November Empties Reviews

November was supposed to be chill, but it was not. It’s one of the more stressful months of my life, thanks to my job, and my seborrheic dermatitis flared accordingly. It likes to hang out around my nose, and was red and itchy and ouchy. I did not love that, and it was super frustrating to be as into skincare as I am now and still struggle like I did years ago — seborrheic dermatitis is the whole reason I initially became obsessed with skincare, though now it’s a bit of a self-perpetuating thing. In addition, despite not planning on any more travel, we drove out to Mountain View, CA, the week before Thanksgiving, and then came right back to host Thanksgiving itself. All that meant that I bombed through some products in hopes they’d help my sensitive cheeks and grumpy nose. You’ll have to stay tuned for my next post about what I opened to give myself some relief, but here’s what I emptied in November.

Toners & Essences

🍶 Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence

Another entry of “try all the first essences” for the books, as I’ve finished up the Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence. This, along with Mizon, Missha and Scinic, are the k-beauty galactomyces essences usually pointed to as dupes for SK-II. This is the least galactomyces of the bunch, as it adds in aloe, arbutin, cica and green tea extracts to boost the natural goodness that is galactomyces. This did have the lightweight feel and pore-management effects that I’ve come to expect from a first essence, but it was not as hydrating or nourishing as the others, so I found myself doing two layers to compensate. Great price, though.
Opened: August
Price: $22 USD / 155 mL
Rating: 8/10

🍑 Peach & Lily Wild Dew Treatment Essence

While enjoying many other Peach & Lily products, their Wild Dew Treatment Essence was not really one of them. I received this sample size and was excited to try it, despite having heard pretty “meh” opinions about it. From an ingredients list perspective, it seems like it should be great: glycerin, lotus extract, bamboo water and sodium hyaluronate to hydrate, panthenol, niacinamide and allantoin, and adenosine and saccharomyces ferment for anti-aging. Well. I found it to be quite drying. Literally, I bombed through this to try and get some hydration out of it (it does say “drench” on the front) and if anything my skin felt drier after layering it. I’m not sure if it was the eucalyptus oil or something else, but I’m glad I only had 30 mLs.
Opened: this month
Price: $39 USD / 100 mL; shown in a 30 mL travel size
Rating: 4/10

🍵 Dr. Ceuracle Vegan Kombucha Tea Essence

The Dr. Ceuracle Vegan Kombucha Tea Essence gets a lot of hype, and a lot of that is well-merited. It’s a bi-phase essence, meaning that the water and oil phases are separate until you shake it up immediately prior to use. This makes it similar in feel and even in usage to the Laneige Cream Skin Refiner — including the difficulty in deciding when to use it in a routine. It felt a bit too heavy (kind of an oily finish) to go on before water-based serums, so I tended to use it after them. I also found that it could result in my sunscreen pilling if I used it in the AM, so I ended up using it only in the PM, which is why it lasted so long. It’s a lovely blend of fermented green tea leaf extract, saccharomyces ferment filtrate, green tea water and sunflower seed oil, as well as a ceramide, vitamin E and other plant extracts. Definitely good for dry skin in need of more nourishment, but might not be great for other skin types.
Opened: May
Price: $38 USD / 150 mL
Rating: 8/10

Serums

🍃 Pestlo Pantherecipe Nonicica Soothing Serum

It’s not often that a sponsored product hits a 10/10 for me, but Pestlo Pantherecipe Nonicica Soothing Serum did. I received it through the YesStyle Influencer program, and I’m pleased I did. This one of those serums that really fires on all cylinders, giving antioxidant, soothing and skin strengthening benefits all in one. This is 80% noni and cica extracts, ini equal parts. It also includes niacinamide, five ceramides, panthenol, allantoin and other cica compounds, as well as parsley, green tea extracts. I’m glad I had it through the hectic time that was this autumn, taking it to Crete and to California, as it helped my sensitive cheeks handle all the changes of climate and season while being lightweight enough to use easily.
Opened: September
Price: $20 USD / 30 mL
Rating: 10/10

💧 Isntree TW-Real Bifida Ampoule

It doesn’t seem like the Isntree TW-Real Bifida Ampoule used to get much love, but now that more folks are talking about ferments and skin microbiome, I expect that will change. This has 88% bifida ferment lysate, the same hero ingredient as Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair Serum as well as the Missha Time Revolution Night Repair Ampoule. It adds more ferment with lactobacillus/pumpkin ferment extract, lactobacillus/soybean ferment extract, and lactobacillus/rice ferment filtrate. To really enhance the anti-aging, skin barrier benefits, it also has palmitoyl tripeptide-1, copper tripeptide-1, and acetyl hexapeptide-8. My skin definitely felt stronger using it, but sometimes the texture seemed to go a bit tacky on me, and while I found the Missha to be more lightweight, I recommend as a cost-effective bifida serum.
Opened: July
Price: $30 USD / 50 mL
Rating: 9/10

🌌 The Inkey List Ceramide Hydrating Night Treatment

The Inkey List Ceramide Hydrating Night Treatment recently got rebranded as The Inkey List Ceramide Serum, and the fact that I somehow opened this in October and emptied it in November speaks to it not just being for night time. I love a ceramide serum, and this has them in spades: ceramide NP, ceramide AP and ceramide EOP, as well as ceramide precursor phytosphingosine. It also includes cholesterol and jojoba oil, so the ceramides can do even more skin-barrier supporting work. This comes in a pump bottle, and in my opinion it takes two pumps for full coverage, which I applied just before moisturizer. I didn’t find that this comforted my skin as much as other ceramide serums I’ve tried, unfortunately, though the texture and wear of the serum was good. It being empty was a bit of a surprise, but that’s pumps for you.
Opened: October
Price: $15 USD / 30 mL
Rating: 8/10

Creams

🐌 Cosrx Advanced Snail 92 All In One Cream

If you want a gel moisturizer that will last you roughly forever, Cosrx Advanced Snail 92 All In One Cream is going to be your best friend. A little goes a long way — literally, the spread on this formula is great — and the container is pretty large, as far as moisturizers go. While gels don’t tend to be my thing (thanks, dry skin!), I love snail as a hydrator and I snatched this when it was 50% off at Ulta. This is a simple formula with 92% snail mucin, as well as panthenol and allantoin for calming. It has the classic snail stringiness, and while I found I eventually needed to use this as an additional hydrating layer than as a stand-alone moisturizer, I suspect the oily and acne-prone among us might love it as an AM moisturizer due to its light texture and snail’s healing properties.
Opened: May
Price: $26 USD / 100 g
Rating: 9/10

3️⃣ SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2

I had been eyeing the SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 for a hot minute, and after a spa day when my money clip was feeling particularly on fire, I snatched it. SkinCeuticals is known for their research, and that research backs the 2:4:2 ratio: 2% ceramides EOP and NP, 4% cholesterol, and 2% fatty acids. Beyond that ceramide trifecta, this is a fairly simple moisturizer with a lovely emollient texture and a bit of fragrance. I can see how those with smaller routines but decent budgets might choose to go for it. For my part, the price is much too high to merit rebuying, especially given how much I focus on those ingredients in the rest of my routine, without the need to pay to get it in my moisturizer (plus, I feel there are other moisturizers playing the same game at much lower prices).
Opened: July
Price: $136 USD / 46 mL
Rating: 7/10

Other

🐝 Some By Mi Propolis B5 Glow Barrier Calming Mask

I love a wash-off mask, and I love propolis, and I love Some By Mi’s propolis serum, so it’s probably no surprise I loved using the Some By Mi Propolis B5 Glow Barrier Calming Mask. This a beautiful jelly texture full of bubbles to make it feel like great fun, and it’s one of those masks that won’t bamboozle you if you get caught up in a YouTube video and forget to wash it off — though if it dries down too much, it can require quite a bit of work to rinse. It has the “bee trifecta” of propolis extract (56%), honey extract and royal jelly extract, as well as pollen extract, honey and beeswax themselves. It also includes panthenol (vitamin B5), tea tree water, mugwort extract, ceramide NP, and boatloads of cica: centella leaf extract, madecassoside, madecassic acid, asiaticoside, and asiatic acid. I loved using this on its own or after an exfoliating mask for soothing.
Opened: August
Price: $23 USD / 100 g
Rating: 10/10

October Opened Reviews

Nothing says “life needs to slow down” like posting my October openeds reviews halfway through November. On top of it being the busy season at work (related side note: if you’re in the US and need health insurance, it’s OEP right now so go enroll), after not planning on doing any more trips until 2023, we wound up on a sudden trip to Mountain View, California, which seriously cut into my blogging time. But I’ve been digging a lot more into my skincare practice since we got back from Crete in September, so here’s what I opened in October.

