My Korean Beauty Product Must Haves

Note: Some products that you click on I might get some compensation from Amazon. 

I finally got the opportunity to visit Seoul, South Korea! I honestly didn’t know what to expect from the city besides possibly seeing a cosmetic surgeon on every corner. Haha… okay so that wasn’t really the reality, BUT they have cosmetic stores everywhere! And Koreans take beauty seriously!! They are probably number one in the world on their beauty routines. They say an average Korean spends around 30-45 minutes a day just on skin care. Even men! Where I’m from most girls are lucky if they get all their make up off before going to bed. (Seriously girls.. we need to step our game up!)

The first day I was a bit overwhelmed by it all. Every second shop in some places was another beauty store, and I really didn’t know what to make of it. So the first night I went back to my hotel room, and did some serious recon so I would be better prepared in the following days. After some research I got a grip on what brands to look out for, and the product direction I wanted to go. After hours and multiple days.. yes days. I finally felt like I had seen and bought it all!

Below is a list of my favorites from the trip, and a few that are still on my wishlist for next time. I have a lot of these products linked to my amazon list where you can get them shipped right to your door step.

Dr. Jart+ Rubber Mask

I chose this product on my own. Basically because of the cute packaging. (But am I right?) So this is a fancier version of a sheet mask.. and comes in different variations. Needless to say, I bought them all! Find this product and more on my list here.

HOLIKA HOLIKA Pig-nose Clear

My boyfriend and I immediately used this product when I purchased it. This is a 3-step black head removal pack. Comes in small nose and large nose sizes. (Small for me, large for him) He constantly asks me to put these on him! This takes black head stripping to a whole new level!

Mizon All In One Snail Repair Cream

This cream is in my daily routine. After years of sun exposure, I feel the need to take extra care of my skin now. It feels so silky and smooth, probably due to the snail ingredients in it. This cream has been the rave all over beauty blogs, and I had to see for myself! There’s something about this cream that makes me feel good when I put it on. 🙂

too cool for school Egg Mellow Cream

This is a New York brand ‘too cool for school’, but the stores are all the rage in Seoul. This 5-1 cream claims itself as a firming moisturizer. Another all-in-one cream for you with brightening, anti-wrinkle, and collagen infused firming moisturizer is a definite go to! Click here to find this on my page.

Brown Lab Mild-S Daily Peeling Pads

There’s something special about these peeling pads for me. I love a good mild peel. Makes me feel like I just gave myself a mini facial. I have a few dark spots on my skin, some from the sun, some from acne. I feel like these daily pads are somewhat diminishing those spots for me.. and I haven’t even used the product that much. Also, I’ve NEVER actually had any peeling with these pads. Although, I think it takes a lot for my skin to peel so these might not be for everyone.

Nature Republic Aloe Vera 92%

After leaving the US I had to part with my aloe plant that I gave lots of love to. While in Seoul, I realized Koreans also share my same LOVE for aloe too! I saw lots of aloe products all ranging in different percentages. I liked the brand Nature Republic the best because it was straightforward, no frills shop, the only product they sold was aloe infused products. I also bought aloe hand cream that came in a aloe leaf shaped bottle. (I know, another packaging sucker story! Save me!!)

3CE White Milk Sleeping Mask

This beauty brand is super popular in Korea. Many of their K-Pop Superstars and beauty bloggers claim to use their products. I chose this product because it was a true sleeping mask. I also like whitening effects in products to give my skin a more even skin tone, and to help brigthen it up

HYGGEE One Step Facial Essence Fresh

Everyone loves a good facial! Why not bring that facial to your home? Is exactly my thoughts when I made this purchase. HYGGEE is the Korean minimalist product staple. This gives your skin an all over fresh feeling. Not a product I would use every day, because it’s too good to use all the time!

