I have stumbled upon a few Korean skincare specific Instagram accounts (@fuckyeahkoreancosmetics) and blogs/online store (SoKo Glam) and also a book by Charlotte Cho (who is the founder of SoKo Glam) and the they have opened my eyes to the wonders of Korean Skincare & Cosmetics!!

Park Si Yeon (source) A Famous Korean Actress For anyone who isn't aware or may not have noticed before.. Korean women (and men too) have the most amazing glowing skin! From a young age it is drilled into them to take care of their skin, always wear SPF etc etc. So today I am going to introduce to you the 10 Step Routine and how you can adopt it at home, plus some of the awesome products I have been using lately!

So the Korean Skincare routine is based on a double cleanse to start with and then layer all your products in accordance to their consistency in texture. So starting after cleansing with toner/refresher which is the thinest consistency up to your night or day cream/SPF which are a thicker product!

Chapter 7 of The Little Book of Skincare by Charlotte Cho

The Korean 10 Step Skincare Routine

So now that you have the 10 Steps down pat, what next? Where to buy Korean products from?! What ingredients to look out for? Below is a chart from "The Little Book of Skincare" by Charlotte Cho and she list some products that are commonly used in skincare products and what they can do for you skin!


As for where to start procuring your new found love of Korean products??
I have found a great seller on eBay (thanks to @hihocherie), plus there are some really good online shops too! Like Yesstyle, Soko Glam, Jolse plus I'm sure you could find more online if you did a little research!!
Some brands that I am loving at the moment at Corsx, Etude House, Skin Food, The Face Shop (they actually have stores around Australia - most capital cities) and Tony Moly. There are seriously sooo many brands out there guys! You just need to try them!!


I hope I have opened your eyes a little to the wonders that are Korean Skincare, I am still learning and discovering things for myself too, it is all so fascinating!! There will definitely be more posts dedicated to Korean Beauty in the future as I am a little obsessed at the moment!!

Have you tried any Korean beauty products? What are your favourite products/brands?! Let me know in the comment section below so I can check them out too!!


Mel x

So I grabbed 3 of the Illuminators in the ABH Cyber Monday sale as they had them for $28ea (USD) including their specially designed illuminator brush the #23 brush ($25USD). So you got a brush for free! Such a great deal!

As you can see above they are all quite unique on their own and within this collection however I do have a few that are similar in my collection to So Hollywood and Peach Nectar. But all were definitely needed! :)

Do you have any of the ABH Illuminators? Which one is your favourite?! I think Riviera is my favourite followed closely by Starlight!


Mel x

So back at the start of February you may remember this post about how I dyed my the ends of my hair purple with Dare.. Don't Care - purple hair dye! On the back of the bottle it warned of the beautiful purple colour fading to a lovely mint green colour..

with my minty green ends

My amazing hairdresser (and sister-in-law) Vanessa from Profile Hair Design (Toowoomba's BEST hairdresser) used the balayage technique to try and lift the green from my ends and it worked to an extent.. However once she gave it a nice toner it came up (not to my original dark blonde ends) but to a nice light brown/caramel colour which I loved! She did mention that the toner would fade out with washing and the green will probably shine through.. So she sent me off with a treatment from Fabuloso called the Caramel Colour Intensifying Conditioner and said to use it as a treatment on my ends for atleast 20mins before I wash my hair once a week to keep the green at bay!


fresh from the salon

The Fabuloso treatment is great! I actually have the Platinum Blonde one too for before I dyed my hair purple!! It leaves your hair so soft and silky and I highly recommend you check them out!!

I am off to the hairdressers again this weekend to see if I can completely rid my hair of the green!! Wish me luck!!

I also just want to apologise for the lack of posts lately! Life has been mega busy - being on community committees and a promotion at work!! I plan on blogging my little heart out this week (whilst in Brisbane for work) and take a whole heap of pictures on Sunday (the official blogging day)and start having some scheduled posts up my sleeves!!

Have you ever regretted dying your hair a certain colour only for it to become a major hassle?? I don't regret dying it purple - it was fun while it lasted but the removal process has been a bitch. ha


Mel x

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This week James and I are heading to Melbourne for 6 days! I am so excited for this mini holiday! It has been a couple of years since I was last there. James used to live in Victoria and has quite a few amazing friends do there and we are super lucky that they are letting us stay with them!!
We are having 3 days in Melbourne city and then we are hiring a car and driving the Great Ocean Road down to Warrnambool for another 3 days to visit more friends!

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Over the long weekend, I decided to do a bit of a wardrobe cull to see what I actually needed to buy from Melbourne. I made a pile to donate, a pile to sell and a pile to throw out!

My shopping list is quite outrageous and most I probably won't buy many of them whilst in Melbourne but will definitely pick them up throughout the year. I want to start investing in key pieces for my wardrobe - things that will cost me a fortune to start with, but will last me year after year - and if you work it out per wear realistically it doesn't work out to be that much...

Key Expensive Investment Pieces:

- Leather Jacket - I am absolutely loving this piece by West 14th - $895

- Leather Handbag - sames with this Karl Lagerfeld handbag - $465

- Woolen Coat - I want it to be at least 50% wool but preferably 75-100% also knee length in grey/navy/black - I am liking the look of this Keepsake The Label one - $349.95

- Karen Walker Sunglasses in the style Harvest - $329
- Woolen Knit Cardigan/Jumper - I have been lusting over these hand-knitted I Love Mr Mittens designs for a while now - $475

- Jeans - I want jeans that don't contain any elastic in them - as I feel they tend to wear out quicker.

• Dark Wash Slim Leg
• Medium Wash Slim Leg

Basics:

- White/Navy/Grey T-Shirts
- Striped Shirts
- Scarves

Annnnd because I'm going Melbourne and it will be my first time in an Australian Sephora - I am allowing myself to buy a few things:

Kat Von D - Tattoo Liner in Trooper ($28) or this handy little 3 pack ($35) that is now online! I hope they have it in-store!!
Kat Von D - Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks ($30) thinking about Lovesick, Lolita, or Mother

But chances are I could go a little crazy and buy everything! I love the look of these cushion blushes and illuminators by the Sephora Collection and I may finally pick up some Zoeva brushes to see what all the fuss is about!


As you can see I will be broke by the time I leave Melbourne but I will definitely do a haul post to show you what I picked up whilst I was there!
Make sure to add me on SnapChat (@loadsoflifestyl) to see what I get up to on a daily basis (pretty much all the yummy things I'll be eating, OOTD's and sneaky change room snaps!)