Winter Haul: innisfree

The first of my winter hauls was at innisfree.  I bought two items and got one for free.

Intensive Hydrating Cream with Green Tea Seed (36.80CAD with 20% premium membership, 46CAD regular)

Holiday Edition of the cream 

Sparkling Glitter Tint #1 (12CAD with premium membership, 15CAD regular)

Double Cleansing Duo Kit (Free)

Not advertised but it seems that innisfree is giving these away with any purchase over 50CAD

innisfree Intensive Hydrating Serum with Green Tea Seed

Brand description:  Lock in hydration from the very first drop with our optimally balanced blend of Green Tea extract and Green Tea Seed Oil. Packed with amino acid and minerals, this lightweight yet nourishing serum helps replenish your skin’s optimal moisture level, wrapping skin in comfort for a soft, glowing complexion.

Price:  35.00CAD

Size: 80ml

Package details: Green plastic bottle with pump dispenser.

Directions:  Apply 2-3 pumps evenly to face and neck after cleansing and pat for better absorption. 

Consistency: Semi-thick opaque liquid

My Experience: This serum is probably innisfree's most popular product and for good reason, it's an affordable and effective hydrating serum that provides results quickly.  I have been using the product for about three months now but I saw results about a week in  My skin remained more hydrated and lost some of its redness as well as losing the dryness I had around my nose.  I was originally using the serum twice a day, both in the morning and at night, but about one month in I started using it just at night and added a different serum in the morning (The Body Shop drops of light serum).  I still saw good hydration and the dryness around my nose did not return.  I've returned to using it twice a day, recently, as the winter is causing my home to be dry so the extra hydration is needed.  The pump dispenser is very convenient and perfect for preventing contamination of the serum.  I like these more than droppers because they are much easier to use.

While the directions say to use 2-3 pumps, I found that 1.5-2 was enough to cover my face and neck.  There is no sticky residue after application and the serum is absorbed quickly by the skin. As I said,this is a bestseller for innisfree being a fantastic product at a good price point. I will add a caveat, though: the serum is fragrant. The scent is quite strong at first but quickly disappears though this doesn’t negate the presence of fragrance so if you are sensitive to scented products or just don’t like them then this is not the product for you. 

Ingredients: Water, propanediol, alcohol, glycerin, betaine, 1,2-hexanediol, saccharide isomerate, camellia sinensis oil, cetearyl olivate, hydrogenated lecithin, sorbitan olivae, acrylates/c10-30 acrylate ceosspolymer, fragrance/parfum, panthenol, hydroxethylacrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer, tromethamine, ceratonia siliqua gum, ethylhexylglycerin, disodium edta, camellia sinensis leaf extract, dextrin, theobroma cacao (cocoa) extract, sorbitan isostearate, sodium citrate, citric acid, sucrose.

innisfree Store Opening at Scarborough Town Centre

Friday November 22 was the grand opening of the innisfree store at Scarborough Town Centre in Toronto.  This is the third store to open this year but the first opening that I could attend (the other two openings were are Yorkdale and Eaton Centre).  As with the previous openings the special event and givaways were the same: a free Hydrating Trio with Jeju Green Tea kit for the first 200 people in line; a free Green Tea sheet mask with any purchase; a Jeju Heritage discovery kit with any purchase over $50; a free canvas tote with any purchase over $80.  All of these were available for those customers who downloaded the innisfree app and signed up for their rewards program (for more information see my post about the Green Tea Seed innisfree Loves Canada discovery kit).  At this launch there was a Youtube beauty creator present for a meet and greet but I arrived after that had ended.  

I went a bit later in the day, at 3:30pm or so, but the store was bustling and employees were directing people to line up outside as the store was filling up with customers.  While in line, people were being provided with pamphlets explaining the opening freebies and the innisfree rewards system.  After a short wait I got in and was welcomed by another employee, Sunny, with a shopping basket and some help finding the products I was looking for.  Not usually something I need but it was nice to be quickly directed to the correct products while the store was so full of people.  I had a list of things I wanted so it was pretty easy for me to get my items and get in line to cash out.  While in line another employee was helping people sign up for the rewards program in order to get all the free goodies that were being given out.  Checking out didn't take too long and the cash registers had pre-prepared bags with the Jeju Heritage kits, the opening day free sheet mask, and a welcome gift for those who just signed up for the rewards program.  I lucked out and also snagged one of the first 200 Green Tea Seed discovery kits, which I only found out about when I got home (I had assumed they would be gone by then).  I'm guessing that the busy time had just started as people got out from work and school or they somehow had extra kits.  

