I don't blog much about skincare because my routine doesn't change much; I've even dropped the monthly 'empties' posts which other bloggers do so well, since I tend to use up and repurchase the same old products over and over.
But since the last round-up in February (main routine // supplementary), I have actually replaced a few products with new loves, as well as reaffirming my devotion to other staples. So here goes:
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During my Asia trip earlier this year, I tried out a few new new lotions (moisturising toners), hoping to find a replacement for the Hada-Labo Gokujyun Hyaluronic Acid Lotion [ingredients] which has been a daily staple for the last five years. Because with the growing popularity of Japanese beauty brands, it's so often out of stock on adambeauty (most reasonably-priced etailer for me) when I want to repurchase, and also because I'mstupid curious! like that.
The best of a meh-to-bad bunch (from GWP samples from RMK, Lunasol, Fancl etc. to drugstore brands like Naruko and Shiseido Senka):
2. OIL![]()
As the very last step in my nighttime routine, I use a few drops of oil to seal in all the other layers. Left to my own devices, it would be a cheap health food store option like Desert Essence Jojoba (emptied) or a rosehip / almond / avocado variation. Sometimes I receive posher branded oils as presents (from friends not PR) like DHC Extra Virgin Olive Oil (emptied) for Christmas, which has a far nicer texture (genuinely dry/weightless -- even lighter than neat jojoba or rosehip in feel) and packaging, but wasn't so superior that I'd be tempted to repurchase for myself.
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But some things one can only get in Asia. Sickeningly cute Bioderma Crealine set, anyone? :D
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But since the last round-up in February (main routine // supplementary), I have actually replaced a few products with new loves, as well as reaffirming my devotion to other staples. So here goes:
1. LOTION
During my Asia trip earlier this year, I tried out a few new new lotions (moisturising toners), hoping to find a replacement for the Hada-Labo Gokujyun Hyaluronic Acid Lotion [ingredients] which has been a daily staple for the last five years. Because with the growing popularity of Japanese beauty brands, it's so often out of stock on adambeauty (most reasonably-priced etailer for me) when I want to repurchase, and also because I'm
The best of a meh-to-bad bunch (from GWP samples from RMK, Lunasol, Fancl etc. to drugstore brands like Naruko and Shiseido Senka):
- Hada-Labo ES Lotion turned out to be far too watery (so difficult to apply with hands) and not moisturising enough, even for the humid Hong Kong summer. ES [Enjoy Skincare] is a new sub-brand from Rohto Hada-Labo, slightly cheaper [170ml retails for ¥1100 while my regular Hada-Labo lotion goes for ¥1260] and aimed at very sensitive skin; its products are free of fragrance, alcohol, mineral oil and parabens and did not irritate my skin at all. None of them impressed me either -- this is a good line to try for those with oily-normal skin and very minimal requirements.
- White Formula Super Moist Toner is, despite the Japanese language packaging, from a Taiwanese brand made in Taiwan [forgot the retail, but definitely under £10 for 290ml]. Like many other Taiwanese toners, its has a viscous gel texture rather than the 'enriched water' of my regular Hada-Labo, which feels sticky going on (not a dealbreaker) and can also ball up under my other skincare/makeup layers (dealbreaker). Despite the stickier feel, it actually seems a bit less effective at hydrating my skin than old reliable; finally, a reminder that unscented =/= scent-free, this has a strong synthetic-metallic smell.
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| White Formula Super Moist Toner ingredients |
2. OIL
However, the REN Omega 3 Night Repair Serum (a birthday present I've been using for the last three months) leaves my skin so soft-glowy-happy in the mornings I'm seriously thinking of shelling out the £34 for another bottle of (fishyapricot-stinking) magic when I'm done. Note that this is much 'oilier' in feel than the DHC or most neat oils, and may not be suitable for the breakout-prone; it is marketed as plumping and barrier repair for dry/sensitive skin and surprisingly does exactly that for me.
