more recent skincare buys
Jun. 23rd, 2023 11:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhodochrositequick round of skincare product reviews 👇
in terms of skincare supplements I still take vitamin c tablets every day and I did also start taking the jshealth skin + digestion tablets and marine collagen but I’m not that convinced they’ve done anything for me, I think I’ll keep taking collagen bc if nothing else it’s extra protein but I won’t repurchase the tablets. Also I started doing coconut oil hair masks (ie putting coconut oil I got from the grocery store on the ends of my hair for at least 15min before showering) and it is making my hair so soft and smooth 😊
DRUNK ELEPHANT A-PASSIONI RETINOL CREAM
Ok I am SOOOOOOO mad that this is a good product that has drastically improved my skin I genuinely did not want to like it bc it’s so expensive and I really disagree with de’s Mix Any Products And Slap Em On It’s Ok👍 messaging but it is unfortunately worth the severely greater cost than the to retinoid I was using before. Using this every second night, my breakouts are way less severe and heal so much quicker and I know this is objectively true bc I am using wayyyy fewer hydrocolloid patches than before, I used to have to buy new packs of patches every couple weeks and now I use like a couple patches a month so I haven’t bought any since I started using this retinol. and my pih is fading and my texture is improving. Yes it would be cheaper to get a prescription retinoid but that requires a prescription and I literally don’t have a gp rn. Anyway I did just receive a geek & gorgeous retinal I preordered a couple months ago so I’ll trial that after I finish the de retinol, I have high expectations for the g&g and I hope it performs. Otherwise I guess I WRP the de retinol but I’m pressed about it.
HADA LABO SHIROJYUN WHITENING LOTION
When I feel like my skin is holding up ok I apply this in the morning as a toner after washing my face and before niacinamide but I kinda don’t think this is doing anything for me and also I think it smells weird and astringent which scares me. However this bottle is huge afffff so it’s going to take me forever to finish. Also I thought the shirojyun had tranexamic acid in it as the brightening agent but I just looked it up on incidecoder and it’s vit c which I really don’t love when topically applied esp since I’m using retinol rn omg no wonder it feels so irritating. ummmmge well. Maybe I can use the rest of the bottle on my body instead, though I’m already using the ordinary glycolic acid for body brightening purposes. WNRP.
ANUA HEARTLEAF 77% SOOTHING TONER
I ordered the mini to try it as I am not immune to hype and I’ve been pretty curious about h. cordata as an ingredient bc iirc the abib heartleaf mask was quite nice and so far my skin is not reacting negatively to this toner which is always a good first step. I like the feeling of it on my skin, though I’m not convinced it’s necessarily doing anything more than what my beloved dear klairs unscented supple preparation toner is doing for me, but it is also significantly cheaper like almost half the price so maybe it’s worth to substitute. like is the dear klairs toner really twice as good?? Klairs has a nicer viscosity but that’s hardly a determinative factor. I’ll reflect on this as I continue to test the anua. At this stage undecided whether I WRP or WNRP since it’s fulfilling the same function as a product I already know I like, but maybe she will pull ahead of the klairs.
LANEIGE CREAM SKIN REFINER
I used to use this as my morning moisturiser many years ago and recently repurchased for extra hydration step / pre-retinol and post-retinol buffer at night / morning moisturiser again, since I was getting annoyed with how long it took for the cosrx snail essence to dry down on my skin (and also I think using the snail essence every day was actually texturising my skin so either I didn’t realise that was what was making my skin worse in the past or I’ve developed a sensitivity to it over the years). and again unfortunately for my wallet she is still That Girl. A bit messy to apply since the texture is so watery out of the bottle and I don’t want to waste product by using cotton pads but the emulsion is so light and beautiful and sinks in very fast and leaves my skin so soft and soothed. and is also available at sephorath so i don’t even need to wait for delivery. But EXPENSIVE. nevertheless WRP.
+ I’ve seen people talk about the dr ceuracle vegan kombucha tea essence as an alternative milky toner option so I will probably try that next, though it is honestly not even that much cheaper.
BEAUTY OF JOSEON CALMING SERUM
Really does not do shit for me like I saw zero improvement in redness/breakouts from using this. Which I don’t understand bc I like green tea and panthenol as ingredients so why are you nothing. WNRP.
