Hello skin woes, my old enemies. It’s not nice to see you again. Two Januaries in a row, now, my skin has been on the struggle bus. Last year, it was psoriasis all over my body. This year, it was a resurgence of my seborrheic dermatitis (and a nice little patch of contact dermatitis on the back of my neck).

Toners

💦 Acwell Licorice pH Balancing Essence Mist

I picked up the Acwell Licorice pH Balancing Essence Mist on a whim through the SokoGlam rewards program (which is an excellent one, by the way). This mist, which is incidentally in partnership with SokoGlam itself, really focuses on licorice for its brightening effects, while adding in great hydrators like bamboo extract, oat extract and beta-glucan. Other notable callouts include fermented ingredients like saccharomyces ferment filtrate and yeast extract, as well as centella leaf water, royal jelly extract and prebiotics for calming and moisturizing, It’s worth noting that this does have orange and lemon fruit extracts, as well as bergamot oil, so those avoiding natural fragrance sources may want to avoid it. I haven’t noticed any fragrance, frankly, even though due to the fairly “meh” mister I find myself spraying a fair bit of this at a time for full coverage.
Price: $24 USD / 100 mL

🍄 Chasin’ Rabbits Magic Beauty Shroom

One look at the Chasin’ Rabbits Magic Beauty Shroom marketing and you’ll understand why I had to try it. This “tremella mushroom elixir” is made with 100% tremella mushroom extract, also known as snow fungus. It’s having its moment in skincare lately due to its high amount of beta glucan and polysaccharides, which have hydrating and moisturizing effects, all while providing an antioxidant benefit, as well. This elixir — I use it as a toner, though you could certainly use it as an essence, too — layers well with just a little bit of body to it. This is my first real foray into tremella, so I’m excited to see its effects and whether it really is magical.
Price: $25 USD / 200 mL

🗓 Some By Mi AHA-BHA-PHA 30Days Miracle Toner

Despite its name, the current generation of the Some By Mi AHA-BHA-PHA 30Days Miracle Toner does not, in fact, have AHA. Unless you consider citric acid an AHA, which it arguably is, though rarely used for that purpose and not merely for adjusting the pH of a formula. This has salicylic acid (BHA), lactobionic acid (PHA) and papaya extract (another gentle exfoliant). This also includes niacinamide, tea tree leaf water and witch hazel extract, making it a pretty great choice for those with more oily, acne-prone skin seeking a bit of a daily de-clog. One big callout here, beyond the lack of AHA itself, is the fairly strong menthol scent due to the peppermint oil. It was that very peppermint oil that made me initially wonder if this was the source of my seborrheic dermatitis flare up, though the two seem to be unrelated, upon further testing. Still: buyer beware.
Price: $22 USD / 150 mL; shown in a 30 mL travel size

Serums

🍑 Peach Slices Redness Relief Azelaic Acid Serum

The Peach Slices Redness Relief Azelaic Acid Serum is officially a staple in our household now, having overthrown the booster from Paula’s Choice due to price considerations alone. Like the Paula’s Choice, this includes 10% azelaic acid. But this nixes the salicylic acid in that formula in favor of calming and antioxidant ingredients like panthenol, mugwort, centella and more. The lightweight texture makes it super easy to use AM or PM.
Price: $20 USD / 30 mL

👁 Hydrafacial Eye Replenishing Serum

I got the Hydrafacial Eye Replenishing Serum after, well, a Hydrafacial (they don’t sell them individually) and thus far I have to say: I understand the hype behind rollerballs for eye skincare now. This has a very liquidy formula, with oat kernel extract, mucor miehei extract (more mushroom!), arnica extract and hyaluronic acid. Notionally, all of these together should plump and brighten the area. This isn’t really an issue that I have, but because of the rollerball I’ve enjoyed using it immensely, even if otherwise the packaging is a bit annoying in my skincare bin because it rolls around.
Price: N/A

🌱 Dermafirm Bio Correction Ampoule Collagen R4

I received the Dermafirm Bio Correction Ampoule Collagen R4 as a gift with purchase through YesStyle and I’m glad I did because it’s about double what I like to pay per mL on serums. Per its name, this includes hydrolyzed collagen, a great humectant. The humectant nature of this serum is amplified by glycerin, aloe powder hyaluronic acid and beta glucan, while they added copper tripeptyde-1, palmitoyl oligopeptide, tripeptide-1 and palmitoyl pentapeptide-4 to enhance the notional healing and collagen stimulating benefits of the hydrolyzed collagen. That said, this is a surprisingly un-hydrating serum — frankly rather goopy — so I find myself spritzing the Acwell mist with aplomb before applying.
Price: $29 USD / 15 mL

Last Steps

🛢 Kinship Ceramide Barrier Repair Oil

I don’t stand by facial oils in my routine, but I do stand by ceramides and I do enjoy facial oils in winter, so of course I had to pick up the Kinship Ceramide Barrier Repair Oil. This is a blended oil, with sesame seed oil, squalane, jojoba oil, olive oil, oat oil, moringa seed oil, borage oil, sea buckthorn oil and avocado oil. It also includes a variety of fruit extracts and a vitamin C derivative. Notably, you won’t see any of the usual ceramide NP/AP/EOP/etcs in here — these ceramides are derived from the oat kernel oil. This is a nice, lightweight facial oil that smells nice — though if you’re interested in a fragranced oil blend with a lot of ceramides, I highly recommend the Derma B Intensive Barrier Multi Oil.
Price: $38 USD / 30 mL

🔵 Village 11 Factory Ultra Facial Cream

I received the Village 11 Factory Ultra Facial Cream through the YesStyle Influencer Program in exchange for a review. This is not that review. This is intended to be a lightweight cream, and I suppose it is that — but you have to use a very small amount it, basically a finger tip’s dab, in order for it to not feel greasy on the skin. When using a small amount, however, it leaves the skin feeling very smooth, and I imagine this would be great for makeup wearers who like a dimethicone base. The hero ingredient of this is the laminaria japonica extract, a type of brown algae known for its antioxidant, anti-aging and moisturizing benefits. Interestingly, this also includes tranexamic acid, green tea extract, licorice root extract, cica extract, heartleaf extract and milk thistle extract, so they’re going for a daytime antioxidant cream with this, in my opinion. My main issue is simply the packaging, as it can be tough to keep tubs this size free of debris (in my house, mostly poodlemix fluff).
Price: $16 USD / 100 mL

🍉 Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask

I’ve been holding onto the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask for so long that it’s actually been reformulated and renamed to Watermelon Glow AHA Night Treatment since I acquired it. The rename is probably for the best. This includes glycolic and lactic acid, both AHAs, and are definitely the sort of ingredients you want to know when you’re using, because while for me this is gentle enough to use daily and with retinal, you wouldn’t want to just blithely apply it. I also support the rename to “Night Treatment”, as I’ve seen some folks use sleeping masks in lieu of moisturizers and I would not recommend that with this — a thin layer is all you need or want to apply. As it is, I do recommend rinsing this off in the morning purely because that film really sticks around.
Price: $40 USD / 60 mL; shown in a 30 mL travel size