May seemed to be the one month of spring we got this year in Colorado — everything went from dry and windy in April to lush and green, and next month will certainly be back to dry and windy but 30 degrees (Fahrenheit) warmer than in April. May was a weird month for me on a skin front: a small bump on my forehead that I’d had for two year suddenly became enflamed and enormous and get an “epidermoid cyst” diagnosis, only to form three whiteheads and diminish again in three weeks. At the same time, I was also mentally preparing for the routine I’m going to want during an upcoming working roadtrip. All that said, read on for what I started putting on my dry skin last month. Remember that my */10 ratings are only for emptied products, so if you want more info on any of these products, let me know or just wait a few month!

Toners & Essences

🌰 Isntree Chestnut BHA 2% Clear Liquid

If you know much about me, you know that BHA isn’t my go-to — but when I was able to get the Isntree Chestnut BHA 2% Clear Liquid for free thanks to other Isntree purchases through YesStyle, I couldn’t not try it. I finally opened it this month when a forehead bump that I’ve had for two years (that I now know to be an epidermoid cyst) suddenly went rogue, getting large and inflamed. This is thankfully not drying, despite the salicylic acid, willow bark extract and chestnut shell extract, all of which are lipophilic or astringent. I haven’t had a chance to use it for too long, but it will be interesting to see what effect this has on my pores, even if it can’t have one on this forehead bump.
Price: $20 USD / 100 mL

🌿 Skinfood Pantothenic Water Parsley Toner

I received the Skinfood Pantothenic Water Parsley Toner through YesStyle influencer program in exchange for a review, but this is not that review. This is a watery toner that layers up well, but has a bit of a fresh herbal smell due to all the essential oils. In proper k-beauty fashion, ingredient lists for this vary around the internet, but it does seem to have 15% oenanthe javanica extract, or water parsley extract, as well as pantothenic acid, the more biologically available form of B5 than panthenol (though it has that as well). It also has panthenol, centella asiatica extract and chamomile extract for calming. Some of the inci lists I’ve found say it has salicylic acid in it, but my understanding is that due to Korean regulations this couldn’t be at higher than 0.5%.
Price: $15 / 115 mL

🍵 Dr. Ceuracle Vegan Kombucha Tea Essence

At long last, the much-hyped Dr. Ceuracle Vegan Kombucha Tea Essence is in my skincare routine. This is a “bi-phase” essence, basically meaning that the water and oil phases aren’t emulsified — they mix when you shake the container. Because of this creamy essence vibe, many folks compare it to the Laneige Cream Skin Refiner. I personally think it’s a bit more oily, though still without feeling heavy, but I’d be happy to do a Face Off post comparing the two in more depth, if folks are interested. The heroes here are green tea leaf extract (but fermented, so kombucha!) as well as saccharomyces ferment filtrate, green tea water and sunflower seed oil, though it includes a variety of other plant extracts, as well as ceramide NP and Vitamin E.
Price: $38 USD / 150 mL

Serums & Creams

🍊 Rohto Mentholatum Melano CC Vitamin C Essence 2021 Edition

I’ve been hearing about the Rohto Mentholatum Melano CC Vitamin C for ages and although long-time readers will know that I’m obsessed with the Good (Skin) Day C’s the Day serum, I finally had to give it a try due to its availability (C’s the Day has been out of stock for a while) and its roadtrip-readiness. Ascorbic acid is notoriously unstable, but the size (20 mL) and the form factor (in a tube with a unique applicator that dispenses literally drop by drop) of this serum make it a promising travel buddy, and the price doesn’t hurt either. Unfortunately, Rohto Mentholatum does not publish percentages, but thus far this hasn’t irritated my skin at all. Those sensitive to fragrance should know that this has a fairly strong citrusy fragrance to it to mask the characteristic “hot dog water” smell of ascorbic acid, though.
Price: $14 USD / 20 mL

🥬 Sweet Chef Kale + Vitamin B Serum

I guess I didn’t get to the Sweet Chef Kale + Vitamin B Serum soon enough, because it appears to now be discontinued — no longer at Target, and out of stock at Sweet Chef. But let’s hope not, because it’s actually pretty good. This is a hydrating, calming serum, with kale, aloe, turmeric and eggplant extracts for an antioxidant boost. It also has two types of algae extracts in it, which is rare to find at this price point, and are great sources of peptides, amino acids, vitamin c and, of course, antioxidants. This does have a faint fragrance to it from lavender essential oil, but it does not smell like lavender.
Price: $20 USD / 30 mL