BEAUTY OF JOSEON GLOW SERUM
I keep this one at my parents’ house so I don’t have to transport my holy grail ma:nyo niacinamide back and forth and it’s fine, I don’t use it consistently enough to be able to compare it to the ma:nyo but I think my skin likes propolis generally (cosrx propolis toner is on my to try list). Wait I just searched up the ingredience on incidecoder why does this have bha in it?! I don’t use exfoliants when I’m at my parents’ so it’s fine but I definitely won’t be buying the full size I don’t want to mix bha with retinoids lol. WNRP.
BEAUTY OF JOSEON CENTELLA ASIATICA CALMING MASK
This is a really nice and soothing mask!! Up there with my staple fave Benton goodbye redness centella mask, I love centella. There is soooo much liquid in the pack so there’s plenty of serum leftover for neck/shoulders application. The only problem is that the forehead section of the mask is really small, which is not unique to this mask as I have a massive fivehead, but it does annoy me that it doesn’t cover the part of my face that needs the most help since I mostly break out on my forehead. WRP.
ROVECTIN CLEAN LOTUS WATER CALMING SHEET MASK
Amazing and soothing mask instantly one of the best I’ve tried and definitely the one that adheres the best like the sheet itself is so soft and clingy and soaked in serum that it’s actually quite difficult to unfold, even though it has a backing sheet. Been having really good experiences with rovectin products so I might test out some more from the brand. WRP.
VT CICA DAILY SOOTHING MASK
I bought this bc it was on special and I thought it was nice that there’s no individual packaging, you get 30 masks in a box that you fish out using tweezers so there’s less waste. Unfortunately this mask has a very harsh and astringent smell that makes me not want to put this on my face, and the mask itself is quite dry and doesn’t have a lot of serum so you can really only put it on for like 10mins max before it’s basically paper. I don’t think it’s actively breaking me out and the ingredients look fine, good even, other than the fragrance, but I don’t like using this product bc I’m scared that it might break me out, so I avoid using this when my skin feels sensitive. but I really don’t want to waste money so I will be using up the box. but u guys 30 masks is SO MANY to get through. WNRP.
ISNTREE HYALURONIC ACID WATER SLEEPING MASK
Beautiful overnight mask I use as a treat on retinol nights every now and again, it makes my skin look so plump and smooth in the morning. I like the thick cooling gel texture and the pleasant smell. it's thicker and more hydrating than the cosrx rice overnight mask (which i mostly used as morning moisturiser anyway), and less annoying to apply and more absorbent than the belif aqua bomb sleeping mask. WRP.
CERAVE SA SMOOTHING CREAM
Bought this for the kp on my upper arms and calves and I think it’s working a little bit maybe?? My skin feels smoother but the red bumps are still visible which is annoying I want it to be the other way around. Also it’s fragrance free which I guess is good in terms of skin safety but not good in terms of it smells so bad I don’t even care about its effectiveness. Like there’s just got to be a better option. Maybe I should just straight up be putting salicylic acid or glycolic acid on my arms/legs and then following up with a really thick lotion but I am also still in the market for a sufficiently moisturising and pleasantly scented body lotion, I’m using a nivea one which I also dislike the smell of but am stuck with until I finish the bottle. Anyway WNRP purely because I don’t like the smell.
