Skincare, Simplified

So when I fell into the wonderful world of korean skin care, one of the most used buzzwords was essence and my first reaction was- WTF is an essence? 🤔🤔🤔 Known as the heart of the Korean Skin care regimen, Essence is essentially (pardon the pun), any product with the aim to hydrate the skin and prepare it for any subsequent products you use. It’s more than a toner and is packed with more active ingredients.  So then how are they any different from serums?  Well they are formulated to be lightweight and are water based  to make them easier to absorb. While serums tend to have a thicker consistency and have even more potent ingredients.  Though there are a quite few essences available that are more viscous and even spot treatment essences- blurring the lines between essences and serums. What essence aims to do is pretty simple: HYDRATE Well hydrated skin is supple, plump and in general healthier.  That’s what toning and essence aim to ...

‘Hey Hippo!’ Those were always the first words that greeted me every day in class. Growing up as an overweight and effeminate kid in India wasn’t the easiest of times. Children can be cruel in their taunts and teasing. I paraphrase an old saying- “ Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me”, but names can leave deep scars. Ones that take years maybe decades to heal. Now when entering the third decade of my life are those scars finally healing. This isn’t a post about delving deep into ones psyche or even a post of introspection or self reflection. My process was very superficial – it started with skincare. Moving from India to Belgium for a Master’s degree; I was even more self-conscious than before. In a foreign land all alone without the soft embrace of my mother to hold me when I cried, none of the familiarity of old friends or warmth of the Indian sun to cheer me up – I felt alone and alienated. The cold rainy climate, the stress of my masters prog...

  So last weekend I had a date, it was with a guy I was totally into and have had a crush on for like forever!!! So expectedly I was crazy excited about it ... like really excited. Knowing my luck every time   something great is about to happen in my life the universe conspires to ruin it for me. Ok, so I was being a little dramatic; but just a heads up I love DRAMA... Most of the time the drama is of my own doing, but hey its easier to blame the universe eh? So just as I had predicted the night before my big coffee date who should appear,  but a big unsightly pimple!!! You how some people pride their great bodies, some their long silky hair, others their cars and money- well for me its my skin.  Thankfully I had my go to treatment for a pimple - the cosrx  acne pimple master patch  Just put one on overnight and watch your pimple, whitehead or blackhead disappear by next morning.  These come in a pack of 24 transparent hyd...

Full disclosure, I’m a total koreaboo, to the uninitiated its someone obsessed with Korean culture. The inner dork in me loves Korean Pop (there’s more to it than Gangnam style; trust me), Korean TV shows and Korean beauty and style trends. The first thing I noticed when watching Korean dramas and music videos- how flawless everyone looked. I mean you can not deny, even Psy’s skin looked amazing in Gangnam Style. Like all the women and the men had Dewy glowing blemish free skin. Initially I attributed it to lightning and make up, but even off camera they looked amazing; it couldn’t be only makeup could it? This is how I fell into the world of Korean beauty or K beauty for short. Holding out for a hero For my first post I would like to introduce the superstar ingredient of Korean beauty products- Snail Mucin. It’s hard to find a Korean beauty brand that doesn’t carry this secret ingredient!!! And trust me it works ` So I decided to start to write about a product I’m obs...

Hi There, Nitesh here, a 29 year old Indian expat living in Belgium. I’m a physiotherapist who loves to travel, sketch, learn new languages and is obsessed with skin care!!!! Serums, masks, creams you name it I try it all. If its new and exciting you bet I’ve tried it!!! The Story So Far So 5 years Ago I moved to Belgium to pursue a master’s degree. The stress of grad school and the trials of living in a foreign land add to this the cold wet climate- completely wrecked my skin. Being a student, stretched to the limit both physically and financially I looked for the most effective, natural and bang for your buck products out there. Basically products that work without wiping out my bank account. At the same time I was diagnosed with psoriasis. It wasn’t easy to handle but it helped me double down on my drive to find the best skin care out there I could all the while trying to avoid those that could lead to an exacerbation of my symptoms mainly, by keeping it as natural and orga...