The pandemic has really cut down on the number of cocktails I consume, but as I get more into skincare the cocktails have come back — just topically.

Of course, for the most part alcohol’s very much fallen out of favor in skincare, but that’s not the sort of cocktail I’m talking about. (Though to be frank, if someone wanted to throw some mimosa-related branding on a generic vitamin c serum, I’d probably buy it.) Instead, much like in making a boozey cocktail, skincare cocktails are all about mixing your products.

This cocktail mixing is distinct from the layer mixing that automatically happens as you apply each progressive step of your routine. Rather, this cocktailing is specifically meant to make certain products easier to apply or to offset the negative side effects a product might have when used as its own layer.

Cocktailing For Easy Application

The ampoule, serum and powder shown above are my go-to skincare cocktail for the evening. (There, now the nightcap title makes sense.) The Missha Time Revolution Night Repair Probio Ampoule is eminently spreadable. But the Kate Somerville Kx Active Concentrates Omegas + Ceramides Barrier Defense Serum (wow, could they fit more words into that name?) recommends that one “use sparingly” as “a little goes a long way.” My face excels at a little only going a little way, though, so by cocktailing it into the Missha, I can use as directed. And, of course, how does one use a powder in skincare? Well, Cosrx literally DOES recommend mixing a few taps of their Pure Fit Cica Powder into a serum or toner before applying.

The end result? A palm full of goop that I mix together in my hand and then slather over my face enthusiastically.

Cocktailing With Moisturizers

Ever felt good proper irritation from a retinol, or discovered that a particular product pills (balls up on the skin) like nobody’s business? Cocktailing might also be a good solution.

Now I don’t love mixing my retinol in with moisturizers, as I tend to use more creamy formulas and it can be hard to tell if things are fully mixed (I don’t want all the retinol on my cheeks and none on my forehead and neck, after all), but some estheticians and dermatologists recommend this as a way to make the retinol less irritating. Personally, I’d recommend just applying your retinol after your moisturizer, but your mileage may vary depending on the consistencies of both products.

That said, what I WILL layer with my moisturizer? Products that pill. I recently opened a travel size of the Paula’s Choice Peptide Booster, hoping to actually use it as the base of my Ceramide and Cica cocktail. But it pills something fierce in that mode. And I didn’t find it to be too spreadable as its own layer. So now I put a squeeze of it in with my Pyunkang Yul Ato Cream Blue Label in the evening and it doesn’t pill at all, not even as I layer my A’pieu Madecassoside Sleeping Mask and Chiasm Skin custom oil over top. (More on THAT particular luscious combo in a future post.)

Do you cocktail? Or do you figure cocktails are just for drinking? Let me know!