iheartkoreanbeauty Samples Review

Hey guys, remember the iheartkoreanbeauty samples that I got? If not then it doesn't matter since I'll be talking about them again and also giving some mini reviews on each sample.

Long post by the way, feel free to skip this if you're not interested.

Everything's been used, as you can tell :)

I'm going to review each sample in order use:

1. Baviphat Magic girls Plus BB Cream SPF30/PA++

Can anyone read Korean? I wonder what it says at the back.

Okay so, this was my first ever BB cream. If you're not aware of what BB cream is, 'BB' stands for Blemish Balm which gives coverage just like a foundation but is usually used as a base to conceal blemishes and/or improve them. Personally I'm not too sure what it is really supposed to do however, I still gave it a try to see how it went.

Verdict:

This was too white for my face. Are BB creams meant to match skin tones or blend in? I think this was why I never purchased BB cream before. I have some redness on my face and it did cover it up pretty well and so I'm confident that it gives great coverage. It also made my face a few shades lighter (which wasn't what I wanted). It has a musky scent to it which is bearable but not the best smelling product out there. I was happy with the texture though, it was very smooth to apply onto my face.

RRP: $29.90SGD ($23.3997AUD) for 45mL

Purchase?

No, I wouldn't purchase this product. I actually don't think I'll purchase any BB creams because my skin tone is quite dark compared to many Asians so I'd have trouble finding the correct shade of BB cream. I don't know whether Baviphat BB cream has a range of shades but if they don't then I can't use something that will whiten my face. It made me look ghostly and even when I put foundation over it, the whiteness still showed!

Recommended for:

Those who have a light skin tone and would like to have full coverage.

2. Innisfree Green Tea Pure Sleeping Pack

Sorry about the blurry-ish pictures.

I had to do some research about this because I had no idea what a 'sleeping pack' was. Turns out it was a mask. Not a mask that covers your whole face and is taken off after 10-15 minutes, this is a sleeping mask. It's liquid and all you do is smooth it on all over the face before you sleep and then when you wake up, you wash it off :) That is how it's classified as a mask but not really so it's a 'sleeping pack'.

Enriched with Green Tea and Green complex from pure jeju island. Green Tea Pure revives dry, stressed skin by supplying abundant moisture.

Verdict:

It definitely sounds like something that suits me. I have dry skin and I've heard that green tea is good for moisturising. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is there a St. Ives Green Tea Scrub? It's nowhere to be found in Australia :( Anyway, the amount in the sample allowed me to apply this mask twice so I had a better idea of the product after the second use. It smelt really nice and it was really refreshing when I applied this before going to bed. It's just like cream when it was on my face so washing it off in the morning was simple. When I first used it I thought that it would leave my face feeling as though I'm wearing a removable mask xD

RRP: $25.20SGD ($19.7215AUD)

Purchase?

It made me face feel awake and smooth in the morning after washing it off so perhaps I would purchase this. Currently there is a promotion where you spend $290SGD and receive a free one of these. It made my face smell really nice and my face felt less dry after using it.

Recommended for:

Those who have dry skin and would like to have skin that isn't dull in the morning.

3. Holika Holika UV Magic Shield Sunblock SPF 50+ PA+++

These pictures were obviously not taken on the same day... or with the same camera? Lol.

My first ever experience with an Asian brand sunscreen. Such a high SPF compared to what's available here in Australia. I'm assuming that people living in Asian countries really really don't want to risk getting a tan. I understand how they can be obsessed with having white skin x]

Verdict:

It's smells just like a regular sunscreen, they all smell the same. I was hoping that maybe this sunscreen would smell perfumed just like how most other Asian skin care products are :( So you could imagine how devastated I was. I don't mind the smell of sunscreen but it would be nice to have something different, you know? I actually still have some left because there weren't many opportunities for me to wear sunscreen out and I only used it for my face. The texture is really smooth and the sunscreen is like a pinky beige, not white. It rubs into the skin really well so you don't have to worry too much about having white marks on your face from not being able to rub in your sunscreen well!

RRP: iheartkoreanbeauty doesn't have this one listed, instead they have the spray version which is $24SGD ($18.7823AUD)

Purchase?

