This weekend marks the two year anniversary of the Skincare Fanatics Facebook group, and looking at my empties it’s very clear to me how much it’s affected my life. When I started the group, my routine was, well, getting more elaborate, but still pretty small. Now, I’ve budgeted myself $100 USD per month and shop sales relentlessly, and my routine is long enough that an empties list this long is surprisingly reasonable. A huge thanks to all my enablers and supporters along the way. I love you all! Please always feel free to comment on any of my posts to get feedback on your routine, or any other skincare advice (within my purview, as not-a-medical-professional) that I might be able to give.

Wash-Off Products

💎 Pyunkang Yul Deep Clear Cleansing Balm

It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a Pyunkang Yul fan, so of course I was excited to try their Deep Clear Cleansing Balm. I’m a sucker for cleansing balms, generally — I enjoy the tactile sensation of them going to oil in my hands, and find them generally easier to emulsify than cleansing oils. I know some makeup wearers can find them difficult, but for the (very very very very limited) amount that I wear (very irregularly) I found that this lifted things up without irritating my eyes. It also has a light, crisp fragrance reminiscent of apples that I find to be very appealing. (See what I did there?). The texture is just a tad less nice than Banila, or I would give this full points.
Opened: October
Rating: 9/10
Price: $18 USD / 100 mL

🍃 Cosrx Cica Clear Cleansing Oil

If you love lime skittles and lightweight cleansing oils, you and the Cosrx Cica Clear Cleansing Oil are a match made in skincare heaven. All I have to say is: well, they tried. This cleansing oil is very lightweight and rinses clean. I just absolutely cannot get past the smell. Indeed, lime and lemon oils are so high up in the INCI list that not only do they make it on the outside of the bottle (a gimmick they use for the cica line), they’re actually higher up on the list than the 7 cica compounds that make this line so special. Maybe that’s not too surprising — after all, it must be hard to tuck waters safely into a cleansing oil without it immediately emulsifying. But if you were thinking this would be a good option for sensitive skin, you might want to look elsewhere. I ended up downgrading this to body care because I just couldn’t handle the smell.
Opened: this month
Rating: 2/10
Price: $29 USD / 200 mL; shown in the $9 USD / 50 mL size

🧼 Naturium Niacinamide Cleansing Gelee 3%

I have a very hard time getting excited about cleansers, and had a very hard time getting through the Naturium Niacinamide Cleansing Gelee 3%. Originally purchased for a friend, my husband was intrigued by its color and bubbley texture in the bottle. He didn’t care for it — he found the smell, cleanse and texture to be whatever. I don’t disagree. This is considered special for its “serum-like” texture but considering how fast it lathers, that isn’t a huge selling point. I also have a bit of an objection to trying to highlight this as a niacinamide product, when 3% is a very common percentage of niacinamide (2-5% is the amount used in research) and it rinses off. I found this to be a bit stripping, even when I eventually downgraded it to my body to try to get through it before the one year mark. This doesn’t foam, so combination or normal skin types might find this more workable than we did.
Opened: October (but actually March)
Rating: 5/10
Price: $18 USD / 210 mL

🍓 boscia Berry Blend Smoothing Facial Mask with 28% Acid Complex

Wash-off exfoliation masks are some of the most satisfying, immediate gratification skincare products, and the boscia Berry Blend Smoothing Facial Mask with 28% Acid Complex qualifies. This mask’s claims 28% acid but it’s nothing like a TCA peel, or even a strong as The Ordinary’s infamous red mask. This is a combination of glycolic acid, malic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid and some fruit extracts. This doesn’t burn or sting. It does have some bits in (from the berries) but it doesn’t physically exfoliate. That said, this is tough to wash off. In a lot of ways, it’s nice that it has the seeds in, because then as you attempt to remove you can tell where you still have product on. This is definitely the sort of mask that requires a cloth to remove.
Opened: December
Rating: 6/10
Price: $44 USD / 80 mL for the full-size; shown in a sample size

🏅 Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Mask Pure Luxury Lift & Firm Mask

I know that the Peter Thomas Roth masks are cult favorites, so I got the 24K Gold Mask Pure Luxury Lift & Firm Mask as part of a sample pack. I think this is a prime example of skincare that got popular in the western market before the introduction of all the innovations from the j- and k-beauty markets. It’s not drying, for sure, which used to be hard to find in wash-off masks — even as recently as two years ago, at least in the US. For the current market, I stand by my initial take of this being over-priced and gimmicky, since there’s very limited research to the benefits of gold, and for many folks it’s actively irritating.
Opened: January
Rating: 5/10
Price: $85 USD / 150 mL; shown in a 14 mL sample size

🍯 I’m From Honey Mask

The I’m From Honey Mask is highly hyped and let me just say — I am one of those hype people. It’s a fantastic wash-off mask for really any skin type, but especially special for those with dry skin, as there’s no risk of it drying down and destroying your skin barrier. I love this mask for any time my skin needs a pick-me-up, and specifically for evenings when I use a clay or exfoliating mask. Honey is a great ingredient for moisturizing and healing the skin, and I’m From really brings the science to bear with how nicely this applies and rinses. I will certainly rebuy (again — this was technically my third rebuy).
Opened: October
Rating: 10/10
Price: $38 USD / 210 g

Toners and Serums

💦 Dear, Klairs Fundamental Ampoule Mist

Having already tried the Dear, Klairs Fundamental Watery Oil Drop, I was excited to try more from their line. I’ve really come around to mists as a way to keep my skin damp between skincare steps, so I grabbed their Fundamental Ampoule Mist. In a mist, I think it’s important to find a light formula you don’t mind layering up on the skin, and this ticks those boxes: green tea, rice, kelp, mugwort and the occasional ceramide that seems to sneak into any k-beauty formulation. As a mist, I didn’t really notice the benefits from this the way I did the oil drop, but that could be in part due to the mister, which makes it take about three sprays to rehydrate the skin between steps. I suspect that there are more efficacious, cheaper options elsewhere in the k-beauty market.
Opened: November
Rating: 9/10
Price: $27 USD / 125 mL