++ FLORAL STREET ARIZONA BLOOM
Not skincare but I wanted to also record my thoughts on this perfume, I got a sample in my beauty loop and it’s a very fresh sweet coconutty fragrance which I was kind of put off by at first since I’m really not a coconut scent kind of girl and generally prefer “colder” or more “metallic” feeling scents (like my current daily perfume kenzo flower in the air, I’ve been layering this with tocca stella and I think it has a nice icy apple-orange-floral effect). But after a while I started thinking it would be nice to be a coconut scent kind of girl so ultimately I enjoyed using it and pretending to have like joie de vivre and tropical jubilation. I like that it doesn’t have the sharp artificial bitterness that a lot of coconut scents have, probably WNRP since I don’t think it reflects me that well but I feel like I would like the kind of person who it does reflect well. If that makes sense. Some other perfumes I tested at mecca recently and had opinions on:
in terms of skincare supplements I still take vitamin c tablets every day and I did also start taking the jshealth skin + digestion tablets and marine collagen but I’m not that convinced they’ve done anything for me, I think I’ll keep taking collagen bc if nothing else it’s extra protein but I won’t repurchase the tablets. Also I started doing coconut oil hair masks (ie putting coconut oil I got from the grocery store on the ends of my hair for at least 15min before showering) and it is making my hair so soft and smooth 😊
DRUNK ELEPHANT A-PASSIONI RETINOL CREAM
Ok I am SOOOOOOO mad that this is a good product that has drastically improved my skin I genuinely did not want to like it bc it’s so expensive and I really disagree with de’s Mix Any Products And Slap Em On It’s Ok👍 messaging but it is unfortunately worth the severely greater cost than the to retinoid I was using before. Using this every second night, my breakouts are way less severe and heal so much quicker and I know this is objectively true bc I am using wayyyy fewer hydrocolloid patches than before, I used to have to buy new packs of patches every couple weeks and now I use like a couple patches a month so I haven’t bought any since I started using this retinol. and my pih is fading and my texture is improving. Yes it would be cheaper to get a prescription retinoid but that requires a prescription and I literally don’t have a gp rn. Anyway I did just receive a geek & gorgeous retinal I preordered a couple months ago so I’ll trial that after I finish the de retinol, I have high expectations for the g&g and I hope it performs. Otherwise I guess I WRP the de retinol but I’m pressed about it.
HADA LABO SHIROJYUN WHITENING LOTION
When I feel like my skin is holding up ok I apply this in the morning as a toner after washing my face and before niacinamide but I kinda don’t think this is doing anything for me and also I think it smells weird and astringent which scares me. However this bottle is huge afffff so it’s going to take me forever to finish. Also I thought the shirojyun had tranexamic acid in it as the brightening agent but I just looked it up on incidecoder and it’s vit c which I really don’t love when topically applied esp since I’m using retinol rn omg no wonder it feels so irritating. ummmmge well. Maybe I can use the rest of the bottle on my body instead, though I’m already using the ordinary glycolic acid for body brightening purposes. WNRP.
ANUA HEARTLEAF 77% SOOTHING TONER
I ordered the mini to try it as I am not immune to hype and I’ve been pretty curious about h. cordata as an ingredient bc iirc the abib heartleaf mask was quite nice and so far my skin is not reacting negatively to this toner which is always a good first step. I like the feeling of it on my skin, though I’m not convinced it’s necessarily doing anything more than what my beloved dear klairs unscented supple preparation toner is doing for me, but it is also significantly cheaper like almost half the price so maybe it’s worth to substitute. like is the dear klairs toner really twice as good?? Klairs has a nicer viscosity but that’s hardly a determinative factor. I’ll reflect on this as I continue to test the anua. At this stage undecided whether I WRP or WNRP since it’s fulfilling the same function as a product I already know I like, but maybe she will pull ahead of the klairs.
LANEIGE CREAM SKIN REFINER
I used to use this as my morning moisturiser many years ago and recently repurchased for extra hydration step / pre-retinol and post-retinol buffer at night / morning moisturiser again, since I was getting annoyed with how long it took for the cosrx snail essence to dry down on my skin (and also I think using the snail essence every day was actually texturising my skin so either I didn’t realise that was what was making my skin worse in the past or I’ve developed a sensitivity to it over the years). and again unfortunately for my wallet she is still That Girl. A bit messy to apply since the texture is so watery out of the bottle and I don’t want to waste product by using cotton pads but the emulsion is so light and beautiful and sinks in very fast and leaves my skin so soft and soothed. and is also available at sephorath so i don’t even need to wait for delivery. But EXPENSIVE. nevertheless WRP.
+ I’ve seen people talk about the dr ceuracle vegan kombucha tea essence as an alternative milky toner option so I will probably try that next, though it is honestly not even that much cheaper.
BEAUTY OF JOSEON CALMING SERUM
Really does not do shit for me like I saw zero improvement in redness/breakouts from using this. Which I don’t understand bc I like green tea and panthenol as ingredients so why are you nothing. WNRP.
BEAUTY OF JOSEON GLOW SERUM
I keep this one at my parents’ house so I don’t have to transport my holy grail ma:nyo niacinamide back and forth and it’s fine, I don’t use it consistently enough to be able to compare it to the ma:nyo but I think my skin likes propolis generally (cosrx propolis toner is on my to try list). Wait I just searched up the ingredience on incidecoder why does this have bha in it?! I don’t use exfoliants when I’m at my parents’ so it’s fine but I definitely won’t be buying the full size I don’t want to mix bha with retinoids lol. WNRP.
