Latest news with #HaeinJung
Buzz Feed
21-03-2025
- Health
- Buzz Feed
After My Acne Flared Up On Vacation, A French Pharmacist Helped Clear Up My Skin With These Two Products
Hi! I'm Haein — and last summer, I crossed off a very special to-do off my bucket list. I traipsed around parts of Europe for two weeks and cheered on my home country of South Korea and the U.S. at the Paris Olympics. Tap to play GIF I explored... And of course, I didn't sleep much. On top of all that, I ended up adopting a pretty laissez-faire approach when it came to my skincare. Well, fair to say, it all caught up with me by the last leg of my trip. I sprouted whiteheads across my forehead and cystic-like bumps on my cheeks. I had been pretty lucky on the acne front ever since my teenage years. While I experience hormonal flare-ups from time to time, acne hasn't really been my area of concern. (My focus has been — and will probably always be — on moisturizing.) Fortunately, the last leg of my trip was Paris — and if you're a beauty enthusiast, you know what they say about Paris pharmacies. They're amazing! They're like mini drugstores that sell prescription medication to personal care items, and stocked with a wide range of health and beauty products. If you think Koreans know skincare, I have to say: I also think the French know something about it as well. Much like their famous fashion sense — clean, effortless, and elevated — their approach to beauty is quite similar. There's a refined simplicity to it — a ✨ je ne sais quoi ✨ — in the way that it's minimal, functional, and even quite clinical. I had big plans to be like a kid in a candy store at the pharmacy, regardless of my skin troubles, but when I experienced the breakouts, I had a mission in place. So when I stopped by the pharmacy in desperate need of help, I asked a French pharmacist about products that could help me — and they absolutely delivered. The pharmacist recommended me two products from a French brand I recognized but never used before. They were: Caudalie's Vinopure Salicylic Pore Minimizing Serum and Vinopure Oil-Control Moisturizer for Acne-Prone Skin. For background, Caudalie's Vinopure line specifically targets " acne-prone skin, oil and pores," which aligned with my skin concerns that needed troubleshooting. The serum's key ingredient contains salicylic acid, a compound that's known to fight acne. It's an exfoliant and an acid that penetrates deeply into the skin and breaks down skin cells for exfoliation and unclogs pores. It also helps refine skin texture and help fade dark spots. The serum had a lightweight almost watery, gel-like consistency and soaked into the skin relatively quickly. It also had this subtle cooling effect that I liked and found quite soothing. Haein Jung / BuzzFeed The moisturizer's key ingredients are made up of grape seed polyphenols, silica powder and java tea extract, and Mediterranean olive squalene. Haein Jung / BuzzFeed Normally, I would avoid products with the word "mattifying" in them since as a dry-skin girly, I've always geared towards promises of hydration. I was more than pleasantly surprised to find that while this was mattifying, it was also plenty hydrating. The texture was light and almost gel-like. It didn't feel heavy on my skin, and yet I glistened. It left me with the pleasant silky texture of a balloon. I started the regimen when I got back home. I layered on the serum and moisturizer (along with La Roche-Posay Cicaplast B5 Spray as a toner) twice a day. I was mind blown when within two weeks, my skin started clearing up. My dark spots were fading, and the flare-ups stopped. I was stunned by how the dark spots were fading so quickly — and I swear, my pores were smaller! Haein Jung / BuzzFeed Here is a more detailed progression — the left is maybe after a week in, the middle is a few days after, and the photo on the right is at the end of the two-week mark. The larger inflamed pimples have settled and nearly faded, and while I did have some lingering dark spots, they were fading away day by day. Overall, I felt like my skin was resetting. Haein Jung / BuzzFeed After my skin healed, I continued to use it for about a month then took a break since the weather started to cool and get dry. To roughly quote Lucille Bluth, I couldn't spare the moisture. I would imagine those with normal/oily/combination skin will fare even better with these products. Haein Jung / BuzzFeed But I will vouch: I turn to these two products when my skin acts up, and I'm so glad I took up on the pharmacist's recommendation. I really had no expectations, but I'm so glad I tried. I've used them on and off since when my skin goes through flare-ups. I eventually finished the first set I bought in Paris and have since repurchased them at Sephora back home the States. (I've also cried a little about the price difference — and reminisced about my time abroad. 🥲) Haein Jung / BuzzFeed
