Skincare, beauty, mental health, productivity, and hamster butts
One of the best things about Korean skincare is that there really is something for everyone. No matter what your skin type and skin concerns are, there are options for you. Often excellent ones. For example: If you have sensitive skin or just prefer gentle products with an emphasis on natural ingredients, but still want [...]
10/12/2022 note: This article originally appeared on the now-defunct Kalista Edit. At some point I wasn't aware of, both the site and my article vanished. I've edited this lightly and am republishing it here because, well, I wrote it, and there will always be someone who could use it. Welcome back! In the first part [...]
9/30/2022 note: This article originally appeared on the now-defunct Kalista Edit. At some point I wasn't aware of, both the site and my article vanished. I've edited this lightly and am republishing it here because, well, I wrote it, and there will always be someone who could use it. Want free skincare advice? If you [...]
Lately I keep thinking about how long I’ve been using and writing about Korean skincare. It’s been a looong time. Almost ten years, to be exact. I wandered into Reddit’s Skincare Addiction community sometime in 2013 and very quickly followed the mysterious mentions of “Korean snail essence” to the much smaller but already fervently dedicated [...]
Skincare as self care has obviously been one of the unifying themes of my whole accidental skincare blogging and content creation and book writing journey. But although I've talked a ton about the mental benefits of establishing and sticking to a skincare routine, I haven't talked as much about the external rewards of a successful [...]
It's that time of year again! The clocks have shifted back an hour, darkness falls before 6pm, Mariah Carey has risen from her slumber to lay claim to her rightful season of power, and the days have begun their inexorable march to that date that basically every brand and retailer in the United States waits [...]
Over the past couple of years, I've developed a pretty serious addiction to gel creams. I generally have at least a couple of gel creams open and in active rotation in my everyday skincare routines, because now that my skin is fully adjusted to my very high (0.14%) Curology tretinoin prescription, I don't need heavier [...]
9/16/2021 Update: NIOD CAIS2 is no more. It has been replaced by Copper Amino Isolate Serum 3 1:1*, which I reviewed on my IGTV here, and which I love just as much! If you still prefer to read a text-based review, read on. CAIS3 feels and performs exactly the same for me and contains the [...]
It's been a big couple of years for COSRX. They've expanded beyond their beginnings as a small and relatively unknown brand focused on bare-bones AHA and BHA products, into a global name with a presence in brick-and-mortar retail chains like ULTA. Last year, the big COSRX news for me was the expansion of their Advanced [...]
Ingredient trends come and go (anyone else remember when starfish had a brief moment in the sun?). That's why I'm so grateful when a trendy ingredient that works well for me ends up getting popular enough to stick around. Like propolis, the featured ingredient in the serums I'm going to compare today. I love propolis. [...]
Fifty Shades of Snail 