Can Korean skincare clear acne? 🌹 Cosrx, Skinfood, Etude House, Yadah review [ updated ]

❔❕ Does it work? True to hype? Does it make acne go away like so many people claim? Does it make it worse?❔❕

Decided to write this review because I myself couldn't find many in depth reviews about how these hyped products actually work (especially on real nasty acne prone skin), especially the Yadah items, I hardly found any reviews online about their cosmetics so I hope this is helpful if anyone else been wondering about Korean skincare products and their effectiveness against acne prone skin or skin in pretty bad shape.  

So it's been about a year now that I switched to an all Korean multiple step skincare routine. I still get breakouts on my skin but it's far more managable than ever before tbh. It's the best skincare items I've ever used to my skin and I will never switch to non-Korean products I think. Plus they are all affordable products too :)))

I've had severe genetic acne for about 10 years.

To put it short, nothing ever, no matter what I tried, had any positive effects on my acne, let alone come close to clearing it. I have tried of course tons of different products (and different diets) through the years but never tried Korean or Asian skincare. After reading/seeing all the positive reviews and hype I gave in. I was not expecting any miracles to happen to my hopeless skin but I thought before I make it a fact that nothing ever can help my acne in the universe I'd give Korean skincare products a try.

 

So now my current skincare routine is a 10-12 step Korean skincare routine. I have been using these products every day, usually use them twice a day (moring and night). I bought some of these on Yesstyle and the rest on eBay from different South Korean sellers. The brands that I will mention here are Etude House, Skinfood, Cosrx and Yadah.

 Here is a pic about the results so far.  Sorry not sorry looks pretty horrid I know  but real too. acne is a huge pain in the butt, it dun' look like no field o' roses all right 

 My skintype: genetic acne , very dry skin , redness , blackheads

 On the left side is more or less how my skin looked pretty much always and ever, and the right side is how my skin CAN look nowadays on GOOD skin days, after using only Korean skincare items on my skin. 

 So in comparison my skin is more calm, balanced and managable than ever before.
No it didn't clear up my acne 100% like magic, but I personally have way tougher acne than most average people, plus it's in my genetics basically so it will always be on my face probably. BUT still no denying that my skin has never felt&looked this good before and I'm much happier about my skin than ever before!  

Before I jump into details about all these products let me share my best basic tips:

1. NEVER rub your skin
2. Massage and rinse cleansers and masks super gently&softly
3. When applying serums, creams etc just dab products very lighlty and slowly over face
4. WAIT 5 to 15 minutes before applying next product. Let them do their work and don't just smear everything on at once
5. Use products both morning and night, and don't skip using products (except face mask)

Skinfood  Rice brightening cleansing oil and foam

 I find that in general Skinfood's rice brightening line actually helps brighten your skin and they visibly help to make my skin look more even, brighter and less red. I use the oil first to dissolve all my makeup. One pump is enough for me, lathers up well with just some drops of water. It effectively dissolves and removes a full face makeup.Then I take about a pea size amount of the cleansing foam. It has a pasty texture and it lathers up as you continue massaging it on the skin and add drops of water. Sometimes I like to leave it on for some minutes to work because it feels like a nice face mask.  It leaves the skin balanced, refershed, soft and smooth, brighter. This one feels more deep cleansing too. I can use it both day and night. They smell the same, mild and pleasant. And the packaing is cute and pretty!  Really like these two.

Yadah  Anti Trouble bubble cleanser and soothing toner

 Now Yadah was a brand that I had a really hard time finding reviews about. Yadah caught my attention because I liked their concept of minimalising harsh chemicals and focusing on using more natural, soothing, nourishing ingredients in their products. The foam cleanser is very mild, I don't use it in the night to remove makeup because it is not that deep cleansing for that.  It's the best morning cleanser though. It leaves the skin feeling soft&clean. The toner visibly soothes my acne spots so that's nice.  Though it is not hydrating at all for me. I put a pump or two in my palms and pat it on my face. Also works as a soothing spot treatmeant. It leaves it feeling clean and balanced, but noting dramatic. Minimalistic but cute packaging. They both have the same mild fragrance, it reminds me of green tea and something citrusy or herbal, I really like it actually!  

Etude House  Baking powder pore cleansing foam and Wonder pore 10 in 1 freshner

 These two are both rather deep cleansing, but not drying at all! :O The baking powder foam cleanser also has a pasty consistency, I take a pea sized amount and massage it around plus add drops of water to make it lather. This one cleanses the pores more thoroughly, I use it on days when I had makeup on and need to cleanse as efficiently as possible. The toner is also quite deep cleansing, I put some on a cotton pad to wipe my entire face to clean away any possible leftover makeup. My skin feels balanced, clean afterwards. These are both a must have for me. I am actually sure these two help me prevent a lot of breakouts. + Cute packaging!

