Korea Trip, Part 15: Love Locks!

Continued from Part 14: Seoul Food P0rn
To start from the beginning go to Part 1: Flying to Tokyo

Gun-chun Reststop

I was really excited to do this post because this was an unexpectedly memorable moment during my time in Korea (almost exactly a year ago in June 2010...I can't believe I'm still writing this).   On our drive from Seoul to Busan, we stopped by this large, fancy rest stop called Gun-chun Reststop.

A peek from the way we came:

And to the left:

Food!  This is only a small section of the eateries.  Where the roof ends is a porch/deck-like area (which I shall show you in a sec). But first, on the very end of this long building:

A pity I didn't take a proper picture of it, but this reststop building is very wide and long and in the middle there is a roofless section aka a wide deck.  While scenery is quite lovely, the real centerpiece of this place is this little love nest!

Sign says: Love Swing

Romantic huh ^_^? Lives up to the whole romantic image K-dramas like to give out ;)  As if it couldn't get more lovey dovey, the wall is covered with little love notes:

Love is....starting and ending with 'thank you.'

Love is....becoming one.

Love is....being considerate and respectful.

Love is....like tending a plant; you must nurture it.

In green: 

My heart hurts watching you be hurt.
It brings tears to my eyes.
Could you know of my love (for you)?

(must be one way love >_>)

Under the bear
Forever. Always. Don't change!

I must admit my cynical heart gave a little chirp of envy looking over the innocent, somewhat naive declarations of undying love ~ ;)  This seating area overlooks a pretty nice view too although my camera (as usual) doesn't do it much justice:

It was a dreary day so it didn't capture well, but the scene was very peaceful and relaxing even though there were quite a few people milling around.

And what's this?  If you look closely at the deck railings you will see....

Locks! They actually sell these in one of the little shops in the reststop building. Why?  Why for romantic couples to "lock" their love together forever ;)! (I guess declaring your love on a wall isn't enough).

Definitely among the most adorable locks I've ever seen.  The rust and worn writing 

shows that these locks have been here for awhile...I wonder if they are still together~

Joong-myo, In-hae 

Best!! (I think.  It's spelled weird)

Let's live well together.

SH <3 HK

Love you forever.

2010.4.4

Left: 

Jin-gook <3 Kyung-hwa

Pretty/beautiful love forever.

2010.6.24

Right: 

I love you.

2010.6.12

Uncle. Aunt. Mom.

Enemy Jae-bum. (jokingly said I'm sure ^_~)
Going to the wedding. Don't fight.
(hmmm how random!)

I know there are lots of little love spots in Korea you can chain locks together :} Kawaii Nails did a post with some pics she took in Korea of more love locks at Seoul Tower:

Credits: Kawaii Nails

Yeah....a lot more lovin' going on in Seoul ;)

P.S. Best Love ended today!  But My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho was a tad better think ^_^  It's too hard to resist Lee Seung Ki's smile and Shin Mina's dimples :}

Totoro reference!!  That will never get old for me ^^

Can we say cutest couple eva :D!?  Speaking of, does anyone know where I can get that CHICKEN LEG PILLOW??? I MUST HAVE IT!

....yeah....^_^ So that's it for this post!  Been busy lately but will be back soon~ It was Father's Day, then my mom's Bday, then my bro's graduation *whew* But even though I do not say it enough - thanks to all the peeps who read/comment/etc my blog :)!    I am happy to be able to share this wee slice of my life with you.

Lots O' Reviews Video Post

Holy smokes, I certainly took my sweet time finishing this post -_-;;; But without further ado, this is a post that condenses some of the reviews I've already posted about here :)  So blog readers, this video will be nothing new to you ^_^  But I do have Pros/Cons list for each item, which I didn't have in my blog reviews so if you like, do take a gander.  Or just watch to hear me completely butcher the word "Laneige" -_____-

Products mentioned:

SkinFood Fermented Soy Milk Sleeping Mask

Cosline Strawberry Yogurt Pack

Vitacreme B12 (see below)

Sasatinnie Dolly Lip Smoothie - Raspberry

NYC Liquid Lip Shine - Fashion Avenue Fuchsia

Boscia Enlivening Amino-AG Eye Treatment (see below)

Zoya Sunshine Collection

Vitacreme B12

Purchased at: on Sasa ($25.60) and BonjourHK ($11.50) <-- I'm about to throw a cat fit because I paid $17.50 for mine (still a really good price) but $11.50!??! GAHHHHH SO CHEAP! I have NEVER seen VB12 for this price....if BonjourHK weren't a registered company that I've bought from before, I'd think it was a fake ><!