The launch event was well executed, with lots of staff on hand to help shoppers and to explain the rewards app to streamline getting the free goodies.  The store itself isn't very large but is well appointed with attractive displays and well labeled sections.

As before, here is a basic overview of the products, both the opening day promotional items and those I bought.  I'll be putting out more in-depth reviews as I use the products which may take a while.  

Opening Day Hydrating Trio with Jeju Green Tea kit (free)

Box

  

Contents of the free kit.  Perfect for travel.

Jeju Heritage discovery kit (free)

Box

Under the cover, displaying the ingredients used by innisfree.

The contents of the Jeju heritage kit.

Holiday limited edition hand cream trio (18CAD)

Scents: Small Wedding Bouquet; Yuja Tea; Pink Coral.

Holiday limited edition DIY gramophone speaker 

(3CAD with any holiday purchase 8CAD regular)

Box

Parts inside box.

Clay Mask discovery kit (20CAD)

Cleansing Foam, Brightening mask, Hydrating mask, Purifying mask.

Foot Scrub (13CAD)

Lip Balm (10CAD)

Hand mask (5CAD)

My Real Squeeze mask assorted 

(2.50CAD each) 

Canvas Tote (free)

Welcome Kit (free)

This is the official welcome kit for joining the innisfree rewards program.  Contains: Hydrating Serum with Green Tea Seed; Hydrating Eye Cream with Green Tea Seed; Hydrating Cream with Green Tea Seed; Green Tea My Real Squeeze mask. 

Missha Christmas Lucky Box 2018

My goodness me, but I have been bad about putting this post up.  I think I've done three posts of things I got later in the year before this one!  Well, though it is late, I figured it would still be worth putting this up so people can see what kinds of things Missha offers in their lucky boxes.  Last year's Christmas box was a smaller one and cost 25.35CAD, therefore it had fewer items than the previous lucky box.  This year the box was heavier on the cosmetics vs skincare and came with 10 items.  

Masks 

Chlorophyl Sheet Mask: This was a nice sheet mask with a good amount of serum. 

OCR Pack tight skin mask: Even after all this time I haven't tried it.  Will put out a review once I do.

Skincare

Vitamin B12 double Hydrop miniature kit: Honestly, I didn't really use this long enough to see any difference.  It has an OK amount of product if you think of it as a sampler, but it's really not that much and the mini dropper isn't the greatest.

Simple Therapy Finish Cream: I'm really not sure where in my routine this is supposed to go.  Once I figure it out I'll try it and see how it is.

Makeup and tools

Matt Paining Rouge in Pink:  Fantastic matte liquid lipstick.  The pink is bright and vibrant, goes on easily, lasts a decent amount of time. 

Eye Painting Shadow in Orange: While the actual product is nice and highly pigmented, the container leaves much to be desired.  It's not convenient to use, it has lots of air inside, it's hard to get the amount of product you want out.  The packaging seriously lets this down.  

All Lasting Eye brow pencil: I'm not sure if it was just me but the pencil is hard and doesn't really do anything.  It may just be old.  

Nail Polish G009 Gold Flakes

Eyelash Curler

Innisfree opened in Canada

Innisfree Opening Special Offer

Innisfree has opened their first Canadian store in Toronto this month.  In honour of that they have released a special discovery set for their Green Tea Seed line. The set costs 35CAD and comes with a full size Intensive Hydrating Serum with Green Tea Seed (80ml/2.70fl.oz) and trial/travel size versions of other products in the line: Hydrating Cleansing Foan with Green Tea Seed (30Ml/1.01fl.oz); Hydrating Eye Cream with Green Tea Seed (10ml/0.33fl.oz); Hydrating Cream with Green Tea Seed (20ml/0.67fl.oz).  It's a nice kit and worth getting while supplies last because you are paying the same as the serum on its own while getting extra products.  I will have a more in depth review of the products after using them for a bit.