Toners

🔵 Tia’m Vita B5 Toner

If you have sensitive skin and love hydrating toners, you will inevitably come across the Tia’m Vita B5 Toner. True to its name, it has 1% panthenol, or vitamini B5, but to amplify its hydration it includes hydrolized collagen, three peptides and sodium hyaluronate.In proper k-beauty fashion, there are also a few fermented extracts: mistletoe ferment, saccharomyces and lactobacillus. The texture on this is quite novel, because it’s watery and thin, but it feels slick and almost oily on the skin — argubly a bit like the Klairs Watery Oil Drop, which had similar moisturizing characteristics while being oil-free.
Price: $14 USD / 180 mL

🌾 I’m From Rice Toner

The I’m From Rice Toner is relatively iconic, and this is not my first time trying it — I got it in a travel size just to try before, but when it was available as part of a value set from Wishtrend I snatched it once again. This uses rice extracts and niacinamide to brighten the skin, with added antioxidant benefits from other plant extracts. This is frequently compared to moisturizing toners like Laneige Cream Skin due to its appearance, but I personally wouldn’t characterize it as moisturizing, beyond incidentally.
Price: $25 USD / 150 mL

Serums

🥜 Stratia Soft Touch AHA

This bottle of Stratia Soft Touch AHA has been waiting to join my routine for a while — I received it in exchange for Stratia using a photo of my husband and his Liquid Gold haul summer of 2021. This serum has 10% mandelic acid (derived from almonds, and in my opinion this actually does smell like amaretto, which is also frequently derived from almonds), as well as allantoin and chamomile for calming. I’ve been using this every evening (even with retinal!) as my first post-essence step: I let it dry down, then proceed with my serums and creams.
Price: $16 USD / 50 mL

🍒 Good Skin Days C’s the Day Serum

This bottle of Good Skin Days C’s the Day Serum has been hiding in my cheese drawer since last winter, and now that Soko Glam has finally rebranded and rereleased it as Good Days For All C’s The Day Serum, it was time to rebuy. This has 10% ascorbic acid but is gentle (the reformulation has 20% more, at 12%, but will hopefully be as gentle), and increases brightening benefits with niacinamide and acerola extract. This does oxidize fairly quickly, unfortunately, which the reformulation claims to address.
Price: N/A; reformulation priced at $26 USD / 30 mL

🐝 Some By Mi Propolis B5 Glow Barrier Calming Serum

I am a lover of propolis serums and take the Pokemon “gotta catch them all” approach, so it really says something that Some By Mi Propolis B5 Glow Barrier Calming Serum is actually a repurchase. I love that it’s 50 mL, I love that it’s in a pump, and I love that while it’s fragranced it’s just a honey masking fragrance. Propolis is my go-to for passive acne fighting (nearly 34 and still getting spots every menstrual cycle? Hello, yes, that is me), as well as for moisturization. This also includes honey extract, niacinamide, panthenol (ergo the B5 in the name), multiple centella extracts, probiotics and more.
Price: $23 USD / 50 mL

🍑 Peach & Lily Glass Skin Refining Serum

Peach & Lily basically put the idea of “glass skin” on the map in the west, and so it was only a matter of time before I tried their Glass Skin Refining Serum. Is this glass skin in a bottle? No. Is it full of lovely hydrating, calming ingredients? Yes. This has niacinamide, peach extract, dioscorea japonica extract, beta glucan, as well several forms of centella and hyaluronic acid. One of the pleasant surprises here was the size (40 mL, vs the more common 30 mL for serums), as well as its pump format — I use two pumps to cover face, neck and chest both AM and PM, so we’ll see how long it lasts me.
Price: $39 USD / 40 mL

🌌 The Inkey List Ceramide Hydrating Night Treatment

As a ceramide lover, The Inkey List’s Ceramide Hydrating Night Treatment has been on my “to try” list for a hot minute — after all, outside of CeraVe, it’s probably the cheapest dose of ceramides out there. This has since been rebranded similarly as “Ceramide Serum”, since there’s nothing inherently PM-y about ceramides, but the formula (I believe) hasn’t shifted. This includes ceramide NP, cermaide AP and ceramide EOP, as well as ceramide precursor phytosphingosine. In proper ceramide trifecta fashion, this also has fatty acids (from jojoba oil) and cholesterol. This comes in a pump bottle, and much like the Peach & Lily, I use two pumps for full coverage, though I do legitimately use this only at night — but that’s a function of texture and routine length.
Price: $15 USD / 30 mL

Creams

🛌 Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Overnight Rehydrating Mask

Kiehl’s has truly never been on my radar as a brand I wanted to try, but I got a sample size of the Ultra Facial Overnight Rehydrating Mask so here we are. This is a fairly thick sleeping mask for which I can safely say a little goes a long way. It’s a fairly simple formula, with the big claim to fame being 10.5% squalane. For my part, I would consider this to be much more occlusive than hydrating, but I’m certainly impressed by how this melts down to cover face, neck and chest with fairly little product required.
Price: $40 USD / 100 mL; shown in a 14 mL sample size

☀️ OMI Verdio UV Moisture Essence SPF 50+ PA++++

Another repurchase this month, the OMI Verdio UV Moisture Essence SPF 50+ PA++++ is actually my go-to sunscreen for vacation — and I think I did indeed actually open this in September but forgot to include it in that blog post. This is a j-beauty sunscreen that uses modern chemical filters to get the coverage listed. OMI also has a gel, but the essence is their more moisturizing option. While this isn’t water-resistant, I’ve now used it on two water-adjacent vacations (Belize last year, Crete this one), without issue.
Price: $11 USD / 50 g

October Empties Reviews

How is it already November? October flew by, but I racked up plenty of empties as I spent the increasingly longer evenings on increasingly elaborate skincare routines. (One of these days I should share my whole routine and allow myself to get dragged, but you can probably intuit its length based on these monthly reviews.) Here’s what I’ll no longer be putting on my dry skin in November

Wash-Off Products

🐘 Drunk Elephant E-Rase Milki Micellar Water

I don’t tend to be interested in Drunk Elephant, but I picked up their E-Rase Milki Micellar Water because I wanted a micellar water specifically billed as *no rinse* so I could play around with eye makeup better. Turns out I don’t wear much eye makeup, though, even when I have the ability to easily remove and retry, so I eventually just used this as my first cleanse. It’s definitely a milky micellar water — having three types of ceramides as well as melon oil in a formulation will do that to you, though. I did find that this removed eye makeup reasonably well, and while I typically rinsed this off as part of a double cleanse, when I didn’t bother my skin wasn’t the worse for wear.
Opened: April
Price: $28 USD / 240 mL; shown in the $14 USD / 100 mL mini size
Rating: 9/10

🐐 Beekman 1802 Milk Foam Calming Bubble Mask

The Beekman 1802 Milk Foam Calming Bubble Mask is a fun, gentle wash-off mask. This is in the “oxygenated mask” category — it starts out as a gel, then as it sits on your face it starts to bubble and foam. The idea behind these masks is to, well, deliver more oxygen to the skin, which theoretically helps increase cell turnover while reducing inflammation. For my part, I think that’s mostly a gimmick to make it sell — the soothing and strengthening here comes from the goat milk, colostrum, bifida ferment lysate, aloe, honey, and a variety of plant extracts. I didn’t notice a ton of difference while using this, and it definitely required a few pumps to cover face, neck and chest, but it was sure fun.
Opened: this month, by my records, though I thought it was September
Price: $40 USD / 50 mL; shown in the $13 USD / 15 mL travel size
Rating: 8/10