Buzz Feed
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
I Made Bethenny Frankel's 'Magic" Bagels — And I Can See Why She's So Obsessed With Them
Bravo fan over here, and a Real Housewives stan. I'm also on TikTok (for now?) So, naturally, the algorithm sent Bethenny Frankel my way — and I have to say, I'm thankful because this space is pretty informative and entertaining. Like, the B put me on to one of my favorite at-home iced latte recipes. A quick PSA for Nescafé Ice Roast — it melts like a dream in cold drinks, like sorcery. And the Califia Lavender Creamer? Lightly floral with full luscious lavender notes, it's divine, and I will go out of my way to order through a delivery service because it's always sold out in grocery stores. So, I've been watching her content since, and recently, Bethenny shared a series of videos rhapsodizing about these bagels she made, and they looked good. Like, really good. They had this golden crunchy crust on top and bottom of the bagels. And interestingly, more than half of it was made up of dairy. Cottage cheese, in fact. Yup. If you've been on a gains journey or who keep up with food trends, you know cottage cheese and cottage cheese bread recipes have been a thing as of late. Bethenny's recipe amps it up a notch with the ratio (normally 1:1) and intensifies the cottage cheese amount. The bagels looked stunning, and Bethenny's enthusiasm further piqued my curiosity. I had to give this recipe a try. Note: Bethenny has been, and still is (?), workshopping variations of these bagels, so we'll test two versions that she shared so far today. Here's how they turned out! Here's what I used for the first batch: Haein Jung Ingredients: - 1 1/4 cup of (whipped) cottage cheese - 1 cup of all-purpose flour - 1 1/2 TSP of baking powder - 1 egg (for an egg wash) - A sprinkle of coarse salt (I used kosher!) - A dash of everything bagel seasoning Tools: - A sheet pan - A blender - A bench scraper — or a rubber spatula works pretty great, too. - A large mixing bowl - A small bowl for the egg wash (and a brush if you have one — I used a fork and clean fingers.) - Parchment paper First, I preheated the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. An important note: The sheet pan needs to be left in the oven, per Bethenny, as this ensures the crispy bottoms of the bagels. Then, I moved on to blending the cottage cheese and scraping it into a large mixing bowl. Tap to play GIF Haein Jung It was very satisfying seeing the cottage cheese end up so silky smooth. It took about a minute of blending to get it to this consistency. I then added 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder. I mixed everything together in the bowl since it was all already in there, but Bethenny prefers to mix on a flat surface. The dough mix was very sticky and this is where the rubber spatula came in handy. I forgoed the scraper. I then quartered them in the bowl and dropped them onto the parchment paper. If you need help molding, you can add light touches of flour to help it take shape. Next, I poked a hole through the bagels and followed it up with an egg wash. Truthfully, I ended up using my fingers instead of the fork. The fork picked up too much product. Side note: courtesy of Google AI, if you don't have a brush, it suggests a corner of a wet paper towel or a leafy vegetable, like lettuce or cabbage. Lol. Google Now for the fun part: Giving these bagels a sprinkle of kosher salt and everything bagel seasoning. Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF Haein Jung Then, finally, they went into the oven for 25 minutes (or, for my oven, close to 35 minutes.) Haein Jung The results? Look at how plush and springy they were! Tap to play GIF Haein Jung They're gorgeous! Honest thoughts: I found them delightful! My only qualm was that even with the extra oven time, the insides of the bagels were a bit gummy, even after letting them rest for 15 minutes and toasting them. It made me wonder if this could just be the nature of cottage cheese bagels. Still, I can't knock too many points off because the outside was crispy — and most importantly, I found them to be tasty and a pretty effective bagel alternative! I can't say they're 100% bagel — maybe sort of like an English muffin meets bagel variety, but they definitely fulfill a bagel craving. Haein Jung The macros for these bagels were also pretty great, averaging about 150 calories and 11g of protein! Now, onto the second batch! Haein Jung Instead of all cottage cheese, this recipe called for half cottage