Mizon Sheet Mask

Village 11 factory, was one of the first beauty product stores I went into. I was overwhelmed, and confused. I went straight for the sheet masks, and bought some pimple patches and decided to go home and do some research. Low and behold, I ended right back at this store for the snail cream I listed above and more of these amazing sheet masks. Mizon is a staple in my book! You can buy many of these on my store here

KOCOSTAR Lip Mask

I’m a huge sufferer of chapped lips. I thought it was a living in the desert of Las Vegas thing. No, it’s an all the time thing… probably because I’m terrible at drinking water. But unfortunately theres, not sheet mask for rehydration hahaha… but instead I’ll settle for repairing my lips after the fact with these fun little lips masks.

too cool for school Egg Remedy Pack Shampoo

Another ‘too cool for school’ product here. I absolutely love this shampoo. I wish I would have bought the conditioner pack as well, but I didn’t. This shampoo makes my hair feel AMAZE after! Definitely, would buy this over and over.

Moonshot Jelly Pot

Koreans not only love beauty products, but they LOVE make up as well. When it comes to make up they aren’t shy about having a little fun with it. The moon shot jelly pots are a fan favorite! Gives the eyes a little shimmer, and goes on jelly like, but not sticky. Since I don’t go out on the town very often, I like to sometimes go all out, so these little jelly pots give a little extra UMP in my look. Plus their petit pots fit in just about any make up bag. 

CNP Laboratory Propolis Energy Ampule

I read to look out for this brand while in Korea. It’s considered a really underrated brand, and sort of Koreas “secret” brand as far as high end quality, but without the price tag. I love the texture of this serum. I typically put this on right after I get out of the shower, or before I put on make up if my face is feeling extra dry. I noticed within days of using this that the space between my eyebrows because not so dry and flakey which is always a problem for me. Two thumbs up on this one.

Huxley Oil Essence

Another oily like product I purchased was Huxley’s oil essence. Even in humidity my face tends to get dry just by being in the sun. I love putting on these serums right after at day at the beach or right in the morning when I wake up.

INK Peripera Lip Stains

I love me a good lip tint, and there sure isn’t a shortage in Korea. They know how to make sure lips last throughout the whole night, too! I bought a few of these tints by Peripera. They have an original, gelato, and a matte version. Personally I love their gelato line, it’s the moistest on the lips. MY lips are usually super dry as it is, so matte lipsticks and tints don’t usually work for me anyway. You can find these tints on my amazon list here.

Josh Rosebrook Hydrating Accelerator Facial Mist

Even though this is made in the USA, it was all over Korea. I was pretty much sold on this product while purchasing my ‘too cool for school’ products (also made in the USA). I didn’t know much about it, but I was given tons of samples at check out. Actually I was given lots of samples at every store. It’s like Christmas every day at a beauty store in Korea. I had to go back for more of this mist once I got back home!

Mizon Bye-Bye Pimple Patch

Pimple patches are becoming increasingly popular in the US. I decided to give the patches a try, and they seemed to do their job! I’m luck that I don’t get break outs often, so I’ve only tested it once. However, I liked the results the first time. Either way they are fun way to deal with those little red bumps.

HOLIKA HOLIKA Foot Mask Sheet

At one point during my shopping spree I went a little mad and started buying everything in sight. I was like a girl in target without a motive.. that kind of mad. I started buying things like foot masks, hand mask, vline masks. My motto at one point was can’t fix it, throw a mask on it! LOL! However, I did like these foot sheet masks. A few days after wearing them the bottoms of your feet start to peel and shed the calluses. A but odd, but a good scrub in the shower and your feet will feel like a nice mini pedicure.

 

Leegeehaam HYAL B5 Toner

Leegeehaam is backed by leading dermatologist in Korea. The sleek packaging sells itself. I love a good toner since my skin isn’t in the best shape right now, and I knew I had to give this one a try, as well as a few other products not listed a try!

Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Eye Cream

Of course, I have to save the best for last. The holy grail of beauty creams. Sadly, I did not leave with this. This product comes with a hefty price tag, but the cream boasts leaving the skin more radiant, and silky smooth. Plus ginseng is imbedded into Korean culture.. the ginseng in this product is suppose to activate the skin to give it a more plump look. I do have my eyes on this cream.. and someday I will get it. But for now, I’ll stick to my all-in-one creams listed above.