🐌 Cosrx Advanced Snail 92 All In One Cream

I’m finally dipping my toe into Cosrx’s snail offerings with the Advanced Snail 92 All In One Cream — I couldn’t resist when it was 50% off at Ulta. My skin has long loved snail secretion filtrate as a hydrator (tough to find good ones in the desert) and as a skin soother and repairer. This is a very simple formula that has snail at (you guessed it) 92%, along with arginine, panthenol and allantoin. It’s very lightweight and has the classic snail stringiness, but works well as an AM moisturizer, or in the PM under another moisturizer as an extra step of hydration.
Price: $26 USD / 100 g

☀️ Dr. Ceuracle Cica Regen Vegan Sun

I picked up the Dr. Ceuracle Cica Regen Vegan Sun last summer in a fit of “huzzah, the good sunscreens are back on the market.” This uses Uvinul T 150, Uvinul A Plus, Mexoryl SX, Parsol SLX and Tinosorb S to hit SPF 50+ PA++++. This does include alcohol to help it dry down better, which is not unusual in nice-wearing sunscreens. It also adds centella asiatica extract, madecassoside, madecassic acid, asiaticoside and asiatic acid to really underscore their cica claim, as well as kiwi extract, lotus flower extract and hibiscus extract for some extra antioxidant benefits. Unfortunately this does have a bit of an unpleasant scent to it due to the lack of a masking fragrance — I want to say it smells a bit like toilet bowl cleaner, though that does, in fairness, fade down quite quickly. Between the smell and the slightly matte finish, I’ve downgraded it to a purse sunscreen rather than a daily sunscreen.
Price: $18 USD / 50 mL

Tools, Single-Use & Body Care

🎭 Eclair LED Therapy Mask

If you, like me, need an excuse to close your eyes and do nothing for 15 minutes, allow me to introduce you to the Eclair LED Therapy Mask. That was legitimately part of my thinking in picking it up. It’s also inexpensive, and has red (for aging), blue (for acne) and even orange (ostensibly for brightening — I still need to research this). This does include eye protection, which you need whether using an LED mask at home or in a salon, but it is pretty clearly an afterthought, as it doesn’t fit well with the way the mask rests on the bridge of the nose. I will admit that this has kept me from using as often as I’d like, and I intend to buy some nicer tanning goggles on Amazon to use instead. So far I’ve used the red and the orange settings, and while they do warm the skin they don’t seem to tingle. I’m hoping to use more consistently this summer and do a more thorough review.
Price: $119 USD

🔴 Cosrx Master Patch Intensive

Though I love the Cosrx Acne Pimple Master Patch, I hadn’t tried the Cosrx Master Patch Intensive until now. It includes salicylic acid and tea tree leaf oil to attempt to explicitly treat the blemish it covers, but that also means it’s not the sort of thing I would usually buy — I tend to prefer plan hydrocolloid patches. That said, I got it for free as part of an order, and when I got the aforementioned big forehead bump I busted these out to camouflage it, keep myself from poking at it and, who knows, maybe even reduce it. These are oval, rather than circular, but they stick fairly well.
Price: $25 USD / 90 patches; shown in an 18 patch size

🧺 Derma:B Cera MD Repair Lotion

Derma:B is my favorite brand for body care at this point, and while I love their lotions I had not yet tried their Cera MD Repair Lotion. The Cera MD line includes the patented Adfence-P from their parent company which helps with the post-bath skin itchies, as well as ceramide NP, panthenol, and allantoin to calm. This also includes meadowseed foam oil, which seems to be one of my skin’s favorites, plus shea butter and grapeseed oil. Derma:B’s lotions are all incredibly lightweight, this one included.
Price: $15 USD / 400 mL

🛁 Fur Bath Drops

It’s no secret that I’m bath-obsessed, and so I’d been eyeing the Fur Bath Drops for a hot minute before they had a 10x points deal at Ulta (AAPI-founded promotion) and a 20% off coupon and I could resist no longer. The guidance is to use 2-3 per bath, which is not as cost effective as it could be — depending upon tub size and bath length, I’d recommend trying just one to see if that work out well. The main oils for moisturization here are grapeeed and jojoba, but it includes a lot of essential oils for the aesthetic (lemon peel, clary, peppermint, camphor … the list goes on). These slowly dissolve in the batah, and though the oil floats a bit on the top of the water, it really does leave the skin feeling moisturized upon emerging.
Price: $38 USD / 18 drops