skincare routine update again

[rhodochrosite]

i was having suchhhhh a good skin moment in jan and then i ran out of clinique moisture surge and started dying again but i have now restocked so message to all integumentary systems please survive. also i just started retinol so we'll see how that works out for me lol. i have 2 more weeks before i go back to school so i just need to be passable by then 🙏 also my feelings on many of the products i've tried/used before have changed so my views no longer represent my views

current routine:
AM

• CLEANSER: peach & lily power calm hydrating cleanser - i bought a peach & lily mini starter pack to try it out because i'm not immune to expensive hype products with pretty packaging and this is literally the only product i actually like. nice refreshing smell, does good job of making my skin feel clean, washes off easily. way too expensive in fullsize though so i won't be repurchasing once i finish the sample size
• ACTIVE: purito galacto niacin 97 power essence - i know i said last time this is the best product ever lifesaving etc but actually friendship ended with purito galacto niacin now ma:nyo galac niacin 2.0 essence is my new best friend. saw wayyyy better results in terms of skin texture + clarity + tone with the ma:nyo and i like the slightly thicker consistency better... but it was out of stock when i went to restock niacin step so i had to go back to the purito one. also i don't like the pipette applicator on the ma:nyo essence i do prefer the pump on the purito essence
• SPOT TREATMENT: pyunkang yul acne spot cream - idk why i even bought this i know spot creams are kind of a scam. i must have been kind of desperate at the time. doesn't do anything but i have to use up this tube and it doesn't seem to be harming me either
• MOISTURISER: rovectin lotus water cream - very basic gentle light unpretentious scentless moisturiser, good for summer days, absorbs quickly and fuss-free. love the free stickers it comes with
• SUNSCREEN: purito daily go-to sunscreen - just started using this, it isn't breaking me out which is always a good sign, i think i like the cream consistency better than the milk sunscreens i've been using for a while it just feels more secure lmao. the lack of perfume / vaguely chemical smell is a bit disconcerting but it's fine, less irritants on the skin is good even if it's depriving me of delicious scents and smells

PM

• OIL CLEANSER: banila clean it zero - literally the only oil cleanser i've found so far that doesn't break me out, probably the only oil cleanser i will be using for the rest of my life
• FOAM CLEANSER: krave beauty matcha hemp cleanser - probably the only foam cleanser i will be using for the rest of my life
• TONER: klairs supple preparation unscented facial toner - mostly wanted a step in between clean skin and active. this is like... fine like it's doing what i am asking of it
• ACTIVE (alternate days): the ordinary retinol 0.2% in squalane - oil based formula is easy to apply and absorbs fine even though i don't like pipette applicators. i was terrified of the retinol uglies but i don't think i've experienced any real purging? been using it for ~1 month now and i haven't had any major skin troubles but i am also not experiencing perfect poreless smooth breakout-free idol skin... tbh am wondering if i went for too low a concentration to do anything bc i've built up a lot of tolerance to bha and aha over the years. will probably go for a stronger concentration when i repurchase
• SERUM (alternate days): krave beauty great barrier relief - honestly not sure if this product is helping or harming me but i keep repurchasing it just in case. i use this after retinol as another step of hydration and soothing because i'm really scared of purging
• MOISTURISER: clinique moisture surge - my beloved i'll never forsake you again i've learned my lesson
• EYE CREAM: cosrx advanced snail peptide eye cream - i still think eye products are kind of a scam so i just use this as like a joke i guess. better safe than sorry anyway. it certainly is cream that goes on my eyes
• MASK (whenever i'm bothered): i usually have a stock of benton goodbye redness centella + aloe soothing masks, i really wish that heartdrops would stock dr jart masks because i really love the soothing hydra solution mask but i will only have it in stock if i've done a yesstyle haul recently
• OVERNIGHT MASK (if i don't have time to do a sheetmask): clinique moisture surge overnight mask - got this as a free sample, i don't think i would ever buy this product myself. like it's fine, it's an occlusive, but i don't put it on my forehead just in case it's too heavy

OTHER TESTED PRODUCTS:

• dhc cleansing oil - so it turns out this was breaking me out i think because it is soooo hard to fully wash off even with second cleansing
• peach & lily glass skin refining serum - was using this as my niacinamide step for a while, literally does nothing for me, possibly was actively breaking me out
• peach & lily matcha pudding antioxidant cream - WANTED THIS TO WORK SO BAD i love the matcha smell and the colour and the bouncy texture but my skin is a picky bitch that only tolerates clinique moisture surge. it also doesn't absorb into the skin very well like it just visibly sits on top of your skin (since it's green) and then gradually melts in which is kind of annoying
• krave beauty oat so simple water cream - i don't think this was like breaking me out but it wasn't doing anything for me either. maybe too light? i was using it during winter. the moral of the story is that basically nothing is ever going to be clinique moisture surge
• anessa perfect uv sunscreen - also wanted this to work sooo bad but it was breaking me out on my forehead so i ended up rebuying skin aqua uv tone-up essence for my forehead and using anessa on the rest of my face/neck only lol. i like the matte texture it dries down to tho, also a nice smell but presumably the perfume is what was irritating my skin
• laneige lip glowy balm (peach) - atp i'm literally just trying to collect all the laneige lip product flavours because i love scents and smells and desserts. this one is delicious and functions just like a normal lip mask, i don't notice any real difference from the overnight lip masks. i don't even care if the laneige line is just pretentious lip balms everything smells so good
• heimish bulgarian rose water hydrogel eye patch - i was curious about the gel patch style of eye product rather than creams... well it certainly made me feel pretty deluxe with gel patches under my eyes even tho i wasn't actually sure like which way you were meant to stick them on. but also the fact that you have to leave them on made them kinda inconvenient so i kept forgetting to use them
• function of beauty shampoo & conditioner - well i am not not susceptible to marketing and propaganda. i just started using a couple days ago so i'm not sure if it's doing anything but my hair smells sooooo good (i got the peach scent. it doesn't smell like peach but it smells really nice anyway)

IN STOCK, WAITING TO TEST:

• hada labo koi-gokujyun perfect gel - for overnight mask, waiting to finish up the clinique moisture surge overnight mask before i start using this. have heard very good things about this, and i've used the hada labo foam cleanser with no problems (its only crime was being so no-frills and basic it was kinda boring)
• peach & lily wild dew treatment essence - for toner, from the peach & lily starter pack i got. don't have very high expectations given how the other products have performed, but i hope it at least doesn't break me out