Well, if life went to plan, this would be the weekend I’d be publishing my August Empties (I usually do empties last weekend of the month, openeds first weekend of the next). But life rarely goes to plan, does it? We moved to Tulsa, OK for three months with about 2.5 weeks of notice due to my husband going through a startup accelerator, and with all that disruption of routine has led to a lot of disruption in routine. But more on that in the next post (which will hopefully be next week and I’ll be on a semi-regular cadence). In the interim, here’s what I started using in July.

Wash-Off Products

🍓 Biossance Squalane + Elderberry Jelly Cleanser

I received the Biossance Squalane + Elderberry Jelly Cleanser as a Christmas gift from a friend who loves the brand, and I only just got around to opening it because cleanser lasts me forever. This one, though, I feel like I’m flying through, in part because I actually really enjoy using it. This is intended to be put on dry skin, so for starters I do apply more than the usual amount just to get coverage, applying it like a mask, then adding water. This has a purple, jelly look to it that makes it fun to use, but it rinses off easily and without stripping the skin, thanks to the squalane. I can’t speak to how well it would remove a full face of makeup, but it does take off mascara reasonably well. Definitely one of my favorite cleansers I’ve tried to date!
Price: $28 USD / 150 mL

🧈 Topicals Like Butter Hydrating Mask

I remember when the Topicals Like Butter Hydrating Mask came out and everyone wanted to lick it. You should not — it is definitely like butter, especially butter that has melted and resolidified, but is not butter. This is meant to be used either as an overnight mask or as a wash-off hydrating mask, and I use it as the latter — particularly after using an exfoliating mask. This has a variety of butters and oils, as well as madecassoside, oat and ceramides to increase the calming.
Price: $34 USD / 50 mL

Leave-On Products

🐝 Cosrx Full Fit Propolis Synergy Toner

I’ve been hyping the Cosrx Full Fit Propolis Synergy Toner for almost two years now, and this particular bottle has been hanging out in my stash for almost that long (Ulta 21 Days of Beauty sale in Spring ’21). I insist on having propolis in my routine, and since I’m not using a designated propolis serum at the moment due to the heat and humidity of the summer, being able to layer it up in a toner is a delight. Propolis really gives my skin a lot of glow, and on top of that is moisturizing, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial, so I love it for its passive breakout-fighting contributions, too. I will note that this time around it occasionally is bothering the skin around my eye area — not that I have an allergy to it, but that perhaps my other allergies that I’m experiencing more this year are making it play less nicely.
Price: $22 USD / 150 mL

💧 Isntree TW-Real Bifida Ampoule

Isntree’s TW-Real Bifida Ampoule is very much part of the skin microbiome trend, and a worthy contributor to it. 88% bifida ferment lysate makes it a strong dupe to the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum, but it also includes lactobacillus/pumpkin ferment extract, lactobacillus/soybean ferment extract, and lactobacillus/rice ferment filtrate. Rounding out the formula is beta-glucan, palmitoyl tripeptide-1, copper tripeptide-1, and acetyl hexapeptide-8. I do feel like my skin, particularly on my cheeks, has felt stronger since I started using this twice a day.
Price: $30 USD / 50 mL

🐌 Mizon Snail Repair Eye Cream

I got the Mizon Snail Repair Eye Cream a couple years ago for my mom, and just finally picked it up for myself. I’m not a big eye cream fan, myself, mostly because I frequently forget to use them, but I like having one on hand for if my eyes feel particularly tired, and more specifically to actually use on my lips — a hydrating eye cream underneath a lip balm works a treat when they’re dry and gross. Mizon’s snail repair is one of their most popular lines, and this combines snail secretion filtrate with Matrixyl, meadowfoam seed oil, niacinamide, beeswax and dimethicone for a nicely wearing, light eye cream with potential long-term anti-aging benefits.
Price: $15 USD / 25 mL; shown in the 15 mL travel size

3️⃣ SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2

SkinCeuticals is one of the “creme de la creme” brands in skincare due to all the research they sink into their products, and the Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 is a prime exemplar of this. I’ve been thinking about this moisturizer for a while because hello, skincare fanatic, and I let myself get talked into it at a recent trip to the day spa. We now know that the skin barrier requires a ratio of ceramides to cholesterol to fatty acids, and in this moisturizer it is 2% ceramides EOP and NP, 4% cholesterol, and 2% fatty acids. Otherwise this is a fairly simple but elegant (and fragranced!) moisturizer, and I’m glad I’m getting to try it — though so far I’m not sure if I’ll ever rebuy.
Price: $136 USD / 46 mL

Sunscreens

😎 SkinCeuticals Sheer Physical UV Defense SPF 50

We picked up the SkinCeuticals Sheer Physical UV Defense SPF 50 on that same day spa trip — in this case, because they were upselling my husband. He emerged from his facial glowing and wearing this mineral sunscreen, which they had somehow managed to apply without any sort of white cast, even at the edges of his hairline or in his beard. I even asked them to confirm that this was the exact sunscreen they used, because I was so astonished by the lack of white cast. Well: we have not been able to recreate their success. While sufficient buffing does remove the white cast on our skin, the moment it gets near a hairline it’s a disaster. One of these days I’ll stop trying to make mineral sunscreen work for us — in the mean time, this has become a body sunscreen.
Price: $36 USD / 50 mL

🌻 Etude Sunprise Mild Watery Light SPF50+ PA++++

Etude Sunprise Mild Watery Light SPF50+ PA++++ is a k-beauty chemical sunscreen with a mix of modern and old sunscreen filters: octinoxate, homosalate, ethylhexyl salicylate, Uvinul A Plus and octocrylene. This sunscreen is lightweight and non-drying, despite the alcohols contributing to a good dry-down, with a pleasant smell (there’s a fair number of added essential oils for masking). It also includes a variety of antioxidant and skin-soothing extracts. I find that it can pill, especially if I’m using a more oil-intensive morning routine, though on simpler routine days it’s quite lovely.
Price: $16 USD / 50 mL, less expensive at most retailers

Other

🔴 The Klog Soft Shield Pimple Patches

I wish I had access to pimple patches when I was a teenager, let alone such cheap ones like The Klog Soft Shield Pimple Patches. I like the quantity of these, of course, as well as the sizes — the 10mm size is standard. The 14mm size, however, actually works nicely for non-pimple concerns. In my first week in Tulsa I used them to help with heat rash spots, to cover cuts, etc. I don’t think these stick quite as well as the ones from Cosrx.
Price: $6 USD / 42 patches