I feel like the idea of a glow primer has always been there, but to be perfectly honest, nothing had me raving like Banila Co White Wedding Dream Cream (PHP 1385 / 50ml). It's a fuckton expensive, but I don't mind because it does work. I worry though if our average temperature here in the PH can store it well, because I tested it during winter in Korea, with about 0-10C and my friend Frankie got it here and thinks it's not all that. She says that Collagen by Watsons' White Regeneration Instant Finishing Cream (PHP 349 / 50ml) is better, which was hard for me to swallow because I tried Watsons' and felt like Banila had a ton more strobe effect.

Today, I have Seoul White Korea Instant White, Tone-Up Whitening Milky Cream (PHP 299 /20g)*. The common thread between these three is that they're all tone-up creams. When my skin is hopeless and I just wanna cheat my chok-chok, this is my go to. All three are manufactured in Korea, and this is a trend where it's a cream but not. Basically, Korea has changed the cream game. Creams normally meant something thick and emollient you massaged onto your skin if it was super extra dry. In Korea, a cream is practically useless unless you have all your layers in place. It's basically like a skincare shield that prevents everything else from evaporating. Tone up is how you go brighter (and oftentimes whiter) without going gray.

I have dull and dry skin, so anything illuminating and hydrating is something I automatically try. This isn't going to be a full review, more like first impressions because I only got it last week.

Seoul White's products were formulated in coordination with Korean cosmetic scientists. And over there, the trend is about a lot of herbal extracts which Western medicine doesn't tend to pay attention to. I would really just love to sit down with a bilingual, Korean cosmetic chemist/dermatologist so I can get the details on this. I'm pretty sure they have local studies on natural and herbal extracts (i.e. galactomyces, snail mucin, etc.) but they're all in Korean.

For both the cream and the soap, they've focused on whitening without the sting we've all come to associate with orange Kojic soaps. Arbutin bearberry and white strawberry feature in the soap while the tone-up cream has added donkey milk. Arbutin, as The Ordinary fans may recognize, is a powerful skin brightener and its natural form arbutin bearberry allegedly works similarly just without the irritation. White strawberry, on the other hand, is infused for its' sun protecting and exfoliating properties, making it a whitening powerhouse. Lastly donkey milk, a superior moistuzer to cow's milk, is added as a nourishing layer to buffer against irritation.

Here's a side by side of my fists, with the left side using the tone-up cream and the right side, bare. I think it works best with sheer to medium foundations so that the brightness can peek through. I need to try both BB creams and full coverage foundations with it for a more definitive review on this product though.

The following Seoul White Korea products are available in Watsons and seoulwhitekorea.com

• Seoul White Korea Instant White, Tone-Up Whitening Milky Cream (20g tube / PHP 299; 2 x 3g sachet / PHP 20) 

• Seoul White Korea Double White, Whitening Soap (60g / PHP 39; 90g / PHP 60; Triple pack 3 x 90g / PHP 125; Double pack 2 x 60g / PHP 65)

Foundation Week Tag:

Day 1 - Best BB - Make Up For Ever UV Bright Cushion in Y225

Day 2 - Crazy Luxe Foundation - Kanebo Luster Cream Foundation* in OC-B

Day 3 - Most Disappointing Foundation - Clio Nudism Water Grip Cushion in 03 Linen

Day 4 - Most Gorgeous Foundation - Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in 3.5

Day 5 - Most Difficult Foundation - Kat Von D Beauty Lock-It Foundation in 52

Day 6 - BONUS: Cheating Your Chok-Chok - Seoul White Korea Instant White Tone-Up Whitening Milky Cream*

Day 7 - BONUS: Favorite Non-Foundation Base Product

*I received this item as a press sample.