Green Tea Seed discovery box.  Left to right: Cleansing foam, Serum, Top eye cream, Bottom cream.

Innisfree App and Reward Program

In conjunction with the store opening Innisfree has also released the Innisfree app which doubles as a rewards card.  The reward system is simple, for every dollar spent you get points and every 100 points = 1CAD off your purchase.  There are three membership tiers Welcome (just sign up), Premium (after spending 120CAD), and VIP (after spending 240CAD).  You can also earn points by returning empty bottles for 50 points a bottle up to 5 time a month.  Each level comes with slightly better rewards.  It's worth getting the app and joining the program because you get a Welcome kit right off the bat.  At the moment it is a free sheet mask, this one is a one time gift.  Premium and VIP members get a birthday voucher, and VIP members get a once-yearly VIP kit.  I don't know what it is right now as I haven't reached VIP status.  The tiers also accumulate more points for each purchase: Welcome gets 2 points for every dollar, Premium 3 points, VIP 4 points.  Points will expire is there is no purchase made within a 12 month span.  For more information on the program follow the link underlined above and for the Innisfree Canada website click here.

Green Tea Real Squeeze Mask

The Face Shop: Dr. Belmeur

Line Overview

The Dr Belmur line is one of The Face Shop’s lines meant to combat different types of problem skin, both oily/combination and sensitive/dry.  This line has three ranges. The first is the clarifying range for those with oily/combination or acne-prone skin that works to clarify and calm the skin. The second is the daily repair range for those with sensitive/dry skin meant to gently moisturize the skin and prevent irritation. The third range is the Advanced Cica range and is a targeted care range meant for protection and more intensive care.   The Face Shop describes the Dr. Belmeur line as “a premium derma-cosmetic skincare line that uses plant-based ingredients that have similar components to our skin. Dermatologically tested, this line provides gentle skincare and barrier-enhancing solution to common skin problems.” 

As the line is a gentle care line there is minimal scent to all the products.  It's a fresh, sweet, cucumber scent that is quite pleasant but it would be better for a gentle line to be scentless altogether as most scents can be irritants for sensitive skin.  Visually, going with the medical theme of the line, all the packaging is reminiscent of medical containers: clean white lines with blue text that look to be written on a prescription pad.  The design makes it easy to identify the three ranges with colour-coded backgrounds: light blue for the clarifying range, light pink for the repair range, dark electric blue for the Cica repair range. In terms of effect the Dr. Belmeur products need time to show results and neither the Clarifying range nor the Daily Repair range have any truly WOW products (I haven't tried any of the Advanced Cica line yet).  The good thing is that the line provides consistent results.  Overall I'd say that this line is best for those in their teens to mid/late 20s.  

The Products

The Dr. Belmeur line encompasses a lot of different products, 29 individual items not counting sets, but the availability of these products will depend on what country you live in. There are also some limited items made in collaboration with Kakao friends that are essentially regular products in cute packaging. As well there is a baby care range with 4 products. 

Clarifying range

Bubble Foam Cleanser

Toner

Spot Soothing Ampoule

Spot Pack Kit

Moisturiser

Centelladerm Ointment

Daily Repair range

Foam Cleanser

Toner

Mineral Salt Toner

Moist Cleansing Water

Exfoliating Pad

Hydrating Mist

Zinc Tone Correcting Cream

Moisturiser

Ato Salt Cream

Soothing Gauze Sheet Mask

Moisturizing Lip Balm

Advanced Cica range

Peptide Ampoul

Recovery Cream

Enriched Cream

Recovery Hand Cream

Hyalourinic Mask

Daily Repair Cleansing Water

This is The Face Shop's only cleansing water.  The current packaging available in Canada has a push-pump top that conveniently dispenses the product onto a cotton pad.  I use two-three pumps at a time.  The products can either be washed off or left as is.  The water is good for mild cleansing in the mornings or in the middle of the day for a pick-me-up.  As with any cleansing water I wouldn't use it as an evening cleanser, it just isn't up to taking off a whole day's dirt.  The products itself is pleasant and doesn't leave any redness or irritation.