I think it would be pricey for suncreen, especially compared to ones found in department stores in Australia. I wasn't able to test whether I'd burn easier with this sunscreen or a regular sunscreen found in Australia because I actually don't have any sunscreen at home (my old one expired haha) to compare it with! On the sample it says '3 in 1 multi-function' but that is all that is written in English. If only I knew how to read Korean!

Recommended for:

Those who want very high SPF of 50+ (I didn't think it was possible to have that high) and want to avoid getting sunburnt as much as possible.

4. Charmzone Gingko Pure Cleansing Cream

The fact that it said 'cleansing cream' really through me off. I have never seen those two words put together like that. All I was familiar with was cleansing meaning that it is washed off and cream meaning that it stays on. How can something be washed off and also remain on the face? Well once again, I had to do my research.

Click to enlarge

Charmzone has instructions for all their products and this was really helpful for the other products too. It's a cleanser because it is removed but it is also a cream because it is removed without water, just with a tissue! So it is smoothed onto the face ^_^

Verdict:

I wasn't sure how long to keep the cleansing cream on for so I waited a few minutes before wiping it off with a tissue. I was able to use this twice because there was a generous amount of product in the sample and the instructions said that I only needed about 25 grams for each application. It has a very smooth texture and a lovely scent. It is white but it smooths on clear with a bit of an oily feel to it. Luckily I have dry skin so the oily texture didn't bother me :)

RRP: $8.50SGD ($6.65AUD) for 100g and $18.50SGD ($14.4781AUD) for a larger amount.

Purchase?

I wonder whether having it on for a longer or shorter amount of time would have influenced its effect on my face. My face did feel smoother after wiping off the cleansing cream and it left smelling nice I guess x) The oily texture was gone. I think I would consider purchasing this because it was an interesting product to use, I really enjoyed it.

Recommended for:

Those who want to try a cleansing cream and those with any skin type. The oily-ish texture shouldn't be too bad for those with oily skin.

4. Holika Holika Aqua Splash Cream

Sorry I had no back picture. Gosh my pictures are getting worse and worse aren't they! :(

To me this cream was just like ordinary cream. I asked Zhen, the owner of iheartkoreanbeauty what this cream was for and she said that it is a water-based cream that is good for oily skin. Even though I don't have oily skin, I still gave it a try! That's why I had these samples, to try them and see what happens hehe.

Verdict:

It was really smooth to apply due to it being water-based. Just because it's more suited for oily skin doesn't mean that it wouldn't have been good for my dry and sensitive skin. It was actually okay and it smelt extremely nice! I love how Asian skincare products smell so good :) I just used it as a cream when my face just needed some sort of moisture and the fact that it was water-based made it feel like I put water on my face. Sounds so corny but yeah, it was very refreshing.

RRP: $28SGD ($21.917AUD)

Purchase?

I don't think I will be purchasing this product despite it being refreshing and having a very pleasant scent. To me, it wouldn't be worth the price and I'd prefer to purchase skincare products that are aimed to help dry and sensitive skin as this product aims towards people with oily skin.

Recommended for:

Those who have oily skin and just want to have a cream that smells great and to have a non-oily texture on their face.

5. Holika Holika Aqua Splash Serum

Now these pictures are better :)

Well firstly, I like how the sample packet is in the shape of the actual item (the bottle) so it's quite cute. I again, was clueless about what this was. I've heard of serum but I never had any idea what serums are used for and where this is to be applied. With the help of Zhen, she told me that this is to be used after toner and serums are meant to have intensified benefits. So i assumed that this was to applied all over the face. And that was what I did with this.

Verdict:

Smells just like the cream so if one is applied before the other then the scents won't clash. This is also water-based and it is creamy-white but when it is applied, it goes on clear. Unfortunately I had no idea what benefits I would get from using this serum so I can't say much about it, other than it made my face smell nice (again) and the texture was really light and silky-smooth.

RRP: $28SGD ($21.917AUD)

Purchase?

Since I didn't figure out what the benefits were with this serum (which I had applied plenty of times), I don't think it would be worth it to purchase this just to try it out further. Maybe if the price was less :) ?

Recommended for:

Those who want to have intensified benefits on their face and have oily skin.

