Hanbang for the Holidays Gift Guide III: Sheet Masks for the Commitment Shy

We've covered small-sized luxury in Hanbang for the Holidays Gift Guide I: Little Luxuries Under $15, and full-size affordable options in Hanbang for the Holidays Gift Guide II: Full Sized & Wallet Friendly, and now it's time to look at the easiest Hanbang (or at least herbal) option to slip into an existing routine: sheet masks.

Sheet masks are the guilt-free one night stand of skincare; you can wear a different one every night or double down with your favourites, and you can easily fit them into your existing routine if you're already happy with it.  They're also a fun thing to do with family or friends, which makes them an excellent gift option; it's an invitation to spend time together while pampering your faces.  They're also a small investment; most of my sheet masks are in the $1-$5 range (for the ultra fancy ones) so if it doesn't work out, you can walk away without wallet regret.

Sometimes I'm tempted to sing Part of Your World when I see my Hanbang mask collection: You want herbal masks?  I've got twenty.  Bit who cares?  No big deal?  I want moooooore ... 
I will warn you before we start that not all of these masks will be 'Hanbang' per se; Taiwan makes some of the best sheet masks out there and Hanbang and TCM (traditional Chinese herbal medicine) are based off the same principles. so I'll be including both in this guide.

In this series:
  • Luxe for Less: Little Luxuries Under $15 (link here)
  • Full Sized & Wallet Friendly: Full Size Products in the $20-$30 Range (link here)
  • Hanbang for Just One Night: Sheet Masks for the Commitment Shy (you are here!)
This list will also be a mix of sources; there will be the cheapest options for those preparing mega hauls from Korean sellers to maximize shipping cost value, and more accessible mini-haul options for those looking to just pick up a few masks.  I'm going to slap on a sheet mask as I write this (any time can be sheet mask time) and we'll begin!

Hanbang for the Holidays Gift Guide II: Full Sized & Wallet Friendly

Let's say that either you, or your gift recipient, is ready for a full-size commitment; you spy a gorgeous bottle on social media and swoop off to find out how much it costs, and upon spying it's three-digit price tag, shriek in horror and flee back to safer wallet waters.

While it's true that the full sizes of the products I mentioned in Hanbang for the Holidays Gift Guide I: Little Luxuries Under $15 are quite expensive, there's still lovely full size options out there that won't immolate your bank account as soon as you cast your eyes on them.  Hanbang products come in a range of brands, with varying quality, and as long as you have reasonable expectations and understand why you're buying them, you'll be able to find something within a reasonable budget.

Speaking of expectations, as I mentioned in the last post, I don't rely on my non-active-ingredient skincare for active effects; this frees up the rest of my routine for hydration and relaxation.  I'd also like for them to have an attractive smell and be in attractive packaging, and this is the recipe for my torrid affair with Hanbang skincare.  I don't mind if it doesn't whiten my dark spots, fade my fine lines and wrinkles, or control my acne, because I use science-based products for those tasks, even if they smell bad (Cosrx BHA), are unpleasant to use (azelaic acid from Curology), or come in ugly-but-functional packaging (too many examples to list!)  I have science to care for my skin, I want Hanbang to soothe my soul.

And soothe it does, when my mornings are greeted by beautiful things like this:

Image from The Bottle That Stole My Heart: Sooryehan Hyo Biyeon Concentrated Brightening Essence Review
In this series:
  • Luxe for Less: Little Luxuries Under $15 (link here)
  • Full Sized & Wallet Friendly: Full Size Products in the $20-$30 Range (you are here!)
  • Hanbang for Just One Night: Sheet Masks for the Commitment Shy (link here)

To recap: some of these I have tried myself, and others are simply on my watch list of things that have caught my eye.  I'll also be including some non-Hanbang but still thematically similar Taiwanese sheet masks in part III, because they're a little easier to source than my Hanbang faves.

Hanbang for the Holidays Gift Guide I: Little Luxuries Under $15

It's that time of the year where postal service slows to a crawl and K-Beauty fans make their last orders with hope of arrivals before the holidays; and if you've been considering sending your mother (or whomever) some Hanbang skincare as a gift, this post is for you.  (Unless you're my mother, in which case, READ NO FURTHER, MOM!)

If you've read my blog, you'll know that I'm pretty deeply in lust love with all things Hanbang; just click my Hanbang tag and you'll find post after post devoted to the lovely creatures that populate my skincare wardrobe.  If you're not familiar with Hanbang, 한방 is traditional Korean herbal medicine, similar to TCM (traditional Chinese herbal medicine) but native to Korea with its own traditions, preparation, native herbs if applicable, and a heavy emphasis on fermentation techniques.

One of the questions I am asked frequently is "what does it do?" and while there is often promising initial studies (mostly out of Korea, naturally) about the potential medicinal benefits of Hanbang remedies, they are rarely relevant to skincare as they're just not studying their topical effects.  So why the obsession with Hanbang, when a huge part of my skincare philosophy is a reliance on ingredients with a proven scientific pedigree?  Because I like pretty things that smell like herbs and feel nice on my skin, and one can find those qualities in spades in Hanbang skincare.

