This month may be a record for empties — for the first week, I was averaging one per day. Minis are partially to blame, but sometimes that’s just how the products hit you. As a rule I don’t recommend emptying and then opening this many products in a month, as you need to give your skin time to adjust and learn how it reacts, but at this point I have a pretty good handle on how my skin will react to just about every ingredient.

Wash-Off Products

🍏 Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm

The Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm is very hyped, so I picked up this wee sample with my Sephora points earlier this year. It is legitimately very nice — once it turns to an oil, that oil is very thin and emulsifies easily. I did feel that it didn’t turn to the oil as nicely as some of the Korean balms I’ve tried, and it is significantly more per mL than Korean balms, but it’s really effective at sunscreen removal. Dinging one point just due to cost, though I’ll admit I have a full-size in my stash that I got on a deal directly from Farmacy’s site.
Opened: September
Rating: 9/10
Price: $34 USD / 100 mL; shown in a 12 mL sample size

🧼 Fresh Soy Face Cleanser

A previous mini of the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser was really the first grown-up cleanser I tried, so there’s a soft spot in my heart for it. I originally got this for my husband, in hopes that its cucumber-smelling goodness would convince him to use a cleanser more often, but no dice (he’s since fallen in love with the Farmacy Clean Bee, though). I do find this to be a very gentle cleanser, with a fragrance, yes, but just a bit of lather. The soy protein leaves the skin feeling nice and soft. My general feeling with Fresh, however, is that there are better products for cheaper from other brands.
Opened: July
Rating: 8/10
Price: $15 USD / 50 mL; available in a variety of sizes

🍵 I Dew Care Matcha Mood

I’m obsessed with minis, so I’d been eyeing the I Dew Care Mini Scoops set for a while. I decided to take the tiny Matcha Mood with me on our anniversary trip to Belize — my first two times there taught me that I take A Lot of showers in the jungle, and I didn’t want to be drying out my face. For mid-day rinse-offs, I just put this on my face before stepping into the (open air, very bougie) shower, and it kept my skin from feeling stripped. It has a strong matcha smell, though no added fragrance, and while I haven’t been experiencing much sensitivity for it to save me from, the aloe and matcha in here should help soothe.
Opened: September
Rating: 9/10
Price: $25 USD / 100g; shown in the 10g size in the Mini Scoops set

Toners & Essences

🌹 The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution

I’ll admit, I had a fascination with The Ordinary last year, like everyone else on skincare internet did. And because I do love glycolic acid, I tried their Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution. It was … not good for me. Indeed, this is actually about 6 months expired because I struggled to use it up. I love 5% glycolic acid but this formulation was too much — in fairness, 7% glycolic acid is 40% more glycolic acid than 5%. It made my cheeks tingle if I used it more than twice a week, so I downgraded it to body care. I think glycolic acid is fantastic for helping with fine lines and wrinkles, but more benefit can be found with a lower percentage that can be used more regularly, and in a formulation with additional soothing ingredients to help offset any irritation.
Opened: Spring of 2020 (oops)
Rating: 3/10
Price: $9 USD / 240 mL

🍶 Missha Time Revolution First Treatment Essence

The Missha Time Revolution First Treatment Essence is my most repurchased skincare product, because the galactomyces in here does wonders for my pores and redness. Galactomyces doesn’t work for everyone — especially those who are fungal acne-prone — and it’s a frequently slept-on ingredient due to cost (this is the hero ingredient of SK-II) because it takes a while to see results, but after about a month you can tell there’s a difference. It hydrates, strengthens the skin barrier and provides antioxidant benefits. While I won’t always be using Missha, I’m determined to never go without galactomyces again.
Opened: September
Rating: 10/10
Price: $25-$54 / 150 mL depending upon retailer; shown in a 30 mL travel size

🍃 COSRX Pure Fit Cica Toner

The COSRX Pure Fit Cica Toner has been a holy grail for me since I initially won the full size version in a giveaway from the brand. This is an incredibly watery toner that basically uses every part of the centella asiatica plant thanks to COSRX’s Cica-7 Complex, as well as pinus pinaster bark extract, or Pycnogenol, which is an anti-inflammatory antioxidant. I find this to be a deeply hydrating toner which layers incredibly well to soothe and plump the skin.
Opened: September
Rating: 10/10
Price: $22 USD/150 mL; shown in a 30 mL travel size

💦 Manyo Factory Bifida Ampoule Mist

I’ve really come around to mists as a way to help do a damp skincare routine, and so when I saw the inci list of the Manyo Factory Bifida Ampoule Mist I had to give it a try: peony extract, bifida ferment lysate (of course), lactibacillus extract, mushroom extract, ginseng extract, loads of peptides and just generally more skin-barrier-supportive ingredients and extracts than you can shake a stick at. The mister on this is not the best I’ve tried, but I loved being able to quickly spritz some extra help onto my skin during my long routines. I’m not sure I’ll rebuy this mist but I’m interested in trying their actual bifida ampoule now for some concentrated benefits.
Opened: June
Rating: 8/10
Price: $24 USD / 120 mL

🌸 Hanskin Real Complexion Hyaluron Skin Essence

I’ve written about the Hanskin Real Complexion Hyaluron Skin Essence a few times lately, since I emptied the full-size in September before opening this travel size, so I won’t wax too eloquent here beyond to say that 1) I really dislike hyaluronic acid on my face (yay living in 30% humidity) but love it on my hair, and 2) this does have a nice thickness to it that does merit calling it an essence, despite not being a single ingredient essence like we’ve become accustomed to.
Opened: September
Rating: 6/10
Price: $25 USD / 150 mL; shown in a 30 mL travel size