cheese and half Greek yogurt, plus no blending involved. Ingredients: - 1/2 cup of cottage cheese - 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt - 1 cup of all-purpose flour - 2 TSP of baking powder - 1 egg (for an egg wash) - A sprinkle of coarse salt (I used kosher!) - A dash of everything bagel seasoning Tools: - A sheet pan - A bench scraper — or a rubber spatula works pretty great, too. - A large mixing bowl - A small bowl for the egg wash (and a brush if you have one — I used a fork and clean fingers.) - Parchment paper First things first, I preheated the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit like last time. The sheet pan was left in the oven. Haein Jung I added 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt, and two teaspoons of baking powder to the large mixing bowl and gave it a rough mix. Haein Jung For this batch, I decided to employ Bethenny's preferred method of bagel mixing. I folded and formed the dough on parchment paper on a flat surface. Tap to play GIF Haein Jung It gets very messy. Once the dough came together, I finally decided to test the scraper. That feeling when you cut into the sticky dough and it's a perfect cut every time is *chef's kiss.* But honestly, no biggie if you don't have one. I only used them very briefly to cut and divvy up the dough. Haein Jung Then I shaped them into little circles and poked a hole through. I noticed that this mixture felt more dense. I followed it up with an egg wash and a sprinkle of kosher salt and everything bagel seasoning. Haein Jung They went into the oven at 375 degrees for 25 minutes (again, me, it was closer to 35 minutes). Haein Jung The results? I mean, they as looked gorgeous as ever! Haein Jung Honest thoughts: They were even gummier! They had a lumpier look to them, and as you can see, the cottage cheese didn't fully incorporate into the dough. I let them rest for 15 minutes before toasting them, but the dough on the inside still wasn't able to get toasted and I didn't want to risk burning the outside of the bagels. For this batch, I'd rate them teetering around 7.5/10, which isn't bad. The outside was still crispy and held shape really well, but compared to the whipped cottage cheese version (which I rate 9.5/10), these were definitely second best. Haein Jung The macros for these bagels were around 140 calories and 9g of protein. Final thoughts: These bagels are still absolutely worth a try! They're easy to make and an easy breakfast or lunch. I had one buttered with a sprinkle of kosher salt on top and the other with garlic and chive cream cheese. Another day, I had them with peanut butter and honey. All were amazing! They store well, too, and I've learned that if you freeze them and toast them, they dry out in the process and develop a more bread-like consistency on the inside. Sure, buying bagels on most days is an easier choice, but these bagels are at least a bit healthier and not at all difficult to make. I won't be making them every day, but they will definitely be a part of my meal-prepping rotation. Haein Jung Recently, for lunch, I even had them in a very Bethenny-coded way, packed with chicken salad. Haein Jung I got bagels for daysss. Haein Jung Have you tried cottage cheese bagels? Any baking tips for them to share? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
Buzz Feed
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
I Tried 3 Viral Blush Hacks To See If They Actually Work, And I'm So Glad I Ended Up With A Favorite Method
Truthfully, I was never much of a blush girly until the blush renaissance of the TikTok age. Suddenly, I was aware of blush-forward trends like the " Strawberry Girl Makeup," the " Crying Girl Makeup," and the " Blonzer" effect, and honestly, I wasn't mad about it. I've come to learn that when blush is done right, it adds dimension to the face and a warm, natural-looking glow (if natural is the look you're going for.) But the one thing that plagued me was how to apply it. There are just so many options! However, one of the great upsides of all the information we're inundated with these days is that there are opportunities to discover a new technique or style that really works for you. So, when I came across these three blush trends — the " Jelly Donut Blush," the " V" method, and the " Big V" method — I was excited to explore new blush possibilities and see if they would become a welcome addition to my beauty routine. They piqued my interest because of how the application process and results seemed accessible and attainable. They looked, to me, like a possible routine for even the most beginner beauty enthusiasts, and didn't require a million and one products. After all, the key to a good hack lies in its