Expensive beauty haul trips to South Korea and scouring the internet for overpriced Korean beauty products will be a thing of the past for Singaporeans, as popular Korean beauty brands; Aprilskin and Medicube, take center stage in Guardian stores island-wide with its respective whimsical unicorn hues and professional white-washed packaging. Internationally acclaimed for its overall effectiveness in bestowing youthful, dewy and radiant complexions for all skin types, quality Korean beauty products have been earnestly coveted in Singapore, with many ladies taking to the net and procuring them at severely marked up prices or begging their friends to purchase some products on their behalves when they fly to Korea. It has been a long time coming, but Aprilskin and Medicube, two of Korea's most acclaimed beauty brands, have been brought to Singapore shores exclusively by Guardian, saving you the hassle of hunting down these crazily sought-after products online or during your travels in South Korea. Singapore is the first international destination for Aprilskin and Medicube to be sold offline out of South Korea. Aprilskin
Aprilskin was conceived in Seoul just three short years ago, but in that little time in the congested Korean beauty market, its nature-based products have built up a loyal cult following made up of students, working professionals, makeup stylists and beauty gurus. Through word-of-mouth that spread like wildfire online, Aprilskin gained international fame with its tried-and-true products. Its rapid rise to stardom can only be attributed towards the brand's earnest desire to create skincare, makeup and hair products with pure ingredients derived from Mother Nature, as opposed to other beauty brands that use harsh chemicals and unnatural components in its products. Magic Snow Sun Stick, $25 18 grams
Twist this handy dandy solid stick sunscreen out of its pretty pink tube and apply it in an outward direction from the center of your clean and moisturized face. Unlike other sunscreens that leave a pasty white pallor and a sticky residue on the skin, the Magic Snow Sun Stick coats your face with an invisible and velvety smooth film that wards off UV rays all day. Its portable nature makes it convenient for users to carry it on their persons for touching up over makeup whenever necessary. The roll-on stick features centella asiatica extract, aloe vera leaf extract, camellia sinensis leaf extract, and portulaca oleracea extract so that it mildly moisturizes and nourishes the skin too while deflecting harmful UV rays. Signature Soap Original, $20 90 grams
Reviews from bloggers and YouTubers raving about Aprilskin's “Signature Soap” went viral, with 2 million units of the soap flying off the shelves. Made up of 100% natural oils, devoid of harmful chemicals like parabens, preservatives or artificial colors, the solid facial soap promises an immediate transformation of the skin upon the first use. Olive oil, shea butter, coconut oil, grape seed oil, sunflower oil, charcoal powder, lavender oil and tourmaline that go into the creation of the soap help in nourishing and hydrating dark skin, deep-cleansing, and removing heavy makeup. The soap bar resembles a lustrous slab of grey marble, and has a very subtle herbal scent. The soap lathers up with ease with just a few drops of water thanks to the use of rice extracts. The rich foam is abundant with nano particles which aids in deep cleansing so it is best to leave the foam on your face for about 30 seconds for your skin to thoroughly absorb the active components, while makeup washes off easily with gentle massaging. After patting your face dry with a towel, you may find that your skin is as smooth as a baby's bottom and slightly more radiant. Perfect Magic Snow Cream, $40 70 ml
This elixir works like magic and instantaneously whitens and brightens skin tone. With the key ingredient of Himalaya glacier milk – crystal-clear water that contains ionized minerals like calcium, magnesium, zinc, potassium and sodium, it corrects uneven skin tone and reduce redness from acne and other various skin ailments with its natural and fast absorbing ingredient chock-full of vitamins and minerals. The product comes in a snowy white tube simply adorned with a holographic border that reflects the different colors of the rainbow when it catches the light. Besides using it daily as a facial essence, the cream can be applied to pimples, blemishes or other dark spots/marks anyway on the body to transform the unsightly shade of it too. The cream is light and thin in consistency, with a high absorption rate. The skin feels soft and hydrated without any sticky or oily texture, and radiates with a subtle glow. The result is a soft, dewy, milky and snowy complexion that will make even princesses swoon with envy. Mummy Mud Mask, $29 21 grams (1 sheet)
The Mummy Mud Mask stays true to its namesake as it dries on the skin and solidifies like the gauze that encapsulates an Egyptian mummy. The packet contains two pieces to be applied on the upper and lower part of the face. The two pieces are safely encased in a plastic pouch within the packet, and the mask is sandwiched by two protective layers of plastic film. Start with the top portion and peel the transparent plastic film off, apply it to the top half of your face and remove the outer white film, then repeat for the lower half of your face. The mask has a gentle earthy fragrance that will bring to mind the air on a cool desert night. Made up of Hawaiian clay, green tea extract, calendula flower extract and kaolin, the mud mask tightens and firms the skin as the mud dries while detoxifying the pores of impurities and constricting them. Dead skin cells are cleared from the face when it's peeled off. It is like pampering your face with a mud bath and allowing rich minerals to seep into the skin and re nourish it with vitamins. Facial skin will feel supple, velvety and bouncy after the lingering mud has been washed off. Magic Snow Pad, $40 20 sheets (7 grams each)
