2019 Skincare Wrap-Up!
Happy New Year!
To kick off the new year, I wanted to go through my 2019 [skincare] empties! I’ve seen a lot of these blogs and videos, and I thought it’s great to start off the new year reflecting on my past product experiences.
Hair Care
First, let’s start with hair care! TBH, I’m suuuper low maintenance with my hair care routine and I generally can’t be bothered with doing anything fancy. 90% of the time, it’s up in a bun anyway.
Dry Shampoo: L’Oreal Extraordinary Clay Dry Shampoo
I’ll be honest, I never feel like my hair is ever as good as when it’s freshly washed. I figured I’d give some dry shampoos a shot to see what all the fuss was about. I thought this was a good drugstore brand for dry shampoo. It leaves a white residue, but brushing it out or working it into your hair eliminates it. Additionally, the scent was a little strong for my preference.
Dry Shampoo: Living Proof Perfect Hair Days
I actually repurchased this, thinking that I liked it enough, but again, my hair is generally up in a bun and the feeling of freshly washed hair just can’t be beat. Since hair care is fairly low on the priority list for me, I generally don’t use this. It has a white residue as well and the scent dissipates quickly for me.
Color Care: Celeb Luxury Viral Colorwash/Colorditioner (Purple)
This is SUPER pigmented. I believe the shampoo (aka Colorwash) was what added the most pigmentation back into my hair. After I would use it (usually every other week, or every wash, I only washed my hair every 3-5 days) there would be purple splatters on my shower walls and my fingernails would be stained purple for a day. I loved the smell as well. It’s fairly expensive, but seems average priced for color-depositing shampoo/conditioner. Definitely would recommend.
Skin Care
Ahh my favorite topic! This year has been a year of learning. I learned a lot about what products to mix/not to mix, more holy grail products I know I can turn to if my skin’s freaking out and it was my first year going to Sephoria! (Sephora’s beauty convention)
Cleanser: Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm
Got this super steal of a deal at Sephoria back in September. It was 5 deluxe sample sized products for $25, so $5 each! I LOVE double cleansing. It’s the only process that makes me feel like I’m actually taking off ALL my makeup. I liked the Farmacy cleansing balm, but it didn’t seem any different than other cleansing balms I’ve tried. The scent was enjoyable, but for the original price it goes for, I’d rather go to my holy grail mentioned below.
Cleanser: Banila Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm Original
LOVE. This is my go-to cleansing balm, hands down. It’s reasonably priced and the only product that takes off waterproof mascara (which is the only type I can wear) super quickly. SO many people have said that XYZ products take off waterproof mascara, and every time I’ve tried those products (e.g. micellar water, biphase makeup removers, etc.) they either take too long to remove my make up, or I have to keep rubbing my eyes, which isn’t ideal. All other cleansing balms are too pricey, this is about $19.
Cleanser: Innisfree Hydrating Cleansing Foam with Green Tea
I believe I got this when I was in Korea. It was a good standard cleanser, nothing special. It smelled refreshing and got the job done. From what I can recall, I liked how it foamed up and made my face feel after cleansing, clean but not stripped.
Cleanser: Neogen Real Fresh Green Tea Cleansing Stick
Meh. I thought this would be great to use for traveling, since it’s a solid stick, but I didn’t like the application for everyday use. I just don’t prefer to rub a stick on my face as a way to cleanse, but when I travel, I probably wouldn’t mind. My skin didn’t feel stripped and it was just fine, nothing special, other than it being a solid form of cleanser.
Toner: Klairs Supple Preparation Unscented Toner
I never really understood why I needed a toner, but this was my first dabble into toning. I thought it was a good, mild toner, especially if you have sensitive skin, sensitive to scents or are just starting out with toners. It’s in the affordable to midrange price ($22) and it lasts a really long time. The consistency is slightly more viscous than other toners.
Toner: ACWELL Licorice pH Balancing Cleansing Toner
I LOVE this toner. The scent is light, it’s a watery texture like most toners and I felt like my skin just soaked this up. I can’t put my finger on whether there was necessarily a difference in my skin, but I just felt good after using this toner. My skin just seemed to be brighter and happier. It’s slightly cheaper than the Klairs toner at $18.
