Skincare, beauty, mental health, productivity, and hamster butts
Want to know whether you should try a product? Read my reviews to help make a decision. I evaluate products not only based on my subjective experiences with them, but also based on objective analysis of ingredients and formulations, and I promise to always give my honest assessments. No shilling here.
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 [...]
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 It has been replaced by Copper Amino Isolate Serum 3 1:1*, which I reviewed on my IGTV here, and which I love just as much!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. [...]
In the first installment of my Best of 2020 list, I mentioned how the events of 2020 forced me to learn how interconnected all of our pursuits are and how important our habits can be for keeping our heads above water, mentally. Two of the three favorites in this list are health and wellness products, [...]
You know how I know 2021 is going to be a better year than 2020? Because it's January and I not only remembered that I want to write a best of 2020 roundup, but am actually doing it instead of pushing it aside for so long that it becomes pointless to even publish it (who [...]
High protection with a weightless, invisible finish: Missha All Around Safe Block Aqua Sun Gel almost has it all.
It's been a long time since I've fallen in love with a cleansing oil or an emulsion, but KOSE SEKKISEI did it.
Fifty Shades of Snail 