Either way, I obviously don't really recommend Sasa but BonjourHK tends to sell out really fast and with their (I kid you not) SHITTY web design (there's no request restock), it can get hard to get your paws on the more popular items.

Description: See website, it's quite long.

Scent: A delicate baby powder scent.  Very mild and pleasant.

Texture: Smooth, creamy, absorbs without residue.  If you squeeze out too much at once, it takes a few minutes of massaging to get it all absorbed into your skin though.

Overall: As I said in the video, I like this product quite a bit.  I've been using it for several months now and while I wouldn't say this is a miracle worker, it seems to have helped my skin's texture smooth out.   I don't think it does that much for redness imho but it definitely helps in the texture department.  It's very gentle, I've never broken out from it, smells nice, seems to work and the price isn't all that bad in my opinion :)   I would recommend this for people who want to smooth out their skin texture and have a brighter complexion.   This is a very popular item among bloggers and while everyone's skin is different, I would say I have yet to see a review that hates on this item~  I personally have used it every night for 5 months now and am on my second tube.

Fyi, you need to massage this into your face in little circle motions to "enhance the effects."  I don't know how much enhancing massaging does but might as well right :)?  Remember to always massage up and out.

Boscia Enlivening Amino-AG Eye Treatment

Purchased at: N/A. From a sample bag Julie (PDXbeautiful) sent me :)!! But it retails at $38 at Sephora and Boscia.

Description:  

A silky gel-cream that nourishes and firms while diminishing puffiness and dark circles around the eye area.

• Alanyl Glutamine, an amino acid that provide moisture-retaining benefits, help repair and prevent fine lines and wrinkles.
• Coix Seed acts as an anti-inflammatory, and helps minimize puffiness.
• Tocopherol-Vitamin E, derived from soybeans, promotes circulation to diminish under-eye dark circles.
• Jujube Fruit helps accelerate cell renewal and smooth the appearance of fine lines.
• Jojoba Leaf, a powerful antioxidant, combats free radical damage while it nourishes and protects skin to prevent premature aging, and Willowherb, a unique anti-irritant, helps to calm skin inflammation and reduce visible redness and irritation.

Scent: Essentially scentless.

Texture: Light, silky, and cool gel.  Absorbs quickly without residue.  Feels good as you massage it on your orbital bone, though I have doubts whether it feels goods because of the massaging or the product.

Overall: Not recommended.  I don't have any significant complaints but I swear it doesn't do anything :\   I don't have wrinkles but as for dark circles and puffiness....no.  Not so I have noticed anyway; they were definitely still present in the video xD

And that's all :D  Btw I'm glad there was so much enthusiasm over the last post ^_^   Glad to know I am not alone in my constant chocolate cravings!

Review: Cosline Strawberry Yogurt Pack

I'm quite excited to review this mask because it is so cheap and I have become quite fond of it.  It's from a relatively unpopular brand, I suspect because of the un-cute packaging, so I went out on a limb trying it and I'm pretty glad I did :)

Purchased at: Sasa for $4.90

Description: COSLINE Yogurt Strawberry Yogurt Pack is a wash off mask which contains strawberry extract (850g), yogurt (170mg) and Vitamin C and E.  COSLINE Yogurt Strawberry Yogurt Pack promotes metabolism rate of skin, smooths skin and increases skin brightness.  The nourishing COSLINE Yogurt Strawberry Yogurt Pack also helps to keep skin elastic and moisturized.

Directions: Apply an appropriate amount on clean face, spread evenly and gently massage on the whole face beside eyes and lips. Wait for 15-20 minutes to absorb nutrient. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water.

