My Korean Beauty Purchases and 3 Lessons I Learned in September

From a newly converted double-cleanser.

A monthly edition of Morning Person, featuring the best moments, recipes, articles, and recommendations from the month. Let’s dive into some September highlights!

Guess what? I’m not wearing yellow pants! On Wednesday evening, I got back from my six-week trip across Indonesia and Japan, flying home after a whirlwind two days Seoul. I had a dramatic reunion with my dog Toast (his jaw was on the floor for a good five seconds before the celebratory zoomies commenced), caught up with friends over dinners, and slept in my own bed—yet the fact that I am currently in bluejeans (!) is the news I most want to impart. Because I packed hyper-minimally for my trip, using the “5 to 1 Rule,” I only brought one pair of non-athleisure pants. They were an ideal selection—cute, lightweight and versatile—yet, as the weather turned near the end of my adventure, I wore them over and over (and over and over).

I’m fully aware that the termination of my repeated outfit is hardly worth even a text to my group chat, but it’s indicative of the immense gratitude I have at the moment for the smallest of creature comforts: A closet of pants in colors that are *not* yellow, my own pillow and shower and kitchen, the familiar sound of crows in my backyard, creamy sun-dried tomato pasta cooked by a friend, Toast’s dramatic sighs from the chair in my office. I am enormously grateful for my once-in-a-lifetime adventure and I am so happy to be home. Read on for more highlights from September, including three lessons I’m applying to daily life and the skincare purchases I made last week in Korea…

Issue #162: The Only Guide You Need for Your First Visit to Tokyo

I honestly didn’t think I would be interested in Korean skincare. After working in lifestyle media, I became so disillusioned by the beauty industry (see my interview with

Jessica DeFino

!) that I whittled down my makeup routine to just three products and replaced most of my serums and creams with jojoba oil. Cut to my mom and me doing Vitamin C face masks late at night in our Airbnb, while comparing our beauty balm purchases, made while braving the crowds at the Myeong-dong Olive Young store on our trip to South Korea last week.

The cult-favorite, TikTok-famous, stores are almost as ubiquitous in Seoul as Starbucks are in Seattle. As soon as I walked in and saw the wall of face masks, I knew I was in trouble. I mean, their timing was perfect: It was the final day of my trip (I’ve never looked more tired in my life) and I happened to have some space in my bag... Here’s what I bought, carefully selected after many conversations with both shoppers and women who worked there:

1. BePlain Mung Bean Balm. I’ve been curious about incorporating a double-cleanse back into my routine, washing first with a balm or oil followed by a foaming wash, after reading

   Kate Eskuri, DNP
   ’s recent post on her skincare routine. The balm or oil is said to “melt” away makeup, as well as the stuff that gets trapped in pores and causes blackheads. While this balm was recommended to me for targeting blackheads, I ultimately went with BePlain for its unique “shaving” dispenser, which dispenses the product without risk of cross-contamination.

2. Vitamide Brightening Pad. I used to use these Barefaced toning pads, which were effective at combatting the cystic acne I tend to get around my period, but it was difficult to justify the cost of $50 for 60 pads. I bought two varieties of toner pads from Mediheal, a Vitamin C and exfoliating toner, that’s similar to the Barefaced pads, for $25 for 100 sheets. It’s too early to say if they work as well, but I’ll let you know if I love (or hate) them! Based on the number of people who had them in their baskets, I have high hopes…

3. So many face masks. Although the Mediheal masks were the most highly recommended, I bought every mask under the Korean sun. They ran about $3 a piece there, so made for fun, inexpensive gifts for friends and I genuinely saw a difference after using a Vitamin C mask! My skin looked noticeably brighter.

My trip was an incredible adventure, but also an intensive emotional experience. I was initially supposed to go to Japan on my honeymoon in November of 2022, but my husband and I split before we could go—and then my boyfriend and I broke up weeks before this trip. At last minute, I invited my mom to come with me. We’ve had a rocky relationship, but it felt like an opportunity to commemorate the healing we’ve done together in the past few years. There was a lot of emotional processing (I’ll get into it in a later issue), but I also came away with several, smaller lessons I’ll be applying to daily life…

1. Less multitasking, more monotasking. In Japan, I quickly noticed that it was considered rude to walk while eating food or sipping a coffee. Instead, many people would order an onigiri or latte, then sit on the bench outside the stall, to finish their treat. Yesterday, I walked to my neighborhood coffee shop where I tend to order a macchiato to-go. Instead, I sipped it while sitting outside with Toast. It took ten extra minutes, and was such a welcome respite I’ll be repeating!

2. Say, “That’s a tomorrow problem.” Almost daily, I found myself facing predicaments I had absolutely no idea how to solve. How does one ship a walking stick from Mt. Fuji to Portland, Oregon? How do I get from Tokyo to a remote town in the Kiso Valley using only public transportation? Where and how does one buy bus tickets in South Korea? At one point, I lamented my trip anxieties to a new friend in Tokyo who simply responded with, “That’s a tomorrow problem.” Anytime I began to lose sleep over an issue, I repeated her advice like a mantra. I had no idea—yet I would figure it out tomorrow. And guess what? I did! I never got on the wrong train and my beloved stick arrived literally as I was walking up to my front door, thanks to Google Translate and a very helpful post office worker in Japan. It served as a reminder to trust in my capacity to figure things out—while traveling, and at home.

3. Don’t always follow the crowds. While in Kyoto, I took a trail up Mt. Ogura from Arashiyama Park, the site of the famous Bamboo Forest. Halfway up the trail, I noticed many tourists turning around, and was told that there was an unpassable gate ahead. As I neared the gate, it did look locked, but up close, it said, “in out ok, open shut.” I pushed lightly and it swung open! This situation repeated itself countless times throughout the trip—I followed masses of people, assuming they knew the way when they did not, or stood in the wrong line for five minutes, just because others were, before realizing I was in the wrong place. I was often confused on my trip, unsure of where to go or what to do, but was reminded time and time again: Just because a lot of people are doing one thing, doesn’t mean it’s the correct thing. (A lesson for life!)

I’ll be back on Tuesday with so much more! I’m so happy to be back in the swing of things. Stay tuned! Until then…

Issue #41: How to Make and Maintain Friends as an Adult

Issue #129: How (And Why) I Replaced Self-Worth with Self-Love

Issue #81: On Choosing to (Not) Have Children

My Ultimate Guide to Portland Restaurants and How to Spend a Day

Morning Person is an entirely reader-supported, affiliate-free publication written and created by Leslie Stephens. Click here to subscribe or gift a friend a subscription here (if a friend sent you this email—tell them thanks!). Anything you want covered? Questions? Reply to this email to reach me directly!