July was one of the more wild months of my life, which is why this post is coming to you not one, but over two weeks late (I always target empties for the last weekend of the month). It was also an unprecedentedly hot and humid July in Colorado, which did a bit of a number on my skin — I had the worst break out of the past few years, my skin barrier was generally unhappy, it was a whole thing. In some cases, the products I emptied were part of the cause. Here’s what I emptied, for good or for ill, last month.

Cleansers

🍚 Tatcha The Rice Wash

Tatcha’s aesthetic has always appealed to me, and so of course I’ve finally found a cleanser that I actually really love in The Rice Wash. I am notoriously picky about cleansers — I blame having dry skin and generally being bored by that step of a skincare routine — and so this one was a revelation. I’ve heard of concerns about the texture and though it starts out a bit grainy upon dispensing from the tube, the grains immediately soften up so by the time it’s applied to the face, there’s no grit. This cream cleanser rinses clean without leaving any residue but also without stripping the skin, and being Tatcha, it also smells good. Figures I’d love an expensive cleanser.
Price: $36 USD / 120 mL; shown in the $16 USD / 50 mL travel size
Opened: March
Rating: 10/10

🌳 Dewytree Hi Amino All Cleanser

The Dewytree Hi Amino All Cleanser was so close to being a decent k-beauty cleanser, which are notorious for being stripping. It is actually a creamy cleanser, and it doesn’t leave the skin feeling stripped. On the flip side, it doesn’t rinse clean, so it almost feels like it must be scraped off the skin. Worse? It burned my eyes. I ended up using it up on my body where, counterintuitively, I DID find it to be stripping. But I also subject my body skin to lots of hot water regularly, so that might not be entirely its fault.
Price: 16 USD / 150 mL; shown in a 20 mL sample size
Opened: June
Rating: 2/10

🌾 Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant clocks in as the longest-opened product in our house — indeed, the only reason it’s finally featured in an empty is because the desiccant pack has stopped working, so it no longer dispenses. While this was expired — the expiry on this is 18 months after opening — the powder format has made it usable for a long time. The principle problem with it, in my experience, is that it requires a lot of water in order to produce a lather, so it had to live in my shower. It also is a bit on the stripping side, so while I would highly recommend it for oily-skinned folks who travel, since this wouldn’t need to go in a liquids bag, I don’t know that I would recommend it for too many others.
Price: $64 USD / 74 g; when I bought it it was $59
Opened: March 2020
Rating: 8/10

Wash-Off Masks

🍑 Peach & Lily Super Reboot Resurfacing Mask

The Peach & Lily Super Reboot Resurfacing Mask has been my favorite alternative to The Ordinary’s AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution. I have admittedly have never the one from TO due to general terror around face obliteration — this one is much gentler, with 10% glycolic acid and .5% salicylic, so less concerning if you’re also the sort of person who forgets to set timers for wash-off masks. I do still follow this up with a moisturizing mask afterwards, as otherwise it can get a bit intense on my cheeks, which run sensitive. The reset of this is basically all calming and antioxidant ingredients, with agave, aloe, green tea, centella asiatica and licorice extracts as major callouts, among others. This is a jelly mask that can be a bit difficult to rinse, so I recommend using a wash-cloth afterwards, or rinsing off in the shower.
Price: $43 USD / 80 mL
Opened: February
Rating: 10/10

🎂 I Dew Care Cake My Day Hydrating Sprinkle Wash-Off Mask

The I Dew Care masks always get points for being fun, and the Cake My Day Hydrating Sprinkle Wash-Off Mask is a prime exemplar — it looks and smells like frosting with sprinkles. Unfortunately, beyond the sprinkles, there’s not too much going on here: a few fatty alcohols, olive oil and cocoa butter. This makes it a mask that isn’t too moisturizing, isn’t stripping, but is definitely here for the aesthetics.
Price: $25 USD / 100g; shown in the 10g size from the Mini Scoops set
Opened: June
Rating: 6/10

Toners

💦 Biossance Squalane + Hyaluronic Acid Toning Mist

Biossance Squalane + Hyaluronic Acid Toning Mist excels as a lightweight bug spray. Truly, that’s how I used it after I determined early on that my face didn’t care for it. My face doesn’t love hyaluronic acid, as long time readers who know that I live in an arid place will recall, though for those who like it, this does have two weights for enhanced absorption. Beyond that, though, this feels like it’s basically all essential oils (lavender, orange, geranium) and fragrance (limonene, citronellol, geraniol, linalool). This makes it a great bug spray for quick evening dog walks, but less great for a luxurious between-step spritz.
Price: $18 USD / 30 mL
Opened: May 2020
Rating: 3/10

