pic from ibuybeauty

the packaging: the full size version is a glass bottle with a metallic screw top cap. ugh.. another glass bottle.. i don't think i want another glass bottle in my skincare stash.. with two kids roaming around, i don't think glass is a good idea. mostly the glass is colored milky white due to the emulsion color, so the sample sachet is also white and red, with the same design as the full version one. no english text.

the smell: well, with the "berry" stamped to the name of this product, i hope i can smell some kind of berry scent.. but i'm not sure it's a berry scent. i don't think it's strawberry or raspberry and i don't know how blueberry and blackberry should smell like, so i can only say it smells fragrant and nice, not too overwhelming, but not so berry like (unlike my body shop strawberry body butter).

the product: it's a milky white lotion, a little bit on the runny side. it glides easily on my skin, and absorbed easily too. it doesn't leave sticky feeling.

the result: a sachet can last for 3 times usage. but it's not enough to judge the potency of this emulsion. it's fresh and refreshing, but i don't think it's moisturizing enough. when i tried the missha emulsion, at first it's not enough, but it's been so hot lately that i don't need to put my cream on top of this emulsion. but i have a feeling that this emulsion won't be enough for dry skin, those who live in winter areas, and aging skin. for super duper oily skin or live in hot and humid area, this will work for you, or probably for teenager..

so, i don't think i'll purchase the full version.. being in a glass bottle and not moisturizing enough, i will pass this one. but if you like light moisturizer with so-called berry scent, then buy it. perhaps it will suitable for you.

left: the sample sachet right: product on my hand

pic from memorable days

the packaging: the packaging is just like the picture above. it's a tin spray pump bottle with white plastic cap. no stopper on the spray.

the smell: it's been a long time since i use any aerosol products, so i'm a little off with the scent. like alcohol-heavy or very very aerosol-ly scent.

the product: i don't know how far or how close i should spray it. i tried spray it a little bit further, i can't see any product sprayed on my arms, but if i sprayed too close, i can see a streak of sunscreen on my arms. and i have to rub it again to spread it evenly. i'm hoping it will be a color-less sunscreen, but it's not. it's a beige-colored sunscreen and i have to rub it otherwise i will look ridiculous. okay. now it's the error part. i'm hoping i can try this on my face, but i doubt it. so far i will only use it on my body. oh, and the cooling part, it feels cool when i spray it but a moment later the cooling sensation is gone. so disappointing for a cooling-labeled product. i'm hoping it will still be cool on my skin when i rub it for awhile.. but not as soon as i finished spraying it.

the result: well, i think it works but don't use it alone. i think it's better to be used to re-apply sunscreen, but you have to reapply it every one or two hours. as for waterproof, usually i can feel my sunblocks on my skin when i'm swimming, and i tried it last time i was swimming, and i don't feel a thing. i'm quite worried that it's not working, but i'm not burned, so i guess it is. but it's a little bit cloudy at that time, so probably i will try it again when it's so burning hot.

will i repurchase? definitely not. the scent is a little bit off for me, and i'm looking for a face sunscreen spray, so this one is a purchase-error. and not forgetting the not-so cooling effect.. so disappointing. i think you can try another "cooling" sun spray out there and skip this one.

the bottle and the spray pump

left: product sprayed very close to skin right: after blended

apparently new year is not always about good news for me. my kids are getting sick after going home after holiday. and then after just days after being healthy, my son is sick again. fortunately, everything is fine now. and then i found out that i haven't written anything about my last purchases last year! oh my..

so, since i've got all my steps covered since my last haul, i only wanted to buy some things to try and some backups.

1. sulwhasoo overnight vitalizing mask
finally i gave up and bought samples of this sleeping pack. but i still search for another cheaper (read: affordable) sleeping pack.
2. sulwhasoo clarifying mask
since i bought the sleeping pack, i think it's wise to try their other famous mask, the clarifying mask. plus i never try a peel-off mask, so i think it will be fun.
3. skin & lab vitamin cream
actually i'm looking for a retinol and vit c serum, but so far i don't like what most people use. so, somehow i stumbled upon this skin&lab. and i found so many good reviews about these vitamin creams, so i think hey.. why not try this one first? so i became greedy and bought 3 of them, A,C and E, which all of them are targeting for anti-aging.
4. the face shop around the world hand cream (new york)
okay, this one is compulsive buying. it's christmas anyway, so why not treat myself? i asked my sister to buy me the handcream, either from the around the world line or the other animal hand cream. both are very cute. very hard to resist.
5. the face shop character mask
i've been searching for animal character masks for months and i can't find any decent online shop and reasonable price for me to purchase them. so my sister is kind enough to buy it for me as gift. unfortunately, she didn't buy me the santa and the deer version, which is even cuter.

sooo... expect some reviews coming up, but not soon. i still have a lot of samples and few items from my previous purchase that i haven't tried yet.

sulwhasoo samples and skin& lab vitamin cream

around the world packaging and catalogue

aren't they cute? even my kids love them

character masks

i received these samples from tester korea awhile back. and like always, i keep forgetting to use my samples. that's why i just found it recently. since i don't normally use emulsion, i keep forgetting these, but now i'm determined to use up all my samples ASAP.

left: the samples bottle right: the product on my hand

the packaging: the full size version is just like the one in the picture, it's in a pink plastic tube with a white plastic cap. but i forgot is it a screw top or a flip top? very simple design, but they attempt to make it cute by choosing a pink background while the AIO comes in boring brown color.

the smell: well, i can assure you it's nowhere near slimy snails scent. if you sniff pretty hard, you can pick floraly scent. very very subtle and once you applied on your face, there's no scent at all. i guess free of fragrance is quite right.

