Hello again! It’s been a while. We went on a 2.5 week “working roadtrip” and I had truly intended to continue writing, since part of the goal was to see if we could manage a “digital nomad” lifestyle while keeping up with our day-to-day. Suffice it to say that making travel days on weekends kind of bamboozled that, and who wants to do the thing you can do anytime when there are exciting new hikes to do? Along with sliding off the writing bandwagon during the trip, I admittedly also shirked a bit on skincare, and I can tell. My pores are showing a bit more and there’s some new sun damage (the tiny home we stayed in with plexiglass for a roof probably didn’t help on that front, though more to come on that in a future post).

This post should probably include about four more products than it does but they’re not quiiiiiite empty, so prepare to judge me in my July empties. In the mean time, here’s what I stopped putting on in June. A lot of it was “pretty okay, but knock-it-out-of-the-park” level, as evidenced by the 8/10s. Fun fact: you can really see how it takes me two months to empty a serum in this post.

Wash-Off Products

🍷 Neogen Bio-Peel Gauze Peeling Wine Pads

The Neogen Bio-Peel Gauze Peeling Wine Pads used to be a much-hyped product, so when I won a $100 skincare haul through Nudie Glow US last summer I picked it up. And then they sat in my stash. And then I opened them. And then they sat on my counter taking up WAY TOO MUCH SPACE. These are fairly large physically and chemically exfoliating pads infused with red wine extract and resveratrol for antioxidant benefits, as well as glycolic and lactic acid. They are decently exfoliating but, that said, these are intended to be washed-off, so you don’t really get the antioxidant benefits. I used these predominantly in the morning when I wanted a bit more of a cleanse feel without actually cleansing. The pads are fairly large so if you are the type who likes disposable exfoliants, I recommend cutting them in half as that’s more than enough product to get decent coverage, and of course makes them last 60 uses rather than 30.
Opened: January
Price: $27 USD / 30 pads (200 mL)
Rating: 3/10

🍵 I Dew Care Matcha Mood Soothing Green Tea Wash-Off Mask

I Dew Care’s zone of genius is definitely masks, whether sheet- or wash-off, and their Matcha Mood Soothing Green Tea Wash-Off Mask is a prime exemplar. This is the sort of creamy, moisturizing mask that used to be impossible to find at any price lower than “an arm and a leg” and includes green tea extract, CBD oil, aloe extract, centella asiatica extract, heartleaf extract and chia seed extract, which are all soothing ingredients. I Dew Care has super cute branding, both in packaging and in actual product aesthetics — this, for example, is as green as the container. (Spoiler alert: their blue mask, which I just opened, really looks like frosting.) They run regular deals both through Ulta and YesStyle — for example, I actually got this mask for free during the latter’s Black Friday sale, though I had tried the small size initially to know I liked it. This mask rinses fairly cleanly, and I recommend it as a way to protect your skin in the shower.
Opened: April
Price: $25 USD / 100g
Rating: 8/10

Serums

💧 Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Water Essence

If you’ve been reading my content for a while, you know that hyaluronic acid is not my friend. Between my sensitive cheeks and living in a state so dry they’ve stopped referring to us as being in a drought and started referring to it as aridification, there seems to be no way for me to consistently use hyaluronic acid-focused products without it irritating my skin. Unfortunately, that streak of bad luck continued with the Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Water Essence. This essence, which is truly really a serum, uses a variety of molecular weights of hyaluronic acid, as well as niacinamide, panthenol, and a variety of plant extracts. “Why did you get a hyaluronic acid serum, Lisa, if they don’t work for you?” Well, funny story, but I got it for free in a giveway and I am not one to turn up my nose at free skincare. I will use it all up, come heck or high water. In this case, when not even slugging my cheeks with Vaseline could save them, I downgraded this to body care. I will say I actually loved it as a body serum — rub it into damp skin after the bath, throw on said Vaseline over top and you will be soft and silky. At 50 mL it’s arguably feasible to use this way, but I don’t think I’ll be rebuying for that purpose because it’s just a bit too fussy to bother.
Opened: April
Price: $31 USD / 50 mL, though frequently cheaper on some retailers
Rating: 5/10

