Fifty Shades of Snail
Finding the best skin care products since 2014. Started with a focus on Korean skincare and grew from there. Skincare tips and beauty tips that work, maybe some hamster butts too
recent posts
- Protected: Fluorescent bulbs and SPF
- How I Grew My Thinning Hair Back Thicker and Stronger Than Ever Before (with no drugs or medical treatments)
- Sponsored: The Best of Skin1004
- How to Ask for Skincare Advice Online, Part Two: What Questions to Ask to Get Helpful Answers
- How to Ask for Skincare Advice Online, Part 1: What Not to Ask
about
Category: Reviews
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.
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I have a complicated relationship with AHAs. They’re some of the most proven actives around for my skin concerns (brightening and anti-aging), but over the past year, I’ve looked for ways to pull back on them rather than go harder. Thanks to prescription tretinoin, I generally seek out products to strengthen my barrier rather than further thin it…
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There are very few skincare “rules” in my little corner of the Internet beauty community. For the most part, we advocate YMMV. There’s no point being dogmatic about most skincare choices, since everyone’s skin is different. But there are a few recommendations so common and so well supported that they come dangerously close to being rules. One of those…
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I originally planned to title this post “My Busy Mom Skincare Routine” but changed my mind because you don’t have to be a parent to want your skin to look its best yet rarely have time (or energy) in the morning for a multi-layered AB routine. My morning rush is dictated by the need to…
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In the insanely crowded and competitive Asian skincare industry, product repackaging and/or reformulation are common tactics for brands fighting the never-ending fight to retain customers’ interest in their products. Sometimes the product updates work, like when My Beauty Diary revamped their main sheet mask line last year. Other times, though, a product update feels like when…
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Have you ever seen Sunshine? The 2007 Danny Boyle movie stars Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, and Hiroyuki Sanada as sexy space scientists sent to reignite our dying sun with nukesand pretty pretty blue eyes, because if the sun dies, it takes us all out with it. Sunshine is one of my favorite movies, but it isn’t perfect. Danny Boyle totally neglects to explore…
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While recording the Snailcast a while ago, Chel and I got to reminiscing about the early days of AB life. Just a couple of years ago, hauls were major events that demanded planning, patience, and possibly a Hangul cheat sheet. These days, US-based Asian skincare fans can get a solid routine and plenty of extras, like…
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A couple of weeks ago, I talked in a general way about how to decide whether to introduce actives into your skincare routine. Now, as promised, here are a couple of examples: one product that just didn’t have enough oomph to get the job done, and one that doesn’t need anything more than what it…
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Hyggee’s Balance One Step Facial Essence packs a nourishing skincare routine into a single super cool product.
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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…
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There’s a bin on a shelf in my beauty closet where I hoard my empties until the bin is full. Then I take a picture of the containers before I recycle them. Usually that picture goes on my Instagram, but this time around, I felt I had more to say about the products I’ve used…
Fifty Shades of Snail 