The usual suspects

In this post:

Avoiding shipping 'sticker shock'

Cushion problems solved

DIY sheet masks are the new hotness

Get a perfect sheet mask fit with little effort

Mists are more useful than you'd think

enabling

1. Estimate your shipping costs before you buy

Left: shipping cost table, Right: rough estimates of product weights by type, both from KoreaDepart

2. Keep your cushion mirror smudge-free with a cotton facial pad

Click here for my review of the Missha Special Edition Magic Cushion Case

Look ma, no smudges!

3. DIY Sheet Masks - Do's and Don'ts

This should be easy, right?

Do: Use up unwanted toners, essences, and serums- anything that isn't bad but that didn't wow you. Liberally soak the DIY mask (of any type) in product, which has the win-win of using it up, and also not feeling guilty about how much is being wasted, which brings us to:

Don't: Use your precious/expensive essences, serums, and toners for this. It takes one dropper of LJH Tea Tree Essence (I'm addicted to this thanks to fanserviced's review) to apply all over my face, but it takes ... a lot to saturate a mask. Even the cotton squares took 4+ dropperfuls! No thank you. Add a drop or two to the cheap/unwanted stuff if you must, but what benefit will you really get from it being that diluted?

Do: Soak the cotton squares and undereye patch types in leftover sheet mask essence- just stick it into the bottom of the pouch overnight, and in the morning, you have a spot patch mask!

Don't: Try to saturate a full-face mask, either compressed or regular, in leftover sheet mask essence because it's not going to be enough, or it takes longer than 24 hours to get really moistened. You would have to save up several masks' worth of leftovers (ew) or leave it soaking for a few days (ew.)

The smaller size spot patches, though, are perfect for soaking up leftover essence in just one night:

After the night's sheet mask, I tucked these squares into the leftover essence at the bottom of the pouch, and folded down/sealed the end.

Do: Use the spot patches in the morning/while you are putting on makeup; doing a full mask in the AM takes too much time for most people. However, you can multitask with spot patches- put undereye patches on while brushing your teeth, picking out clothes, doing your hair, etc, so your eyes are smooth and hydrated before makeup. Put them on your dry areas (cheeks, chin, wherever) while you are doing your eye makeup to prevent dry flakes before you put on your base makeup.

4. Customize the fit of your sheet mask

You don't need pretty scissors, but it's good to have a pair just for this for hygiene reasons.

I make a horizontal cut that reaches to the already-existing gap under the nose.

This is also useful if you need to talk, or eat, and don't fit a Daiso silicone mask.

5. Decant products into mist bottles

Recycling and repurposing for the win!

And here's two bonus tips!

Bonus #1: Spray your cushion puff with a mist

Mists, cushions, and sunscreens, so happy together.

Bonus #2: Use your cushion puff to apply other products

**Disclaimer: All products mentioned are 100% purchased with my own money and my opinions are entirely my own, with the exception of the Sunkiller Baby Milk Sunscreen which was a Christmas gift.

