One of our favorite K-beauty bloggers, Fifty Shades of Snail, wrote us a sweet birthday letter in the form of a blog post! Read on as Fiddy waxes poetic about Blossom Jeju, LJH, and Glow Recipe-ness. Thank you Fiddy, we <3 you!
Man. A lot can happen in a year, can’t it?
It’s only been a year since Glow Recipe first opened its virtual doors to the growing global mob of K-beauty consumers, but Sarah and Christine have already established their store as one of the most interesting and unique K-beauty shops around, and one of my favorites to watch. There’s just something about Glow Recipe that holds my attention. After Christine approached me about writing for the Glow Recipe blog, I started trying to figure out why. And I think I’ve found their secret.
It’s not about all the press they get from magazines like InStyle and Elle (though that really is impressive for what is, essentially, a small start-up business, and by the way, woohoo for Asian-American women entrepreneurs!). And it’s not about the (adorable) handwritten, personal thank-you notes that come with every order, or the classy-AF presentation, or even the cheerful, engaging Glow Recipe social media presence. Lots of other shops have all those things but don’t have the magic, at least not for me. Glow Recipe has the magic. Let me explain why.
If you look at the ever-changing list of products in my huge skincare wardrobe, you might think I’ll use just about anything on my face. Actually, it’s the opposite. I’m a fussy, picky, often unreasonably exacting skincare consumer. This is because I don’t accept skincare as a chore. Beauty is ornament, not infrastructure. The things we do for beauty should be things we want to do, things that bring us joy. For that reason, I gravitate towards products with superior functionality and form and an intangible narrative power—products that elevate my daily skincare routine into a beautiful ritual.
Curating excellent skincare products that also communicate a narrative of beauty is something Glow Recipe does extremely well. They don’t sell budget brands and road shop staples. Instead, they carry things like the Blossom Jeju line. I am so in love with the Blossom Jeju line.
Not just because of Blossom Jeju’s incredible blends of botanical extracts and oils, though those are there. Not just because the products are great, even though they are (the Camellia Soombi Essence Oil recently helped save my skin from a violent eczema flare-up). Not even because of the line’s enchanting “jasmine blossoms by moonlight” fragrance. Nope, I fell hard and fast because the line brings all those things together perfectly in a way that makes me feel beautiful every time I open a bottle and put its contents on my face.
The products do work. They produce visible improvements to my skin. Just as importantly, though, they have emotional value. These aren’t basic, clinical skincare products that you swipe on and put away. The bottles are ornately lovely objects that make me happy whenever I see them or touch them. The fragrance lifts my mood whenever I smell it on my face. These are extravagant products, special things, not cheap and cutesy K-beauty novelties. I’m not the only one who feels this way, either. Tracy at Fanserviced is a pretty big fan.
Of course, not every skincare line can be a Blossom Jeju. Not everything in my skincare routine is a thing of beauty. The thing is that for me, if a product isn’t beautiful, if it’s a bit more clinical or practical, then its effects had better be spectacular right off the bat, before I get bored of using it. Like I said, I don’t accept skincare as a chore. If the aesthetics of the product don’t bring me joy, then the results have to, or I’m going to drop it faster than you can say Beauty Product Policewoman’s Preference. Luckily, Glow Recipe also has the products that give those immediately spectacular results. Like Leejiham’s Vita Propolis line.
I could seriously spend another seven hundred words raving about LJH, especially the Vita Propolis Ampoule. That was the product that made me fall in love with GR in the first place. Christine seemed to know I would love it, and I did, from the very first time I put it on my face. You know how Glow Recipe’s whole thing is giving skin That Glow? LJH’s Vita Propolis Ampoule gives me That Glow, no matter what I mix it into. The Vita Propolis Cream gives me That Glow as well. Powerful stuff.
Blossom Jeju and LJH are perfect examples of why I keep an eye on Glow Recipe even though I don’t shop with them as much as I’d like to. (Which, in case you’re wondering, is because I, uh, don’t make as much money as I’d like to. GR is not for the faint of wallet.) And Blossom Jeju and LJH are perfect examples, in my opinion, of why Glow Recipe is so deserving of their year of sudden fame and features.
Happy birthday, Glow Recipe!
You’re beautiful and Fiddy luhhh you <3
Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.
RELATED
2 Comments
Pingback: The Fiddy’s Choice Awards, Part 1: My Favorite K-Beauty Products of 2015 | Fifty Shades of Snail
Reblogged this on Fifty Shades of Snail and commented: "I don’t accept skincare as a chore. If the aesthetics of the product don’t bring me joy, then the results have to, or I’m going to drop it faster than you can say Beauty Product Policewoman’s Preference." Why I love Glow Recipe, written to celebrate their first birthday.