COSRX  One step original clear pads

 Ok the packaging is just a win already, 10/10 👌 I love this cosrx guy on it, I've seen him appear in some of their product images but so happy they even put him on the packaging haha. These pads are the best thing I ever tried for my acne.  It feels very cooling and refreshing on the skin and makes it feel so hydrated&balanced. It calms my acne so well and quickly, makes smaller ones go away overnight. Would not want to live without these, for sure.  The smell is quite nice too and mild and refreshingly herb-ish. It does not wipe away all my acne no, but it helped so far to clear up my skin a lot. I could really see and both feel the difference even after the first use. You get 70 pads in one box btw. When I run out I will surely buy 2-3 boxes at the same time because you can use them up quickly. 

COSRX  Natural BHA skin returning A-Sol and Advanced snail mucin power essence

 As for the BHA toner, I bought it in order to use it as spot treatment and that is what I would only recommend it for because it is quite drying otherwise. Sometimes it makes spots go away, sometimes it makes them grow bigger....I don't know, meh. I would not repurchase this. I feel the Original clear pads actually do a great job treating my spots and actually calm them. Moving on to the snail essence, I never thought this could be beneficial for my acne prone skin, but it somehow makes it visibly more calm and nourished and feels more 'elastic'. It is not specially moisturizing so I use it after moisturizing first.  A tiny amount goes a long way! It's useful, it's a keeper. 

Skinfood  Milk shake point makeup remover and Premium peach cotton toner

 The point makeup remover is inteded to use to remove eye makeup and long lasting lipstick and it works perfectly efficiently for that, yay! It doesn't leave an oily or strange feeling on the skin. Cheaper than other lip and eye makeup removers. A decent amount of product in the bottle. Super cute packaing, love it. The peach toner is another huge win. This is supposed to be used on oily skin so I was afraid it might dry my skin out a lot. But it makes it very supple and smooth like nothing else. It's like fuzzy peach skin like dry velvety smooth...it gives the best ever base for makeup. Therefore I only use this in the morning when I know I will wear makeup that day. It gives a nice smooth surface, my foundation sits soo much nicer and smoother and it controls sebum and oils through the whole day! Seriously impressive. The peach smell to it is strong but it goes away, and it doesn't smell too unnatural.  + Another cute packaging.  If you use makeup, you need this, regardless of skin type.

Skinfood  Rice mask wash off

 This one has an interesting thin consistency with very fine soft grains in it. You can go light-handed with this one, it's enough to just make sure to have a thin even layer on the whole face. I use this 2-3 times a week. It's nice to put it on when my skin feels drier and flakier. Like when it feels like you could use a face mask lol. Always leaves my skin feeling super smooth and soft, hydrated.  It definitely brightens too and makes my skin look less red and way more even in tone. If you are looking for extra moisture though you might (also) wanna pick up their black sugar mask!

Yadah  Pore refining emulsion

 This emulsion feels very cooling, it absorbs quickly, gives sufficient moisture and leaves my skin smooth and very soft. I do think my pores look non existent thanks to this! But most of all it makes my skin feel so well nourished from the inside. Packaging's simple but cute.

Yadah  Anti-t moisturizing cream

 This one has a very interesting thin, unique consistency, not sure how to describe it. A small amount goes a very long way.  It's very moisturizing, but note that not the most moisturizing cream out there. The packaing itself is glass it's kinda heavy (same as the Anti T toner), not so good for travelling, but...~ It doesn't leave the skin tacky or oily at all, just very soft and well moisturized. My skin feels calm after this but it doesn't do anything dramatic to clear up acne. But it's a cream your acne won't hate at all. Would recommend this for every skintype, oily or dry skin too. Though if you are looking for extra or 150% guarenteed moisture I'd suggest you pick up Yadah's Pure green moisturizer. All in all I love all Yadah products I have because they are all calming and nourishing for the skin. 

Here is the order I use these~ I don't claim this is how every item has to follow each other but this works for me ~
I actually often switch up the order of these depending how my skin feels

Individually, these are all affordable. Sure the costs add up when you buy several items but they are still much cheaper than many fancy brands and work way better, AND they last a looong time! 

 You don't necessarily need to have 12 or 10 items in your skincare routine, it's up to you what works for you.~ I started with 5 items, they worked fine but I was curious if I could make my routine more effective&intense. Now I can say the results wouldn't be the same if I skipped any of these.

Unlike 95% of things I tried before, these never caused any irritation whatsoever.  My skin is far from perfect still but I feel like these products actually do what they can and help a lot. If you are debating whether to try some of these popular hyped items I'd definitely say go for it. ~~