Toners

💦 RNW Der. Special Ceramide Mist

I love the RNW Der. Concentrate Ceramide Plus Serum, so I had to try the mist from the same line. This has 5 types of ceramides, a ceramide precursor and cholesterol, plus panthenol, a peptide, and a bunch of prebiotics — it’s arguably the serum in a bottle, but way way way more watery. The mister on this makes it take quite a few sprays, so it doesn’t seem quite as hydrating as I would like for a mid-routine spritz. Because ceramides are hydrophobic, this mist has a swirling effect to it that’s quite pleasing.
Opened: April
Price: $27 USD / 100 mL
Rating: 9/10

🐝 Cosrx Full Fit Propolis Synergy Toner

The Cosrx Full Fit Propolis Synergy Toner has long been one of my holy grails, and this iteration of using it proved no different. I’ve sworn by propolis for effortless glow and passive breakout fighting for over two years, and firmly believe Cosrx makes some of the best propolis products out there (though I also like Some By Mi). This toner is great because you can layer it up for extra hydration and moisturization, or just use one layer and feel quenched — either way, it doesn’t feel tacky or heavy. If you feel like your skin is dehydrated and dull, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Just be sure to patch test, since this is a bee-based product and occasionally propolis triggers those allergic to fragrance.
Opened: July
Price: $22 USD / 150 mL
Rating: 10/10

Serums

🍶 SCINIC First Concentrate Ampoules

I picked up the SCINIC First Concentrate Ampoules for our trip to Greece in September, because I’m a sucker for galactomyces and didn’t want to go without. Scinic had been one of the few brands in the first essence category that I had not yet tried (the other being Cosrx), and while these ampoules aren’t a direct comparison to a first essence, they kept my skin looking and feeling good while traveling (I swear by galactomyces for keeping my pore size in check). As part of an ampoule set, the notion is to use one a day for 28 days, but I used AM and PM — when I remembered. The format of these definitely makes them easy to lose track of in a larger routine, but I’ll definitely remember the ampoule format for my next international trip.
Opened: September
Price: $17 USD / 28 mL
Rating: 8/10

🍊 Rohto Mentholatum Melano CC Vitamin C Essence

Renowned for its cost-effectiveness and stability among j-beauty lovers, Rohto Mentholatum Melano CC Vitamin C Essence lives up to the hype. Despite being 20 mL, the fact that this dispenses drop-by-drop makes it easier to make last, and the light-proof packaging (plus the vitamin E) keeps the ascorbic acid from oxidizing. Unfortunately they don’t disclose the amount of ascorbic acid in this product, so best guesses place it anywhere from 5 to 20%. There is a bit of an added citrus fragrance to this, but that’s pretty common in the Vitamin C serum space, as ascorbic acid naturally has a “hot dog water” smell to it.
Opened: May
Price: $14 USD / 20 mL
Rating:10/10

Moisturizers

🏆 Stratia Liquid Gold

Stratia Liquid Gold: you know her, you love her. This enormous bottle actually met its untimely demise falling from a shelf while we were staying in Tulsa — turns out airless pumps don’t work too well when they’re not, well, airless. We tried taping up the crack, but eventually I had to just repot it. This moisturizer has become my husband’s holy grail: he loves the color, how lightweight it is, and how it makes his skin feel. I love that it’s the sort of product that can be the only one you use, between the ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acids and great oils like sea buckthorn and rosehip.
Opened: December
Price: $49 USD / 120 mL
Rating: 10/10

🛌 Purito Dermide Cica Barrier Sleeping Pack

I picked up the Purito Dermide Cica Barrier Sleeping Pack before the brand’s snazzy rebrand — in part because this truly does just last so long. This sleeping pack includes centella asiatica extract as well as cica compounds madecassoside, asiaticoside, madecassic acid and asiatic acid, plus panthenol and ceramide NP for soothing. Squalane, jojoba and sunflower seed oils make it moisturizing without being too heavy. Many folks use this as their only PM moisturizer, but I used it over top another moisturizer as my true last step. It was great particularly on days that my skin felt dry or irritated, as well as a mixer for my By Wishtrend retinal.
Opened: March
Price: $19 USD / 80 mL
Rating: 9/10

Sunscreens

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

The Etude Sunprise Mild Watery Light SPF50+ PA++++ is one of the least expensive k-beauty sunscreens out there, which is saying something. It uses a combination of old and new generation chemical filters, and while it uses alcohol to stabilize the solution, it’s actually quite a moisturizing sunscreen. This was fortunate, as it turns out: I found it to pill over moisturizers with a high oil content, so I tried to use it without a moisturizer when I could get away with it, or over something light like the Cosrx snail cream when I couldn’t. This does have a bit of masking fragrance, but I found it to be quite pleasant — which is good, because it lingers.
Opened: July
Price: $16 USD / 50 mL, less expensive at most retailers
Rating: 8/10

🍃 Mary & May CICA Soothing Sun Cream SPF50+ PA++++

The Mary & May CICA Soothing Sun Cream SPF50+ PA++++ is one of the latest k-beauty sunscreen releases to be going near-viral. It uses new generation chemical filters, and is lightweight while feeling moisturizing. True to its name, it has seven forms of centella asiatica: three extracts, plus asiaticoside, madecassoside, madecassic acid and asiatic acid.It also includes saccharomyces ferment, which can be a pro or a drawback, depending upon your relationship to fermented ingredients. This also has some masking fragrance, but it’s not noticeable after initial application.
Opened: August
Price: $20 USD / 50 mL
Rating: 10/10

September Openeds Reviews

Most of September’s openeds are already emptied so I discussed them in my last post, but here are some quick reviews of the other four products I brought into my routine for my two week trip to Greece — and beyond.

🍑 Peach & Lily Power Calm Hydrating Gel Cleanser

The full-size of the Peach & Lily Power Calm Hydrating Gel Cleanser was basically the first cleanser I used since getting into skincare and it lasted me forever. I’m certain I will regret opening this travel size merely for a 1.5 week trip, but hey. This is a super gentle cleanser, almost too gentle in some cases: makeup users will definitely want a first cleanse in the PM, but those who cleanse in the morning might love this for that.
Price: $28 USD / 100 mL; shown in a travel size

🍶 SCINIC First Concentrate Ampoules

Scinic is one of the last brands of the first essences I have to try (already tried: SK-II, Missha, Mizon, Secret Key; to try: Cosrx), so when I saw their First Concentrate Ampoules and wanted a galactomyces product to travel with, I snatched it. This is 28 individual 1 mL ampoules, with the intent that it’s a 28 day supply. For my part, I’m used to using galactomyces AM and PM, so I use it basically whenever I want, though inconsistently since returning home from Greece. I love galactomyces for its effect on my pores, and I can confidently say those didn’t get worse while I stopped my other current galactomyces product (the Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence), so that’s good.
Price: $17 USD / 28 mL

🍃 Pestlo Pantherecipe Nonicica Soothing Serum

I received the Pestlo Pantherecipe Nonicica Soothing Serum through the YesStyle Influencer program in exchange for a review — this is not that review. That review still needs to be written and published despite this technically being a July sponsored product, eek! But that’s life. As the name might suggest, this is a serum with noni (40%) and cica (40%) extracts, both of which are soothing ingredients. In addition, this has niacinamide and five types of ceramides for skin strengthening; panthenol, allantoin and multiple other cica compounds for additional soothing; and additional plant extracts like parsley, green tea and more for an antioxidant benefit. I opened this in September in part because that’s when I received it (it came in August but I was out of state) and in part because I wanted that soothing, antioxidant benefit as I embarked on a globetrotting adventure. This is a lightweight serum that fits nicely into a long routine, though it does have a slight fragrance.
Price: $20 USD / 30 mL

☀️ Innisfree Intensive Leisure Sun Stick

After becoming with the Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Airy Sun Stick, I decided to pick up the Innisfree Intensive Leisure Sun Stick. This is an SPF 50+ with PA++++, with three of the new generation chemical filters — though I wonder if it’s being reformulated, since I’m not currently finding it on YesStyle and other retailers. This is a pretty no-extras-added formula, though there is a bit of a masking fragrance. Unlike the Isntree sun stick, the Innisfree has a more moisturizing formula, so those with oily skin might not love it for reapplication throughout the day.
Price: $14 USD / 18g

September Empties Reviews

Lots of minis this month! The theme of September was definitely traveling: we came back from Tulsa, spent a week at home, then went to Crete for a week and a half for our fifth wedding anniversary. (This is also my excuse for my bad posting schedule. Hopefully October is calmer. So far all signs are pointing to “lol Lisa you’re silly.”) All that travel certainly tried to bamboozle my dry skin, so here are SOME of the products I used to help — the rest will be in my next post, September Openeds.