Shedding dead skin cells is fun with Aprilskin's Magic Snow Pad which provides an entirely different experience of exfoliating. Each packet consists of a double sided non-irritating exfoliating pad that gently exfoliates dead skin cells on the white cotton pad side and wipes off dead skin cells and skin waste with the blue microfibre pad side. First start off by softly rubbing the white cotton pad all over a dry face (or areas where you want to target the dead skin) for a couple of seconds, followed up by switching to its flip side with the sky blue surface to wipe off all the dead skin fragments that have collected on the face. The one-time use exfoliating pad is imbued with lactobacillus/milk ferment filtrate, cellulose, centella asiatic extract and an eclectic mix of botanical ingredients. This pad suits all skin types and promises to gently exfoliate and remove dead skin cells, control sebum, brighten skin tone, remove makeup, and nourish and hydrate for smoother skin. Medicube
Medicube is a new and innovative derma-cosmetic skincare brand founded in July 2016 in Seoul, Korea. Despite being in the competitive beauty market for only a year, Medicube is widely trusted as an effective solution for troubled and sensitive skin, thanks to the extensive effort put into skincare research alongside dermatologists for clinically-proven results. Medicube offers consumers suffering from sensitive skin or other problematic skin ailments with “friendly-derma” and gentle hypoallergic skin solutions ideal for daily use. Red Serum, $52 30 ml
This non-irritating and soothing serum relieves acne-prone skin. Comprising of ovalicin, natural preservatives, tea tree oil and 19 other botanical extracts and oils, the Red Serum is clinically tested for sensitive skin. After the use of a toner on cleansed skin, pump out a small amount of serum directly onto your face and pat it on for it to be thoroughly absorbed into the skin. The serum has a translucent bluish tint that comes out light and watery. The serum applies thinly without the heavy and syrupy consistency that may leave your face feeling sticky and caked in goo like other serums out there in the market. The serum balances sebum production, removes skin waste, and prevents skin dehydration. It also works great as a makeup base, ensuring that your makeup stays dewy fresh and keeping your skin hydrated and non-oily, while the bluish tint slightly eliminates redness. Red Foam Cleanser, $27 120 ml
Salicylic acid incorporated in the Red Foam Cleanser helps to mildly remove makeup and skin waste clogging the pores on sensitive and troubled skin. The tube is huge and contains a lot of product. The product comes out as a thick paste and a pea sized dollop of the paste is enough to work up a good rich lather, so just one tube may be enough to last you for many months. Gently lather the product up with a few drops on water on your palms for soft and fine foam bubbles to form, then apply to face using circular motions to remove skin waste, makeup and dead skin cells. Thoroughly rinse with cool clean water and pat dry. Your skin will feel clean and refreshed without stripping it of moisture. Long term use can even help alleviate stubborn cystic acne.
Red Body Bar, $24 100 grams
This olive green soap bar is targeted towards individuals with body skin concerns like back acne. Tea tree oil, red bean, basil, avocado oil, macadamia nut oil and shea butter housed within the Red Body Bar helps to gently remove skin waste, soothes and relieves stressed skin, cleanses, and controls sebum from the neck down. The soap has a malty and comforting oatmeal scent. Rub the bar with water to create foam and spread the foam thoroughly on your body before rinsing it off with water. Many users of this product swear by it, with majority reporting that they see an immediate improvement in their back acne just a day after using it for the first time – acne reduced in size and the redness from the inflammation taken down a notch. Most reviewers state that within three weeks or lesser, the acne is completely cleared from their backs, and pimple scars are not as visible anymore!
Zero Pore Pad, $35 155 grams
Cotton pads are already pre-soaked in toner inside the Zero Pore Pad’s jar, which makes application hassle-free and convenient especially when traveling. The toner is formulated with salicylic acid, betaine salicylate, anti sebum p, natural protector, AHA fruits complex, centella asiatica extract and betaine. After your face is properly cleansed, take a pad from the jar and gently wipe in an outward direction from the center of your face, avoiding the eyes and mouth. Flip it over to the other side to gently wipe your face once more, and then lightly pat your face to absorb any excess toner. The Zero Pore Pad aids in cleansing skin waste, sooth and moisturizing skin, and shrinking visible pores so that you can achieve that flawless porcelain doll complexion. The pads are saturated with toner, with a pool of the specially formulated liquid sloshing around at the bottom of the jar for good measure. After you have finished using all the pads from the jar, you can even soak your own cotton pads in the remaining liquid, just make sure to use sturdy cotton pads so that they don’t break off in chunks when you take them out!
Aprilskin and Medicube products are exclusively available for purchase only at Guardian Jurong Point starting 31 October 2017, but will soon be available in more than 20 Guardian stores in Singapore by the end of this year.
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