Budget Wednesday - Skinfood makeup mini reviews

Skinfood is an affordable roadshop brand in Korea whose philosophy goes along the " You are what you eat" line. Their products are all mostly food based and they have some well known and well loved kbeauty products  like their famous wash-off masks in Black Sugar and my favorite Rice Mask. Somehow I always thought of Skinfood as a skincare brand although they have a very extensive make up offering, so for "educational" purposes only I decided to try some make up from their relatively new Vita Color and Fresh Fruit lines.

An absolute hit of the things I tried was the Fresh Fruit Juice Extraction Blush No.1 Fig and Plum

This color does not look like much when swatched but it gives the most beautiful wash of watercolor like neutral blush on your cheeks. Blends easily, does not have a sticky finish and last some 5 to 6 hours on its own. This particular shade is very light and subdued and although buildable I would recommend it only for pale folks, however the line consists of three additional colors that are brighter and more intense than this one so there is something for everyone. I love the formula and finish of this blush. It has a slight floral scent, but nothing overpowering. Blush costs around 10$.  5/5

I also tried some lip products to varying degrees of success. Those are Fresh Fruit Juice Extraction Tint in No. 5 Berry Fine Day, Vita Color Fruits Roll Stick in No.2 and Vita Color Delicious Oil Rouge in No.2 Apricot.

Fresh Fruit Juice Extraction Tint in No. 5 (3.5g) - It comes in the tiny container, so it is convenient to carry. It goes on smooth and shiny, feeling comfortable on the lips. Color gets darker as it dries. It leaves a stain that can go patchy. Longevity is decent unless you drink or eat than it is gone. it is easy to reapply. 3/5

Vita Color Fruits Roll Stick in No.2 (3.7g) - It has a darker color center in order to achieve gradation look. However the contrast is not very evident and ends up looking like one color. Formula is nice and creamy and goes matte if it is blotted or after some time. Longevity is nice for a creamy product, some 6 hours unless you eat, it also leaves a very light stain. I liked it the best out of three lip products I tried. 4/5

Vita Color Delicious Oil Rouge in No.2 Apricot (3.2g) - I liked this one the least. Not that anything is especially wrong with it but there are many products of this type on the market that have a better, more comfortable formula. This one is supposed to give that wet, shiny lip look and it does to an extent. However formula is a bit thick and goes on thick on the lips so it can feel and look a bit cakey, which is weird for such a product. Pigmentation is nice for a lighter product, longevity is typical as well a few hours unless you drink and eat and than it is gone in a second. 2.5/5 

All three lip products cost between 7-10 USD depending where you purchase them.

Colors are quite nice: Fresh Fruit Juice Extraction Tint, Vita Color Delicious Oil Rouge and Vita Color Fruits Roll Stick. Second image is stain they leave after being wiped. 

To conclude this look at Skinfood makeup  I say go for the blush it is awesome as lips products go, if you really like the color go for it otherwise there are nicer budget options out there in my opinion.

Review - UNIK Black Snail Restore Serum

Snail slime on your face does not really sound like an attractive idea, but than again neither is facial injections, various ways of hair plucking and many other things that we still do in order to look better and younger. We do go to interesting lengths for the sake of beauty so as Frank Zappa said in a song long time ago  "Beauty knows no pain..." it still rings true. However, fear not snail goo is painless and to seasoned users of Korean beauty products snail mulcin or its fancy name used in cosmetics "snail secretion filtrate" is not an exotic ingredient anymore but more of a staple.

You might ask yourself why put snail on my face ? Well let me tell you.  
Snail slime is packed with good stuff such as hyaluronic acid, glycoprotein, proteoglycans, and antimicrobial and copper peptides, all of which are commonly used in beauty products and proven to be beneficial for the skin. These elements help to protect the snail’s skin from damage, infection, dryness and UV rays. 
Snail mucin is best known for its anti-aging properties. It reportedly  helps to stimulate the formation of collagen and elastin, restores hydration, protects skin from free radicals, soothes skin and repairs damaged tissue . It can be used to treat dry skin, wrinkles and stretch marks, acne and rosacea, age spots, burns, scars, razor bumps.
I personally like snail in my skincare because I find it very moisturizing and soothing and very helpful in tending small burns and cuts. It also helps speed up the healing process after a break out. 

I was kindly sent UNIK  Black Snail Restore Serum by the eBay seller blueprint21 after reviewing UNIK Propolis Vitamin Synergy Serum. 

UNIK Black Snail Restore Serum is a serum that claims to strengthen the skin barrier and make skin supple and smooth by providing nutrition and calming ingredients.

Star ingredients are Black Snail Extract 70% and Centella Asiatica Leaf Water 10% as well as 5 black super food extracts (Black Rice, Black Bean, Black Sesame, Eggplant, Sea Tangle).

Full ingredient list:

Snail Secretion Filtrate, Centella Asiatica Leaf Water, Methylpropandediol, Glycerin, Niancinamide, Glycereth-26, Water, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Saccharomyces/Viscum Album (Mistleto) Ferment Extract, Lactobacillus/Soybean Ferment Extract, Laminaria Japonica Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Extract, Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract, Saccharomyces/Imperata Cylindrica Root Ferment Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Allantone, Centella Asiaitaca Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Artemisia Vulgaris Extract, Vaccinum Angustifolum (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Carbomer, Arginine, Pentylene Glycol, Adenosine, Ethylhexylglycerin, Xanthan Gum, Aspalathus Linearis Extract

  

 CosDNA analysis is very clean. 

The ingredient list is full of calming, moisturizing and anti ageing ingredients. Also presence of Centella Asiatica and Licorice Root Extract as well as no added scent makes me think acne prone skin and sensitive skin might enjoy this very much. 

As snail serums go texture of this one is not overly snaily/slimy, it does have that typical snail secretion slip to it which is good as it makes application smooth. It is not a very moisturizing serum so I would not use it as sole source of moisture for dry skin, but it layers well with other products and sinks in fast. What I can say is that it does help the wound-healing process as I used it on my daughter's hands that have patches of skin so dry it breaks. This serum was soothing and helped her heal faster. 

 A really solid snail serum and if  you are new to snail products this is a good place to start.