Packaging: Plain and foogly.  It's not hideous but come on - how cute would a strawberry shaped jar have been ;)?  What really irks me though is having to dip my fingers (or spoon) into the jar to get out the product.  AHHH I hate unhygienic setups like that!

Scent: Amazinggggg~ Probably one of the best characteristics of this mask is the delicious, vanilla strawberry scent.  I could sniff this baby all day seriously....this is the best smelling mask I've had the pleasure of smelling ^^  It's good enough to eat - sorta ;) - and doesn't taste half bad (don't ask me how I know that).

Texture: Exactly like Dannon or Activia yogurt, I kid you not.  Some reviews on Sasa have said if you goop on too much it drips - but personally, I've never had a problem with that and I'm pretty generous with the blobbing on of this mask.  It's like a slightly runny yogurt but it doesn't drip.  It also has little red beads in it (it's not strawberry seeds) that dissolve as you massage your face.  The beads dissolve very easily so it is not harsh on your skin.  It's pretty satisfying "crushing" all the beads ^^

Experience: Initially, I was put out with the jar set up :P....but yeah, I started blobbing this on my face.  Then I massaged my face (always up and out, never down!), taking my time to crush all the little red beads ;) The scent was lovely and the creamy texture felt cool on my face (also you can refrigerate this baby to make it even cooler). It felt very nice but it was annoying to have to wash my hands after the massage.  When you first put it on your face the yogurt is pinkish.  After 20 or so minutes it becomes clear - I assume it means it soaked into your skin.  Rinsing off is easy, it comes off like a charm and your face feels immediately much smoother.  The next morning my face was brighter but I had an oily sheen (hydration methinks) on my forehead.  No breakouts, itchiness, or irritation.

Effectiveness: For me this was an effective product.  My skin was soft and a tad smoother.  I've used this pack about 5-6x and I haven't had any allergic reactions or irritation in general.   I also feel like there was a mild exfoliation since my face was brighter - a very gentle exfoliation like the MBD Apple Polyphenol sheet mask.  There were no flakes but somehow I feel like there was some sloughing of the skin.  Yogurt has long been vaunted as a great acne deterrent and although I doubt this thing has real dairy yogurt in it (otherwise, it would go bad really fast), the idea does seem to play out well here.  I had a zit on my jawline and it seemed to help it go down.  At least it didn't irritate it ^_^

Overall
Don't expect miracles but to me this was a remarkably effective product for the price.  I'm sure there are more effective products out there in much more hygienic non-jar forms but for $5 this is a good buy.  It feels good, smells great, works at least a bit, and you get a lot of bang for your buck.  I don't necessarily think it's a must-have but I do recommend people try it if you're looking for a face pack or a dupe of Laneige's famous Strawberry Yogurt Pack ($22+ retail).   Note: Laneige's may work a bit better but I'm not the sort to invest much in wash-off masks :P  No matter how good a wash-off mask is, it's only on your face for 20 some minutes.

FYI the word 'pack' can be used interchangeably with 'wash-off mask' - these are usually in jars or tubes.   Just the word 'mask' = sheet/gel masks.   Of course there are exceptions to the rule but that's usually how it is.  Nonetheless, Skinfood has made it their business to be confusing with their latest line of "masks" (most of which are actually scrubs), which should be named PACKS since they are wash-off masks and scrubs :\   These are the new Ginseng, Acai Berry, Olive, Honey Red Orange, Acorn and Chocolate masks for the curious (scroll down if you want to look at them here).

Check out Musings of A Muse's review here.

Review: SkinFood Aloe Vera Foaming Cleanser

Shops are pretty generous with their samples in Korea, especially SkinFood (or is it Skin Food or Skinfood?).  I've had this since Summer 2010 ^^ but I just started using it in February with my Youthful Essence brush (basically an ancient version of the Clarisonic Mia, which my mom bought in the 90s).  It works just great btw ;)  I'm glad I didn't buy the Clarisonic ^^  Anyway, I use this cleanser with the brush because it's a "foaming" cleanser and it's fun to watch it bubble up as I massage my face with the brush ^^

Purchased at: N/A. It was a free sample.

Cost: N/A.

A picture of the full size bottle.