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| REN Omega 3 Night Repair Serum ingredients |
3. EYE CREAM
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4. EMERGENCIES
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After an entire tube of La Roche Posay Cicaplast Baume B-5 [ingredients], my first impressions were pretty much confirmed -- this is a waxier matte-finish cream which is harder to spread onto my dry skin than Avene's creamier Cicalfate [ingredients]. Even in East Asian summer humidity, the LRP wasn't sufficiently moisturising for me to wear overnight, and its drier feel didn't layer as easily as Avene would with additional products -- which made it a tricky proposition under makeup [again perhaps because I favour creamier textures there too]. Both products did speed up my skin's healing time, but I felt Avene addressed the flakiness that inevitably accompanies barrier-damage better.
5. SUNSCREEN
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Finally -- and I mean after four years and a hundred others FINALLY -- I have found a replacement for the heinously expensive Sisley Sisleya Global Eye and Lip Contour Cream (UK retail £105; I usually purchase for £85ish at Duty Free). In fact, I like Korres Materia Herba Eye Cream (comparatively much more reasonable £30 for the same 15ml as Sisley) even better, as it visiblyfaded my hereditary undereye pigmentation, so that Burberry's light click pen is now all I need to cover the bruise-y sleep-deprivation-type circles, no separate corrector necessary.
As for the rest of my eyecream requirements, Korres is on par with Sisley at: depuffing, keeping my very dry undereyes moisturised all day, being light enough to smooth on without tugging [my issue with some thicker balms], sinking in instantly, sitting beautiful under makeup, excess working well as a lip balm etc.
I've been using this since May (onto my second tube now -- the first lasted about four months) but held off on the review until I could be sure the circle-fading thing wasn't just a quirk, and that it would still be rich enough for my skin in London. It isn't, and it is. LOVE.
4. EMERGENCIES
5. SUNSCREEN
Now let the angelic chorus swell once more, for I have finally found a zinc-based sunscreen that doesn't dry me out OR leave me tin-mannishly shiny to layer over my all-chemical Ducray Melascreen SPF50. High-maintenance, much? Yeah, but this was my bare face in June, right before I started layering; and here it is after five months of layering. Okay, freckles do darken in summer but I promise you many of the smaller ones, which I've had for years, have completely gone and the rest have faded significantly.
I recognise that wearing one sunscreen daily might be too much for some skins, let alone two -- but if you can find formulas to work for you (and whose filters don't interfere with each other) I would wholeheartedly recommend it, especially if, like me, you don't reapply sun protection every two hours throughout the day. The Ducray provides high-UVA chemical protection (from octinoxate, Tinsorbs M and S) while the BurnOut gives sustained physical protection (zinc is the most stable filter) -- neither on its own would be quite ideal, but together: Dream Team.
Burn-Out Ocean Tested SPF30+ ($17.99 for 100ml) contains 18.6% zinc oxide in a no-frills formula [ingredients] which is the most cosmetically elegant all-physical I've tried -- "cosmetically elegant" in sunscreen reviews often seems to mean "MATTE / oil-controlling" but as you all know, I love me some dew and I hate me some itching and flaking skin -- what I mean is that it is a light gel-cream texture that glides effortlessly over the skin, setting to a soft satiny finish with no rubbing in or waiting time required. Cosmetics layered over this do not ball up or 'stick', and I can take the cream right up to my lashline and around my mouth without any irritation, stinging, or interference with my fun: eyeshadow or lipstick.
BurnOut retails replaces Kiss Me Sunkiller Baby Milk SPF38, which has been reformulated and renamed as Kids UV SPF38 [ingredients and info]. The older version was my favourite Japanese milk sunscreen for years, a rare alcohol-free all-physical formula (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) but I found the newer one too matte and too drying -- even without alcohol, and layered over a hefty coat of Ducray, I find physical filters quite drying -- my skin would start itching by lunchtime and flaking after a few days' sustained use. I also prefer the ease of cream/gel formulas to ultra-runny milks.
But some things one can only get in Asia. Sickeningly cute Bioderma Crealine set, anyone? :D
