Any avid YouTuber who’s also a huge K-beauty fan knows and loves Fei Yang, AKA “Hey It’s Feiii.” Here, we chat with her about her favorite products and get her advice for up-and-coming beauty bloggers.
Fei is a famous YouTuber known for her hilarious yet highly informative reviews of some of the most interesting Korean beauty products. Some of her top-viewed videos include her review of peel off lip tints and a variety of intense blackhead-clearing products, like one video where she tries a peel-off sticky carbon mask and them zooms deep into the mask after it’s been peeled off to show her sebum that’s been sucked out of her nose in all its glory. Sure, it’s a bit TMI, but that’s why over 700,000 YouTube followers love Fei. She’s honest, real, and freaking funny.
Find out how “Hey It’s Feiii” decides which products to review, how she treats her acne, and her best advice for how to rehab your skin when it freaks out after using a product (she would know).
How do you decide what products you’re going to test?
I love to find viral products on Facebook, and my followers also constantly send me lots of products, which helps me narrow it down. I feel like my followers know me better than I know myself, so when they see stuff that’s weird and gross they love to tell me to review it!
You’re known for trying viral trends, what’s something you think is going to be viral this summer?
I feel like there are going to be a lot more eyebrow trends, for sure. I can’t really put my hands on exactly what the next trends will be, but I think people are going to go crazy with eyebrows this year, even more than they already are!
What are some of the cool eyebrow products you’ve tried recently?
Definitely the peel off eyebrow tattoos, where you draw the gel on your brows and peel it off in the morning. The Etude House Tint My Brows Gel are the best ones so far compared to other brands that are trying to come out with the same thing.
You’ve been trying a lot of tightening masks lately, like the Hanacure mask. What are your general thoughts on these new types of masks?
I call them the zombie masks. I love them because I think they are intriguing and super different, and I feel that my pores shrink a lot better as long as I use them frequently.
I gravitate towards tightening masks and peel off masks. If I see anything with the word “peel,” girl, I am there and I am stocking up! I feel like the peel off masks are more interesting for my viewers to watch.
You have awesome tips for people with acne-prone skin. What are your best tips for calming acne?
I love to use the Jeju Volcanic Clay Mask by Innisfree. Whenever I use that mask on my acne-prone skin it really goes into the pores and deep cleanses them like a washing machine. I also have oily skin, which is not a good mix with acne-prone skin, so a good clay mask is always something I go for, especially to get in the pores and clean them out before I put an acne treatment on top.
What have been your holy grail products for treating and managing your acne?
Lately I have been testing out Curology. A lot of my acne has cleared because of it and I am going to make a review soon for my followers who want to see, but that has definitely been my number one holy grail product. I use it every single night, and it just does wonders if you have acne-prone skin or if you skin has a lot of texture and indentations. It’s really good.
Why do you think it works so well?
I think it’s because it has really good ingredients, like azelaic acid. They have a lot of good acid ingredients that are very healthy for the skin, which I think is why it penetrates so well and helps deal with the bacteria that causes my acne.
You also do a lot with lip tints and lip peels. What’s your favorite one?
I love the Beauty People Vitamin Pill Lip Tints. They are very inexpensive, I think they’re only like five dollars, but there’s a vitamin capsule lip tattoo that works super well on a daily basis and lasts all day long. I love that brand!
Your makeup looks are super different and intricate—where do you get your inspiration?
Everything is from Instagram. I’ll just be scrolling through and think, “Oh, that girl’s makeup is cute!” Also, I love peach-toned makeup styles, so whenever I see a peach makeup, I’ll get inspired to do my own. I love getting inspired by beauty looks on Instagram, or if not I’ll try and make it up as I go, and I just come up with something and pray that it looks decent!
Are you more into makeup or skin care?
Honestly, I think I’m more into skin care. I actually wanted to start with makeup, which I did, but I literally geared my way towards skin care because I think it’s such an important thing that we need to dwell on and take our time on.
Do you feel like focusing on skin care has helped with your makeup application?
