This is the second part of my Korean skincare overview – including only the latest purchases, mind you. If you’re interested in an introduction, go and read part 1: I don’t really have any new ideas. This bit covers serums and masks and a bubble peel pad for some extra fun.

1. Missha Time Revolution Night Repair New Science Activator Ampoule. The Koreans are possibly even worse at naming their products than the Western beauty companies: the names are horribly long and as Korean skincare has more steps, you have toners and essences and serums and ampoules… In my mind, ampoules are basically serums, but they are called ampoules when the company wants to say that they’re really, really effective. The name aside, Missha TRNRNSAA (see what I mean??) is a very nice all-around serum based on – like many Asian cult products – fermented yeast. It hydrates, smooths and gently fights ageing. I use it when I don’t want to put anything too active on my skin but still want results, or when layering serums. The easiest way to describe this is to say it’s very similar to Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair. If you like that, you’ll likely love Missha, too. Or if you’ve always wanted to try ANR but it’s out of your budget, Missha is a great alternative. It’s not dirt cheap, but it’s half the price of ANR.

2. Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin C Serum. I have to admit I’m not really in a position to say too much about this product. I’ve owned it for a while now, but I have several Vitamin C serums that I use and therefore have been neglecting Klairs. I’m also not sure it’s the best product for me, as the Vitamin C concentration (5%, according to the Interwebs) is quite low compared to my favourites. That said, I am quite confident that this is a very nice, affordable Vitamin C serum for day – especially if you are new to the ingredient. Even at low(er) doses, Vit C works great as an anti-oxidant and this is what you want for day – I would keep the big guns for night-time use. The consistency is nice, there is no irritation and it should keep pretty well (Vitamin C is notoriously unstable, but I haven’t seen any discolouration yet). It’s also affordable, so despite my lack of proper testing, I believe this is a good starter serum.

3. Sulwhasoo Overnight Vitalizing Mask. I’ve owned this mask since I visited Japan in November and I was initially underwhelmed. Not that I didn’t like it, but it’s such a well-loved product that I expected more. Sulwhasoo is, after all, one of the most popular high-end brands Korea has to offer and this mask in particular is a favourite of many. Initially, I found it a little bit heavy and preferred lighter night masks like the Laneige Water Sleeping Mask. I suspected right away that Sulwhasoo might work better on drier skins and I’m now in the position to confirm it. Last week, The Ordinary 1% Retinol turned my skin much drier than usual and when I used the mask in this situation, it made complete sense. It is more of a a moisturising as opposed to a hydrating product and provides more nourishment than the lightweight gel or sheet masks. You’ll wake up nice and plump and generally more human-looking. It is also a good place to start exploring Sulwhasoo in general, as the mask is pretty reasonably priced compared to the rest of the line/similar products on the market. In fact, if your skin is very dry, I think you could use it as a night cream and pay much less than for an actual night cream from this (or any similar) brand.

4. Missha Time Revolution First Treatment Essence Mask. I wrote about the essence itself in Vol 1 and I wasn’t totally wowed. I really liked the mask, though. I’m not generally a huge fan of sheet masks, but for some reason I felt this worked really well – my face looked brighter and smoother and just better in general. I’ve used the much hyped SK-II Facial Treatment Mask and while I prefer SK-II when it comes to the essence itself, I liked the Missha mask better. I’ve only used it once, though, so maybe I was just having a good skin day. Or maybe my expectations regarding the SK-II mask were too high and in case of Missha too low. Bottom line, considering the price difference, I’d say Missha is very much worth trying.

5. Benton Snail Bee High Content Mask. This sheet mask is not the most hydrating or moisturising, but I found it extremely smoothing. My face felt like silk and I usually hate when people say that. I think there was also a slight tightening/lifting effect, so this might be of interest if your skin is more mature. I don’t really use sheet masks as a part of my routine, it’s a very random thing. But you could do worse than apply this mask and then Sulwhasoo (or any other richer mask) on top and go to bed.

6. Wish Formula C200 Bubble Peeling Pad. This is such a Korean product – fun to use, unlike anything you’ve seen before and in the end pretty effective, too. This is a one-use pad that has AHAs on one side to exfoliate and Vitamin C/plant extracts on the other side to brighten and soften. You wet it, squeeze it to create „bubbles“ (they just look like foam) and use one side first and then the other. It definitely left my skin well exfoliated, but I have my doubts about the effectiveness of the Vitamin C. The process gets very messy and the bubbles everywhere and Vit C shouldn’t play well with water anyway. I enjoyed using it, but will probably not repurchase.

7. Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask. Of my entire Korean beauty stash, this strange product might in fact be my favourite. It seems like one of those silly things that nobody needs, but everybody who uses it seems to be converted. It is a hydrating and plumping lip mask that you put on in the evening and wake up to much nicer, smoother lips. I like the strawberry colour and the fruity smell, too. I don’t know if it would be the best product for seriously chapped lips (mine have been in relatively good condition recently) – I would probably go for my trusty Lanolips in that situation. But when you just want your lips to look better, healthier and juicier, this is a wonderful product. I use it almost every night.

The eagle-eyed among you surely noticed that the Missha sheet mask on the picture is not the one mentioned in the post, as I no longer have the Time Revolution mask at hand. I have not yet tried the Real Solution one, nor the Klairs sheet mask or the Missha Foot Doctor, but I will. So if you’re curious about them, let me know.