New Kbeauty items at Sephora

Hi everyone! I hope you're all having a nice weekend.

Today I'm back with a Kbeauty blog post containing some new korean products available at Sephora.

Some of the new brands are Papa Recipe and The oozoo. There are also new addition to the range of Skinfood, Too Cool for School and Caolion.

Caolion Black Powder Sparkling Wash

OK, let's be honest, I didn't think I would like this powder because I thought it would have a too high pH and be stripping BUT that's not the case...!! It feels actually quite gentle on the skin and has a pH about 4, which is value adequate for a cleanser.

By the way, I'm seeing more and more powder cleansers in Europe/Switzerland since a year or so (Dior, Sephora has its own version, too and now Caolion).

So yes, this is a powder cleanser. To use it, pour about half a teaspoon of powder in the palm of your hand. It has to be dry. Then add water drop by drop until the product starts to foam and work it into a lather. Then apply it to your face and massage it for a deep yet gentle cleansing session.

In terms of ingredients, the main ingredients are corn starch, foaming agents and surfactants (i.e. cleansing agents). You can also find allantoin (soothing), papain (skin exfoliation), and a mixture of oils, such as apricot, argan, green tea, macadamia oil (=> emollients).

As I said I expected it to be a bit too harsh (because of SLS and sodium bicarbonate) but I was so wrong. I actually find it quite gentle while providing a deeper cleanse than my usual foam cleansers. Moreover I find the packaging so convenient, especially to travel with (carrying powder is easier than liquids). I took it with me in Japan and really enjoyed using it at the end of a long day. I used it about every 2 days. When I'm home I use it about twice a week or so.

Overall I'm very happy with it and I think it's worth trying if you want a travel friendly deeper cleanser.

Too Cool For School Eggzyme Whipped Foam

A second foam cleanser and this one comes from Too Cool For School and is part of the Egg line (other items reviewed here).

It is supposed to be "a gentle and moisturizing facial cleanser that contains lysozyme particles, which is an anti-bacterial enzyme found in egg white extract, which protect egg yolk from other bacterial invasion. It is also found in other human immune system, and its natural antibacterial property is effective in removing pore-clogging debris and dead skin cells."

Egg white indeed contains a high content of lysozyme in order to protect the integrity of the yolk, and, thus, the chicken embryo. Lysozyme is an antimicrobial enzyme and is therefore often used in anti-acne products.

In addition to the egg yolk extract and lysozyme, it also contains papain, a skin exfoliant, as well as a couple of botanical extracts (centella asiatica, fig fruit extract, algae, eclipta prostrata).

Main ingredients are of course gentle surfactants.

It contains fragrance. The scent is similar to the other products in the egg line, a warm and sweet scent with a clean vanilla (?) scent that I personally find really comforting.
pH is about 7 which is a bit higher than the natural pH of the skin but that is not too crazy high. I personally prefer lower pH for everyday cleansers but for a cleanser you use 2-3x a week for a deeper cleanse, pH 7 is fine.

Again, this foam cleanser feels gentle and didn's strip the oil from my skin or made it feel squeaky clean. I personally like using it with a foaming net because you can get a super dense foam and I like how it feels almost cushiony on the skin. It also works without the foaming net, don't worry.

It contains exfoliating particles but they're very small and provide therefore a very gentle physical exfoliation.

I typically like using it about twice a week as a part of a double cleasing routine in the evening. I don't double cleanse every day as I don't find it necessary for my skin. You can use it in the morning if you prefer.

Overall quite a nice foaming cleanser. Because of its additional exfoliating properties it works well as a deep cleanser than you can use 2-3x a week. I also find the scent quite reconforting and that's also a reason why I like using it :D

Papa Recipe Honey masks

Papa Recipe is a brand I've been hearing so much about. It's a very popular brand in the Kbeauty community and their masks are particulary raved about. I was super excited when I saw them at Sephora and immediately grabbed one of each "flavours", namely the Rose Gold Honey mask, the Manuca black honey mask and the Red Ginseng Honey oil mask. Later I received the Manuca black honey mask as PR sample from Sephora.

I won't talk too much about the details of the ingredients but I find them good. They all contain royal jelly, propolis and honey and then you have different ingredients for each mask.

The Rose Gold contains rose flower water and rose extract and is supposed to help brighten the skin and with the honey to hydrate and moisture it.

The Black Honey in addition to honey contains sodium hyaluronate for extra hydration.

The Red Ginseng contains camelia oil, evening primrose oil, rose flower oil and ginseng. It brings extra nourishment to the skin and antioxidant properties.

I find each mask really hydrating and moisturizing. They're nicely soaked in essence and leave the skin more supple and elastic. The first mask I've tried was the ginseng one (yes I LOVE everything ginseng) and I was super impressed with how soft my skin was after removing it! The 3 versions are great but I have a soft spot for the ginseng one as I think it gave me better results in terms of moisture and glow.