the product: it's a transparent gel. after applied on face, it's absorbed quickly and leaving glistening trace behind. no stick feeling at all. since i only get a small amount of the product, i can use this four times of spot acnes treatment (i experience purging from introducing AHA again, so every other day an acne will pop).

the result: i use this as spot treatment for acne, as i have another moisturizer on hand. for me, if it's an active acne, day 1 will mature the acne quicker, i can see the eyes of the acne in the following day, makes me want to pop it. and then day 2 it dries out the acne. if it's a sebaceous acne, usually it won't help that quick, but it will help lessen the size of the acne.

overall, for me it's an effective spot treatment for acne, but i read somewhere that this one causes them breakouts, so they stop using it as moisturizer or sleeping pack, but use it as anything else. on wound, on mosquito bites, pretty much everything else and they swore it works. so i guess this one is rather magical.. you might not know what it can help you with. so, for a fair price, i think you should get it and try it yourself. after all, if it didn't work on your face, it can work on your body.

left: the product on small jar right: the outer box

the packaging: just like the full version which is shaped like banana, the sample is in banana-shaped sachet. very cute.

the smell: this will make you scream baaaa-naaaa-naaaaa!! it smells like banana too! hahaha.. it makes me smile like idiot the first time i smell it. usually my samples smell like flower or fresh scent but this one is completely different. and usually although it's named after certain fruit or flower, the scent usually is completely different. but this time, you ask for banana, you get banana.

the product: it's a yellowish white cream, pretty thick. like sulwhasoo overnight vitalizing mask thick. but it's easy to apply to my skin. easily absorbed too. take a while to sink though. and afterwards slightly sticky for a while but then after the product is absorbed completely, there's no trace of it.

the result: i do feel my skin a little bit greasy afterwards, but that's the point of being a sleeping pack right? it's supposed to load your skin with a lot of moisture. but the next morning, after i wash my face, i don't think it affects my morning routine. my skin doesn't become more greasy than usual. i think it has enough moisture power that my skin need, but not too much. i think if you have oily skin, probably you will want to use this every other day. i use this every other day too and it lasts for 4 times usage. a little bit is enough for the whole face and neck. as for dry skin, probably this one is more like a night cream.

will i purchase the full version? i don't think so. i don't feel any other benefit other than moisturizing so why bother? but again, i only try one sample, so the result might differ if you use the full version. but if you like cute packaging with cute scent, fun product to use, then try this! it will make you sleep in smile.

left: the sample sachet right: product on my hand

this is the description from koreasnbymalaysia.com: this eye cream has natural fermented elements that solve the three biggest concerns around the eyes. it provides lifting effects around the eyes as if curves of your skin are pushed upward from deep inside of your skin.

now, actually i don't know much about the brand and the lines, but so far that i can tell, the secret line from su:m37 is a fermented line just like the SKII. but, i'm a little bit confuse, there's a secret programming, and then there's a secret repair.. i don't know are they both available now or one of them is discontinued? if anyone knew, please explain to me...

okay, so now let's move on to the review..
the packaging: actually, almost all su:m37 samples are packaged in similar sachet.. small rectangular sachet, with different colors matching the lines color. for secret line, it's greyish white. supposedly beige, for the full version, but somehow the sample is greyish. and aside from the product names, there's no single english text on the sachet.

the smell: well, it smells nice, not fermented scent or herbal scent, but very subtle. which is good since eye cream usually don't have scent.

the product: it's very thick cream. a beige colored cream. almost like innisfree orchid night cream. it think it leaves little watery trace. but easily absorbed.

the result: well, being a thick cream means very moisturizing, and it is. even more moisturizing than innifree green tea seed eye cream. but not greasy, but still, i prefer using it night time only. one sample can last for 4-5 uses, but unfortunately, on my 3rd day, i noticed my eyes area are irritated. like allergic reaction of some kind. slightly itch too. i don't know if i'm allergic to the cream or else. all i can say after that i stop using the eye cream and wait for another 3 days before going back to my snail eye cream. and after that my eyes area are back to normal again.

so i'm quite disappointed with this one. i was hoping this will give wonderful result since it's being high-end brand and all, but i'm allergic to it, so i won't repurchase samples. but if you have dry skin, aging eyes area, then i bet this cream will work wonder for you, if you're allergic of course...

top left and bottom: the sample sachet right: the product on my hand.

happy new year again folks.. i'm still in holiday mood since my son's still on holiday, his school hasn't started yet. and what better way to do in holidays other than finishing my samples stash? and this is what i found in my sample stash. since i figure even though in holidays, i still have to use sunscreen, so why not try this one?

the sample sachet

the cream cleanser on my hand

the packaging: the sample has the picture of the full size tub in front of the sachet. and at the back there's only korean text. but, the tub picture on my sample is dark green, while the new version is light green. i don't know if i had the older version or the newer one.

the smell: like all their green tea line, it smells wonderful. not sure if it's green tea though, but i think it's more floral scent rather than green tea. overall, it's a nice scent but not too overpowering.

the product: it's gel type cream, pretty thick, but not as thick as the enriched cream. slightly thicker than my usual nature republic moisturizer. it's absorbed easily, leaving a glistening trace on my skin. no sticky feeling afterwards.

the result: it's moisturizing, for oily skin, it will be perfect as night cream, but for dry skin, probably you can use it day and night. it's hydrating but not too much, it doesn't make my skin greasy in the morning.

overall, it's a nice cream, suitable for most skin types. although it doesn't break me out, but it's not enough to convince me into committing to full size product. but, do try it if you like green tea, in search for a light hydrating cream that's not too heavy.

the sample sachet

the product on my hand