Getting Your Glow On at the Grocery Store

  I love my Korean beauty products, but sometimes getting a hold of them is a pain in the arse. I hate paying a higher price for them even if it means they come quickly so I often shop from Korean online stores like Roseroseshop.com but that does mean several weeks of waiting for them to arrive. Let's just say I'm not the most patient person in the world. Because of this I am always on the look out for an easily available product that works well and is immediately available. 

  Yesterday I was doing some shopping at my local grocery store and happened to buzz by the clearance shelf. To my surprise and delight there were a pile of skincare items just hanging out there and deeply discounted. So of course I started digging around, I love a good bargain and I just couldn't help myself. Before I knew it several items ended up in by basket next to the tortillas and cheese. 

Here's my grocery store haul:

• Calming Skin Therapy Hydrating Mask by Aubrey. Retails for around $10.00 my price $1.97

• Purifying Acne Serum by Suki. Retails for around $50.00 my price $9.97

• Even-tone Brightening Serum by Suki. Retails for around $50.00 my price $9.97

• Bearberry Skin Balancing & Toning Mist by John Masters Organics. Retails for around $30.00 my price $4.97

• Instant Luminous Face Mask by Andalou Naturals. Retails for around $4.00 my price $3.49

  What a bargain! I did do some quick research on the brands to make sure I was getting a good deal on these markdowns. I also checked each one over to make sure their expiration dates were not past, nope all good there too! So I came home with some new additions to my already huge collections of bottle, tubes and jars. I did pop a couple of my new finds open and give them a quick test drive. 

Here are my initial impressions:

Masks

  I opened up the Aubrey Calming mask when I got home. I've been experiencing minor break outs on my cheeks and have been using a RE:P Bio Fresh Mask with Calming Herbs sample to help soothe the breakout areas. Unfortunately I ran out of my precious mask and at $41.00 a tub it's not something I am willing to just re-order even though it works great. I figured at under $2.00 I'd give the Aubrey mask a try, it was low risk with a high possibility for ROI.

  The Aubrey mask has a nice set of herbal ingredients, along with rice and oat to help calm angry skin. One of the ingredients both masks have in common is Calendula flower, the big difference is that the RE:P mask contains Kaolin clay which does help draw out impurities in the s the Aubrey mask does not.

Here's a comparison out of the tube

  The Aubrey mask spreads out a little thinner, which I think is due to the lack of the kaolin clay in the formula. The addition of the oat and rice bran does give it a chunky texture that gives you a mild exfoliation when you spread it around and wash it off. The mask goes on pretty smoothly and I didn't need a large gob of product to cover my face. Overall my skin felt very soft and some of the redness on my cheeks did diminish after using it. The scent of the Aubrey mask was very similar to that of the RE:P mask, faintly herb-y and medicinal. If that turns you off you may want to steer clear of it, but to me it was very nostalgic and homey, it reminded me of my grandmothers house. 

  Overall my first impression of the Aubrey mask is fairly positive. I like how my skin felt, soft and smooth but not greasy, after use and my break out area seemed to be less red and angry after use. Time will tell if this is a real replacement for the RE:P mask or if I will just have to suck it up and pay the ungodly amount for it.

  I have not yet tried the Andalou mask as it is in a no resealable container. While the mask says it's a single use serving, looking at the package I am quite sure that there is at lease two uses in there so I am looking for a jar to decant the rest into. I have high hopes for it as I have heard how fabulous turmeric is for the skin and this mask contains some. I'll report back on this one.

Serums

  The serums I picked up were the best deal of the pile. When I got home I did sit down and do a quick look up on the brand and the products. Geeze these things are expensive at $50 a 0.5 Fl Oz bottle at most retailers no wonder they were on the clearance shelf, no one was buying them! Since I have been experiencing minor breakouts on my cheeks and noticing some discoloration there are well I have been in the market for a brightening serum and looking for a solution to tame my spots. At the price and size these bottles were a good no commitment way to give a new product a try...and hope for results.

  The Purifying Acne Serum boasts salicylic acid derived from willow bark which many Korean products use. It also contains Echinacea and goldenseal extract which are often used as naturopathic medicine for what is thought to be anti-inflammatory and healing properties. Other key ingredients are rose extract, apple fruit extract and moth bean extract. I'm going to have to do some more research on the moth bean, never even heard of it!

  The Even-tone Serum contains songyi mushroom extract, lemon peel, and licorice root extract, all used in Korean products and praised for their ability to lighten dark spots, brighten skin tone and banish dullness. Other notable ingredients are Vitamin C and arbutin.

  I decided to give both serums a try during my evening cleanse. Both serums are very thick, have a very unappealing yellow/brown color and a herbal/medicinal smell. I applied them after my ampoules and was very happy to see them sink in very quickly, the herbal smell dissipated pretty quickly afterwards. Neither one of them left my skin feeling sticky or greasy which is a huge plus and my night cream went on over top with out any changes. In the morning the two big spots I had on my cheeks were no longer raised or red and seemed to be retreating. So far so good, these have been added into my routine and I'll have to report back on my feelings and results.

  I didn't crack open the toner yet as I still have 1/4 bottle of one that I like just fine. This one is a back up and I promised my husband I would finish at least ONE product before opening up a new one. I'll get back to you guys on that one when I get it open!

  Overall you can find some good products and great deals just by looking. Nowadays most grocery stores have a good organic/natural section and inevitably will have some good products. The key is knowing the ingredients and what works best for you. And if it's super cheap, like my Aubrey mask, just having enough sense of adventure to jump in and give it a try!

Have you ever found something in a crazy place that turned out to be a gem? 

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