Essence: Missha Time Revolution Intensive Moist Essence
TBH, I really can’t tell if essences are doing anything to my skin. I know with the ACWELL toner, I couldn’t tell if there was anything specific that was different, but for the essence, I literally felt and saw no difference. Perhaps this is a suuuper long term solution to hydration and wrinkles? I have another bottle I bought from my trip to Korea, so working on using up the second bottle. This retails for about $52.
Serum: CosRx Triple C Lightning Liquid Vitamin C Serum
I don’t think I’ve found the right type of vitamin C that’s giving me the benefits it claims. This is a super concentrated and fresh vitamin C serum, however, since I didn’t use this everyday, it went bad more quickly than I could use it. I’m still trying to figure out how to use vitamin C, which generally is very unstable (depending on the form you’re using). So waiting until later to find something I like.
Serum: The Inkey List Hyaluronic Acid
I got this sample from Sephoria and I think it’s a good, standard hyaluronic acid. I don’t find that my skin is particularly dry, but I did enjoy using this. It’s pretty reasonably priced at $7.99, so it’d be a good start if you’re looking to introduce hyaluronic acid into your routine. (I’ve also heard great things about the Trader Joe’s Hyaluronic Acid Serum too!)
Serum: Glossier Super Pure Serum (Niacinamide + Zinc)
LOVE. I haven’t tried any other niacinamide product, but there’s a reason why this is constantly sold out on Glossier’s website. I agree with everyone else, for how much you pay, the product is so small, BUT it’s the only product I feel soaks into your skin INSTANTLY. AND I feel like it actually calms my chaotic skin, whenever it goes haywire. Love, love love.
Moisturizer: Fresh Vitamin Nectar Moisture Glow Face Cream
I bought this originally because it has vitamin C. I did find after I used it for a week or so, my skin looked AMAZING. But any day after that, my skin never looked as plump, glowy and overall amazing as that week I used it. I’m not sure if it’s because I might’ve changed products, so jury’s still out on this.
Moisturizer: Banila Dear Hydration Boosting Cream
I bought this in Korea, not really knowing what it was, but I liked this was a standard, no frills type of gel/cream moisturizer. It was light and hydrating, but didn’t really have any additional benefits. Solid choice!
Mask: Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Rescue Mask
They claim this is a “5 minute facial in a jar” and I 100% agree. My skin looks amazing after using this and it’s a great pick-me-up in the middle of the week. I think it definitely helps to lightly exfoliate, brighten and hydrate my skin. Love!
Miscellaneous: Innisfree Orchid Hand Cream SPF 15 PA+
I bought this in Japan and I can’t seem to find it being sold anywhere online from reputable sources that I’ve ordered from previously. I’m wary about buying these types of items from Amazon too. I liked the scent and texture! The scent wasn’t overpowering and the texture was very light and soaked into your skin very quickly. Definitely didn’t feel greasy after using. Wish I could repurchase!
Make Up
Big picture, I love make up, but can never justify buying a ton. I also wear pretty much the same simple face everyday: foundation, loose powder and eyeliner. Maybe mascara if I’m feeling crazy. I do play with different colored eyeliner though :)
Primer: Too Faced HangoverRx Replenishing Face Primer
I got this in a value pack, pretty much to get the beauty blender that was included (I can’t justify paying $20 for a make up sponge). This is fine. I’m finding I don’t feel like I need primers, or I just haven’t found a primer I like. I do like the smell of this, it smells like coconuts!
Setting: Too Faced HangoveRx 3-in-1 Replenishing Primer and Setting Spray
I got this with the primer mentioned above. I didn’t feel like this did much. Plus, compared to the Urban Decay Setting Spray, I much prefer that than the Too Faced one. Again, it smells like coconuts. Reminds me of being on a tropical island :)
Foundation: Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Water Foundation
I like this foundation! It has a natural finish and doesn’t seem to breakdown like crazy by the end of the day. I don’t have super oily skin, I’d say it’s normal/oily. The coverage is light to medium and it has SPF 15. The only improvement I’d recommend is that they change the applicator. It’s a dropper, so if you’re not careful, it gets messy when you’re putting it back into the bottle.
Wrap Up!
Overall, I think this was a great year! I actually only started keeping my empties mid-year, but still not bad! I’m slowly, but surely figuring out what my skin likes and needs. Hopefully by the end of 2020, I’ll have more recommendations.
For repurchases, these are the ones I truly love:
