Guess who’s back. Back again. A surprising amount of discontinued and reformulated skincare, that’s what! Great to have some old friends back in my routine, as well as try some new things. And stay tuned for next week, when Beet the Sun and Beet Shield go head-to-head (ish).

Back Again

💖 Krave Beauty Beet the Sun

Krave Beauty’s Beet Shield was my gateway sunscreen, back in the day, making me a daily user, so understandably my husband and I were pretty sad when it went away. But now it’s back, as Beet the Sun! This version is an SPF 40 using, unfortunately, older generation filters — but that’s what happens when you formulate in the U.S. This is a very liquidy, lightweight sunscreen, which is pretty hard to achieve with homosalate, octisalate, avobenzone and octocrylene. Beyond using the older filters, this does have a pretty similar inci list to the old version. Also like the old version, it seems to sell out regularly. More details and comparison to come next week!
Price: $20 USD / 50 mL

🍒 Good Days For All C’s The Day

You’ve seen me hyping Good Skin Days C’s The Day — now get ready for me to hype Good Days For All C’s The Day. This is one of the brands from Soko Glam, and it seems that in addition to their reformulation of this particular serum, they also went for a rebrand. The old version was a big favorite of mine: inexpensive and often on sale, a nice middling ascorbic acid percentage (10%), and a bunch of other brighteners (licorice root, niacinamide, camu camu extract). It oxidized pretty quickly, however. That seems to have been solved by the reformulation, and at the same time they got in even more brighteners: an additional 2% ascorbic acid, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate and arbutin. It also has ginseng, white truffle and other extracts.
Price: $26 USD / 30 mL

💜 By Wishtrend Vitamin A-mazing Bakuchiol Night Cream

By Wishtrend Vitamin A-mazing Bakuchiol Night Cream is not a reformulation, and I hope they don’t reformulate it — I just emptied my first bottle in March and gave it a 10/10, and anticipate rebuying in the future. I always cocktail this with a moisturizer, so it can spread further, but when I do so I also find I can use it nightly. In addition to retinal, this has bakuchiol, niacinamide, palmitoyl tripeptide-8, beta glucan, centella extract and ceramide NP, making it a skin-rebuilding powerhouse. It seems like this isn’t getting nearly as much love as other k-beauty retinals, and I’m a bit surprised by that, as it seems as lovely as Stratia Night Shift, but stronger.
Price: $33 USD / 30g

🟡 Banila Co Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm Nourishing

Banila Co Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm, the original, made me fall in love with cleansing balms, so I had to try a new flavor: nourishing! Notionally, this is the one for dry skin types, though realistically, as a first cleanse, most any skin type/concern should be able to use most any version. From a feel and emulsification aspect, they’re pretty similar — after all, the first four ingredients are the same, and that’s where most of the magic happens. This does feel genuinely more moisturizing, though, likely because unlike the original, this has safflower seed oil, evening primrose oil, sunflower seed oil and squalane. It also includes ginseng berry and root extracts, and royal jelly extracts. While these ingredients aren’t necessarily going to do much when they get rinsed off immediately, it’s always nice to have them, and I find that the moisturizing nature of this cleansing balm can help offset the more stripping nature of a second cleanse. I will note that this does have fragrance added — and I like it.
Price: $24 USD / 100 mL

New To Me

🌠 Allies of Skin Mandelic Pigmentation Corrector Night Serum

I got the Allies of Skin Mandelic Pigmentation Corrector Night Serum as a mini with a larger PSA order, which is good because otherwise I probably Never Would Have Purchased It. Not that it’s not great. It is actually a really thoughtful formulation. I just have heart palpitations at the thought of spending more than $3 per mL of product — indeed, per that math, they gave me over $20 in free product. This seems like a great serum for the sort of person who wants just one: in addition to mandelic acid, this has niacinamide, lactic acid, rosehip seed oil, bakuchiol, salicylic acid, green tea leaf extract, panthenol, resveratrol, ascorbic acid and three peptides. The fact that this can include peptides and acids without the efficacy of either being altered is a real testament to Allies of Skin, and likely a good amount of why it’s so pricey. I find this usable every day, and while there hasn’t been much time to see a difference, I could see why it would, over more time.
Price: $105 USD / 30 mL; shown in a 8 mL mini

🍑 Peach Slices Acne Spot Dots

Out with the old package of pimple patches, in with Peach Slices Acne Spot Dots. I’ve been holding onto these so long, in classic Lisa fashion, that they’ve changed the packaging. But they still are what they are: 30 hydrocolloid patches in 3 sizes, with 15 small ones, 6 normal and 9 large. These are the same thickness throughout, which may be better or worse, depending upon your blemish situation. Given that I was recovering from a pretty epic blemish and trying to keep it protected, I appreciated that upon opening them.
Price: $5 USD / 30 patches

🍃 Barr Centella Calming Barrier Cream

Barr is a k-beauty brand that doesn’t get much exposure in the western market, probably because of its limited distribution (though it’s available on the big international k-beauty retailers) and its limited product line (minimalism is part of their ethos). They’re most known for their centella line, from which I’m also using another product. The Centella Calming Barrier Cream is a midweight, hydrating cream, without the heaviness that usually goes along with barrier creams. It uses 64% centella asiatica leaf water, 1% panthenol, 1% squalane and 1% jojoba to do its good work, though there’s also ceramide NP, heartleaf extract and two of the bioactive compounds of centella (madecassoside and asiaticoside) for good measure. This seems like it would be great for use in summer, or for more acne prone skin types that want a non-comedogenic barrier cream.
Price: $20 USD / 80 mL