Skin care is super important in terms of makeup. If you don’t have the right base, everything you put on top is going to look heavy, cakey, and just not in one piece, so taking care of your skin is always the way to go. Makeup will last just for the day, but your skin is there forever! You need to nourish it as much as you can, regardless of what age you are. It’s never too early or too late to start skin care. Even if you’re in high school, just lotion your face at least! I wish I knew that.
What’s your skin care routine like right now?
Now that’s it’s summer and it’s getting a little hotter, I’ve been minimizing my skin care a little bit more. I’ve been using a makeup cleanser, then cleaning with a gentle cleanser, then exfoliating, a little bit of toner, a little bit of serum, eye cream, and neck cream, and then spray on whatever mist essence I have. I feel that the simpler you keep it, the more it helps out with acne and oily skin. Being more simple and lightweight is more helpful than trying to do too much to your skin.
That’s interesting that you use a neck cream, because a lot of people don’t even know they should be taking care of their necks. Do you use a specific cream just for your neck?
I use the Once Upon a Time Neck Cream by Purple Tale. I use neck cream on a daily basis. It’s something I try to wear as much as I wear sunscreen, because girl, I’ve been getting a lot of wrinkles and I don’t want that! I don’t want my neck to sag too much.
What K-beauty products have been the real deal for you?
Oh, definitely the Neogen Bio Peel Gauze Peeling Lemon Pads. I have so many of them stocked up. Just the smell of it is really good. Neogen carries the best exfoliating pads, for sure. And I think those are the number one top skin pad right now. Everybody uses them, regardless of if it’s the green tea one or the lemon one.
What has been one of the weirdest products you’ve tested that’s actually become one of your favorite products?
The pore suction vacuum, definitely. It’s one of the weirdest products I’ve tried. I remember just cringing and asking myself “Why the heck do I do this,” but I’ve come to really love it. It’s so convenient and fun, especially on oily skin because you can get a good chunk of sebum out of your nose.
Have you ever had a bad allergic reaction to a product you’ve tried?
I’ve used products that have made me break out super bad or turned me really red for hours. I used a rice face wash from The Face Shop and my skin hated it! I don’t know why, because rice water is really good for your skin, but my skin refused it and broke out the next day. My chin was infested with acne bumps. I haven’t tried a rice water product since.
What are your tips for rehabbing your skin after trying a product that you don’t react well to?
Oh, definitely just don’t do anything to it. Let it breathe! Don’t touch it, don’t itch it, don’t look at it, it just wants its peace. My rehab is just to leave it alone for a couple days until you feel like it is ready to take in a good moisturizer, some good hydrating creams, or just a nice hydrating product that will really help soothe it.
You don’t want to irritate it any more. And unless I think it’s ready to take in something I know will work, I usually just leave it alone. My skin is mad at me—it’s like a relationship!
What has been the most inspiring part of your journey as a beauty blogger so far?
The most inspiring part has been meeting my followers and hearing them say you’ve helped me so much with my acne, or you’ve given me so much confidence because you have acne and you are able to face the world with your acne-prone skin.
Starting off I was so scared of the judgment and I was affected by the negativity. But just hearing people say that, regardless if it’s online or in person, it just inspires me to keep doing what I’m doing.
What’s your advice for aspiring bloggers on handling the inevitable negativity?
Focus on yourself! Focusing on the negativity, which is easy to do because everyone does it, I’m not going to lie, means you start comparing yourself to others, not just feeling bad but you start comparing yourself like, “Why don’t I have good skin like so and so”, “Why can’t I do this like so and so”, “Why don’t they like me like so and so”. Don’t focus on that and don’t compare yourself to others. For a while, you have to live in a bubble, and just say “You know, I want to do this for me, to help people, and if you don’t like it, you can pop someone else’s bubble, but not me, not today!”
Bonus: On Friday, June 23rd from 3:30pm to 4:30pm, Charlotte Cho will be conducting a workshop on DIY Skin Care with Hey It’s Feiii at KCON NYC! It’s located at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. Hope to see you there!
+ What do you think of Hey It’s Feiii’s advice? Let us know below!
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