Description: A fresh foaming cleanser with Aloe Extracts to soothe and hydrate the skin. Keeps the skin soft and calm after cleansing. Apply an adequate amount to damp hands. After making sufficient lather, massage your face gently following the skin’s own texture. Wash off with lukewarm water.

Scent: Kind of an artificial, clean soap scent.  The aloe plant doesn't have much a scent so I'm not surprised this cleanser has a very difficult scent to pinpoint ^^  But it's mild, fresh and subtle.

Appearance: The appearance is an opalescent cream with a tinge of green.  It's very pretty actually ^^ I'd love to see a nail polish color in that shade ehehe

Texture: The texture is very creamy and smooth.  One thing I like about this cleanser is that it actually foams and it's not drying :)  I wouldn't say it's a hydrating cleanser but it doesn't strip the oils from my face and dry it out either.  I love how this creamy cleanser foams so nicely, especially with a brush!  It's very satisfying to see and feels very nice ^_^

Effectiveness: Though it seems to be a very gentle product, it does seem to clean quite well.  Once I used it without the brush and my face still felt very clean afterward.   BUT I have never used this cleanser alone to remove makeup so I'm not sure how this would work as a makeup removing cleanser.

Overall: This seems to be a decent cleanser.  I'd probably never buy the full size purely on the fact that I'm pretty happy with the cleanser I currently use (Boscia Purifying Gel Cleanser), but I can see this being used as a daily cleanser for people who don't use much makeup.  I also believe it's not very expensive online.   Overall, it seems to be a slightly above average product.  Not amazing but does exactly what it promises: a gentle cleansing with lots of foam :)

Also check out Mischievous Mack's review of this product.

Review: Skinlite Green Tea Essence Mask

I was poking around Sasa for something interesting to try and this caught my eye, primarily because they're selling this brand at Forever21 now of all places O_O   Given, F21 is owned by Koreans, but I was still surprised to see them selling Skinlite and Cosline (if I remember correctly) sheet masks!  I tweeted about this a few days ago and I guess it was only a matter of time since 1.) sheet masks will definitely be making waves in America within the next five years and 2.) F21 is trying to expand into a makeup/skincare (surprise, surprise).  The marketing of their makeup and skincare leaves much to be desired (they have everything jumbled in a big bin -_-) and if they just displayed it better I bet more people would buy it.  The way they have it now makes sheet masks look so....cheap.  But on the upside, they weren't expensive either :D!  Though I wouldn't say they were cheap. I think they were $1.50/each (F21 actually has better prices than Sasa).  Anyway, I thought I'd pop this review up and let you guys know about this intriguing sheet mask development.  Speaking of, if anyone sees these masks at F21 - try the COSLINE brand (I'll review their Strawberry Pack soon) because dude, they are so cheap but sell some damn fine~ products :D

Purchased at: Sasa

Price: $1.60/mask

Description:

Skinlite Green Tea Essence Mask is useful for lifting and ultra-hydrating results. Enriched with Vitamin E, Phyto Collagen & Green Tea Extract helps lift and hydrate in 15-20 minutes.

* Skin recovery sheet type essence mask.
* 23ml/sheet
* Green Tea Extract helps to keep skin much moisturized.
* Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate prevents skin trouble and making skin healthy.
* Vitamin E & Collagen : increasing skin elasticity & brightening.
- Official site description.

Suitable for: All skin types.

Experience: The mask comes all folded up like the Silk Whitia masks.  It smelled rather strongly of fresh cut herbs (basil?) rather than the gentle, mild scent of green tea that I was expecting.  It was nicely drenched with about a quarter sized amount left over for your neck etc.   I thought I'd love the many slits (aka more adjustable) but there were so many slits that the mask was floppy and annoying to place on my face.  The thick cloth texture did not stick to my face around the edges very well either.  So far, not great.   My face starting itching a bit, which made me nervous but I left the mask on 20-30 minutes anyway.  The itching went away after 10-15 minutes and after I took off the mask there was no redness so I'm not sure where the itching came from.  Although the mask experience itself wasn't all that great, my face did look plumper, brighter, and was more hydrated - so I guess it did a good job.  I also noticed a pimple I had on my forehead healed the next day.  I'm not sure if the mask had anything to do with it healing quickly, but obviously the mask didn't hurt.