 

If missed the link… here it is again. You can find most of these on the list I’ve created within amazon. Also note, I am NOT a dermatologist, nor did I go to esthetician school. These are simply all the products I bought, and tried and loved while I was in Korea. Happy shopping!

Changing to an International Address with Delta Skymiles

So, recently I moved to Hong Kong and I’ve slowly been getting everything in order as far as setting up new accounts, getting my finances in order, and changing addresses in all the right places.

My boyfriend and I fly quiet often around Asia, and in the United States as well. After our trip to Bali using Garuda Airlines, which we were VERY pleasantly surprised about, I noticed his Delta App was missing one HUGE thing when looking at his sky miles account. The MQDs bar was missing! First, I wanted to know why, and second how, third, I was secretly jealous 🙁 . So, I did some digging and I found out that international customers in the Delta Skymiles program are exempt from accumulating MQDs when achieving status, and only their MQMs are counted. This blew my mind.

Changing of Address

My next order of business was to change my address on my Delta Skymiles account, however, from what little I read, this process wasn’t easy and it would take weeks. I also didn’t read anywhere about what would happen to existing MQMs you might have had prior to the address change. And furthermore, they could deny you. But it was all risks that I was willing to take, and after all I do live in Hong Kong.

I read over the list of items you had to send them to verify that you ACTUALLY lived outside the US. NOTE: If anyone tries to falsify this, you could be kicked out of the program entirely, and I think it’s totally illegal. So don’t try this unless you ACTUALLY live outside the US. The list included things like;

  • Passport
  • ID Card
  • Phone Bill
  • Utility Bill
  • Bank Statements
  • The list went on

The Process

I thought okay, well I don’t have an international passport, or an interactional ID card since I’m still an American citizen. I cannot obtain a Hong Kong ID card, nor can I have rent in my name, or utility bills, or phone bills. The only thing that I could do was change my US bank account address to Hong Kong, and wait until the next billing months statement to post to give proof. So that’s exactly what I did.

Before you had to scan and email, or fax these papers to Delta’s Skymiles department, but I think just within the last month they changed that. Now they have an easy upload process online. I submitted my new international address, showed proof of my bank statement, and in the comments section I said something to the tune of “the actual proof of change of address was my prior itineraries with delta, all of which are to and from Hong Kong”. Since they can see this in my account, I thought it was best to actually say that.

The Wait

Documents submitted, now it’s the waiting game. At this point I’m a bit excited, and nervous. (Yes, I’m a frequent flier program nerd, and I actually get excited about elevated status, don’t judge! Who doesn’t like the occasional upgrade anyway? Am I right?) My MQMs were at 73,000, but my MQDs were just over 3,000, I had just reached Silver Medallion. However, I had 16,000 rollover MQMs from last year.

Were my 16,000 rollover MQMs going to fall off? If my address was approved were they going to stay, meaning I’m on the cusp of being a Platinum Medallion!? Was I going to have to start all over this year? Or was I flat out going to be denied? Uhggg the suspense!!! How was I suppose to wait weeks for this answer?

Outcome

Well I didn’t! I waited approximately 36 hours for the outcome, or maybe less. I didn’t get an email for the address change, I only noticed by logging on to my delta app that the MQDs bar was not there!! It worked, I was approved!!  Not only that, my 16,000 rollover MQMs stayed! Which, from what I read, is a perk something international customers do not have. I was practically jumping for joy! But I noticed that my status for this year, and next year still said Silver Medallion. That’s okay. Things take time.

I waited 4 more days, and then checked again, still stated Silver Medallion. That’s when I thought okay? So am I being punished? No, just be patient. Checked again two days later, and my 2019 status had changed to Gold Medallion! WooWho! Even better, is that I’m so close to Platinum, I’ve been Gold, but never Platinum. It’s almost as if Diamond Medallion status is so close now (but I still have a lot of miles to go for that)!

So there you have it! For anyone who flies with Delta and is curious about the international address change process, I can assure you that this can only help you if you fly long distances, and still often fly within the US. This is the best way to achieve elevated status quicker.

