Is it halfway through December? Yes. Was I delayed in posting due to birthday and work shenanigans? Also yes. My seborrheic dermatitis flared up again in a big way last month, so I brought some old favorites come back into my routine while busting out some new heavy hitters. About two weeks out from when I would normally be posting these reviews, I can definitively say they’ve helped.

Wash-Off Products

🧼 Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm

The Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm has cult classic status for good reason. This is a very lightweight cleansing balm, melting from balm to oil easily. It also breaks down eye makeup pretty readily. While this emulsifies and rinses easily, without leaving a film, it doesn’t necessarily take dark eye makeup away with it as easily as one would like, so a double cleanse is definitely necessary. This does include essential oils, but they also carry a fragrance free version, as well as versions in different fragrances.
Price: $36 USD / 100 mL; frequently available for less through their website

💡 PSA Light Up Vitamin C & E Flash Brightening Mask

I’m a sucker for wash-off masks, so I was excited to pick up the PSA Light Up Vitamin C & E Flash Brightening Mask during their BOGO sale in November. The packaging on this looks lovely but is absurdly hard to use — it’s a pump on a tube, and they really should have picked either a pump bottle or a tube, not both. I like using this as my shower mask, to protect my skin from the hot water, when showering before events. This does seem to have a transient brightening effect, with 11% ascorbic acid and 2% tocopherol, and since it only stays on for a few minutes, it’s quite gentle.
Price: $42 USD / 50 mL

🥀 Then I Met You Rosé Resurfacing Facial Mask

I’ve been eyeing the Then I Met You Rosé Resurfacing Facial Mask for a hot minute, and finally snatched it during the Soko Glam Friends & Family sale. I find exfoliating masks to be an excellent pick-me-up, and this definitely served me well as my seborrheic dermatitis continued to flare this month: a few uses of this, plus the next mask in this post, knocked it right back down to a manageable situation. This is far gentler than The Ordinary’s infamous red mask, and even gentler than the Peach & Lily reboot mask which is an old favorite. It has 6% AHA (glycolic and lactic acid) and .5% BHA (salicylic acid), as well as resveratrol, an antioxidant from grapes, and rose petals. It’s pricey, but if you’ve been looking for a gentle wash-off exfoliant, consider this one.
Price: $56 USD / 50g

🇬🇷 Korres Greek Yoghurt Probiotic SuperDose Face Mask

Those who are caught up on my posts will know I went to Crete in September, where I picked up the Korres Greek Yoghurt Probiotic SuperDose Face Mask (and the sheet mask from the line!) for a whopping 38 euros. Now I’m not saying to go to Greece just to buy this, as it is available from Sephora for about $20 more, but I’m also not not saying that. This was an instant holy grail for me. I tried it for the first time on a day my seborrheic dermatitis was feeling itchy, inflamed, and nearly painful. Within moments, it calmed that feeling right down, and upon rinsing, the redness was impressively reduced. This is a beautiful formula with a lot more going on it than just yoghurt, and though there is some masking fragrance in it (otherwise it could smell pretty gross), this is rapidly becoming a must-have for me.
Price: $52 USD / 100 mL

Mists & Essences

🍄 d’Alba White Truffle First Spray Serum Mist

You’ve tried truffle fries, now try the d’Alba White Truffle First Spray Serum! Mushrooms are having their moment in skincare, and evidently that includes the truffles. This a biphase mist, with an oil layer and a “serum” layer. The oil layer is thin, and made of avocado and sunflower oils, two lightweight but moisturizing oils, and the serum layer has white truffle extract from Piedmont, Italy, as well as niacinamide and chia seed extract. I use this as a mist throughout my routine, but if you’re into setting sprays or mid-day mists, this would probably work well for that, as well.
Price: $35 USD / 100 mL

3️⃣ Son Reve Tri-Bio Treatment Essence

I’ve been eyeing the Son Reve Tri-Bio Treatment Essence since Kelly Driscoll referenced it in a video, and I finally picked it up during Soko Glam’s November sale. In proper treatment essence style, this is 90% fermented ingredients: galactomyces ferment filtrate, bifida ferment lysate and three rice ferment filtrates (aspergillus, lactobacillus and sacccharomyces). The other 10% includes goodies like glycerin, niacinamide, adenosine and sea buckthorn extract. This does feel heavier than the usual galactomyces-only First Treatment Essences that I usually go for, but not so much that I can’t still use it as my first post-cleanse step.
Price: $43 USD / 150 mL

Serums

🌾 Beauty of Joseon Glow Deep Serum

Not to be confused with their Glow Serum, the Beauty of Joseon Glow Deep Serum is a relatively new entry to their affordable serum lineup. The Glow Deep Serum uses 68.6% rice bran water with niacinamide and 2% alpha-arbutin for brightening. This is a fairly lightweight serum, and I’ve been using it as part of my much longer routine in hopes of adding some additional brightening and reducing old post-inflammatory erythema.
Price: $17 USD / 30 mL

✨ PSA Liquid Panacea Centella & Kombucha Firming Recovery Booster

Also acquired during PSA’s BOGO sale, I couldn’t not try their Liquid Panacea Centella & Kombucha Firming Recovery Booster — after all, if it’s a panacea it must be pretty magical, right? The main heroes are fermented black tea as well as various centella compounds, as the name suggests. With radish root ferment, green tea extract and safflower oil rounding this out, it feels a lot like a k-beauty calming serum. Texture-wise it is a lightweight but creamy serum with a lot of slip so it only takes one pump to cover face, neck and chest. Considering this serum’s small size, coming in at only 15 mL, that’s a good thing. Whether it is firming remains to be seen.
Price: $20 USD / 15 mL

💚 By Wishtrend Cera-barrier Soothing Ampoule

Given all the hype that the By Wishtrend Cera-barrier Soothing Ampoule has received, I was very excited to pick it up as part of the YesStyle Influencer Program in exchange for a review (this is not that review). This is a creamy serum, though lighter than the PSA. This only includes one type of ceramide (Ceramide NP) but as the name claims it’s definitely all about barrier support and soothing: centella asiatica extract and panthenol calm, while squalane, sunflower seed oil and six types of peptides bring the barrier repair. It’s not the most immediately soothing of products I’ve used (that honor definitively goes to the Korres mask above or the Isntree cream below), I’m hopeful that with prolonged use my skin barrier will start to feel stronger again.
Price: $28 USD / 30 mL

Creams

🍃 Isntree Cica Relief Cream

I have a bad feeling that the Isntree Cica Relief Cream is being discontinued, and if it is I will be distraught and probably have to throw myself at eBay’s mercy. This cream has been a holy grail for over a year now. It’s lightweight but incredibly buttery. The green tint helps reduce redness. And the formula! It’s a cica cream so brings the calming with centella asiatica extract, but also brings in multiple plant extracts, various peptides, as well as panthenol and allantoin to bring the calming. This is my go-to day cream when my skin is feeling irritated, and I also cocktail it with my retinal from By Wishtrend in the PM.
Price: $26 USD / 50 mL

💙 Pyunkang Yul Ato Cream Blue Label

Pyunkang Yul Ato Cream Blue Label is another long-time holy grail that came out this month to help my irritated skin. This is a ridiculously cost-effective medium-weight cream that I enjoy in the evening, or occasionally as a day cream if I’m doing a slapdash skincare routine before heading out the door. The formula includes Ceramide NP and Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, but the real stars here are the macademia seed oil and the shea butter that make the texture so lovely while making it so nourishing. PKY’s special spin on this cream is the inclusion of honeysuckle extract, which is anti-inflammatory.
Price: $19 USD / 120 mL