-Hexandiol, Stearic Acid, Polysorbate 60, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Glycerincaprylate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Carbomer, Arginine, Dimethicone.

Noticeable ingredients
Milk Vetch Root Extract: This has antioxidant properties and it's rich in nutrition.
Olive Oil: Olive oil has so many skin benefits. It's rich in minerals, vitamins and natural fatty acids. It's also nourishing and rich in antioxidants.

The ingredients lists of Pyunkang Yul products are actually what attracted me to this brand. As you can see, this ingredients list is short and it doesn't contain water or fragrance. I really like that they believe in natural ingredients and that they avoid unnecessary ingredients.

Nice to know
Shelf life: 24 months.
PAO (Period after opening): 12 months.

The packaging

The serum comes in a box. On the side of the box, all useful information (claims, instructions, ingredients etc.) about the serum is written in both Korean and English.

First of all, look at this size of it! The bottle is huge compared to most serum. A serum usually contains somewhere between 40 and 60 ml. (at least all the other serums in my stash do) - this one contains 100ml. It's a good thing that PAO is 12 months because this is going to last a long time.
This serum comes in a pretty royal blue bottle with a liquid dropper. The packaging is like the ingredients list: simple. As much as I appreciate the hygienic packaging and the intention of the dropper, I would prefer a pump. I like that it's easy to control exactly how many drops of serum that you dispence. However, the texture of the serum is too thick for the dropper which makes it difficult to get the serum into the dropper in the first place.

Texture and color

If I didn't know that this was a serum, I would have thought that it was an emulsion or a lotion because of the texture. It's as thick as most emulsions and it's white. It spreads out easily on the skin and despite the thick texture, it doesn't feel heavy at all.

Smell
This serum has little to no smell. The smell is so light that I can't really say what it smells like.

How to use
"Apply adequate amount on your skin along with your skin texture."

How I use it
I use it in both my AM and PM skincare routine. In my AM skincare routine, I use it after essence and before cream. In my PM skincare routine, I use it after a sheetmask and before my emulsion. I only need three drops to cover my entire face.

Effects
Once applied, it absorbs within a few minutes. It doesn't leave any residue. It just leaves my skin smooth and calm. This is also moisturizing but it still feels lightweight on the skin.

I can rarely see if one single product makes a difference because I use so many products that it can be hard to tell if the improvement is caused by one product or another. This serum stood out. I could actually feel improvement on my skin after about a week with this serum. I started using this in the beginning of December and because of the cold weather, my skin was even drier than it usually is. After about a week of using this twice a day, I noticed that my dry patches were less dry and less red.

What I really like about this, is that I can use it all the time - even when my skin is irritated - and it calms it.

Pros:
- Nice ingredients list.
- No noticeable smell.
- Lightweight despite thick texture.
- The bottle is huge and a little product goes a long way.
- Does as it claims to do.
- Improved my dry patches.

Cons:
The only con is the dropper.

Overall
This is a great serum. The effect of the product compensates well for the dropper. I highly recommend it for all skintypes - including oily and sensitive.

Disclaimer: I received this from Surisuri.dk in exchange of my honest review. I am in no way obligated to write a positive review.
Surisuri har til og med den 10. januar 2017 15% på alle ikke nedsatte varer med koden "nytår15". Maja, der har webshoppen, er sød og hjælper gerne, hvis du er i tvivl om, hvilke produkter du skal vælge til din hudtype og dine behov.

December Product and sample empties

A bit late but here are my December empties! I didn't empty a lot of products. However, that's a good thing. I've been on a No Buy for almost six months (from June until Black Friday) and I decluttered my skincare stash. That means I now have less open products = less empties.

Etude House Honey Cera Priming Eye Serum (5 ml. deluxe sample)
I really enjoyed this. It's nourishing and leaves my skin smooth. This is perfect underneath a hydrating eye cream in my AM skincare routine where a thick eye cream is too heavy. It absorbs within a few minutes and it doesn't leave any sticky residue. I purchased full size.

Goodal Honey Pack Cucumber Sleeping Pack (10 ml.)
This was soothing and hydrating. I really liked it but the packaging is just too unpractical - it can't be closed. I will not repurchase.

Etude House Moistfull Collagen Cream (10 ml. deluxe sample)

This is my favorite cream to use in my AM routine during the winter. It's moisturizing enough for my dry skin without it being heavy. I've repurchased these deluxe samples a bunch of times because the price/ml is cheaper with the deluxe samples than the full size product. The only downside to this product is that it has a strong, perfumed smell and that the packaging is unhygienic. Repurchased.

The Saem Power Ampoule Hydra
This only contains three ingredients: Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid and Butylene Glycol. I use this when I want to add some hyaluronic acid in my skincare routine without adding too many other ingredients. It's hydrating and it absorbs quickly without leaving any sticky residue. I store it in the fridge to give it a cooling effect. This was my third bottle and I've opened yet another bottle. This works but it's getting boring - it's time to try something new. After I've used this bottle, I will not repurchase again.

Benton Cacao Moist And Mild Cream
I used this cream during the summer and it was perfect. It was moisturizing enough for my dry skin without being heavy. The ingredients list is nice, it doesn't contain alcohol. It takes a while to absorb but that doesn't bother me because it leaves non-sticky, semi-matte/glowy finish. I will purchase this when the summer time is here if I find it on sale. This was provided to me by the company for review purposes.

Elizavecca CER-100 Collagen Hair Protein Treatment
This is a good protein treatment but it's not life changing. It did make my hair look healthier and gave it a beautiful shine. However, the tube is only 100 ml. and it costs $10. That may not be a lot of money to some but I find it expensive for a hair treatment. If my hair was unhealthy and damaged, I might have felt diffently about spending some extra money on hair products but it isn't. I will repurchase if I find it on sale.

Laneige Foam Cleanser Moisture
This foam cleanser was not bad at all but the texture was just thicker than I prefer. It had a pleasant smell of shea butter and it cleansed my face nicely without stripping it. I will not repurchase it.