Overall

You have to click to see the # of slits.  There's 8 slits around and slits between the eyes and at the corner of the lips.

Fit: Sadly, not so good.  Even though it had a ton of little slits to adjust, the mask was too thick and did not stick to my face well. After a few minutes, all the flaps were pretty much flopping around :\  I think they tried to make this super-adjustable but the inability of the mask to stick your face really well kind of killed it.  Also the mask itself just did not fit my general face shape well.  The nose placement was odd and barely covered my nose and I dunno, it was just not a fun experience putting it on.  People who like the shape of the MBD or FaceQ masks will not like this mask.

Scent: Clean, sharp scent of basil or fresh cut herbs more than green tea imho.   It smells very natural and organic but it's rather strong.  People that are sensitive to strong scents may not like it although the fragrance itself is not bad.

Mask texture: Quite thick (see pic) and did not stick to my face well. It's a cloth mask, as opposed to a paper/pulp mask, so it did have a bit of a fabric feel to it, which was nice.  However, overall I did not like this mask texture because it was just so damn thick so the flaps (around the slits) started flopping as the mask dried :P  This is a problem I've never had with other paper masks (MBD, Silk Whitia, FaceQ) so I wasn't too happy about that.

Excess serum: Mask was very wet and there was about a small quarter-sized amount of excess serum.

Claims: Lift, hydrate, increase skin elasticity, brightening.  Not sure about "lifting" or skin elasticity, but indeed my face felt more hydrated and looked brighter. 

Results: Pretty good regardless of the faint itching and terrible mask fit.

Overall
I don't really recommend this mask because:

Pros:
- Lots of slits and thus very adjustable.
- Clean, organic scent.
- Face did look brighter and was more hydrated.

Cons:
- Mask did not stick to face well.
- Strong basil scent.
- Faint itching sensation.
- Expensive.  Even the MBD Blooming of Beauty masks are only ~$1.52/mask.  

One thing that popped out at me was the remarkably good English on the packaging albeit with a few odd capitalizations and dropped prepositions. I was so curious about this phenomenon (because let's face it, grammatically correct English on any Asian beauty products pretty much is a phenomenon), that I did a bit of research: Skinlite is owned by Adwin Korea Corp (Est 1999), who also owns Purederm, Carederm, Aqualette, and Prreti (minus a point for the suspicious and slightly nonsensical spelling of what I think is 'pretty' :P).  These are new brands to me so I am quite interested in trying them out someday.  I can tell they are weak on packaging style (probably why they aren't so popular) and they seem to be going for a more scientific skincare angle, so who knows what gems they may have ;)?

Although I don't recommend this particular mask, if anyone knows more about other Skinlite products, let me know :D

Korea Trip 2010, Part 10: Namdaemun Marketplace, Part 1

Holy moly, this post has been backlogged since December!  Anyway, I'm finally posting it and god willing I will finish this Korea Trip 2010 series (for chrissake it's 2011 -__-;;).

Continued from Part 9: The 63 Building
To start from the beginning go to Part 1: Flying to Tokyo

Anyway, this is a two part post of about Namedaemun Marketplace in Seoul. Wiki describes it as a "traditional" marketplace - in my eyes it's the "home basics" marketplace.

Namdaemun Market is one of the oldest continually running markets in South Korea, and one of the largest retail markets in Seoul. The streets in which the market is located were built in a time when cars were not prevalent, so the market itself is not accessible by car. The main methods of transporting goods into and out of the market are by motorcycle and hand-drawn carts. It occupies many city blocks, which are blocked off from most car traffic due to the prevalence of parking congestion in the area. The market can be accessed by subway or bus; the location is within a 10 minute walk from Seoul metropolitan Hoehyeon Station, Line 4.

Much of the market is outside, but there are also many stores which line the streets. Many retailers buy their items, particularly clothing, at wholesale prices at Namdaemun, to resell in their own stores in other cities. Namdaemun is a popular tourist attraction.