simplicity, no? Thus, as someone whose makeup routine has stalled over the years but loves a good beauty tip and is ready to up her blush game, I appointed myself to test these three viral blush trends to see if they deliver. Here we go! I first started with the "Jelly Donut Blush" trend. From the TikTok video above and dozens of other videos I've seen, it looks to promise a glowing, flushed look, which I love! As a dry-skin girly, I am a moth to the flame when it comes to beauty promises of: Shine! Dewy! Glowing! Here's what I used: A liquid highlighter, a liquid blush, and a dense, domed brush. I then used a beauty blender to pat everything down — but, I've also seen videos where people just used the tips of their fingers to blend and it looked great! I made a small circle on the apples of my cheeks with the liquid highlighter, then, in the middle, I added the "jelly" part — a dot of liquid blush. Then using the brush, I started to pat and blend down the liquid blush and highlighter. I followed it up with the beauty blender afterwards. Haein Jung The results: Haein Jung For some naive reason, I thought I would end up with a more pigmented look like many of the TikTok videos I've seen. However, I still really liked the results! The technique resulted in a very natural, subtle flush that I feel could work great for daytime outings — brunches, picnics, school, work, etc.! I would consider the dot of the "jelly" as a starting point and by adding more "jelly" dots, you can build up to the pigmented look you want. All in all, I liked being able to apply and blend the highlighter and blush together. My trial with the Jelly Donut Blush trend resulted in a subtle, highlighter-infused flush! Next, I tested the "V" trend that helps with placement when applying blush. It helps to achieve two distinct beauty looks — a youthful or defined one. Here's what I used: A powder blush and two brushes — one soft and domed, and the other flat-topped and dense. Haein Jung I went for the youthful look first. I made a "V" shape with my index and middle finger and angled it to the apples of my cheeks. I applied the blush in the center of the "V," like so: Haein Jung Afterward, with the flat-topped brush, I blended the blush out. Otherwise, that section ends up too pigmented, resulting in an effect. Haein Jung However, if you take a lighter-hand approach, or have a really soft high-quality blush brush at hand, you might not need to blend it out. The results: Haein Jung This youthful blush method was originally how I'd been applying my blush (on the apples of my cheeks), but this was the first time applying using the "V" method. What I liked about this was that it gave me more control over the application process. I usually end up applying too much and have to blend a lot of it out, but with this method, I was able to get the results I wanted a lot quicker. For efficiency, I'd rate it pretty high. But I felt it accentuated my cheeks too much. Next, I tested the defined look. Again, I made a "V" shape with my index and middle finger, but this time angled it towards my cheekbones. I applied the blush along the tops of my cheekbones, like so: Haein Jung The results: Haein Jung Okay, this method snatched up my cheeks! Perhaps I never really cared for blush because I always thought it drew attention to my cheeks more than I wanted it to. However, even though this technique really did help add definition to my face, I would've liked a more fuller blush effect. The end results left me wanting something a little more. Lastly, I tested the "Big V" method. I don't know what to call it, so this is what I'll name it for testing purposes. Using my index finger and thumb, I made a "Big V" (or a "checkmark" shape) and angled it to the apples of my cheeks and up my cheekbones. I applied the blush along my index finger, like so: Haein Jung Blend, blend, blend. Haein Jung The results: Haein Jung Once I started blending, I knew this would be my favorite method. This was like the "V" method's "youthful" and "defined" look got together and made the "Big V!" It was everything! This method gave me the blush coverage I wanted, plus definition. I loved how this method angled the blush upwards and therefore gave me the lifted results I always wanted. Conclusion: This trial was a lot of fun in experimenting with new techniques I never really gave myself the time to do. At the end of it, I'm glad I was able to take away new tips and application methods. I'm sure the "Big V" method will be how I'll angle my blush from now on, and when the occasion strikes, I'll be utilizing the "Jelly Donut Blush" method. As for the youthful "V" look, maybe it's time to let that one go. Overall, I appreciate blush a lot more now!
