[REVIEW] Innisfree Bija Trouble Facial Foam

I've been meaning to review a product that didn't work out well for me for a while, so here it finally is! Today I want to share my experience trying out Innsifree's Bija Trouble Facial Foam. I tried this cleanser out while in Korea over the summer (July/August) and took notes on its effects during that time. 

Review summary: I can't recommend it to anyone with sensitive or dry skin. It did not help my acne and instead inflamed it while making my pores appear more noticeable and made my skin feel too "squeaky clean."

Brand Marketing: 5/5

Packaging: 5/5

Scent: 1/5

Effectivity: 1/5

Overall: 2/5

Going to Concerts in Korea with Interpark

Interpark itself essentially G-market (Korean Amazon/Ebay), but Interpark has a secondary site called Interpark Ticket where you can buy tickets to concerts, musicals, operas, and sports exhibitions.

Gangneung: Aarkhouse and Anmok Beach

I'm back home in the States, but I've returned with a lot of content to blog about! The last few weeks I was still in Korea and the first few weeks back home have been too busy to make any posts, but I'm hoping to make more time for it-- especially since I have so much to share!

Nearing the end of my stay in Seoul, I met my dear friend Sara, from Canada. We met online almost two years ago and happened to be in Seoul at the same time last year, so we were able to meet in person in 2014 and again in 2015. This time, we planned to go to 강릉 (Gangneung), one of the few nice beach areas in the northern half of South Korea. 

TIP! Most of the clearer and cleaner beaches are on the western side of Korea, except for Jeju island of course!

Traveling to Gangneung

What I did today: Mecenatpolis Mall (메세나폴리스 몰)

I haven't updated about my travels in a while because I took a week long trip around the country! If you follow me on instagram, you might have seen a few of my photos. I went to Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, Geoje, and Jinju, but came home a couple days early because I was too tired to continue. 

I took a lot of photos with my phone but not my camera, because I was too busy enjoying the sights in front of me :) I personally prefer to experience traveling by looking through my own eyes instead of a lens, which is why I haven't been documenting everything I do. Taking photos with my phone is a lot easier for me though, so soon I'll upload some shorter posts about what I did while traveling.

Yesterday, I returned to Seoul. I think I had two levels of home-sickness while traveling. One for my goshiwon in Seoul and another level for my hometown in Texas. I enjoyed seeing more of the country, but being back in Seoul feels so good!

Today, I treated myself to a small shopping trip and brunch!

[GIVEAWAY] My Skinfood Membership + Skinfood giveaway

I recently signed up for a free membership at one of my favorite Korean cosmetic lines, Skinfood! I wasn't totally sure how I got all the free gifts that I did because the employee divided my stuff into two purchases to give me the best deal.

The free stuff I received on this purchase:

• Box of cotton pads (free with any purchase that day)
• Bottle of nail polish (they're having a 1+1 deal on their Nail Vita Alpha line)
• Gift set of three mask sheets (aloe, strawberry, and tangerine) + a trail size (smaller than travel) tomato whitening kit (toner + cream)
• Travel set (Lemon Verbena body wash + lotion, Rice Brightening Scrub Foam, Argan Oil Silk hair conditioner + shampoo)

I believe the bottom two were the membership gifts, but she didn't say anything about the mask sheet and whitening kit set, so I'm not sure.

[REVIEW] Skinfood Black Sugar Cleansing Oil

This is my first Korean skincare review! I've gone through quite a few Korean skincare products looking for the perfect regime, so I'm excited to share my findings with you as I experiment. I rarely buy skincare products without searching for reviews online first, so I know what I'm looking for in reviews and hopefully can write a thorough one myself. My reviews will be long in order to be thorough, but organized in a way in which you should be able to skim through and find what you need.

I'm choosing to review this cleansing oil first because I've been using it for about a year now and have just bought my third bottle!

Review summary: This cleansing oil effortlessly removes any makeup while leaving my skin feeling moisturized and unharmed. It should be used before your usual cleanser.

Cafe Gaene 카페 개네 [ Myeongdong Cafe Review ]

I recently became acquainted with a sweet, fun girl from England at a hip hop concert and we decided to meet at 명동 (Myeongdong, a popular shopping district) for coffee and shopping! She recommended a dog cafe there and even though I'm more of a cat person, I really wanted to check it out.

Seoul "Forest" (서울숲)

Recently, I took a small trip to Seoul Forest. My experience was mixed, so I thought I'd share it here so you can check it out yourself and perhaps form a different opinion! I am categorizing it under "Korea Budget Travel Tips" because the park is free and some extra things to do inside are cheap :)

To start off, I made a video of my small adventure to give you a feel for the place. Overall, it was very peaceful, not crowded, and a nice place to take a long walk (or jog!).

Tour of my Goshiwon in Seoul + Tips for Living in a Goshiwon

I just wanted to start this post by explaining what a 고시원 (goshiwon) is.  It's a small room with typically only a desk, a bed, and a closet (also mini refrigerator and some shelving) which students usually rent to focus on studying. There's a communal bathroom and kitchen for residents to use and basic food is usually supplied (eggs, kimchi, rice, ramen). In this style, prices range from ₩200,000 - ₩400,000 per month ($175 - $345).

imi [Hongdae cafe]

It's been a while since I posted! I am indeed now in Seoul, but have been too busy to write up a decent blog post. However, I do regularly post small updates on my facebook page, so please give me a like if you haven't already!

I'm still working on the video tour of where I'm staying now, but until then I thought I'd post a review of a cafe I recently went to. The photos were all taken on my phone, so please bear with me ^^;

I liked this place because it wasn't crowded and the decor was simple, yet quirky and had personality! The name of the cafe is imi and it's located in Hongdae. 

My Korea Plans & the Korean Folk Village (한국민속촌)

Hello everyone! I'm very excited to begin blogging about my upcoming trip to Korea. As you can see in the navigation bar, I've already begun to set up categories for my posts, so I hope I can fill all of these during my trip. Let me begin my first post by sharing my plans with you briefly.