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I'm gearing up for a major post that will take a few weeks of hard research, so here's a fun little list of things I do on the regular and thought I'd share while I work on some in-depth projects in the background!The best part is that everything is either readily available (including from Amazon), repurposing what you already have, or just using things differently.Also includes two bonus tips for even more cushionusefulness.This is especially important if you are considering using a buying service like) or if you're shopping somewhere that only has 'estimated' shipping weights and will refund you back the excess once you item ships, likeMany people have contacted me in distress over the shipping costs Avecko is charging them for a small amount of products, not realizing that packages can start at almostFind the shipping tables for a vendor if available, and if not use a site like KoreaDepart to see what they have listed for the weight of the product + use theirof costs:KoreaDepart has this cool little chart if you click on '' which tells you what the approximate weight of products could be depending on their size and the material of their package, i.e. glass vs plastic. Not a solid number, but it's a start!I had planned to make a spreadsheet to help with estimating costs but it really needs its own post, so onward!I found the inner mirror of my cushion cases pick up oil and product from the top of my cushion puff; I have no idea if it's just that the case presses down too hard on the puff or what, but I've talked to other cushion users and they have the same issue. (Hey, at least I know I'm not unusually grimy?)Even with regular puff cleanings, after a day's worth of use, the mirror inside your case looks like this:While experimenting with a few options to keep my mirror smudge-free without adding too much bulk or making things awkward to use, I discovered that theI use for cleansing water and makeup remover fitBlam! Simple, cheap solution using readily-available supplies most of us already have in our bathrooms. They're the perfect size and shape, very clean, easily swapped out, do the job, don't scuff the mirror, and are even handy for emergency use while you're out and about.You may have heard of this trick; using DIY sheet masks such as the ones pictured below, and then using your own serums/essences or leftover essence from sheet masks to soak one of theseAs you can see, there are a lot of options for DIY sheet masks; clockwise from bottom left are:that expand when wet,, two kinds of thinthat can be used like facial pads or for spot-area sheet masks, and lastly even a. Also pictured: precious serums/essences that I like on the left, things I dislike and am trying to get rid of on the right.To be honest, I am not a fan of the full-face DIY masks, but I have grown tothe spot-area DIY ones. Here's my trial-and-error tips:Then you can use them the next morning, which is my next tip:I have serious pores/sebaceous filament (SFs) problems living in the desert, but I have discovered that doing nose masks (not strips, just sheet masks on your nose) not only minimizes the appears of pores, it helps my SFs slide right out with gentle rubbing. Score!This was a game-changer for me. As I mentioned in my, I had an epiphany about the struggle to get a good fit; now I cut all my sheet masks in the same shape as hydrogels, and everything fits perfectly!You can also fuss around with folding and crimping and tugging and other annoying methods that make me cuss a lot, or you can just make a few snips and get a smooth-fitting mask,.There are two types of cuts I do, depending whether the mask already has slits cut into it.One is straight across to the nose gap, exactly like a hydrogel:I find this works well with every type of mask, whether it has existing cuts in already, like this one does, or not.The second type is where I take existing slits and then just extend them to meet the gap under the nose:The second type is usually what I do because I am lazy or I need to be able to move my mouth (I sometimes sheet mask at work while on conference calls- perks of working at home), but I find I get an ideal fit with the first type.Play around with it and see what type works best for you!Conventional K-Beauty wisdom says your skin starts to dry out within 30 seconds of rinsing, so it's important to get your first products on ASAP. This is why products like the Holika Holika '3 Second Starter' exist (which was terrible, I might add), so that things can be applied while your skin is still damp. You know what's a fast, even, light application method? Mists.I have a routine that heavily features acids (you can read more) which are pH-dependent, so I use a pH-adjusting toner right after rinsing so the desert air can't suck the moisture out of my skin. I have decanted it into an empty LJH Tea Tree Mist bottle, and can just mist my face right after patting my face dry after cleaning and it will adjust + keep my skin hydrated while I fumble around with my next product:At left, Mizon AHA/BHA Daily Clean Toner, decanted into the empty LJH mist bottle, and at right: Cosrx Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol, decanted into an empty Cosrx AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner bottle. (The Mizon toner is hard to find, so I looked for a way to evenly apply it to my whole face but use very little product- too much was being soaked up by my hands or a cotton pad. The mist is perfect; it goes on super fast, is very even, and uses barely any product at all. I also tend to knock things over when I'm not wearing my glasses.The Cosrx A-Sol decant I keep at my side table to avoid a trip back to the bathroom during my PM routine active wait times; I don't even have to worry about washing my hands, since I'm not touching my face. I just grab the mist, spritz it on troubled areas, and carry on.Want a DIY blend of essence + serum + ampoule to shorten your steps? Pop it in a mist bottle for easy reach/quick application; heck leave them all over the house- I do.If you have a, it has applications beyond just applying the product it came with.You can mist your cushion puff and then pat it on your face to re-hydrate your skin without disturbing your makeup too much (your mist spray may just settle on the surface and react strangely with your makeup) or to hydrate the skin before you apply/reapply.However, I prefer to mist my cushion puff before I pick up the product, because I find a damp puff applies product even more naturally than a dry one, sort of like a damp beauty blender sponge vs a dry makeup sponge.Like the beauty blender, the rubycell cushion puff has some amazing application properties, and many Asian product fans use the puffs for applying BB cream, CC cream, foundation, sunscreen, even moisturizer. It gives an even, smooth coverage and the gentle patting motion blends in the product without overworking the skin.This is especially great for physical-only sunscreens, because they are a pain to apply and blend in my experience (hello dry flake, I didn't even know you were there?) and their white cast is intense without good blending.And that's it! Have some K-Beauty hacks that you swear by? Leave me a comment below, or shoot me a message on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!All the best,-Cat