🌾 I’m From Rice Toner

I’m here for trying all the hyped products, and so after initially trying the I’m From Rice Toner as a mini, I had to give it a longer stretch to really see how it performed. I basically bombed through this, using two layers AM and PM. The I’m From Rice Toner is frequently compared to the Laneige Cream Skin Refiner (to the point that I actually did a Face Off comparing the two a few months ago). I was hoping that it would help with some of my PIE (post-inflammatory erythema), while also doing some moisturization — rice is really great for both concerns. It’s possible that my skin did bounce back faster from marks than it would have previously, but not noticeably so. However, it was a really nice extra layer (or two … sometimes three) during this time of year.
Opened: December
Rating: 9/10
Price: $28 USD / 150 mL

🍑 Peach & Lily Power Cocktail Lactic Acid Repair Serum

The Peach & Lily Power Cocktail Lactic Acid Repair Serum is one of the most recent launch from the brand and …. I think I love it. It’s got a melty, milky texture that makes it really effortless to wear and layer. It’s got 10% lactic acid, but the ginseng, algae, ferments, mushroom and obligatory ceramide make it wearable enough that some skin types (like mine) could probably wear this daily. This is also interesting because it includes peptides. “Peptides and an exfoliant? Never!” you say, to which I say: “maybe”. I’m not sure of the pH of this formula, but I would suspect they’ve formulated this such that the suspension isn’t causing the peptides to break down in the bottle. I really hope this goes on sale at one of Ulta’s 50% off sales (they put Peach & Lily at 50% off pretty much every time, and I actually got this sample when buying their serum and gel moisturizer for 50% off) — I would buy two! I would give full points if not for the price.
Opened: this month
Rating: 9/10
Price: $49 USD / 30 mL, shown in a 5 mL sample size

🍇 Rhonda Allison Hydrating Grape Seed Serum

Not too many people talk about Rhonda Allison, since it’s more of a salon brand, but here we are. I used to love their Drops of Essence and I expected to like the Hydrating Grape Seed Serum, which is basically the same thing. But this one smells awful to me — like a fake cinnamon smell, despite not having cinnamal in it. I ended up downgrading to my legs (as far away from my nose as possible was the reasoning), and I will say it did really help my thighs feel better out of the bath. But there are also much cheaper, less smelly grape seed oils out there.
Opened: January
Rating: 1/10
Price: $58 USD / 50 mL; shown in a 10 mL sample size

Other Skincare

🌊 Laneige Water Sleeping Mask

This is now my second mini empty of the Laneige Water sleeping Mask, and I’m actually coming around to it. It’s a really nice sensory experience — lightly fragranced, blue and gel-like. Some folks using sleeping masks in lieu of moisturizers but this is definitely one that should be used in addition to. I find light gel sleeping masks like this to be really nice for reactive skin, if you find that your skin heats up during your routine. It can also be a nice layer to help with transepidermal water loss (TEWL) for any skin type, even those with more oily skin that tend to not like occlusives.
Opened: January
Rating: 8/10
Price: $25 USD / 70 mL; shown in the 15 mL sample size

🌤 Hyggee Vegan Sun Cream

The Hyggee Vegan Sun Cream is part of the latest round of k-beauty SPF releases (Korean brands reformulate fairly often, and basically every single brand reformulated after a wave of SPF testing found many sunscreens from around the globe didn’t match up to their stated protection). This one is SPFF 50+ PA++++, meaning it’s got great UVA and UVB protection. I love the new chemical filters in this — ones that aren’t available in US sunscreens — and the moisturizing texture. This is a great sunscreen particularly in the winter. I’ll admit it took me a bit longer to finish this than it should have, but I blame short days and me trying to use up another sunscreen simultaneously.
Opened: November
Rating: 10/10
Price: $24 USD / 50 mL

👄 Glossier Balm Dotcom

Back in the veeeeery beginning of my skincare obsession, I loved the aesthetic of Glossier and got caught up in the hype of Balm Dotcom. While Glossier has gotten a lot less popular due to their politics (semi-related side note: did you know they recently laid off most of their software engineers?), this balm remains one of their best sellers. I picked it up in “Universal”, the unfragranced version, so I could use it on “anywhere that needs some love.” It’s a good thing I did, because it broke me out around my mouth. I know it’s not the petrolatum, and I’m pretty sure it’s not the castor oil, so my money’s on the lanolin. Unfortunately it was also so sticky that using it “anywhere” was difficult — cuticles would have been the logical choice, but then it got everywhere. A tube is good for 18 months after opening, but I still let this sucker expire due to generally not knowing how to get rid of it.
Opened: 2020
Rating: 1/10
Price: $12 USD / 15 mL

🧴 Derma: B Mild Moisture Body Cream

I’m obsessed with Derma: B as a brand — I think of it as the k-beauty equivalent to CeraVe or Cetaphil — and their Mild Moisture line, from which I’ve tried their body lotion, body wash, and, of course, body cream. Like most brands’ distinction between lotions and creams, this is much thicker than the lotion (which comes in a pump bottle). It has shea butter, grape seed oil, squalane and tea seed oil to moisturize the skin, as well as panthenol and allantoin to soothe. Derma: B and its parent and sister brands, Atopalm, Real Barrier, Zeroid and others, all use a patented lipid technology that I find really soothing. That said, this can be a bit greasy — it definitely needs to be applied on damp skin.
Opened: October
Rating: 9/10
Price: $22 USD / 430 mL