Tag: Brightening

  • Vitamin C Serum 101 + Timeless 20% Vitamin C+E+Ferulic Acid Serum Review

    I’m fighting the visible aging process tooth and nail to make up for decades of bad decisions, as you’ll notice if you make it through even a couple of posts here or on my Instagram. So I’m often asked about my recommendations for the best anti-aging skincare products. My first answer will always be sunscreen, but…

  • The Best and Worst Skincare I Used in 2016: A Holy Grail Skincare Routine

    2016 was a pretty wild year in a lot of ways. Even my face got a taste of the turmoil. I tried a lot of different products from a lot of different brands this year, and while some of those products were truly great (and I appreciate the opportunity to try them all), others…weren’t. I took…

  • Review: Sulwhasoo Radiance Energy Mask

    December 28 update: I’ve been told that the spatula may not be real jade. Checking on that now. Precious gems in skincare tend to leave me cold, since the skincare benefits of ground up jewelry are, at best, both questionable and temporary. But I have an irrational reverence for jade. My first piece of real jewelry was a classic plain…

  • December 2016 Empties Report

    My skincare closet is overflowing with bottles and jars, and not all of them have stuff in them anymore. It’s time for a purge!

  • 2016 Holiday Gift Guide: K-Beauty Gift Sets for Beauty Lovers in Their 20s and 30s

    Happy Black Friday and welcome back to the 2016 Holiday Gift Guide series, hosted by me and my friend Christina Hello! In our first installments, I gave my skincare gift recommendations for Asian beauty product beginners, while Christina focused on K-beauty makeup intro sets. This time around, we’re talking gift giving for more seasoned beauty lovers, specifically…

  • Review: Naruko Dermalane Intensive Brightening Renewal Treatment 20% Mandelic Acid AHA

    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…

  • How to Apply Sunscreen with a Cushion Puff

    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…

  • My Top 9 Sheet Masks on Amazon Prime

    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…

  • Do You Need Actives, Part Deux: Sulwhasoo x2 (A Double Review)

    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…

  • Giant Giveaway Time with Naruko US!

    It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these because I don’t particularly want to run giveaways of just random stuff that I can’t vouch for, but some things are worth the wait. Today I have a ginormous Naruko giveaway for you guys to enter, with over $1400 worth of tested-and-loved Naruko goodies as…