🐝 Toun28 Propolis + Vitamin C, B3, B5, B6 Serum

Another thing you’ll be aware of if you’re a long-time reader is my love of propolis (fun fact: my most read post is my Face Off of the Propolis Serums: iUNIK vs COSRX vs Beauty of Joseon), and I can’t resist the urge to try out new propolis serums. Enter the Toun28 Propolis + Vitamin C, B3, B5, B6 Serum. Toun28 is a k-beauty brand that’s still relatively unheard of, but is making waves due to their approach to low-waste packaging (their moisturizers literally come in biodegradable paper, while their serums come in glass with rip-off labeling to promote recycling). Propolis, which is a bee byproduct, has been a favorite ingredient of mine for almost two years for increasing glow and reducing breakouts. This serum includes 88% propolis extract, plus 2% ascorbyl glucoside (a vitamin C derivative), 1% niacinamide (vitamin B3), panthenol (vitamin B5) and pyridoxine HCl (vitamin B6), to hit on all the ingredients in the name. In proper k-beauty fashion, it also includes a variety of plant extracts which gives this a pleasant fragrance without adding any explicitly fragrant components. This is a very lightweight, non-sticky propolis serum that I find to be quite elegant, and makes me excited to try more from the brand.
Opened: April
Price: $35 USD / 30 mL
Rating: 10/10

💜 Pacifica Vegan Ceramide Face Serum

Much like propolis, I also have a hard time turning away from ceramide serums, so after Pacifica, a “clean” drugstore brand, released their fragrance-free ceramide line, I had to try their Vegan Ceramide Face Serum. Ceramide serums tend to either come in “hydrating”, “goopy” or “oh hey I’m actually an emulsion” textures, and this one is definitely in the emulsion camp. Because of this, it comes in a pump bottle which is fairly nice to use until the bottom 25%, at which point it becomes frustrating because the pump stops working very well.T his includes ceramides NP, AP and EOP, as well as ceramide precursor phytosphingosine, plus cholesterol, fatty acids and some plant extracts. There are other ceramide serums I prefer but given how expensive they are to formulate with, it’s great to find something more accessible that can help rebuild and support the skin barrier.
Opened: April
Price: $16 USD / 29 mL
Rating: 8/10

Other Skincare

🌊 Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Toner

As a hydrating toner aficionado, I was excited to try the Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Toner. Round Lab is a k-beauty skincare brand with a whole line called Dokdo, which is a contested group of islands predominantly claimed by Korea but also by Japan and North Korea (its history is actually pretty interesting if you want to read up on the Liancourt Rocks). The reason for the name is the use of seawater from the area, which this toner makes great use of. While sea water can be drying in the wild, it’s also full of minerals which are good for the skin. This toner also includes panthenol and allantoin for soothing, as well as a smidgen of an enzyme which provides light exfoliation. Despite that enzyme, this has a light texture that layers up nicely both AM and PM for those interested in the seven skins method, all without feeling a bit stripping like other lightly exfoliating k-beauty toners can.
Opened: March
Price: $17 USD / 200 mL
Rating: 9/10

👄 Rohto Mentholatum Melty Cream Lip Matcha Lip Balm SPF25 PA+++

Need a lip spf? Hate the flavor of chemical filters and the white cast of mineral filters? Want something relatively cheap because you’ll inevitably run your chapstick through the wash? Well, you need Rohto Mentholatum. Their Melty Cream Lip Matcha Lip Balm has SPF 25 and PA+++, which is relatively good for a lip spf, and the only flavor to it is matcha. I even ran this one through the wash and while I lost a fair bit of it to gooeyness, the last bit of it was still usable. Thanks to emollients and occlusives like squalane, petrolatum, avocado and jojoba oils, as well as ceramides, this really does perform well as a lip balm in addition to a sunscreen. I will say I prefer some of their other lip spfs more just because it can be a bit jarring to taste and smell matcha every time you reapply — I’d give it full points if I hadn’t gotten burnt out on the flavor, honestly.
Opened: November
Price: $9 USD / 2.4 g
Rating: 9/10

🛁 Fur Bath Drops

No one can go through bath oil like I can, so even though I opened the Fur Bath Drops in May and was bathtub-less half of June, I’ve still already managed to empty them. Because I’m obsessed with baths, I’m also basically constantly on the verge of wrecking my body’s skin barrier by overstripping it due to submersion. Ergo my bath oil obsession: by putting oil in the tub, I can keep my skin comfortable for hours. I’m always trying out new types of bath oil, so it was only a matter of time before I tried these. The packaging says to use 2-3 per bath, though depending upon your tub size and length of bath time you may be able to do just 1. The algae-based outer film slowly dissolves, releasing grapeseed and jojoba oil, as well as a variety of essential oils. This definitely leaves skin feeling moisturized afterwards and if you’re an occasional bather who wants something fancy, I do recommend them — I just think it’s a bit wasteful for me given my own bathing practices.
Opened: May
Price: $38 USD / 18 drops
Rating: 8/10