Daily Repair Toner

This is a good toner that can be applied both with a cotton pad and just with your hands.  The liquid is viscous enough to avoid spilling too much, but it is still clearly a toner.  Very nice for daily use and leaves the skin feeling refreshed and mildly moisturised.

Clarifying Spot Soothing Ampoule

If I was to pick the most WOW product of the line this would be it.  The ampoule is a targeted treatment for pimples and acne.  If you see or feel a pimple or some acne forming you put this on and it helps to reduce redness, sensitivity, and minimizes the visual effect of any blemishes.  It does help get rid of the blemish faster but I'm not sure if it's because of the product or because the soothing effect prevents you from touching the blemish and it just doesn't get extra irritated.  The ampoule lasts a really long time and has a very convenient dropper applicator that prevents germ contamination from your skin to the bottle.  Just make sure to drop the product onto a finger first instead of touching the dropper to your face. 

Clarifying Spot Pack Kit

This is, to me, the most disappointing product from The Face Shop.  The spot plasters are little circles that stick to the skin and are supposed to fight blemishes but they haven't done anything for me.  I'm not the only one who feels this way so I feel pretty confident in saying that you can skip this product.  It won't do anything except prevent dirt from interacting with the blemish, essentially acting like a small clear bandaid.

Daily Repair Moisturizer

This is a great moisturiser for those who need or want a light touch.  The product has a good consistency coming firmly in the middle between a face butter and an emulsion.  It doesn't leave any sticky residue and has a comfortable skin-feel.  The drawback to it's lightness is that you will want something extra overnight if your skin is prone to dryness or if you have air conditioning or heating.  It's also not up to protecting your skin in the depth of winter, it's just too light.  It's perfect for the summer, though, and works great at promoting an even skin tone and texture. 

Daily Repair Moisturizing Lip Balm

A+ product.  I love this lip balm.  I have very sensitive lips that are prone to infection and almost every lip balm will eat away at the skin along the edges.  This lip balm doesn't do that and actually helps to keep my lips moisturised.  It has zero smell and no colour.  It is on the expensive side but worth it, especially if you have sensitive lips.  

The Face Shop Lucky Pack

This year The Face Shop came out with lucky packs for Christmas.  They were $17.00 so I grabbed one figuring that at such a price it can't hurt.  I was hoping for a nice spread of products, maybe some hand creams, perhaps some make-up, an accessory?  No.  The packs were all random so I don't know what others got, perhaps I should have gotten two to compare them, but this one wasn't very interesting.  The product were good, useful things that I will definitely be using, but nothing very exciting.  On the one hand, it's always good to get stuff that you need, but on the other I like the possibility of getting something I've never thought about in a lucky pack to try it out.  The total value was very much worth it coming in at $70.50 for the whole pack so it was a good investment but I'm still disappointed.. 

And now: Photos!

As you can see there wasn't anything exciting and the spread was pretty basic.  

The Smile Foot peeling masks are pretty expensive at $15.00 each but they work wonders on calloused feet.  This is the mask that causes dead skin to dry and peel away over the course of a week or so.  Do not use it right before wearing open shoes of any kind because you'll be slewing off dead skin and it is not pretty (though it is satisfying).  They aren't useful for anyone who regularly scrubs their feet and doesn't have old skin build-up, though, so if your feet are already callous free, don't bother with one.  

The nose pore strips are very nice.  I like them much more than the cream mask that does the same thing.  I religioulsy follow my cleansing routine (even when falling asleep at the sink or when coming home drunk after the bar) so I don't rally have any black sebaceous filaments on my nose, but a nose-strip is still good for special events when you want to be doubly sure that your face looks its best.  Remember to exfoliate first to get rid of any dead skin cells that may be on your nose. (I like peeling gels myself, they feel a lot gentler on the skin.  Scrubs are just too abrasive)

This is probably the most useless product for me since I prefer to double cleanse with liquid cleansers instead.  The only time I use wipes is to remove light make-up before cleansing so they last forever and end up drying out by the last quarter.  If it had been a travel size it would have been much more useful, but this is the full size so I don't even know what to do with it.  It's still a good product, I just don't use it.