So yep, they sell pretty much everything houseware-ish like dishes, pots, soap, ginseng, underwear, clothing, shoes, blankets etc. You can also order custom-made hanbooks (see below) and eat street vendor food.  This is my favorite marketplace in Korea :) even though it's not "targeted" towards younger folks like Dongdaemun Market (if I recall correctly).  There is a TonyMoly, The Face Shop, and Missha shop tho for those interested.  One thing this market lacks is clothing targeted to young folks aka the quintessential "Korean style" street clothing.   The clothing here are for older people. But for me, I love Namedaemun for the amazing range of stuff you can get here for great prices ^_^ You do have to barter *sigh* but you can get wholesale prices if you bargain right.  Naturally, shopkeepers tend to rip off foreigners/anyone who doesn't speak Korean fluently/doesn't know what they're doing but that's the nature of the bargaining world and they need to make a living too ;)

Fyi, my street knowledge is pretty limited - what I know is limited to what my aunts in Korea told me and my own experiences - so I apologize for any errors in advance :)

Here's my personal list of stuff I so recommend you buy if you're there:
1.) SOCKS - I adore the socks I got in Korea. I picked up the most adorable pairs for .50 - $1 USD each and they are the BEST socks I've ever worn.  They fit your foot like a glove and don't get all loose like stupid Fruit of the Loom socks do.  Getting some colored stockings (sock-length tights) and tights (full leg) wouldn't got amiss either.

2.) Dishes :D My mom brought back a collection of dishes where she only paid $1 USD/dish and in any currency that's a steal!  The only downside is that it's hard to transport but the quality is great plus they come with lovely, delicate prints.  They also sell nice dishes in dollar stores ;)

3.) Blankets!  We got summer blankets for only $10/each, both twin sized.  We didn't need other sizes but the factory made blankets sold usually have cute prints on it for very cheap.  Of course the downside is getting a huge bundle of blankets back home is an issue but do check out the lovely array of blankets (and pillows).

4.) Get a custom hanbok made!  I got mine made for ~$120 USD.  I picked the fabric, colors, and style.  The more modern styles tend to be more expensive, I got the most traditional version.  Everything is tailored to fit you though so it took my hanbok about 2 weeks to be completed.  So you may not be able to get one custom made if you're not if Seoul long enough to pick it up.  Most people do offer shipping though.

5.) For the less well-endowed, scout for a nicely padded bra :D!  I got ripped off (b/c of my poor bartering skills no doubt) but nonetheless, I bought two of the best bras I've ever worn!  They're flesh colored with pretty straps, very comfy, and have a clasp in the front. But most importantly, they come beautifully padded with removable inserts ;) ehehhe  I've been wearing my bras since last summer and they still look brand new. They don't stretch out like my VS bras (which are way too overpriced imho) and are just very well made.  I don't remember how much I paid but I don't particularly regret it.  Fyi - shop sellers sell bras imported from many different countries so they will carry bras labeled with peculiar sizes.  Hence the best way to gauge your boob size is generally just to *ahem* let the shop lady feel your breasts.  It would go down as physical harassment in America, but dude I think it's more legit than measuring your breasts with a tape measure a la Victoria's Secret because girls usually come in wearing heavily padded or ill-fitting bras which the tape measure never seems to account for.  OooOo and get a padded underwear! I totally forgot to get one but I am SO getting one next time to shape out my pencil skirts ^_~

....and that's all I can think of for now. 

In general, this twisty, narrow-alleyed market is a really fun place to explore.  There are so many nooks and crannies to find and you see all sorts of people. It's lovely, raw glimpse of Korea at it's worst and best.  There were lots of foreigners wandering about when I was there too so for non-Koreans, you shant feel too out of place :)

Now onto the pics!

Street vendor food :D I know Korea is quite renowned for their tasty street vendor food and my rule of thumb is to try the booths you see the most native Koreans line up ;) ehehe  I had two of these fish/tempura sticks - they were yummy ^^

Wang mandoos/dumplings!  We bought it in a set of 4 and they were placed in a little black garbage bag looking thing.

I believe this was pork :) It's been almost a YEAR since I took this picture so I don't remember the taste but it was good. In Part 11, I have even more pics of food~

Forward to Part 11: Namdaemun Marketplace, Part 2!