5 Beaches In Italy You Can’t Miss

 

When travelling to Italy, a smart way to go is to pick a theme and follow that path. Made you want to see the Roman cathedrals, walk the piazzas in Florence. Or maybe you just want to chill out with a cold drink in your hand, with some beautiful waters in your sights. Either way, Italy is simply magnificent.

A fun way to explore the country’s beauties is to stick to the neverending coasts and the gorgeous islands. Breathtaking sceneries, sandy beaches, rocky cliffs, crystal clear water. No need to travel to the tropics: Italy has just about it all!

In no particular order take a look at my very-own top 5 beaches in Italy.

 Positano, Amalfi Coast

Parasols at the beach in Positano

Stretching for about 50 kilometers on the southern coastline of Campania, the Amalfi Coast is one of the most popular seaside spots to enjoy your vacation in Italy.

Featuring rocky steep shores, golden to charcoal sandy beaches, and small fishermen villages, the Amalfi Coast is home to some of the top beaches in Italy.

Best time to visit is April to September, however the Mediterranean climate makes of the Amalfi Coast a perfect spot to escape the colder north side of the country even in winter.

Do not miss out on popular villages like Amalfi,Positano, Praiano, and Capri. Ranking amongst the best sights in Italy, Positano is also definitely worth a visit

Cala Porto, Polignano a Mare

Cala Porto beach set in a cove in Polignano a Mare.

This wonderful little town on the Adriatic coast of region Apulia is very much popular as the set of a big number of Italian movies. You’ll truly appreciate that movie-set vibe as you walk through the historical center of Polignano a Mare.

Join the locals and the many visitors in a superb vacation in one Italy’s most beautiful seaside spots.

Sitting on a rocky cliff, about 33 kilometers south of Bari, Polignano a Mare also features beautiful arts, extensive historical and cultural sites, breathtaking views over the Adriatic Sea.

Polignano a Mare carries tales from a Greek and Roman background. The best example? Pay a visit to the beautiful Roman Bridge on Via Traiana. A spectacular sight! Even the architecture in town resembles many Greek small towns. So beautiful

Rabbits Beach, Lampedusa

Clear blue waters here around this island. Many beautiful beaches here.

This tiny island on the Mediterranean Sea is in fact the biggest of the archipelago called Pelagie Islands. Being much closer to Tunisia in the north Africa than to Sicily, Lampedusa offers a semi-arid climates. Thus it is considered as the warmest site in the country throughout the year.

The biodiversity and the flourish wildlife make of Lampedusa one of the top beaches in Italy. Keep an eye out the sea for dolphins, sharks, whales and seals.

Spiaggia dei Conigli (literally Rabbits Beach), named Best Beach by TripAdvisor in 2013.

Cala Rossa, Favignana

Not much of a beach here, but good for swimming right off the boat.

Okay, so maybe it’s not so much about the beaches here, as it is about the water! The water here is like looking into the most beautiful deepest blues, and bright turquoise hues. Favignana has become a hot spot for tourist recently.. and you’ve probably seen these places pop up on your Instagram this summer.  (Maybe the Italians didn’t wanted us to not know about it!)

Favignana is a small island situated just off north-western tip of Sicily. There are many sandy beaches, accompanied by rocky shorelines. Cala Rossa, most popular beach here,  is a beach on the eastern portion of the island.  Not very much is around this beach, a few small eateries, and hardly any services. But this place is great for snorkeling, swimming, and amazing panoramas.

La Pelosa, Stintino

La Pelosa beach on the island of Sardinia.

The coastal village of Stintino in Sardinia offers the spot that ranks on number 1 of the best beaches in Italy. Most people forget about this island nestled in the middle Tyrrhenian Sea.

Sitting in the Gulf of Asinara, the stunning beach of La Pelosa features white sand and crystal clear water.Very much popular with tourists from all over Europe and the world, the area around Stintino offers luxurious resorts and a vibrant nightlife.

 

Sent me an email and let me know if I’ve missed a beach you love! jessie_koehler@yahoo.com