🌿 Skinfood Pantothenic Water Parsley Toner

I received the Skinfood Pantothenic Water Parsley Toner for free in exchange for a review (which this is not). This uses water parsley extract for Vitamin C and Vitamin K, plus, in keeping with the name, panthenol at .05% and pantothenic acid, its more bioavailable cousin, at .0005% for soothing. The secret bamboozler of this toner is that it is actually exfoliating, however, with salicylic acid in it. It’s a low percentage, though high enough that those with dry skin thinking to use this for seven skins should steer clear — I may or may not have done my skin barrier a bamboozle upon using this initially because I didn’t really check too closely. If you’re oily and looking for a light, daily exfoliating toner to tackle acne and inflammation, this might be a good choice for you.
Price: $15 USD / 115 mL
Opened: May
Rating: 6/10

Serums

🔴 First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Dark Spot Serum

A name bigger than its size, the First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Dark Spot Serum graced my routine a whole three times before it was empty. As such, there wasn’t really a chance to see if the percent of niacinamide (undisclosed) was enough to do much brightening, or to see what the antioxidant benefits of the licorice root, kiwi and white tea extracts might have been. Honestly, call me spoiled by k-beauty, but though the creamy texture is a bit unusual, it seems like it’s a bit expensive compared to other alternatives currently on the market.
Price: $42 USD / 30 mL; shown in a 5 mL sample size
Opened: this month
Rating: 5/10

🥬 Sweet Chef Kale + Vitamin B Serum Shot

I’m still not sure if the Sweet Chef Kale + Vitamin B Serum Shot is being discontinued or not, but if it’s not I actually do recommend it as a creamy antioxidant serum, though the vitamin B here is panthenol rather than niacinamide. Kale, aloe, turmeric, red algae and other extracts provide the antioxidant benefit. Perhaps the only drawback here is the lavender oil as a masking fragrance, and how fast it feels like that 30 mL goes.
Price: $20 USD / 30 mL
Opened: May
Rating: 9/10

🍶 Numbuzin No. 3 Skin Softening Serum

Numbuzin No. 3 Skin Softening Serum is one of the many k-beauty contributions to the growing probiotic serum trend. This has bifida ferment lysate at 42% and galactomyces at 21%, plus niacinamide, squalane, silk extract and goat milk extract for a super luxe formula. Not bad for the price point, especially considering that US market alternatives will set you back over $100. I will say that I did not personally see any visible changes in the time that I was using this serum, but my skin barrier did feel strong. Long time readers will know that I do swear by galactomyces for pore size reduction, though.
Price: $21 USD / 50 mL
Opened: March
Rating: 9/10

PÜR Go with the Glow Niacinamide Drops

The PÜR Go with the Glow Niacinamide Drops seem like a classic western market product in that you cannot trust the name to know what’s going on with the product. Yes, this has niacinamide in it, but beyond that it’s a grab-bag of actives like a vitamin C derivative, retinol, lactic acid, with some other skin barrier-supporting ingredients like saccharomyces ferment, panthenol and ceramide Ap, plus a boatload of fruit and vegetable extracts. I think this could be great for the person who wants a one-and-done face serum, and importantly doesn’t mind incredibly strongly scented products. Unfortunately it was just too much for me, and I think I waited too long to determine what was in this product — I was using it with other strong actives and my skin barrier did not love it.
Price: $30 / 30 mL; shown in a 10 mL sample size
Opened: this month
Rating: 3/10

Sunscreen

😎 Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun : Rice + Probiotics

The Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun : Rice + Probiotics is very hyped right now and for good reason, as it’s an example of all that is good in Korean sunscreens. It’s a bit of a “come for the sunscreen filters, stay for the rice and other wonderful ingredients” situation. Being a Korean sunscreen, it can use the newer generation filters like Uvinul A Plus, Uvinul T 150, Tinosorb M and Iscotrizinol to give it its SPF 50+ PA++++ rating while being non-irritating and white-cast-free. In addition it has rice bran water at 30%, which is a great brightening ingredient, plus niacinamide to brighten and a variety of ferments to support the skin barrier. This is the sort of sunscreen that even the dry skin types might be able to skip moisturizer for, because it just feels nourishing.
Price: $18 USD / 50 mL
Opened: June
Rating: 10/10