6. Innisfree White Tone Up Essence

When I read 'essence' I immediately thought of vanilla essence. I think that this is meant to make my face smell nice? o_o I'll just read what the packet says:

Enriched with Pure berries extract and Green complex found from jeju island, white tone up makes your face brighten up.

Verdict:

Brighten? Whiten? I'm not that good at being able to tell the difference. What's the difference between a whiter or brighter face? Well I checked out the Charmzone site again and it said to apply it after cream... but it didn't even say what the purpose is of it! So once again, I can't comment on this much. I forgot to ask Zhen and now I can't ask her because she's away.

RRP: $38SGD ($29.7387AUD)

Purchase?

I think I'd only purchase this because of curiosity but other than that, no. I don't see what the benefits are and how can white tone up essence brighten my face? I don't get it. Hmm, maybe that's just me. Please help if you've ever tried an essence on your face before. The price doesn't appeal to me either.

Recommended for:

Those who want to 'brighten up' their face and who want to try an essence.

7. Holika Holika HD Skinny Primer Base

I was really excited to use this sample because I love face primers. However I didn't expect this primer to have a strong smell. I can't describe the smell but I can say that it was bearable. I thought that this would be perfumed!

Verdict:

Nothing what i had expected. It whitened my face so much O_O I almost looked paper-white! It was freaky, and much more white than the Baviphat BB cream. Wow I was totally shocked. I thought all face primers would smooth on clear? This definitely did not. I had a hard time putting on my foundation to try and cover the whiteness. Thank goodness I didn't wear the primer out, just tried it on at home x] No luck with covering the whiteness though :(

RRP: It's not listed on the site so I have no idea.

Purchase?

No I definitely wouldn't purchase this. I despise whitening products like this! I don't mind gradual whitening products but to suddenly look like a ghost was just scary :S Never again.

Recommended for:

Those who wish they could be whiter or those who are naturally very pale. I guess it could also be used to lighten foundation if you've purchased a shade too dark for your natural skin tone. Mixing this white primer might just do the trick.

8. The bottled samples

- Holika Holika Aqua Splash Toner and Emulsion

- Innisfree Eco Recipe Skin and Lotion

Picture before I used them

Innisfree Eco Recipe Skin is a toner

Holika Holika Aqua Splash Emulsion is used after toner, before cream

Here is the order of use - Toner, Emulsion, Cream

I'm combining this review because these products are really similar, but just have different brands. Again I had a moment in my head saying "what?!" when I read 'emulsion'. Charmzone helped me once again.

Verdict:

I like the scent of the Holika Holika toner and emulsion more than the Eco Recipe Skin toner and cream. Toner is obviously more water-based than cream and toner. A toner is used to get rid of extra dirt and make-up off of the face and cream/emulsion is just used after toner. I don't know why so please don't ask me! Haha. I didn't feel or see any changes to my face after using these products.

RRP:

Holika Holika Aqua Splash Toner and Emulsion are $28.90SGD each ($22.6171AUD)

Innisfree Eco Recipe Skin and Lotion are not found on iheartkoreanbeauty.

Purchase?

I don't really need to use a toner or an emulsion after toner because I don't have an oily face so there isn't much dirt absorbed into my skin. I don't actually own a toner x] If I wanted a toner though, I think I'd just buy one from a drugstore which are much more inexpensive.

Recommended for:

Those who have oily skin and need something extra to get rid of the built-up of dirt.

So there you go! A very lengthy and hopefully detailed post of some Korean skincare samples. I hope this has helped you in some way. I definitely think it's best to try products with samples because you usually don't have to pay for them and you can experience the product without buying a full-size of it which can usually be pricey. All Asian skincare products are foreign to me and I've never owned any before, so this was a really good opportunity for me to try these out and see whether they were okay for my skin or not. Thankfully, I didn't have any irritations or problems with any of the samples!

If you've read all of the above and you're still reading now, I thank you so much! I've written this to kind of make up for my last two posts which were advertorials. I tried to not make them boring as they were my first time doing them. Let me know what you think :)

Also, I've changed my commenting settings to them being approved before publishing because it makes it easier for me to read comments as they show up on my dashboard. I hope that's okay.

And I have a very exciting announcement to make...

My next blog post will be about my giveaway ^_^ Look out for that!

Much love,

Jen xoxo