Welcome to Where Bloggers Live: 2025! Happy New Year! “Where Bloggers Live” started out kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…with bloggers! We all like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes, interests, and lives, so every month this wonderful group of seven bloggers family of amazing women shares their work-spaces, homes, towns, and thoughts, with posts based on specific prompts. It’s been so interesting over the years to see the different ways each of us interpret the topics.

Oh boy. This one’s gonna be a doozy. This month’s theme is Makeup/Beauty/Skincare.

Uhm. I don’t really…do that.

I brought makeup to Korea with me, and I think I used mascara once. Which makes it extra ironic that I’ve lived in Korea, the world capital for skin care and beauty, for two years and have still not adopted a skincare routine.

I stopped wearing daily makeup around 2018 or 2019. Not because I’d given up on myself, but because I’d stopped caring what anyone else thought. I’d put on a little something for outfit photos because yeah, it helps on camera. But in real life? Nope.

Even when I did wear makeup, I’m such a face-sweater it would all melt off in minutes. Just a total waste of time and money.

Credit: https://beautytap.com/2017/07/dos-donts-of-korean-makeup

That said, Korean makeup is lovely. So natural and subtle. Most of the time you can barely tell it’s there, but it still works its magic…highlighting, softening, balancing. I’ve even considered going in for a Korean makeup makeover and lesson. Maybe. We’ll see.

Now when I see Americans or other non-Koreans on TV, I’m like whoa, makeup! Like the whole point is to make sure you see it.

As for skincare, sure, I’ve tried products over the years. We all want to believe the promises on the label. But honestly? Most of them never feel all that different to me. Not enough to justify the cost or effort.

I did buy face masks to take to the US as gifts when I went back in March…

The one thing I do do (I said doo doo) is moisturize. I might wash my face with dish soap (true story), but I will always moisturize afterward. Immediately, while my skin is still damp.

I’m very particular about moisturizers. They must be light, water-based, and absolutely cannot contain sunscreen. I understand why they add it, but for me it’s like Saran Wrap—instant heat flash, pores blocked, full sweat meltdown. Let me decide when and where to use sunscreen, thank you.

My moisturizing journey started with the original Oil of Olay, stolen in drops from my mother’s vanity in the ’70s.

Mother: Did you use my Oil of Olay?
Me: No.

That lasted me for years, until they changed the formula. I blame the advent of sunscreen.

After suffering through a disappointing (and costly!) series of thick, greasy, pore-blocking imposters, my niece recommended Avalon Organics CoQ10 moisturizer. It was a bit pricier, but worth it. Light, effective, and with a lemon-vanilla scent that reminded me of homemade ice cream my aunt and uncle used to make every summer in their hand-cranked wooden bucket ice cream maker. Sadly, eventually they too jumped on the sunscreen wagon. I bought old stock off eBay for a while, but eventually it disappeared.

Then came another cycle of wasting money on disappointing products that contained (#HowManyTimesCanISaySunscreen) sunscreen, until I discovered Trader Joe’s Nourish Oil-Free Antioxidant Facial Moisturizer. It’s light, oil- and sunscreen-free, reasonably priced, and easy to find (in the US). I’ve been using it for at least five years, and unless they ruin it, it’ll go to the grave with me. I brought two bottles to Korea in 2023 and just restocked in March when I was in the US.

Did you think anyone could write seven paragraphs about moisturizer? Surprise!

And since I’ve got nothing to say about “beauty” (other than it being in the eye of the beholder) here’s a quick body moisturizer tip that I have used since my teens:

Baby oil. The cheapest kind you can find. Keep it in the shower with the shampoo and conditioner. After your shower, while you’re still wet, wrap your hair up in a towel turban, then drizzle baby oil over your body…arms, legs, everywhere (except under your boobs, no extra moisture needed there). Lightly swipe it on, give it a couple minutes (brush your teeth, blow your nose, squeegee the shower door, do Keigels, whatever), then towel off. You won’t wipe it all away, it’ll have sunk in just enough to keep you moisturized all day. Fast and cheap.

Want to feel fancy? Pour the baby oil into a resealable bottle, spritz a couple spritzes of your favorite perfume into it (just a little), use as above, and enjoy longer-lasting scent on your skin and your towels. And no, it won’t ruin your towels.  You’re welcome.

And I can’t talk about skincare without mentioning that South Korea is the skincare capital of the world. Koreans really do have stunning skin. That “glass skin” look..smooth, poreless perfection. They market products to help you get it, but honestly, I think they’re just born that way. Decades of sun avoidance, umbrellas, visors, hats, masks, sunscreen every day. I think that’s what keeps their skin so beautiful.

You’ve probably heard of the 10-step Korean skincare routine: double cleanse (oil + water-based), exfoliate, toner, essence, serum, sheet mask, eye cream, moisturizer, click your heels three times and clap your hands. And sunscreen, of course. Every single day. That’s…a lot. Of steps. Of products. Of money. Pass.

In conclusion: I may look ugly…but at least it was cheap to look this way 🙂

Take a look at my friends’ blogs as well, to see why they’re so beautiful…inside and out…

Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Em at Dust and Doghair
Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Leslie at Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After
Sally at Within a World of My Own

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