🍑 Peach & Lily Ginger Melt Oil Cleanser

It almost feels unfair to judge the Peach & Lily Ginger Melt Oil Cleanser based on this wee size, but I’m judgmental so here we are. My principle problem with this oil cleanser has been the same as any oil cleanser I’ve tried: a little does NOT go a long away. Indeed, this 5 mL size was, for me, four uses. Do I have a lot of face, neck and décolletage? Possibly (well, not on the décolletage front, but I do believe in carrying my skincare well below my neckline). That said, this did remove layers of sunscreen and sweat easily, and rinsed cleanly.
Opened: this month
Price: $32 USD / 150 mL; shown in a 5 mL travel size
Rating: 7/10

🥝 COSRX AHA BHA Vitamin C Daily Toner

Based on the name, one might expect the Cosrx AHA BHA Vitamin C Daily Toner to be a life-changing skin obliterator. It is not — and that’s a good thing. This is a very lightweight toner that layers up nicely both in the morning and in the evening. I’d even argue that it can function as a cheaper alternative to the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow PHA+BHA Pore-Tight Toner, which I used in a similar fashion. The AHA here is glycolic acid and sodium lactate (the salt form of lactic acid). The BHA is willow bark water and betaine salicylate. The Vitamin C comes from ascorbyl glucoside, as well as the kiwi and apple fruits/extracts that make the bulk of this formula. This also includes niacinamide and allantoin, making it a remarkably well-rounded formula.
Opened: this month
Price: $22 USD / 180 mL; shown in a 30 mL travel size
Rating: 9/10

🌸 Rovectin Clean Lotus Water Calming Toner

I finished the Rovectin Clean Lotus Water Calming Toner almost a month ago now. It was a lovely, deeply hydrating toner that layers up well. There is a bit of a surfactant “thing” that happens with this toner in the bottle, and which I know has put some folks off it when they experience that same effect on their skin, but I never ran into it. This uses lotus water, as well as lotus extracts from the leaf, root and flower, as its main hero ingredients (it also includes hyaluronic acid — sigh). I’m rather tempted to give this a 10/10 — except that I’ve found that I haven’t really been missing it since I’ve moved onto other hydrating toners.
Opened: June
Price: $22 USD / 200 mL
Rating: 9/10

💦 Klairs Supple Preparation Unscented Toner

Fun fact: Klairs Supple Preparation Unscented Toner was my introduction to the joys of hydrating toners … years ago, at this point. I’m not the only one: in part because of its accessibility (it’s available at Ulta in both unscented and scented versions), this is most folks’ introduction to hydrating toners and the seven skins practice. It’s not as watery as some — it does have some nice body — but it still layers up nicely. This has a nice mix of everything k-beauty formulations usually have to offer, with centella asiatica extract, licorice extract, panthenol, beta-glucan, a vitamin C derivative and a copper peptide, among other things.
Opened: this month
Price: $22 USD / 180 mL; shown in a 30 mL travel size
Rating: 9/10

💒 Farmacy Honeymoon Glow

I love an exfoliant gentle enough to be used every day, and I think the Farmacy Honeymoon Glow delivers that. It claims to be 14% AHA, but the breakdown on the website shows that it’s 10% lactic/glycolic/citric/fruit acids, 1% willow bark extract and 3% flower acids, so it’s far gentler than, say, The Ordinary’s 7% glycolic toner. This is a fairly creamy texture, with honey, royal jelly and propolis (the bee trifecta), as well as several nourishing oils (jojoba, safflower, grape seed, sunflower) and antioxidant extracts beyond the floral ones ostensibly exfoliating. Having just tried the more expensive Sunday Riley Good Genes (almost 50% more), I’d say that this is a good dupe while still being mid-market or luxury. For my part, it’s still quite pricey but otherwise lovely.
Opened: this month
Price: $60 USD / 30 mL; shown in a 5 mL travel size
Rating: 9/10

💧 Farmacy Filling Good

The Farmacy Filling Good serum is billed as a hyaluronic acid plumping serum, but I disagree. Yes, it includes hyaluronic acid and sodium hyaluronate. But it also includes glycerin, prebiotics, the honey/royal jelly/propolis trifecta, a peptide, and various plant extracts. In my book? That makes it a classic k-beauty hydrating serum, minus the being made in Korea. This has a creamy texture, and none of the drying effect that happens to me so often with hyaluronic acid products. My one issue here is just the price, largely because I’ve been spoiled by said k-beauty serums.
Opened: this month
Price: $48 USD / 30 mL; shown in a 5 mL travel size
Rating: 9/10

🥛 Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream

The Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream is a medium-weight cream that I’ve been looking at for ages (even before it made its way into my stash last summer) but had not yet tried. The hero ingredient is beta glucan, which is a great hydrating alternative to hyaluronic acid for those of us that avoid it. In proper k-beauty fashion, there are also a lot of plant extracts for an antioxidant benefit. I used as my PM moisturizer while in Greece, occasionally in the mornings as well (depending on my sunscreen), and downgraded it to my hands as-needed while flying nearly halfway around the world. Unfortunately I’m not very impressed with it — it leaves that classic semi-greasy film on the skin that I dislike in so many body moisturizers. That said, it does moisturize well, even in skin-stressing conditions.
Opened: this month
Price: $26 USD / 80 mL; shown in a 20 mL travel size
Rating: 6/10

☀️ Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Airy Sun Stick

Isntree’s Hyaluronic Acid Airy Sun Stick was the first one I ever tried … and it has made me a convert to the format.I initially got it for reapplication while mountain biking, since taking off my gloves and dealing with sweat can feel laborious. I love it for that, plus any outdoor occasion, plus globe-trotting. It’s great for traveling: doesn’t need to go in the liquid bag; slips easily into a pocket or small bag; makes reapplication with dirty hands a non-issue. The texture does remind me of deodorant, but that’s a good thing because it also really seems to stay put. Before this was empty, I repurchased it (in the new packaging) — plus picked up a few other brands of sunstick for the Greece trip.
Opened: June
Price: $21 USD / 22 g
Rating: 10/10

August Opened Reviews

I am so excited to be back in Colorado right now — but I spent most of my August in the humid climes of Tulsa, Oklahoma. My skincare routine definitely shifted while in Oklahoma, mostly because my entire life routine shifted a lot. Thankfully my skin’s generally been doing pretty well, though the heat and humidity made my mustache melasma flair a bit. Hopefully these products help! Products listed in notional routine order.