Hanbang skincare
Image from The Hanbang Set Project: Translations, Patch Testing, & Pictures


It's also a matter of expectations.  Unless a product contains an 'active' ingredient that is clinically proven to have a specific effect on skin, my expectations of skincare are quite reasonable: I want things to hydrate and/or moisturize my skin (i.e. impart water, or oil), be pleasant to apply, and not break me out.  With realistic expectations, I have the freedom to apply things for benefits other than active skincare management, hence my love of Hanbang.
The problem with Hanbang skincare is that it's also often very expensive, which puts people off from trying it out.  So I've put together a little holiday guide of affordable-yet-beautiful options ranging from deluxe travel sizes of expensive products to full sizes of products that won't set your wallet on fire.

In this series:
  • Luxe for Less: Little Luxuries Under $15 (you are here!)
  • Full Sized & Wallet Friendly: Full Size Products in the $20-$30 Range (link here)
  • Hanbang for Just One Night: Sheet Masks for the Commitment Shy (link here)

Some of these I have tried myself, and others are simply on my watch list of things that have caught my eye.  I'll also be including some non-Hanbang but still thematically similar Taiwanese sheet masks in part III, because they're a little easier to source than my Hanbang faves.

What's In My Skincare Wardrobe: Cleanser Edition

One of the ongoing themes that I've been championing for a while, and it's also favoured by other diehard Asian skincare devotees with serious skincare stashes, is the 'Skincare Wardrobe'; the idea that you can have a 'closet' of options to select from rather than wearing everything all at once.

This week, I'm going to be featuring the cleansers currently in my 'Wardrobe', because I have ... 7 cleansers (+1 I am testing, for a total of 8) currently on rotation and they all see regular use.  Shocking, I know!  But would it be so strange to have 8 different styles of shirts, ranging from tank tops to winter sweaters?  Nope.  Hence, the concept of the 'Skincare Wardrobe', and we're going to peek into my cleanser 'closet' today.

Cleansing Water, Oil Cleanser, Makeup Wipes, Foaming Cleanser, Powder Cleanser
So many cleansers!  Can you really use them all?  Spoilers: yes.

Last week in The Painful Path to K-Beauty Wisdom: 7 Mistakes Beginners Make, under the section 'Buying 'cult' products that don't suit your skin type', I mentioned this concept again:
I look at my products as a 'wardrobe' of options; I may have items in my closet ranging from bathing suits to winter coats, but that doesn't mean I'm going to wear every piece of clothing I own at once.  However, having a range of skincare options is actually a good thing, in my opinion, because it populates your wardrobe with options that you can mix and match depending on the 'weather' that day.
This is a really important concept to keep in mind when you're reading tall tales of the supposed number of products used in an Asian skincare routine; even routines I have posted, such as the Multi-Step Korean Skincare Routine: Winter/Spring 2015, Part II: Current Products, featured a staggering 30 products in its lineup:

Multi step Korean skin care routine
Image from: Multi-Step Korean Skincare Routine: Winter/Spring 2015
Sure, it looks like a lot.  The thing is, real routines don't actually look like that; if you check out my Instagram, you'll see typical AM and PM routines that I actually use, on a daily basis.

Here's a random selection of two AM routines, one featuring body lotion, and a PM routine complete with a mask pack:

Left to right: AM routine ft a sheet mask, AM routine ft body care, and PM routine ft mask pack.
As you can see, there are some consistent products, but even though I didn't deliberately pick these to illustrate my point (I only realized after I had collaged them together, haha) these routines all use different cleansers, which makes them perfect for today's post.  (Gotta love that serendipity.)  There's a pump-foamed cleanser, a cleansing water, and a foam-with-water cleanser.  They're all part of my Skincare Wardrobe, and I pull them out on different occasions.

That doesn't mean that I use it as an excuse to have a million things open at once, so there's no hope of using them before they expire, but it does meant that I have the flexibility to customize my daily routine to perfectly suit my skin's needs that day, and that's what the multi-step Asian skincare hype is all about, in my opinion.  Customization for the win!

In this post:
  • Cleansing waters
  • Cleansing wipes
  • Oil, balm, cream, and gel oil cleansers
  • Cleansing powders
  • Self-foaming cleansers
  • Water-soluble foaming cleansers

I will also mention, before we jump in, that all of my cleansers are low pH.  pH is just one of the considerations that goes into my choice of cleansers- as you're going to see from all the rejects I've 'purged' from my closet like outdated shirts and ratty jeans.

The Painful Path to K-Beauty Wisdom: 7 Mistakes Beginners Make

This weekend's post is going to be fairly short and sweet, because I am determined to finally unpack and put away the entirety of my product stash, and it's going to a monumental task requiring lots of coffee or possibly adult beverages to survive the endeavour, but it needs to be done.  And purging- of the skincare, not skin, variety - does anyone really need a mountain of uninteresting samples of unknown vintage?

There are unused samples lurking in every box.  Also: how much of this do you think I can fit in that as-yet unassembled drawer unit?  Because I am about to find out, and I think like many things in this post, I'm going to find out the hard way.
Clearly since most of my samples are unused and cluttering up my stash, the answer for me is no.  Naturally this has me pondering some of the mistakes I've made, and seen others make, over the years.

In this post:
  • Buying all the things
  • Ignoring skincare triggers
  • Testing all the things - at once
  • Buying 'cult' products that don't suit your skin type
  • Avoiding or Hoarding Samples
  • Writing off all K-Makeup
  • Treating makeup as sun protection

Some of these I'm guilty of, others are things I've seen crop up time and time again as things that people have done and regretted, or are doing currently and don't realize that it's something they need to reconsider.