I apologize that it's a day late. I forgot to hit publish so the schedule would actually go through.
Anyway, this is the last week of my new products!
But it's not the last week of my challenge. I'll continue to use my products, while trying new ones along the way. 
I wasn't sure what to expect when I first started this. I had a bunch of wrinkle lines on my face brought on by so much dehydration (fun fact, no matter how much water you drink, your skin is always the last to know!), and so many bumps and scars on my face that had been there for many months. I wanted to practice wearing makeup and master some skills, but I never wanted to aggravate my already upset skin. I didn't really like the idea of caking on product until it covered everything either. I had pretty low confidence with my face, and all I wanted was to figure out how to fix it.
If you would like to try the Korean skincare challenge, it's not really hard, and is actually pretty fun! My morning regimen before took about 10 minutes, which included brushing my teeth, washing my face, and putting on lotion. It now takes around 15 minutes, and because I do it so early, I get to sit around and relax for a bit, rather than rushing around trying to get everything done like I used to. The night routine takes about as long without the AHA.
Today, my skin is so much better, though I know I probably have a good couple of months left before my skin is completely healed, but a lot of the scarring I had around my nose from picking at my face has gone. My nose still has some healing, and I have some scars under my jaw, but I'm at a far better position. If I wanted to, with a bit of concealer, I could probably start wearing makeup again! But I think I'll wait until my skin is better. I don't want to have to rely on concealer. If I keep it up and find more things that work, I think I skin should be pretty healed by June!
So, this week was Tonymoly's Red Appletox Honey Cream. It's not really a cream, but a gel. Right now, this is my favorite product.
First, it smells like a fresh apple.
Seriously, like someone put an apple in a blender, then gave it to me and told me to put it on my face. Unfortunately, the smell goes away fairly quickly. Is this what the hand cream smells like? It smells so yummy! 
Apparently this cream contains an AHA in the form of malic acid from the apple inside. One of the reasons I was eager to try it was because of the apple. Years ago I tried a homemade mask by Bubzbeauty that included apple cider vinegar, and I remember how that helped lighten a bunch of acne scars back then, so I felt my skin would respond well to it. And yes, this product does the same thing, but without that terrible vinegar smell, lol. Within a couple days, my stubborn marks faded significantly. My skin seems a lot brighter, and redness went down. And this product is only $13?? Goes to show that you don't need to spend hundreds of dollars to find something that works.
I decided to move the Appletox to mornings.
Both creams work well regardless, but I feel like the All in One cream benefits from being a repairing cream rather than just a moisturizer. The Appletox was able to lighten my scars even during the day, and moisturizes well even when it's cold, so I think day is best. It is fairly sticky at first, so it's best to put it on some time before going out anywhere (when I put on my Sun Milk, it takes away any stickiness right away). I still have a bunch of samples, but I ended up buying a full version of the cream by Friday, lol.I also tried the soaps that came with my samples, Tonymoly's Nutra Energy Foam Cleanser and Dr. Tony AC Control Acne Cleansing Foam.
I'll put them together on account of they work pretty much the same way. Have you ever used a Dove soap bar? I can't remember which one (I think it was the AC Control one), but I remember one smelling exactly like they melted one down and put it in a container. It also looked and felt like it too. Anyway, cleaning-wise, they did well. 
I don't know if there were multiple uses in each sample, because it felt like there was a lot. When I applied them at first, they were very smooth, even though I had added water, and very little foaming happened. Then as I added water to my face to start rinsing it away, more bubbles started to form. Maybe it's another case of "a little goes a long way". They were actually nice, though I don't know if either of them did anything special to my skin. I wouldn't mind purchasing them in the future, especially since they're more pH balanced. But right now, I still have a huge container full of Dr. Bronners, lol.The only thing I had left to talk about were my mists, but there isn't much to say, since you're really supposed to use them when you need them, and I haven't really yet. I have tried them, however. Neither of them caused a breakout, and I guess they're doing their job. I don't have much experience with mists, so I wouldn't be able to share much. The Tosowoong Tea Tree mist does cool my face a bit. Has a bit of a funky scent, but it does what I need it to do. Mizon's Twilight Essence Mist is a strange one. I mean, it works as a quick hydration spray (though I haven't needed it much, so I can't say how much of a difference it's making), but the product itself is like jelly! It sprays like a liquid, but it's strange to see it inside of the bottle. I keep them in my purse for when I need them.
So tomorrow is my wrap up. I'm glad I ended up on a good note, because it allowed me more time to see what I would like to keep in my regimen and what I wouldn't mind giving up. I can only hope the photos I took will accurately show how much has changed, because I can certainly see it!
The goal was to see not only if I could keep it up, but if it could do something good for my skin, which had fallen quite a bit to the wayside. I've been taking pictures of my skin every so often (because of course it's not enough to tell you that it's working, it's important to see for yourself!), and I'll do one final mini-review of everything I've used during this challenge. This series is almost over.... It's kind of sad! I have no idea what to do! 
I decided to try it on my face a couple days later, but I couldn't tell if anything else was happening.... I guess this might be one of those long-term type of things, the kind of stuff meant to help you in the long run and not give you immediate results. 
That's fine and all, but I have a lot of problems right now to work on. It's probably only a sometimes product.
It has sort of a woodsy scent to it, and it can get pretty annoying over time, but it gets more bearable about 10 minutes later, so give yourself some time after application before trying to go to sleep. 
The product comes with a spatula to scoop out the cream with, and much like Mizon's Black Snail All In One cream, a little goes a long way. My skin feels pretty soft (not as much as with the Black Snail cream), but the cream a more stiff, so it feels a bit uncomfortable. It's not bad enough that I would stop using it, but like I said, I have no idea if it's doing anything as of right now. 
I like the essence booster far more. Still, it was on sale for $20, so this could make a nice pampering cream to use every few days or so.
I know, it's just the silica powder in it to smooth out skin, but I'm not used to my skin feeling that way, lol. It's meant as a base for makeup, so it goes on smoothly.... but as I am right now, it can't be used for that either, because it accentuates any flaky patches! 
I guess it's great if I wanted a product to show me where to exfoliate or something.... 
I have 20 samples, and if it does well, I'll be glad to buy a full one. I'm also eager to try out the Tonymoly foam cleansers that came with it. I've only been using my Dr. Bronner's castile soap for the past few years, but maybe there's a better cleanser. 