🐝 Some By Mi Propolis B5 Glow Barrier Calming Mask

If you, like me, love wash-off masks and propolis, the Some By Mi Propolis B5 Glow Barrier Calming Mask feels like a no-brainer. The propolis serum in the same line is one of my favorites. This has 56% propolis extract, plus honey extract, royal jelly extract, panthenol and a variety of cica compounds. It’s a lightweight jelly mask, making it super easy to apply, but it does dry down quickly. Luckily it’s not drying when it does so, so this can still qualify as a hydrating and moisturizing mask — but maybe not as good for forgetting it’s on your face, like the I’m From Honey mask, which this could arguably be trying to dupe.
Price: $23 USD / 100 g

🍶 Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence

Nearly completing my exercise of trying all the SK-II dupes, I’ve finally tried the Secret Key Starting Treatment Essence. This is the least galactomyces ferment filtrate-heavy of the first essences I’ve tried, but it includes a bunch of other goodies: arbutin, aloe juice, cica extract, green tea extract and more. I use two layers AM and PM, before any other leave-on skincare. So far my pores appear to be in the same state as when I was using SK-II — but we’ll see how things shift over time.
Price: $22 USD / 155 mL

🍃 Mary & May CICA Soothing Sun Cream SPF50+ PA++++

Mary & May is a relatively new k-beauty brand, and the CICA Soothing Sun Cream SPF50+ PA++++ is, to my knowledge, their first contribution to the sunscreen scene. As a k-beauty sunscreen, this uses modern sunscreen filters like Uvinul A Plus, Uvinul T 150, Tinosorb M and MBBT. It also includes six different centella asiatica compounds (ergo that CICA in the name), plus saccharomyces ferment and a bit of fragrance for masking purposes. This has that classically lovely k-beauty sunscreen finish, without being too dewy, and the fragrance isn’t noticeable.
Price: $20 USD / 50 mL

💜 By Wishtrend Vitamin A-mazing Bakuchiol Night Cream

K-beauty seems to have gone straight from “no retinoids but retinyl palmitate” straight past retinol to “hello retinal”, and the By Wishtrend Vitamin A-mazing Bakuchiol Night Cream is a great example of doing it right. Retinal (yes, with an A) is stronger than retinol, and can be a lot more irritating accordingly. This retinal combines with bakuchiol in a cream formula — though not so creamy as to be a stand-alone night cream, in my opinion. This cream base, which includes macademia oil, niacinamide, beta glucan, cica, ceramide NP and palmitoyl triipeptide-8, offsets the irritation, or at least has, for me, so far. As always I recommend easing into using, even if this might be one of the most beginner-friendly retinals out there.
Price: $33 USD / 30 g

🌻 Aromatica Comforting Calendula Decoction Juicy Cream

I got the Aromatica Comforting Calendula Decoction Juicy Cream through the YesStyle Influencer program in exchange for a review — this is not that review. The star ingredient of this cream is calendula extract at 48% calendula, which is widely used for its skin-soothing abilities in k-beauty. In addition, this has aloe extract, shea butter, coconut oil and ceramide NP to make it “juicy”. It definitely feels lightweight upon application, so I can see why Aromatica recommends it for face or body — the size makes it good for a “downgrade” to the body to help with eczema and irritation, as well, without feeling bad. I had hoped to use this as a day cream but I do find that it can be a bit greasy. As such, it now lives on the bedside table, so I can pop it on my cheeks before bed if they’re feeling irritated, or apply straight to my stomach which can feel dry and tight after a night of freestyle tummy-sleeping.
Price: $37 USD / 150 mL

💄 I Dew Care Plush Party Buttery Vitamin C Lip Mask

I usually go to I Dew Care for their masks — so the whole reason the Plush Party Buttery Vitamin C Lip Mask is even in my collection was because last Black Friday it was the cheapest way to get a full-size Matcha Mood Mask from them through YesStyle. This is arguably I Dew Care’s response to Laneige’s cult classic lip sleeping mask. This combines a variety of waxes, butters and oils for an experience that’s actually fairly similar. There is a bit of ascorbyl glucoside in here, as the name suggests, though it’s not clear if there’s enough to actually deliver a skincare benefit. I had been wondering at first if this was actually drying out my lips — then I realized it just couldn’t stand up to the incredibly chapped lips I got when being sick.
Price: $16 USD / 12 g

👄 Aquaphor Lip Repair

An oldie but a goodie, Aquaphor Lip Repair is usually always on rotation in my life. When I got sick in August, it came in clutch to help my chapped lips but also my chapped nose — no reason not to put this on any extremely dry, irritated area, in my book, though if going for a full slugging experience I’d recommend not going with the lip formulation.
Price: $5 USD / 10 mL

August Empties Reviews

This month is a bit all over the place in terms of empties. I blame the change in life routine leading to changes in skin routine — waking up two hours earlier every day, lacking access to creature comforts like my bathtub or even reliably consistently hot water, and just being in a hotter, more humid environment. I’ve been slathering on toners but many of my usual creams have felt like too much. Products listed in the order emptied.

👄 Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask

The Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask is a cult classic — likely because it was one of the first lip balms in the US market to not feel occlusive. Advertised as a lip sleeping mask, this is really an any-time sort of lip balm that doesn’t feel waxy, sticky or heavy. Indeed, I would argue that it actually doesn’t excel as a night time product, at least on its own. This melts into the lips pretty readily, so if you, like me, are a mouth breather, your lips will be dry when you wake up. (Their marketing refers to having something still on the lips to wipe off in the morning. Cute, Laneige.) It doesn’t break me out around the mouth area, which can be a struggle, but it definitely seems over-hyped.
Price: $20 USD / 20g; shown in a sample size
Opened: December
Rating: 7/10

💚 Good Molecules Gentle Retinol Cream

The Good Molecules Gentle Retinol Cream is a great starter retinol, especially for those US-based folks with tight budgets and dry skin. It includes .1% retinol, as well as .3% bakuchiol (below the studied 1%), in a creamy base with grapeseed and sunflower seed oils that may be able to double as a moisturizer for some folks. A pea-sized amount of this spreads easily over face, neck and chest, and I found that after acclimating to it I could use this formula on exfoliation nights without issue.
Price: $8 USD / 30 mL
Opened: April
Rating: 9/10

🌰 Isntree Chestnut BHA 2% Clear Liquid

I lucked into getting the Isntree Chestnut BHA 2% Clear Liquid for free through YesStyle when I did another Isntree purchase (pro tip — check their Free Gifts & Samples because occasionally the deals are very worth it). Since 2% salicylic acid isn’t legal in the Korean market, this is very specifically Isntree’s response to the cult-classic Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant. I opened this when the skin around my mouth was struggling again due to hormones, but my skin isn’t so acne prone to need to use it that way for long. I will say that it didn’t dry out my skin, like other salicylic acid products can, and it also didn’t feel oily, which is a common complaint with the Paula’s Choice product. Where I really enjoyed using it was “downgrading” it to my scalp — I’ve got a persistent itchy spot on the back of my head that responds well to hydration and exfoliation, and my scalp generally appreciated the clarification this brought, such that I think I’ll be looking for more salicylic acid for that purpose.
Price: $20 USD / 100 mL
Opened: May
Rating: 9/10

🧈 Topicals Like Butter Hydrating Mask

Wow did I fly through the Topicals Like Butter Hydrating Mask. It can be used as an overnight or a wash-off mask, and I always use it as the latter In Colorado I had been using it as a follow-up to an exfoliating mask, but in Oklahoma I switched to using it about 15 minutes before I knew I was going to hop in the shower — in the absence of a bathtub, a more elaborate shower has been my go-to. While this is a moisturizing mask, it is not as moisturizing as other wash-off masks I’ve tried, and the price is pretty steep. As an overnight mask it might be a bit more reasonable, but I still feel like there are more cost-effective options with similar formulations, especially in k-beauty.
Price: $34 USD / 50 mL
Opened: July
Rating: 7/10

🥛 Sunday Riley Good Genes Lactic Acid Treatment

At long last I have tried Sunday Riley Good Genes Lactic Acid Treatment. This is many folks’ first lactic acid, and it is appropriately gentle — while Sunday Riley doesn’t disclose the percentage, I found it immediately usable daily, like I do many lactic acids. Lactic acid is an AHA that doubles as a hydrator, and this formula includes a variety of other hydrating extracts. It smoothes over the skin easily, and while there is a smell to it, it is more of lemongrass (one of the added extracts) than the characteristic lactic acid funkiness. That said, in the current skincare market it’s hard to fathom paying more than $50 for 30 mL of lactic acid, let alone over $80.
Price: $85 USD / 30 mL, shown in the 8 mL size that comes in the Power Couples kit
Opened: this month
Rating: 6/10