☀️ Dr. Ceuracle Cica Regen Vegan Sun

I wanted to love Dr. Ceuracle Cica Regen Vegan Sun, and I mostly did, but it just missed the mark for me. Like the Beauty of Joseon sunscreen, this has modern filters: Uvinul T 150, Mexoryl SX, Uvinul A Plus, Parsol SLX and Tinosorb S for its SPF 50+ PA++++ rating. As the name suggests, beyond the filters the main event here is cica: centella asiatica extract, madecassoside, asiaticoside, which are great for soothing and antioxidant support. This has rosemary leaf oil in it, which is probably intended to be a masking fragrance, but unfortunately I think the overall smell of this sunscreen is a bit undesirable and the rosemary makes it smell piney and cleaning-product-like, which diminished my enjoyment considerably. This does have alcohol denat, as well, so it dries down well — I could see this being a good option for sensitive acne-prone folks.
Price: $18 USD / 50 mL
Opened: May
Rating: 8/10

Creams

🥛 Etude House Soon Jung Centella 10-Free Moist Emulsion

The Etude House Soon Jung Centella 10-Free Moist Emulsion is officially one of the best deals on skincare I’ve ever gotten, if you look at price per mL, how long it lasted, and how much I was able to use it for. Emulsions are a type of product more common in j- and k-beauty, though there are some in the Western market now. In chemistry, an emulsion is a mixture of two liquids that don’t usually actually mix — think oil and water. In skincare, since most moisturizing products do tend to have an emulsion of oil and water, it tends to refer to lighter moisturizing products. This is exactly that. It’s a lightweight lotion, with squalane providing the oil component, and the humectant coming in from glycerin — no hyaluronic acid in this, just like the main Soon Jung line. This has panthenol for soothing and green tea extract for an antioxidant benefit, but the real star here is cica: madecassoside, asiaticoside, madecassic acid, asiatic acid and centella asiatica flower, leaf and stem extracts. This made a great AM moisturizer, as well as a retinol buffer, anti-itch cream and general “I don’t know I just need something right now” product.
Price: $20 UD / 130 mL
Opened: November
Rating: 10/10

☕️ The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream

The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream is quite popular, but I don’t see the hype. In its defense, I have yet to find an eye cream that stirs something in me, but this really feels like the product folks buy because they feel like they need an eye cream, and it’s the most affordable option. Though it seems like a gimmick, there is actually some evidence that caffeine in a topical product can actually depuff and brighten, since it’s a vasoconstrictor. This means that those struggling with puffy or dark under eyes might actually see a benefit from this — though I didn’t. It does have a nice water-cream type texture to it, so it felt refreshing.
Price: $10 USD / 15 mL
Opened: March
Rating: 6/10

🇰🇷 Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream

This reformulated (fragrance-free!) version of the Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream has been incredibly popular, and I can see why. The price-point is excellent, especially given how lux the packaging looks. It’s fairly lightweight while still nourishing, making it a decent night cream in hotter, more humid weather, or a good day cream during transitional weather. In fact, in terms of texture and feel I actually think it’s quite similar to the Versed Skin Soak Rich Moisture Cream. This focuses on rice bran water and ginseng root water, both of which are great source of antioxidants and brightening compounds, and also includes niacinamide, squalane, honey extract, ceramide np and various weights of HA.
Price: $25 USD / 50 mL
Opened: April
Rating: 9/10

Single-Use Products

🟡 Cosrx Master Patch Intensive

I’m a fan of other Cosrx patches, but the Master Patch Intensive frankly is not as good. These are classic hydrocolloid patches, with the addition of salicylic acid and tea tree leaf oil to help tackle acne under the surface. I think for those with particularly active closed comedones, these could be helpful. My acne, when I get it, tends to be far enough below the surface that it didn’t really move the needle on them resolving any faster.
Price: $25 USD / 90 patches; shown in an 18 patch size
Opened: May
Rating: 6/10

🧪 BABOR Multi Vitamin Ampoule Serum Concentrates

If you’ve never heard of BABOR Multi Vitamin Ampoule Serum Concentrates, you are not alone — this was an upsell at the spa we go to every month, and it was not the wisest skincare choice I’ve made. The multivitamins here are vitamin A, E and B5, with the vitamin A coming from retinyl palmitate, carrot root extract and beta-carotene, the vitamin E from tocopheryl acetate and tocopherol, and the vitamin B5 from panthenol, of course, and pantolactone. This is intended as a 7 day pick-me-up, and there’s not much else going on here. The ampoule system (individual “serving sizes” in glass packaging) definitely felt lux, and I can see the appeal, but I’d recommend saving that for things like Vitamin C where it can really make a difference in how the ingredients are preserved and perform, or when needed for things like traveling — I just picked up some ampoules to take with me to Greece in September, for example..
Price: $35 USD / 14 mL (seven 2 mL ampoules)
Opened: this month
Rating: 4/10