The Life of a Skincare and Beauty Addict
Just an ordinary gal trying to survive the gruesome university semesters while working on a healthy lifestyle of exercise, diet, and a glowing skincare routine!

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Beauty Profile

Skin Type: Dehydrated, oily, and sensitive

Problems: Hormonal breakouts, blackheads, and enlarged pores

Skin Tone: Light-medium honey beige

Eye Shape: Double Eyelids

Natural hair color: Black (currently dyed ombre brown/blonde)



Sunday, October 9, 2016 at 10:37 PM with 0 comment(s)


If you were to ask me what brand has helped me the most with my skin concerns, undoubtedly I would tell you it's COSRX. They have such a wonderful philosophy of creating products to solely help with skin concerns. I've always loved simplicity and COSRX definitely carries that out. They don't focus on tempting looking products but rather, they focus on the effects of the product itself. COSRX is also affordable. Moreover, most of their products are low in pH which is fantastic because you don't have to be worrying about stripping your skin's acid mantle; something that I've made the mistake in with the usage of high alkaline foaming cleansers. Yuck. Glad I've stopped living the basic life (no pun intended).

Today, I will be reviewing the BHA Blackhead Power Liquid which I consider to be one of my skincare essentials. I bought this at RoseRoseShop on their Ebay store. They also have their official website. I mainly use Ebay to buy my skincare products because it's an easy shopping platform to use. I've purchased products from RoseRoseShop many times... probably 6-10 orders so far (yes... I should probably calm down on the spending). I do consider them to be honest, reliable, and legitimate sellers. Keep in mind, they mainly sell Korean skincare and beauty products. Shall we move onto the review? 





Product Info: 

A chemical exfoliant with an oil-base consistency used to deep-clean your pores. It helps to minimize the appearance of enlarged pores, clear dead skin cells, and prevent breakouts. Comes in a 100 ml bottle with a push dispenser cap. 

Directions:  

After cleansing your face (are you double cleansing? because you should be), tone, apply vitamin C serum if you use one, and then apply the BHA Blackhead Power Liquid using your fingers or you can use a cotton pad. Wait 30 minutes before moving onto your next skincare step. I suggest using this only at night since the ingredients are highly concentrated. 

Ingredients: 

Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Water, Butylene Glycol, Betaine Salicylate, Niacinamide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Arginine, Panthenol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Xanthan Gum, Ethyl Hexanediol [source]
  • pH: 4.0 [source]
  • BHAs (beta hydroxy acids), also known as salicylic acid, help clear your skin by increasing skin turnover and exfoliating your pores from the inside. They are great for getting rid of clogged pores and blackheads [source]

Product Type: 

Actives 
  • Actives are products with ingredients that have direct, active results on the skin, usually with a serious science pedigree [source]
  • Actives are the only ingredients that cause true purging. (originally read from Snow White and the Asian Pear but here is the source she used)
  • Some examples of Actives include antioxidants such as Vitamin C (LAA - L-Ascorbic Acid), Vitamin A (retinoids such as retinol and tretinoin), and acids like Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA), Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA), and Polyhydroxy Acid (PHA) [source

Disclaimer: 

My friend also bought this product but she reacted to it. I've also been looking around and some other people claimed to have reacted as well. My friend stopped using it after 1-2 weeks. It's hard to say if her skin was breaking out or if it was in the process of purging. Don't be too afraid to use this product. Usually, if you're breaking out in places you normally don't break out, it is probably your skin breaking out and it's not purging. However, it is possible to break out in new areas during the purging process. Therefore, if you're still breaking out in those new areas after 3 months, stop using the product because you can now consider your skin to be breaking out and not purging [source]. Therefore, introduce this product slowly. Even after 4 months of using this product, I still only apply it every other day. Try every 2-3 days first and then increase the usage to every 1-2 days and maybe eventually every day. See what works for you.







Although I'm a sucker for cute packaging, I do love the simplicity of COSRX's packaging. As for the product itself, it is considered to be one of my holy grail skincare items. I've been using this for a little over 4 months and have seen such a difference in my skin's complexion. My pores definitely shrunk in size, blackheads minimized in appearance (I have a lot on my nose), redness calmed down, and acne scars lightened up a bit. I use it every other day but lately I've only been applying it on Sunday because I'm so busy with university. Although it has an oil-based consistency, it does not leave your skin feeling sticky. The fragrance is a very subtle; honestly, there's none at all. 



I use this product in conjunction with other products from COSRX including the AHA Whitehead power liquid, Natural BHA Returning A-Sol, Pimple Clear Pads, and the Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence. I have yet to review these products but keep on a look out! If you are considering these products as well, the order I apply after cleansing and toning is: Vitamin C Serum (20 minute wait) > BHA Blackhead Power Liquid (30 minute wait) > AHA Whitehead Power Liquid (30 minute wait). I use a pH adjusting toner but you can use Natural BHA Returning A-Sol to balance your skin's pH and then follow the order of actives I stated previously. I usually switch between my pH adjusting toner and the A-Sol. If you're using the Pimple Clear Pads, I suggest using them on the day when you're not using a lot of actives. I find that using too many BHA and AHA products was making my routine too concentrated and I noticed my skin breaking out because of this. Although I can't completely verify the reason why, I would be cautious. 

Actives are considered as the "cleansing" process of your skincare routine so before you go apply on some moisturizer, sleeping pack, sheet mask, or whatever is next in your routine, apply your actives first. After my last step in my cleansing routine (the AHA Whitehead Power Liquid), I apply a sheet mask (30 minute wait) and let the essence from the sheet mask absorb into my skin. I then apply the Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence (let that absorb) and finally I top it off with a gel moisturizer (I use Nature Republic's Aloe Vera Gel). 

★★★★★




One of the best skincare products that I've invested in. I definitely plan on re-purchasing once I run out. I haven't used half the bottle yet so hopefully this will last me until June. I recommend this for all skin-types especially individuals who have acne-prone skin like me. My hormonal breakouts get really bad sometimes but the BHA Blackhead Power Liquid definitely tampered down my pimples and helped cleared the blackheads around my nose, cheeks, and chin. 

★★★★★




Thank you for reading! Stay tune for more reviews.



Tags: COSRX, reviews, skincare, actives, Korean, RoseRoseShop

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