🍶 SK-II Facial Treatment Essence

Ah, the coveted SK-II Facial Treatment Essence. I discovered the benefits that galactomyces ferment gives my skin — smaller pores, even skin tone — over two years ago now, so I had to try THE first essence that all other first essences are ostensibly dupes of. Thankfully Costco carried it last autumn, making it remotely justifiable, price-wise. This has the same watery texture as other first essences, but smells distinctly more like sake — which, given that galactomyces ferment is a byproduct, isn’t surprising. I was a bit worried that I would love it and be stuck buying it for the rest of my life, but I’m surprised to say that while it’s excellent, I felt that Missha and Mizon performed as well, or better.
Price: $200 USD / 325 mL via Costco; standard size is $185 / 160 mL
Opened: January
Rating: 9/10

🟢 Paula’s Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster

I got my husband the Paula’s Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster over a year ago, which yes, means that it’s arguably expired, but hey, he finished it! A little does go a long way with these 30 mLs, thanks to its smooth texture, though he clearly wasn’t super consistent with it. He was over the last month, though, and when he used it regularly his beard flakiness decreased, as did his persistent, rosacea-like redness. Despite also having salicylic acid (a key differentiator between this product and other 10% formulations), it’s gentle enough for daily use. There’s a reason this is a cult classic.
Price: $36 USD / 30 mL
Opened: July ’21
Rating: 10/10

🌚 Klairs Midnight Blue Youth Activating Drop

I bought the Klairs Midnight Blue Youth Activating Drop because of the EGF peptides. While peptides, as a broad category, are often believed to help with collagen synthesis, it is very specifically the epidermal growth factor peptides that do that work, and they’re hard to find. While I can’t think that, say, my nasolabial folds have reduced at all, I also don’t think that a few months truly long enough to be able to see those results — I would definitely consider continuing to use this to see if there were long-lasting results, though given how sh-Oligopeptide-1 tends to get tucked into k-beauty formulations, I probably won’t bother. I did use this AM and PM, always with a few steps between it and any strong acid (aka vitamin C or an exfoliant) to avoid denaturing the peptides.
Price: $30 USD / 20 mL
Opened: June
Rating: 9/10

7️⃣ Hanskin Seven Layer Ceramide Serum

If you want the ceramide serum equivalent of Pokemon’s Gotta Catch ‘Em All, look no further than the Hanskin Seven Layer Ceramide Serum. This emulsion texture has seven ceramides (ergo the name), plus a ceramide precursor, panthenol, cholesterol, beta glucan, urea and panthenol, basically making it a one-stop shop for skin barrier support. The texture can feel a bit tacky at first, but it dries down easily. And the price! Ceramides are expensive to formulate with, but the price per mL is great on this. I’ve got a lot of ceramide serums I love and while this one might not be the most elegant, I’ll probably rebuy it.
Price: $28 USD / 50 mL
Opened: June
Rating: 10/10

July Openeds Reviews

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

July Empties Reviews

July was one of the more wild months of my life, which is why this post is coming to you not one, but over two weeks late (I always target empties for the last weekend of the month). It was also an unprecedentedly hot and humid July in Colorado, which did a bit of a number on my skin — I had the worst break out of the past few years, my skin barrier was generally unhappy, it was a whole thing. In some cases, the products I emptied were part of the cause. Here’s what I emptied, for good or for ill, last month.

Cleansers

🍚 Tatcha The Rice Wash

Tatcha’s aesthetic has always appealed to me, and so of course I’ve finally found a cleanser that I actually really love in The Rice Wash. I am notoriously picky about cleansers — I blame having dry skin and generally being bored by that step of a skincare routine — and so this one was a revelation. I’ve heard of concerns about the texture and though it starts out a bit grainy upon dispensing from the tube, the grains immediately soften up so by the time it’s applied to the face, there’s no grit. This cream cleanser rinses clean without leaving any residue but also without stripping the skin, and being Tatcha, it also smells good. Figures I’d love an expensive cleanser.
Price: $36 USD / 120 mL; shown in the $16 USD / 50 mL travel size
Opened: March
Rating: 10/10

🌳 Dewytree Hi Amino All Cleanser

The Dewytree Hi Amino All Cleanser was so close to being a decent k-beauty cleanser, which are notorious for being stripping. It is actually a creamy cleanser, and it doesn’t leave the skin feeling stripped. On the flip side, it doesn’t rinse clean, so it almost feels like it must be scraped off the skin. Worse? It burned my eyes. I ended up using it up on my body where, counterintuitively, I DID find it to be stripping. But I also subject my body skin to lots of hot water regularly, so that might not be entirely its fault.
Price: 16 USD / 150 mL; shown in a 20 mL sample size
Opened: June
Rating: 2/10

🌾 Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant clocks in as the longest-opened product in our house — indeed, the only reason it’s finally featured in an empty is because the desiccant pack has stopped working, so it no longer dispenses. While this was expired — the expiry on this is 18 months after opening — the powder format has made it usable for a long time. The principle problem with it, in my experience, is that it requires a lot of water in order to produce a lather, so it had to live in my shower. It also is a bit on the stripping side, so while I would highly recommend it for oily-skinned folks who travel, since this wouldn’t need to go in a liquids bag, I don’t know that I would recommend it for too many others.
Price: $64 USD / 74 g; when I bought it it was $59
Opened: March 2020
Rating: 8/10

Wash-Off Masks

🍑 Peach & Lily Super Reboot Resurfacing Mask

The Peach & Lily Super Reboot Resurfacing Mask has been my favorite alternative to The Ordinary’s AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution. I have admittedly have never the one from TO due to general terror around face obliteration — this one is much gentler, with 10% glycolic acid and .5% salicylic, so less concerning if you’re also the sort of person who forgets to set timers for wash-off masks. I do still follow this up with a moisturizing mask afterwards, as otherwise it can get a bit intense on my cheeks, which run sensitive. The reset of this is basically all calming and antioxidant ingredients, with agave, aloe, green tea, centella asiatica and licorice extracts as major callouts, among others. This is a jelly mask that can be a bit difficult to rinse, so I recommend using a wash-cloth afterwards, or rinsing off in the shower.
Price: $43 USD / 80 mL
Opened: February
Rating: 10/10

🎂 I Dew Care Cake My Day Hydrating Sprinkle Wash-Off Mask

The I Dew Care masks always get points for being fun, and the Cake My Day Hydrating Sprinkle Wash-Off Mask is a prime exemplar — it looks and smells like frosting with sprinkles. Unfortunately, beyond the sprinkles, there’s not too much going on here: a few fatty alcohols, olive oil and cocoa butter. This makes it a mask that isn’t too moisturizing, isn’t stripping, but is definitely here for the aesthetics.
Price: $25 USD / 100g; shown in the 10g size from the Mini Scoops set
Opened: June
Rating: 6/10

Toners

💦 Biossance Squalane + Hyaluronic Acid Toning Mist

Biossance Squalane + Hyaluronic Acid Toning Mist excels as a lightweight bug spray. Truly, that’s how I used it after I determined early on that my face didn’t care for it. My face doesn’t love hyaluronic acid, as long time readers who know that I live in an arid place will recall, though for those who like it, this does have two weights for enhanced absorption. Beyond that, though, this feels like it’s basically all essential oils (lavender, orange, geranium) and fragrance (limonene, citronellol, geraniol, linalool). This makes it a great bug spray for quick evening dog walks, but less great for a luxurious between-step spritz.
Price: $18 USD / 30 mL
Opened: May 2020
Rating: 3/10

