A Look Inside Korean Beauty Store Tony Moly

When I was younger, I used to watch in amazement (and a bit of incredulity) as my mom went through her nightly skincare routine.  She'd slather on layer after layer of lotions and essences. If you are confused about that term essence, I understand.  I used to think it was some Korean English-sounding skincare line.  For clarification, here is an awesome guide to the difference between toner, serum, essence, and ampoules.  

Anyway, that weird word essence got reintroduced into my life with the recent Korean beauty craze.  And I got bitten by the bug.  Yes, I follow the 10-step Korean skincare routine! <---must read

So I was jumping up with joy when I saw that Tony Moly opened up a store in the city. This brand sells insanely cute products at affordable prices. I love Sephora's description of the items as "criminally cute"! See for yourselves!

Asian Beauty Products Giveaway!

Asian Beauty Products Giveaway! A great opportunity for you to try Asian skincare and makeup if you've never tried...or enter if you just love them! 

To enter: 

Like this page on FB and tell me what your favorite beauty product OR food is (I love both!) in the comments below the post.

Additional ways to enter at the end of this post via Twitter/Instagram.

Deadline: The contest closes at 11:59 pm EST on Sun Jan 31, 2016. I will be announcing a winner on Feb 1, 2016! 🎉

US mailing addresses only (Sorry, guys! Starting domestic!)

TonyMoly: I'm Real Aloe Mask Sheet, Magic Food Banana Sleeping Pack, Peach Anti-Aging Hand Cream, 1 Nose Pack, Mizon Returning Starfish Cream, Peripera: Heart Glow CC Cream, Peri's Fitting Curling Mascara, Rouge Pang in Courteous, Lumi Pang in XXX, and some samples :Goodal Phytowash Yerba Mate Bubble Peeling, Boscia's Cool Cleansing and Oil Detoxifying Black Cleanser, Dr. G Aquasis Water Vital Sleeping Mask.

Review of some of the products in my previous post:http://bit.ly/1ZHYEGj

You can also follow me on Twitter @yesanotherblog or Instagram @1llhaveanother. Following or liking an account PLUS a comment counts as an entry each. So you can be entered up to 3 times via following me on Instagram with a comment, following on Twitter with a tweet, and liking on Facebook with a comment. 3 entries max per person. 

Good luck!! 

Erica

❤

Review of my Korean beauty haul: Mizon, Peripera, Tony Moly, and Goodal!

My First Cushion Compact Experience: IOPE Air Cushion XP

When I first heard of a compact with a cushion that delivers liquid foundation to yo' face, I was super intrigued.  My Korean people bringing the innovative beauty products!

After researching on the good ol' web, I decided on the Amore Pacific IOPE Air Cushion XP  in C23 (Cover Beige).  I bought it at Korean beauty store in Atlanta for about $38. You can also find it at Peach and Lily. Your compact comes with one cushion already inside it and an extra cushion refill.  For some, that could justify the $40ish price tag. ;)



One of the first things I noticed is the packaging. The royal blue and silver box that the compact comes in is so pretty (that I still have it.)

The Winning Korean Sheet Face Mask!

After landing in Atlanta the other weekend, my face was looking pretty rough.  I'm talking about dry skin with more apparent and sad looking wrinkles. :(((

During a trip to the ginormous Mall of Georgia (no seriously, its retail floor area is 1.786 million square feet), I stopped by Sephora to get a sheet mask so my poor skin could drink in some moisture. I asked a worker there what she recommended, and she couldn't gush enough about the Korean Farmacy brand masks.  Their masks are made of naturally derived ingredients and free of parabens, formaldehyde, and artificial coloring.  Bonus: They don't test on animals.  Meow.

Since I was looking for moisture, I went for the DEEP MOISTURE hydrating coconut gel mask with echinacea greenenvy. According to the box, this super echinacea ingredient "contains the highest known concentration of Cichoric Acid, a natural photo-essence that provides the plant restorative properties".  HELLO, antioxidants and anti-inflammatories! And the coconut gel is supposed to provide INTENSE hydration and restore your skin's balance. I was sold.

Beyond the beautiful packaging, the fresh cucumber smell was so delightful! It was light and relaxing.

So what happens at a Korean Beauty Sample Sale?

Peach and Lily had its very first sample sale with skincare up to 90% off and makeup products at $5 or less ($5 each, 5 for $20, 20 for $60).  

It was my first beauty sample sale, so I had no idea what to expect.  

Lauren joined me! My partner in BB crime (blogging and beauty). I know, can I be any more cheesy?

It was an hour wait time to get into the building.  Apparently, there were too many people at the initial start of the sale so the coordinators had to scoot a whole bunch of customers from inside to the outside. Good thing the line was in the shade, and I had my iPad for listening to podcasts while getting emails out. 

We got inside 2 hours after the sale officially started.  A lot of damage can be done in 2 hours. As you can imagine, shelves were already ransacked. Oh, I trust my people to come hella early and get in on those discounted prices.  You can see how the well stocked this event was in the beginning here (click on the gallery). The link also gives updates on product availability.

Like at many sample sales, you have to check in your big personal items like purses and backpacks.  You got a ticket and go claim it after you do your shopping.  I am over-explaining here. You guys know how coat check tickets work.  Then we received purple shopping bags aka roomy paper gift bags.

My favorite area was the Club Clio makeup tables with eye, face, and lip products. $5 dolla!!

Interesting Korean Beauty Trends

Koreans like to look younger than they actually are. They are always striving for the "dong-an" baby face. That doesn't sound uncommon, right...aiming for a more fresh-faced appearance?  Well, Koreans take that goal to another level by playing up their "aegyo-sal", which loosely translates into "cute baby eye fat" and "eye smiles." I prefer the term that I saw in one article: "under eye bulge". 

I guess enhancing your aegyo-sal is supposed to make you look cuter? 

Here is a picture without and with aegyo-sal.  Can you tell the difference?

source

source

Cooking Korean Japchae (Stir-Fried Noodles with Beef and Veggies)

I used this fantastic, easy-to-follow video (with the cutest Korean lady) to make my Japchae.

The video and recipe can be found here.

I actually omitted the white onions since it gives my husband gas. (haha)  I then added 3 jalapenos (we like things SPICY) and about 7 Korean long green peppers (but I suggest only 2-3).  I stir-fried the peppers like all the other vegetables.  I found that the amounts of sesame oil and soy sauce suggested resulted in Japchae that was too bland for me. So I added a LOT more.  You should definitely add to your taste.

Prep Work

My husband had four helpings of the dish. I call that a success!  (Although now he's knocked out on the living room floor from what I imagine is the starch. Or maybe just plain food coma?  He did go H.A.M. on that Japchae!)

This circumference of this bowl is probably comparable to that of a hubcap.  That's a lot of food.

Week in Pics

Shot a short film in one of my fave parks in the city, Madison Square Park.

This is Reeses. She plays hard to get.  She was a nice challenge on set.