Category: Brands

Skincare brands discussed and reviewed.

  • Review: Naruko DermaLane Zero Dark Spot Brightening Renewal Mask

    I don’t break out often, but when I do, I’m off to PIH City for weeks afterwards. That’s just how skin rolls. (Straight to PIH City.) Then again, a ticket to PIH City gives me a chance to really put “brightening” products to the test. So when my experiments with a 20% mandelic acid serum convinced a clog…

  • Fermentation, First Essences, and that FTE Glow: Secret Key vs. Naruko Facial Essence Review

    Years ago in a meeting room in faraway Asia, hardworking cosmetics marketers discovered that the story they’d spun, of peasant sake brewers with mind-blowingly soft and youthful hands, could sell bottle upon bottle of the novel new skincare product they were tasked with promoting. And thus, the first essence (or fermentation essence, or facial treatment essence or first…

  • Sulwhasoo Innerise Complete Mask: The Sad Fiddy Review

    I distinctly remember telling someone, not too long ago and somewhere public, that I hadn’t yet found a Sulwhasoo product I didn’t like. Well. Joke’s on me, because now I have. Try not to fall over in shock as I introduce you to the Sulwhasoo Innerise Complete Mask.

  • Oh My Snails! The COSRX Holy Moly Snail Mask Review

    It’s here! The COSRX snail sheet mask that COSRX snail lovers like me have been dreaming of ever since our favorite kooky-clinical-affordable-whimsical K-beauty skincare brand let me announce it all the way back in May is finally here! I’ve had mine since Saturday, and I’ve been busily masking and thinking and second-guessing what I’ve been thinking. Now down to just a…

  • Review: Neutrogena Beach Defense Broad Spectrum Sunscreen Lotion SPF 70

    This summer, I discovered a love of frolicking in the surf with my son. I also discovered how poorly my precious Nivea Sun Protect Water Gel and my Biore Aqua Rich Watery Gel fit into my new beach lifestyle. While amazing for everyday use, neither of these sunscreens is water-resistant, and frequent reapplication makes both extremely cost-prohibitive for beach use. I can’t slack…

  • Review: Sulwhasoo Capsulized Ginseng Fortifying Serum

    In the annals of anti-aging skincare products, Sulwhasoo Capsulized Ginseng Fortifying Serum’s effects stand out.

  • How to Exfoliate: Multitasking with Chemical Exfoliants

    The most recent episode of the Snailcast was all about acids and how to exfoliate safely and effectively, and I’m super bummed because I wasn’t able to join thanks to moving hassles. But the topic got me thinking about acids and reminded me that I’ve been doing mine in a different way than I used to. A…

  • Spring/Summer 2016 Flops and Faves, Part 3: Yet More Hanbang + the Return of the AHA

    Previously: Part 1: Classics and New Faves | Part 2: Best and Worst Ginseng Skincare This final installment of my spring/summer 2016 skincare routine update took me a very long time to write because so much has been happening with my life and my skin! Which sounds dire but in reality isn’t. Even when I’ve been let down by something I’d been…

  • Casual Wednesday: Stress, Change, and My Skincare Routine

    What do you get when you make a change-averse Fiddy move herself, her family, and her massive and ever-expanding skincare routine and beauty stash (also clothes and furniture and things) out of their home of three pretty accumulative years and into a brand new place?

  • 3 Asian Beauty Tools I Love (and a Couple I Can Live Without)

    So I had this revelation while shopping at Target the other day. I was doing an unenthusiastic token pass through the beauty aisles, thinking about how long it’s been since I really stopped and actively looked for beauty products to buy there, when I realized: I don’t even buy freaking cotton pads at the drugstore anymore.…