🌿 Skinfood Pantothenic Water Parsley Toner

I received the Skinfood Pantothenic Water Parsley Toner for free in exchange for a review (which this is not). This uses water parsley extract for Vitamin C and Vitamin K, plus, in keeping with the name, panthenol at .05% and pantothenic acid, its more bioavailable cousin, at .0005% for soothing. The secret bamboozler of this toner is that it is actually exfoliating, however, with salicylic acid in it. It’s a low percentage, though high enough that those with dry skin thinking to use this for seven skins should steer clear — I may or may not have done my skin barrier a bamboozle upon using this initially because I didn’t really check too closely. If you’re oily and looking for a light, daily exfoliating toner to tackle acne and inflammation, this might be a good choice for you.
Price: $15 USD / 115 mL
Opened: May
Rating: 6/10

Serums

🔴 First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Dark Spot Serum

A name bigger than its size, the First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Dark Spot Serum graced my routine a whole three times before it was empty. As such, there wasn’t really a chance to see if the percent of niacinamide (undisclosed) was enough to do much brightening, or to see what the antioxidant benefits of the licorice root, kiwi and white tea extracts might have been. Honestly, call me spoiled by k-beauty, but though the creamy texture is a bit unusual, it seems like it’s a bit expensive compared to other alternatives currently on the market.
Price: $42 USD / 30 mL; shown in a 5 mL sample size
Opened: this month
Rating: 5/10

🥬 Sweet Chef Kale + Vitamin B Serum Shot

I’m still not sure if the Sweet Chef Kale + Vitamin B Serum Shot is being discontinued or not, but if it’s not I actually do recommend it as a creamy antioxidant serum, though the vitamin B here is panthenol rather than niacinamide. Kale, aloe, turmeric, red algae and other extracts provide the antioxidant benefit. Perhaps the only drawback here is the lavender oil as a masking fragrance, and how fast it feels like that 30 mL goes.
Price: $20 USD / 30 mL
Opened: May
Rating: 9/10

🍶 Numbuzin No. 3 Skin Softening Serum

Numbuzin No. 3 Skin Softening Serum is one of the many k-beauty contributions to the growing probiotic serum trend. This has bifida ferment lysate at 42% and galactomyces at 21%, plus niacinamide, squalane, silk extract and goat milk extract for a super luxe formula. Not bad for the price point, especially considering that US market alternatives will set you back over $100. I will say that I did not personally see any visible changes in the time that I was using this serum, but my skin barrier did feel strong. Long time readers will know that I do swear by galactomyces for pore size reduction, though.
Price: $21 USD / 50 mL
Opened: March
Rating: 9/10

PÜR Go with the Glow Niacinamide Drops

The PÜR Go with the Glow Niacinamide Drops seem like a classic western market product in that you cannot trust the name to know what’s going on with the product. Yes, this has niacinamide in it, but beyond that it’s a grab-bag of actives like a vitamin C derivative, retinol, lactic acid, with some other skin barrier-supporting ingredients like saccharomyces ferment, panthenol and ceramide Ap, plus a boatload of fruit and vegetable extracts. I think this could be great for the person who wants a one-and-done face serum, and importantly doesn’t mind incredibly strongly scented products. Unfortunately it was just too much for me, and I think I waited too long to determine what was in this product — I was using it with other strong actives and my skin barrier did not love it.
Price: $30 / 30 mL; shown in a 10 mL sample size
Opened: this month
Rating: 3/10

Sunscreen

😎 Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun : Rice + Probiotics

The Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun : Rice + Probiotics is very hyped right now and for good reason, as it’s an example of all that is good in Korean sunscreens. It’s a bit of a “come for the sunscreen filters, stay for the rice and other wonderful ingredients” situation. Being a Korean sunscreen, it can use the newer generation filters like Uvinul A Plus, Uvinul T 150, Tinosorb M and Iscotrizinol to give it its SPF 50+ PA++++ rating while being non-irritating and white-cast-free. In addition it has rice bran water at 30%, which is a great brightening ingredient, plus niacinamide to brighten and a variety of ferments to support the skin barrier. This is the sort of sunscreen that even the dry skin types might be able to skip moisturizer for, because it just feels nourishing.
Price: $18 USD / 50 mL
Opened: June
Rating: 10/10

☀️ Dr. Ceuracle Cica Regen Vegan Sun

I wanted to love Dr. Ceuracle Cica Regen Vegan Sun, and I mostly did, but it just missed the mark for me. Like the Beauty of Joseon sunscreen, this has modern filters: Uvinul T 150, Mexoryl SX, Uvinul A Plus, Parsol SLX and Tinosorb S for its SPF 50+ PA++++ rating. As the name suggests, beyond the filters the main event here is cica: centella asiatica extract, madecassoside, asiaticoside, which are great for soothing and antioxidant support. This has rosemary leaf oil in it, which is probably intended to be a masking fragrance, but unfortunately I think the overall smell of this sunscreen is a bit undesirable and the rosemary makes it smell piney and cleaning-product-like, which diminished my enjoyment considerably. This does have alcohol denat, as well, so it dries down well — I could see this being a good option for sensitive acne-prone folks.
Price: $18 USD / 50 mL
Opened: May
Rating: 8/10

Creams

🥛 Etude House Soon Jung Centella 10-Free Moist Emulsion

The Etude House Soon Jung Centella 10-Free Moist Emulsion is officially one of the best deals on skincare I’ve ever gotten, if you look at price per mL, how long it lasted, and how much I was able to use it for. Emulsions are a type of product more common in j- and k-beauty, though there are some in the Western market now. In chemistry, an emulsion is a mixture of two liquids that don’t usually actually mix — think oil and water. In skincare, since most moisturizing products do tend to have an emulsion of oil and water, it tends to refer to lighter moisturizing products. This is exactly that. It’s a lightweight lotion, with squalane providing the oil component, and the humectant coming in from glycerin — no hyaluronic acid in this, just like the main Soon Jung line. This has panthenol for soothing and green tea extract for an antioxidant benefit, but the real star here is cica: madecassoside, asiaticoside, madecassic acid, asiatic acid and centella asiatica flower, leaf and stem extracts. This made a great AM moisturizer, as well as a retinol buffer, anti-itch cream and general “I don’t know I just need something right now” product.
Price: $20 UD / 130 mL
Opened: November
Rating: 10/10

☕️ The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream

The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream is quite popular, but I don’t see the hype. In its defense, I have yet to find an eye cream that stirs something in me, but this really feels like the product folks buy because they feel like they need an eye cream, and it’s the most affordable option. Though it seems like a gimmick, there is actually some evidence that caffeine in a topical product can actually depuff and brighten, since it’s a vasoconstrictor. This means that those struggling with puffy or dark under eyes might actually see a benefit from this — though I didn’t. It does have a nice water-cream type texture to it, so it felt refreshing.
Price: $10 USD / 15 mL
Opened: March
Rating: 6/10

🇰🇷 Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream

This reformulated (fragrance-free!) version of the Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream has been incredibly popular, and I can see why. The price-point is excellent, especially given how lux the packaging looks. It’s fairly lightweight while still nourishing, making it a decent night cream in hotter, more humid weather, or a good day cream during transitional weather. In fact, in terms of texture and feel I actually think it’s quite similar to the Versed Skin Soak Rich Moisture Cream. This focuses on rice bran water and ginseng root water, both of which are great source of antioxidants and brightening compounds, and also includes niacinamide, squalane, honey extract, ceramide np and various weights of HA.
Price: $25 USD / 50 mL
Opened: April
Rating: 9/10

Single-Use Products

🟡 Cosrx Master Patch Intensive

I’m a fan of other Cosrx patches, but the Master Patch Intensive frankly is not as good. These are classic hydrocolloid patches, with the addition of salicylic acid and tea tree leaf oil to help tackle acne under the surface. I think for those with particularly active closed comedones, these could be helpful. My acne, when I get it, tends to be far enough below the surface that it didn’t really move the needle on them resolving any faster.
Price: $25 USD / 90 patches; shown in an 18 patch size
Opened: May
Rating: 6/10

🧪 BABOR Multi Vitamin Ampoule Serum Concentrates

If you’ve never heard of BABOR Multi Vitamin Ampoule Serum Concentrates, you are not alone — this was an upsell at the spa we go to every month, and it was not the wisest skincare choice I’ve made. The multivitamins here are vitamin A, E and B5, with the vitamin A coming from retinyl palmitate, carrot root extract and beta-carotene, the vitamin E from tocopheryl acetate and tocopherol, and the vitamin B5 from panthenol, of course, and pantolactone. This is intended as a 7 day pick-me-up, and there’s not much else going on here. The ampoule system (individual “serving sizes” in glass packaging) definitely felt lux, and I can see the appeal, but I’d recommend saving that for things like Vitamin C where it can really make a difference in how the ingredients are preserved and perform, or when needed for things like traveling — I just picked up some ampoules to take with me to Greece in September, for example..
Price: $35 USD / 14 mL (seven 2 mL ampoules)
Opened: this month
Rating: 4/10

June Openeds Reviews

June was characterized by our 2.5 week working roadtrip that took us out of Colorado up through Wyoming (right during that storm that basically broke Yellowstone), to Montana and some epic glamping, all the way to the lakes of Idaho. Traveling can always be tricky for skin, and while I picked up more sun damage than I would have liked (glamping basically equal sun exposure all the time, even on video calls), my skin managed to mostly stay in good shape. I brought basically all my skincare routine — more on that adventure in a later post — but here’s what I opened and in June.

