Review: Southern Comforts launch fragrances

It’s not that I am cheating on AB, per se — just diversifying my options a bit while I let my skin recover from a recent product-related break-out (sigh). Skincare reviews take time, because I want to give you a complete portrait of my experience with the product: I’m not only evaluating first-time impressions but long-term effect in comparison to product claims, so it’s a timely and sometimes risky process. Risk, as in, sometimes things don’t go so well and you have to let your skin rest a bit.

But this beauty blog, while heavily AB-related, isn’t solely focused on just Asian beauty products. So let’s look at something completely different: indie fragrance. I’m talking about handcrafted perfume oils made by small brands, a growing interest I’ve had fostered by its similarities to AB — an emphasis on ‘YMMV’ and a look into how skin chemistry can make certain scents smell completely different on two people, despite being the same formulation.

And who doesn’t like supporting small businesses and smelling good?

Review: Tonymoly Latte Art Cappuccino Cream-in Scrub

Like other gross, disgusting people, I used to start my morning with a famous ritual: a coffee and a cigarette. While I’ve pretty much dispensed with the cigarette since I realized I’m not 100% a starving artist (yet), coffee is completely necessary. The smell of the roasted beans, the dark liquid in a nice mug…

Wait, who am I kidding? I haven’t had a good cup of coffee in literal months. I left my coffee bean grinder back at my parents’ house, along with my French press and drip. It’s been instant ever since I got back to California and yes, my tastebuds weep.

Just a tiny update! （〃・ω・〃）

While I don’t know if this has been noticeable since this is still a rather small and new blog, I’ve found myself scaling back on the amount of time I can devote to writing for Pastryface. I’ve also been participating in my usual subreddits far less than normal. This is because when I started this blog, I was unemployed and had more time to devote to this hobby. It was a great way to keep me feeling busy and productive while still feeding my addiction to beauty products. I’d been using AB products for close to two years before making this blog, and all I’ve thought about is why the heck didn’t I start doing this sooner?

Luckily for me (and my wallet), I’ve recently found a full-time job. This means I have more money in my budget to spend on investigating new products and satisfying my beauty product fix. It also means I have less time and energy to put towards writing for Pastryface. This doesn’t mean the end of my hobby so much as I’m currently in a bit of schedule flux. Until I have a better understanding of my day-to-day schedule, my current goal is to post one entry per week in Pastryface. Just for now! So I’m not gone, just reorganizing a bit.

Another thing that’s not so lucky: I suspect a cleansing oil I was testing has started to break me out. 😦 Not to mention I’m constantly teetering the line between exfoliated and overexfoliated, which has led to some dry, flaky patches on my skin and redness in my cheeks. So while I strip down my routine a bit to deal with these issues, I am going to focus less on reviews and focus more on editorial-style blog posts, or entries about trends, make-up, and my current routines.

What you can look forward to:

• Me finally clearing out an immense backlog of reviews; I am just lazy.
• Sheet mask reviews galore, the one product I can review efficiently and
• S.O.S. Skincare, aka How Do I Deal With My Skincare Fuck-Ups
• My final summer routine and upcoming fall routine potentials
• Possibly a few make-up tutorials
• Indie fragrances, one of my latest obsessions!

These are just a few examples of the kind of content that will probably pop in Pastryface over the next few weeks. I hope to keep coming up with ideas for content for everyone to enjoy, and if you have any suggestions or things you’d like to see in particular, feel free to let me know~ (✿◠‿◠)

This is just a casual hobby, but I really enjoy writing and have found maintaining this blog has been extremely fun for the past month or so that it’s been open. So a huge thank you from me to you, and I hope you guys will continue to stick with me on my beauty escapades!

Have a big internet hug from me to you,
Ashley (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Review: Missha Gourmet Honey Butter Cream (ﾉ≧ڡ≦)

As always, I was seduced by the promise of interesting packaging and gimmicky food themes via skincare, throwing something into my online cart willy-nilly without considering what, exactly, I was purchasing. A lot of people are familiar with the current (or, maybe, it’s old news by now) South Korean trend of honey butter chips, which was like trying to buy really expensive, limited edition shoes except the shoes were potato chips. But similar to that situation, that shit was sold out everywhere — I heard stories of people buying them in bulk to re-sell for ridiculous profit, which might be exaggerated but in my heart of hearts, it’s so ridiculous that I hope it isn’t.

Review: imselene Birds Nest Aqua Sleeping Pack

God, I love sleeping packs. One of my first AB purchases ever was the Laneige Water Sleeping Pack when I read it on some random internet article, probably with some clickbait title like, “25 Cult Products You Have To Try!” I’m a sucker for lists of ‘holy grail’ products and fancy myself something of a skincare guinea pig, especially for anything moisturizing. Those first few days patting that Laneige sleeping pack into my face was revelatory: I’d never had such soft and smooth skin before in my entire life. The flaky dry patches I had been plagued with my entire life were gone, for the first time! I was a convert; I was hooked.

Review: Skinfood Deep Sea Water and Glacier Water Hydrogel Masks

If you’re into AB, you know that one of the trends (that started a billion years ago & I’m just talking about it now) has been the Next Step for sheet masks: the hydrogel mask. These babies cling to your facial contours like nothing else, letting every inch of skin get all the essence it deserves. Not only that, but pop them into the fridge, and they’re a relaxing pick-me-up in any routine.

Review: Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask (∩˃o˂∩)♡

The innisfree Jeju Island pore clay mask is one of those items that gets repeatedly mentioned around AB circles. Not necessarily that it works for every skin type — as always, YMMV — but for what it does, it does seem to work for a good chunk of people.

Review: Nature Republic Soothing & Moisture Aloe Vera 80% Emulsion

I was looking for something soothing for the summer months, where I always end up getting tanned or burned or at least a little sun irritated no matter how much I slather on sun screen (perhaps I need to go shopping for a better one?? That could very well be it). Aloe vera was the name of the game, and I picked up the Nature Republic Aloe Vera lotion because 1) I needed a light moisturizer in my routine and 2) the price was pretty darn good, iirc. Besides that, my research into my decision was admittedly minimal because I might’ve done my shopping a wee bit drunk (oops).

TesterKorea June/July Haul ✿♥‿♥✿

Another month, another haul has arrived! I put this order in after hearing about TesterKorea on my online second home, the AB subreddit (seriously, check it out; it’s such an awesome community). Mostly I was intrigued by the apparent influx of samples they were giving out. Previously stingy, suddenly generous? Of course samples are one of the best parts of online hauls (who doesn’t enjoy free stuff???) but as it turns out, it must have been a temporary thing, since I didn’t really receive any…

Review: TonyMoly Red Appletox Honey Cream ( ᐛ )وo

I fucking love honey.

Honey on my food, honey in a jar, honey in my mouth… I’ll do it all.