Serums & Oils

🧺 AMPLE:N Ceramide Shot Ampoule

Long-time readers will know that I swear by having a dedicated ceramide serum in my routine, and the AMPLE:N Ceramide Shot Ampoule is basically the most cost-effective option out there. It’s a bit lighter than usual ceramide serums — none of that fatty gloopiness — but very hydrating. In addition to three ceramides, it also includes cholesterol, niacinamide, beta glucan and other skin-soothing ingredients. While I have other ceramide serums I still want to try, there’s a good chance I’ll come back to this in the 100 mL size.
Opened: August
Rating: 10/10
Price: $36 USD / 100 mL for the full size; shown in the $20 USD / 30 mL mini

🥛 Facetory Calming Glow Weightless Facial Oil

If you don’t mind fragrance but you’re looking for a serum to combat redness from acne and inflammation, the Facetory Calming Glow Weightless Facial Oil might be for you. I would characterize this as a serum or even an emulsion, as it’s water-based but includes many nourishing oils. Rice bran water, oat kernel extract and oil, and squalane are the stars here, but it also includes a variety of antioxidants like green tea, rosemary, licorice and lichen. It’s nothing to write home about, in my opinion, but I also suspect I’m not the target audience.
Opened: July
Rating: 6/10
Price: $18 USD / 30 mL

🌚 Sunday Riley Luna Retinol Sleeping Night Oil

Sunday Riley is a much-hyped brand that’s typically higher than my preferred price-per-mL budget, but I picked up the “Power Couple” sample when it was half off at Ulta this spring, so finally got to try their Luna Retinol Sleeping Night Oil. This is definitely a lovely experience — beautiful color, yummy smell, nice oil texture. But in the 2.5 months I used it (nightly except for while on vacation, up until it met its untimely Denise in the bath), I didn’t notice any skin improvement. Indeed, I actually noticed a bit of a backslide around my nose, where in relying on retinol to help strengthen the skin from thinning fur to hydrocortisone use in my early seborrheic dermatitis days. I chalk this up to it being a retinoic acid ester rather than a retinol, so if you’re hoping for actual retinol you’ll want to look elsewhere.
Opened: August
Rating: 6/10
Price: $105 USD / 35 mL for the full size; shown in a mini size

Creams & Lotions

😇 e.l.f. Cosmetics Fragrance-Free Holy Hydration Face Cream

The e.l.f Cosmetics Fragrance-Free Holy Hydration Face Cream is the most accessible peptide moisturizer around, so when I was hunting for one for my mom, I gave it a try. She didn’t like it, so it wound up back in my stash. When I finally tried it myself, I went through it ridiculously fast. I tried it AM and PM, and didn’t find it to be nourishing at all. It also tended to pill, depending on application underneath. I ended up using much of it as a hand cream, where I did find it so m to work really well as my hands dried out due to weather.
Opened: September
Rating: 5/10
Price: $12 USD / 50 mL

🛌 A’pieu Madecassoside Sleeping Mask

This is the second tube of the A’pieu Madecassoside Sleeping Mask I’ve gone through, and I’m sure there will be more. Colorado’s dry weather has me using a sleeping mask regardless of the season, and this is perfect for when too much product would feel like, well, too much. The madecassoside — an important compound from centella asiatica — makes it super calming and almost cooling, and the value is pretty unbeatable. I put in just a thin layer at the very end of my routine and when I wake up my cheeks feel soft and comforted — which is not the case without a sleeping mask!
Opened: April
Rating: 10/10
Price: $15 USD / 80 mL

Body Skincare & Single-Use Products

🧴 Derma: B Mild Moisture Body Lotion

The Mild Moisture Body Lotion was the first product I ever tried by Derma: B, but it’s certainly not the last. Derma: B gives off strong drugstore skincare vibes, but comes to them with that classic Korean take on skincare which I very much appreciate. It features your standard drugstore lotion ingredients like caprylic triglycerides, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol and she butter, but ups the ante with grape seed oil, camellia seed oil, panthenol and allantoin. This lotion is incredibly nourishing without being greasy at all. It was a joy to use, which I did after long baths, when the skin on my legs and lower back can become dry and chapped.
Opened: March
Rating: 10/10
Price: $18 USD / 400 mL

🛢 Vaseline Original Healing Jelly

Vaseline has been around and in use as a skincare ingredient for ages, but it feels like it’s only really been having its moment lately. I’d had this small jar of Original Healing Jelly kicking around for a few months, not sure if I wanted to slug with it or what. Then, in June, my legs reached the point where it literally hurt to bathe because I had bathed so much for so long that I had stripped the heck out of my skin barrier. But I also can’t not take baths — they’re a pretty key part of my mental health maintenance routine. So I started slathering Vaseline on my legs before hopping in the tub. The very occlusive nature of petrolatum kept my legs comforted and protected for hours. I’ve now backed down to putting Vaseline on my legs one out of every two or three baths, and it definitely helps without feeling yucky or greasy.
Opened: June
Rating: 10/10
Price: $4 USD / 212g; shown in the $2 USD / 49g size

👁 Heimish Bulgarian Rose Water Hydrogel Eye Patch

I have really come around to wearing under-eye patches on long days at work, so I picked up the Heimish Bulgarian Rose Water Hydrogel Eye Patches from Nudie Glow US when I won a gift card from them. When working long hours starts getting to me and my eyes start feeling tired, I pop these on and really do feel refreshed afterwards. These have a fairly strong rose smell to them, which is not ideal for around the eye area, so if you’re sensitive to that, beware. I did find that the serum on these tends to pill quite a bit, though in fairness that was the case with the Pixi ones I tried, too, so may just be endemic to eye patches.
Opened: June
Rating: 7/10
Price: $22 USD / 60 eye patches