December has flown by and it's 2016 already. Happy New Year everyone! It was an unusually warm and surprisingly humid month so I had to switch around my skincare. In the process I found some products that really seemed to work for me.
Here are my December favorites.
Stridex Pads Maximum Strength (3 pack for $14.73 at
Amazon)
You always think about Stridex being used on teenage skin but, holy moly, these pads are working for me. They contain BHA, or salicylic acid as the main ingredient, which cleans out and sanitizes clogged pores while exfoliating. Salicylic spot treatments never work for me so I always ignored products with the ingredient. But I was pretty desperate to find something that worked to control my hormonal acne so I took a gamble on these after reading so many positive reviews. The pads are alcohol free and each pad has a textured side. I use these pretty much every night unless I use the Secret Key Lemon D-Toc Peeling Gel. You can use them twice a day but once a day is sufficient for me to see results. Some people have said this feels a little drying on their skin but I've had no issues with this thanks to my oily skin. In fact, I also spot treat with benzoyl peroxide in my nightly routine and haven't experienced any flaking or peeling. Hands down the best $14.73 I spent for 210 pads!
Ariul Stress Relieving Purefull Cleansing Foam ($12 at
Memebox)
I've been alternating the Ariul cleanser with the Michael Todd Charcoal Detox depending on how my skin feels. I like the scent from the tube more than when it's on my face. Straight out of the tube the cleanser smells like sweet lemons but there's a weird spicy after scent once the product is on my face. A little goes a long way because this really lathers into a foam. I'm almost positive anyone with dry skin won't like this since it may leave your skin feeling tight. This will probably work best for anyone with combination to oily skin. My skin never feels dry after using the cleanser and it does a great job of thoroughly cleansing my face. It's supposed to minimize pimples, unwanted dark spots, and hyperpigmentation. I have no expectations as far as fading spots or PIH since it's not really on my face long enough. However, my acne situation has definitely improved so I attribute some of that to this Ariul Cleansing Foam.
theBalm In theBalm of Your Hand Palette ($39.50 at
theBalm)
I won't talk to much about this since I just did a review of this
here. I've been using the palette every time I wear makeup this month and it's really a useful and versatile holiday palette. It is a limited edition product so don't hesitate too long to purchase it if you are interested in it. If you've never tried theBalm products before, now is your chance to purchase some of the brand's best sellers.
Botanic Farm Mineral Pop Sparkling Serum & Cream
($29 for the Toner & Mist, Serum, and Cream at
Memebox)
I'm really surprised the Botanic Farm Sparkling Pop Set is still available at Memebox because it really is a great deal. I'm pretty sure the set is geared towards combo to oily skin. I didn't include the Toner because I haven't had a chance to use it yet. I use the Serum morning and night because it has a very light, almost watery consistency. It never leaves me feeling greasy. The cream is a bit heavy for my skin right now (that may change as we get farther into winter) so I only use it at night. The cream has a whipped, mousse like texture which absorbs into my skin nicely while leaving it hydrated. Both products have a very light fresh, floral scent which I like. The serum claims to nourish skin while brightening the face for a radiant and fair complexion. The cream moisturizes while brightening and evening out the complexion to get rid of sunspots, dark areas, and hyperpigmentation. While I haven't noticed an improvement in PIH, I do notice a brighter complexion.
I don't normally talk about monthly fails but I had three products that failed to live up to my expectations.
Leejiham (LJH) TeaTree 90 Essence ($45 at
Memebox)
Not gonna lie, I was very, very disappointed by this. I'd been reading in forums and reviews about how amazing this essence was so I had very high expectations for the product. Plus it's not exactly cheap at $45 for 50 ml but Memebox does inflate the price quite a bit.
Tester Korea sells this for 22,400 won with a retail value of 32,000 won. With the current exchange rate, it's only $19.62 plus a little more if you include shipping. Waaay cheaper than Memebox. Unfortunately, the essence was sold out at Tester for awhile so I had to save up points to buy it at Memebox. Anyway, this claims to minimize redness, refresh the skin, improve overall complexion, and alleviate uneven skin tone. I noticed none of this happening. The one positive thing I can say is that it didn't cause any further breakouts. There are no acne irritants whatsoever in this according to CosDNA. There's no scent to the product and it has a thin consistency that absorbs quickly into the face. I'll keep using the LJH Tea Tree Essence until it's gone but I won't buy it again.
La Roche-Posay Serozinc ($10.50 at
lookfantastic)
This is another hyped up product many YouTubers seem to rave about. Again, this is another product that did absolutely nothing for me. It's basically water and zinc in a mist formulated to target oily, acne prone skin. Yup, that's me. The zinc is supposed to reduce grease and mattify skin for a shine free finish. I was still producing the same amount of grease and going through the same number of blotting sheets on my face while using the toner. I'd be fine with the Serozinc if I had no expectations to begin with since it's refreshing enough as a mist. But the claims on this mist were not true in my case and I won't be repurchasing it again. Also, it's rather difficult to get a hold of this in the U.S. and it's usually jacked up in price if you do find it. Fortunately I only spent 4.90 euros on this when I visited Paris in the fall.
Son & Park Lip Crayon in Flash Red ($23 at
Soko Glam)
I reviewed two of the S&P lips crayons, Flash Red was one of them, and didn't give them a particularly positive review. I do think Flash Red is a beautiful shade so I wanted to give it one more chance. Just like before, the formula does not work for me. It claims to provide long lasting color while leaving lips hydrated. I find the crayon extremely uncomfortable to wear unless I exfoliate beforehand and apply a balm underneath the crayon. About an hour or two later, my lips start to dry out and I can only conclude that the formula just sucks any moisture out of my lips. I experience flaking and any color clings to lines and dry patches. This is not long wearing as it transfers and the color fades with any drinking or eating. The lip crayon does not fade evenly and any left over color settles into the outer edges of the lips. I really wanted to make this shade work for me, especially since it looks so good on Jun Ji Hyun. I'm sure the formula works for some of you out there but it did not work for me.
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I hope all of you have a healthy and happy start to 2016! As always, thanks for stopping by.
Jennifer
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