A lot has happened since my last passport photo. Baby. House remodel. LOST ended. Lots of tennis. Divorce. In love. Out of love. Pneumonia. Trump elected. In love again. More tennis.
The cool thing about aging is that it means you didn’t die. The bad thing about aging is that the things that didn’t kill you made you stronger* while they also messed with your face.
Let’s Do That Skin Care
I was born in 1973. Mom and Dad brought me home from the hospital in a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle. When I flip through Allure magazine, and the editors give skincare advice for your age group, I have to look at the recs for gals in their 20s 30s 40s. Eight hours of sleep, SPF, and water ain’t cutting it anymore.
Potions and serums and hyaluronic acid are great, but I’m not so hopeful/deluded to think that my deeper wrinkles and eye bags can be fixed without the intervention of Big Pharma. I have had Botox on my forehead and Restlayn filler on my eyes. I am Team Needle.
So the next step for me is mitigating my finer lines and improving the texture of my skin. Note I say mitigate. The best attitude for skincare is knowing you are fighting a losing battle. None of us are Jane Fonda. Not even Jane Fonda.
Trust the Koreans
If you do enough research or simply listen to Nicole Cliffe, you will learn that the Koreans know their skincare. Sephora has an entire section devoted to-K Beauty, and with the 2018 Winter Games going in PyeonChang, I was seeing enough Olympics-for-Your-Face articles to pique my interest. I wanted IN.
I went with K-beauty cult favorite Hanacure because I love a good gimmick. Hanacure is Instagram famous, with users posting pics of the #HanacureEffect, and their marketing has just enough science-y language to counteract the hippie-dippy.
Inspired by the lotus flower, blossoming anew each dawn, skin is reborn with Hanacure. Discover our multi-action treatment mask with the power to dramatically transform the appearance of your skin. Equipped with patented CO2 OctoLift™ from South Korea, The All-In-One Facial is designed to fight the most common skin concerns with innovative age-defying technology. By removing impurities, the skin is reinvigorated to look more firm and lifted, smoother and evenly toned, for a visibly younger appearance. See your skin bloom with a radiantly youthful glow.
According to the Seoul-based company, the benefits are:
– Anti-aging
– Clarifying
– Detoxifying
– Lifting & Firming
– Brightening
– Pore Tightening
– Evens Skin Tone
– Contouring
The Hanacure Effect Is Real
Hanacure calls itself an All-In-One-Facial. You take the little serum bottle and mix it with the lotion. Activation! Then you spread it on your face with the sleek brush and wait for the Hanacure Effect to begin. As the mask dries, it tightens and you can intensify the feeling by fanning our face. Oh boy, does it tighten! The drying pulled my mouth open, and I looked like Sally Hawkins with her gaping maw running through the streets of Bath. The mask also darkened, and as my skin contracted, I got a glimpse of myself at age 97. I am going to run that nursing home!
I made my boyfriend do it with me for the lulz. What’s the fun in looking like an old lady if you can’t point and laugh at your old man?
The mask washes off easily, and I kept touching Dave’s forehead, which was now super soft. I bought the “Hanacure Set,” which has four masks, so a week later, I did it again, this time with my daughter. Ruby is age nine, and the mask had very little effect on her because her skin is already the ideal. But she gave the “weird feeling” a giant thumbs up.
Pros: Hanacure made my skin buttery soft, which is enough to convince me that its slaking off the dead old garbage. So thumbs up on improving the texture of my skin.
And it’s fun! Dave and I watched Get Out while doing it, which added an absurd layer to our yelling at the TV.
Cons: It ain’t cheap. The “Set” has 4 masks, but at $110, that’s $27.50 per mask. I don’t do facials, but this could be a great cost savings if you have regular appointments with your aesthetician .
Verdict: I am going to give Hanacure another go, this time keeping all the masks to myself. I am willing to give it a proper month to see it reduces my fine lines and brightens my face.
Have you jumped on the K-Beauty bandwagon?
Hanacure found here on Amazon (where it’s in stock *currently out of stock at their website!*)