BEAUTY OF JOSEON CENTELLA ASIATICA CALMING MASK
This is a really nice and soothing mask!! Up there with my staple fave Benton goodbye redness centella mask, I love centella. There is soooo much liquid in the pack so there’s plenty of serum leftover for neck/shoulders application. The only problem is that the forehead section of the mask is really small, which is not unique to this mask as I have a massive fivehead, but it does annoy me that it doesn’t cover the part of my face that needs the most help since I mostly break out on my forehead. WRP.
ROVECTIN CLEAN LOTUS WATER CALMING SHEET MASK
Amazing and soothing mask instantly one of the best I’ve tried and definitely the one that adheres the best like the sheet itself is so soft and clingy and soaked in serum that it’s actually quite difficult to unfold, even though it has a backing sheet. Been having really good experiences with rovectin products so I might test out some more from the brand. WRP.
VT CICA DAILY SOOTHING MASK
I bought this bc it was on special and I thought it was nice that there’s no individual packaging, you get 30 masks in a box that you fish out using tweezers so there’s less waste. Unfortunately this mask has a very harsh and astringent smell that makes me not want to put this on my face, and the mask itself is quite dry and doesn’t have a lot of serum so you can really only put it on for like 10mins max before it’s basically paper. I don’t think it’s actively breaking me out and the ingredients look fine, good even, other than the fragrance, but I don’t like using this product bc I’m scared that it might break me out, so I avoid using this when my skin feels sensitive. but I really don’t want to waste money so I will be using up the box. but u guys 30 masks is SO MANY to get through. WNRP.
ISNTREE HYALURONIC ACID WATER SLEEPING MASK
Beautiful overnight mask I use as a treat on retinol nights every now and again, it makes my skin look so plump and smooth in the morning. I like the thick cooling gel texture and the pleasant smell. it's thicker and more hydrating than the cosrx rice overnight mask (which i mostly used as morning moisturiser anyway), and less annoying to apply and more absorbent than the belif aqua bomb sleeping mask. WRP.
CERAVE SA SMOOTHING CREAM
Bought this for the kp on my upper arms and calves and I think it’s working a little bit maybe?? My skin feels smoother but the red bumps are still visible which is annoying I want it to be the other way around. Also it’s fragrance free which I guess is good in terms of skin safety but not good in terms of it smells so bad I don’t even care about its effectiveness. Like there’s just got to be a better option. Maybe I should just straight up be putting salicylic acid or glycolic acid on my arms/legs and then following up with a really thick lotion but I am also still in the market for a sufficiently moisturising and pleasantly scented body lotion, I’m using a nivea one which I also dislike the smell of but am stuck with until I finish the bottle. Anyway WNRP purely because I don’t like the smell.
++ FLORAL STREET ARIZONA BLOOM
Not skincare but I wanted to also record my thoughts on this perfume, I got a sample in my beauty loop and it’s a very fresh sweet coconutty fragrance which I was kind of put off by at first since I’m really not a coconut scent kind of girl and generally prefer “colder” or more “metallic” feeling scents (like my current daily perfume kenzo flower in the air, I’ve been layering this with tocca stella and I think it has a nice icy apple-orange-floral effect). But after a while I started thinking it would be nice to be a coconut scent kind of girl so ultimately I enjoyed using it and pretending to have like joie de vivre and tropical jubilation. I like that it doesn’t have the sharp artificial bitterness that a lot of coconut scents have, probably WNRP since I don’t think it reflects me that well but I feel like I would like the kind of person who it does reflect well. If that makes sense. Some other perfumes I tested at mecca recently and had opinions on:
- vilhelm parfumerie mango skin – this really does smell exactly like mango but it is like $400 and I don’t even know if I want to smell like mango. like again i just don't think i'm a tropical scents girl
- ellis brooklyn vanilla milk – I hate this so bad omg my nightmare vanilla scent, i know it is in the name but it is SO unbearably milky and cloying and gave me a headache. I like the idea of a vanilla perfume in concept but perhaps not so much in execution, I need to remember to try the kayali vanilla and see if I like that one ):
- ellis brooklyn myth – this is so good… I love clean pink/white floral what can I say. Not sure if I like it enough to buy as my next perfume though