Toner & Serums

🌸 Rovectin Clean Lotus Water Calming Toner

Rovectin just recently expanded their Clean Lotus Water line to include sheet masks and a toner, and I am onboard. This uses nelumbo nucifera flower water itself at almost 40%, plus extracts from the leaf, root and flower. The main reason to use this type of lotus is its main antioxidant, kaempferol, a type of flavonoid, but it’s also, in my experience, deeply hydrating. This is a fairly lightweight toner that layers up beautifully for seven skins, and it’s at a surprisingly reasonable price point. This is unfortunately not free of hyaluronic acid, but the formulation is good enough that in this dry summer my skin is just drinking it up.
Price: $22 USD / 200 mL

🌚 Klairs Midnight Blue Youth Activating Drop

If you, like me, have been looking for an EGF peptide serum that doesn’t break the bank (cough cough Kate Somerville), allow me to introduce you to the Klairs Midnight Blue Youth Activating Drop. This includes sh-Oligopeptide-1 and sh-Polypeptide-1, which are two epidermal growth factor peptides. There’s a lot going on with epidermal growth factor peptides and frankly it’s been half my life since I’ve taken a biology class, but the too-long-barely-read take is that these peptides help with ATP synthesis, which drops off as you age, and signals all sorts of skin regenerative functions. The “midnight blue” of this comes from guaiazulene, which is used because it makes things look cool, in part, but also because it has anti-inflammatory benefits.
Price: $30 / 20 mL, but frequently included in Wishtrend bundles

7️⃣ Hanskin Seven Layer Ceramide Serum

I don’t know if you knew this about me (okay, you should if you’ve read more than one post), but I love ceramide serums — so the Hanskin Seven Layer Ceramide Serum basically grabbed me by the arm and yelled “add me to your cart” when I saw it on SokoGlam. These seven layers refer to the 7 ceramides (NP, NG, NS, AP, AS, EOP and the synthesized bispalmitamide MEA), but it also includes phytosphingosine, a ceramide precursor. But wait, there’s more (I told you it yelled at me): there’s panthenol, prebiotics, cholesterol, beta glucan and urea to support the skin barrier, as well as a variety of plant extracts for an antioxidant boost. The texture is hydrating but creamy, and the pump makes it super convenient.
Price: $28 USD / 50 mL

Sunscreen

🌾 Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun : Rice + Probiotics

Beauty of Joseon has a cult following for a reason, and their new Relief Sun : Rice + Probiotics sunscreen has a hype that is well-deserved. Tested as SPF 50+ PA++++ in a variety of labs, this sunscreen touts 30% rice extract, plus rice germ extract, green tea extract, and a variety of ferments and other yummy extracts to make a sunscreen that could totally pass as a great AM moisturizer that also delivers great protection. If you’ve been debating taking the plunge into k-beauty sunscreen, you won’t be disappointed with this. Is a rebuy already on its way to my home again because we plowed through this on our trip to Wyoming, Montana and Idaho? Yes.
Price: $18 USD / 50 mL

☀️ Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Airy Sun Stick

I’ll admit, I was as confused about sun sticks as the next person, but since Isntree does great sunscreen and the sticks seemed super convenient for reapplication, I had to give their Hyaluronic Acid Airy Sun Stick a try. My thought was that it would be super convenient while mountain biking, because we could easily reapply without needing to remove our gloves or generally worry about rubbing in grime. Well, it works for that but it’s also so convenient literally all the time. Sitting outside at a barbecue? Reapply. On a boat? Reapply. It glides like a deodorant but without the awful deodorant texture, plus in addition to the great newer generation chemical filters, it also has good skincare ingredients like pinus pinaster bark extract and bamboo extract. Is it already in my YesStyle basket again? Yes.
Price: $21 USD / 22 g

👄 Rohto Mentholatum Water Lip Balm

Rohto Mentholatum lip sunscreens are, in my experience so far, the only kind I like, and the Water Lip Balm style is my favorite to date. This one, the “Milky Pink”, has a nice texture and no notable taste or fragrance to me, which is great — sometimes chemical lip spfs are so gross-tasting that they’re unusable. The sun protection isn’t as good as an actual facial sunscreen, as it’s SPF 20 PA++, but since it’s so easy to reapply, has no white cast (a common problem with mineral sunscreens generally and mineral lip spfs specifically — I’m looking at you, Vanicream) and doesn’t dry out the lips, constant reapplication to ensure protection isn’t so bad.
Price: $4.50 USD / 4.5 g

Other

🎂 I Dew Care Cake My Day Hydrating Sprinkle Wash-Off Mask

I Dew Care’s zone of genius is absolutely masks, and the Cake My Day Hydrating Sprinkle Wash-Off Mask is totally darling. Open it up and it just LOOKS like frosting, with a white creamy base and a bunch of rainbow sprinkles mixed in. It’s not the most hydrating or moisturizing of their masks — probably because of the kaolin clay — but it’s totally cute and fun. Unfortunately the sprinkles don’t burst or do anything wild, which would make it some serious skintertainment, but it’s still fun! Definitely strongly fragranced to amplify that frosting mood, though.
Price: $25 USD / 100g; shown in the 10g size from the Mini Scoops set

🍑 Peach & Lily Transparen-C Pro Spot Treatment

After all of the hype around the Peach & Lily Transparen-C Pro Spot Treatment, I had to try it when it was half-off in an Ulta sale. This is 20% of an ascorbic acid derivative, plus licorice root extract, vitamin E, ferulic acid, tranexmic acid and kojic dipalmitate to promote brightening, all in a nice oil base of sunflower, macademia, meadowfoam and jojoba oils. This is intended to just be applied to dark spots, but I’ll be honest — the mechanics of dabbing an oil onto just a few spots is a bit weird. To that end, I’ve probably made the dubious financial decision of just treating this like a facial oil, taking three drops and patting it all over. Because it’s a derivative rather than 20% ascorbic acid, I’ve been playing around with using it AM and PM in this fashion. So far I haven’t seen improvement, but we’ll see how I feel once it’s empty.
Price: $43 USD / 20 mL

👁 Mizon Snail Repair Intensive Gold Eye Gel Patches

Under-eye patches have become my new “stressed out at work” go-to, and since work has been a bit of a bamboozler I opened the Mizon Snail Repair Intensive Gold Eye Gel Patches. I do legitimately find that under-eye patches help reduce eye strain, so although I don’t like using them mid-routine, mid-day is a-okay. These are pretty goopy, however, which causes them to slide down, and the use of carob and xanthan gum does make the remaining goop ball up (incidentally part of why I don’t like eye patches mid-routine). On a skincare benefit front, this does have snail secret filtrate, of course, as well as niacinamide, hydrolyzed collagen, mushroom extract and a variety of peptides. In keeping with the gold name, this does have gold at .89 ppm.
Price: $18 USD / 30 pairs