hada labo gokujyun premium emulsion

Cold-ish Weather Product Empties Part 2

Originally, this was going to be a second empties post to follow up the one I did earlier on in the winter. However, May is now around the corner and, therefore, it is safe to say that this is more of an end of winter, early spring kind of post. Winter may have made its way into spring — for the most part –, but this doesn’t mean that my skin on just about every surface of my body is not still dry, sensitive and likely flaking. Lets get to the products:

Skin & Co Truffle Therapy Whipped Cleansing Cream ($28 US | 100 mL)

I tried this cream cleanser thanks to FabFitFun and I enjoyed using it. The second ingredient was sweet almond oil and I found it removed makeup ridiculously well and had a thick oil-rich feel to the cream cleanser. It also contained some soothing plant extracts including witch hazel, which my skin tends to find sensitizing at times, amongst chamomile, calendula and centella asiatica. I did enjoy the moisture left after using this soap-free cleanser but found it could kind of sting around the lash line and eye area when used for makeup removal. However, there are few cleansers that don’t do that for me. I liked using this but it’s expensive for what it is and I want to explore other cream cleanser options. It contains fragrance, in case I didn’t make that clear, but it smells mainly of the sweet almond oil and something subtle and spa-like.

Niod Fractionated Eye Contour Concentrate ($68 CDN | 15 mL)

I would never have tried this eye serum if I hadn’t gone for the Caroline Hirons Summer Kit but I did enjoy using it, even as an eye cream skeptic with a very sensitive eye area. It was a nice kind of oily serum texture that never stung around my eyes, or seemed to irritate my dry eyes themselves. It helped with mask-related flaking and sensitivity around my eyes but I didn’t notice any sort of wow results. It contains glycerin, niacinamide, yeast extract, a ton of peptides, natural moisturizing factors, antioxidants and soothing ingredients. There was an improvement of hydration I noticed and maybe a minor improvement in my chronic dark circles. I don’t plan on repurchasing immediately as it’s not cheap and will likely experiment with some other eye products in the meantime.

Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado ($66 CDN | 28 mL)

Throughout the fall and winter, I developed some eczema around my eyes that never quite went away. Consequently, I’ve been reaching for eye-specific products on the daily and I happily used up this thick fragrance-free balm cream. I’ve had it on the go for over a year — the larger size is actually more economical than you’d expect — and I liked it. It didn’t tend to sting under my eyes, helped with moisture, wasn’t irritating and helped makeup sit nicely, even on my dry and flaky under-eyes. It contains shea butter, avocado oil, hydrogenated castor oil and sodium pca. I wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to buying again but I’m experimenting with different products at present.

Laneige Cream Skin Toner & Moisturizer ($43 CDN | 150 mL)

I love a good calming milky toner and I’m not sure whether I prefer Paula’s Choice’s milky toners or this one. Regardless, I have had another bottle of this fragrance-free moisturizing toner ready to go for months. It has a simple but nourishing and soothing formula with glycerin, meadowfoam seed oil and white tea leaf extract. It’s a great product to use after cleansing to add hydration and combat inflammation immediately after cleansing. My skin always feels less sensitized, nourished and plump. It also helps that it never stings on my skin, even when I have active eczema on my face.

Hada Labo Gokujyun Premium Emulsion ($29 CDN | 140 mL)

Despite the fact that I’ve previously loved this traditional lotion-textured hyaluronic acid, I’m not sure I will repurchase again in this form. It’s affordable, coming with a large amount of product, fragrance-free and contains five different forms of hyaluronic acid, along with glycerin, mineral oil, dimethicone and squalane. In the warmer months, it would be possibly enough to serve as a moisturizer during the day, whilst being a fantastic humectant. However, I find that when it’s layered with a bunch of different serums and moisturizers, it tends to pill. I actually ended up using this on my body throughout the cooler months along with on my face to use up. I actually repurchased the traditional liquid form of this product.

Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence ($27.99 CDN | 100 mL)

I happily used this gel-textured humectant serum once or twice every day for a good six months. Despite being labelled as an essence, I think it’s thicker than a traditional essence and, instead, is a more gel-textured serum. I would definitely buy again but I’ve ordered the newer dual-chambered formula with niacinamide to try first. It contains 96% snail secretion filtrate in all of its healing and soothing glory, sodium hyaluronate, panthenol, arginine and allantoin. This is an amazing humectant serum on irritated skin from wearing a mask, retinoid-abuse and for those suffering from flakiness and dehydration. Using this, my skin was so much more plumped and hydrated and my post inflammatory redness from breakouts seems to be resolving more quickly from daily use.

Caudalie Vinosource Riche Intense Moisture Rescue Cream ($48 CDN | 40 mL)

I’ve been using moisturizers from this range for years and have maybe happily gone through three tubes. It feels like an instant comforting hug in a tube for dry sensitized skin. Weirdly enough, it does contain some synthetic fragrance but never makes my skin sting even when my barrier is the most compromised and when I’ve overdone it the most. It contains squalane, antioxidant-rich grapeseed oil, shea butter, borage seed oil and fatty acids. I have a number of other moisturizers on the go but I don’t want to go without this one. It’s almost impossibly soothing and rich without feeling greasy. This cream is a godsend on sensitized skin with dry flaky patches.

Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Moisturizer ($35 US | 50 mL)

I shouldn’t have been surprised when the pump on this fluffy comforting cream stopped dispensing product this morning. I should have known from how much I relied on this moisturizer in this fall and winter and past experiences with this pump that it would give out without warning. Happily, I bought multiples last time after it went out of stock for a while. It’s soothing on the skin, doesn’t tend to sting, definitely helps with repairing the skin barrier and acts as a lightweight barrier cream for under a mask. Interestingly enough, it’s silicone free and shea butter based with glycerin, omega-rich plant oils, fatty acids, ceramides, squalane, sodium hyaluronate and nothing typically sensitizing. It sits well under makeup and sunscreens and offers richness and soothing while still being fairly lightweight. I love this stuff and it’s excellent value for money, even at full price and when I calculate the price into Canadian dollars… This is a product that I wish existed and I knew about in my teenage years. It’s brilliant for when your skin is sore and everything stings.

Cerave Itch Relief Cream ($27.99 CDN | 340g)

My primary eczema sites are my legs and arms, so moisturizing religiously is uber important. I’ve really enjoyed using this thick whipped cream. This rich cream tends to only sting very minimally on areas with broken skin. The texture of the cream is rich but it sinks in quickly and the best feature is that while the cream works to repair the barrier, it features 1% pramoxine hydrochloride to numb the itchiness without irritation. It contains glycerin, petrolatum, shea butter, dimethicone and ceramides. I’ve repurchased it already.

La Roche-Posay Lipikar Baume AP+M ($25 CDN | 200 mL)

After I saw the new more eco-conscious cardboard tube packaging, I decided to give this fragrance-free lightweight whipped cream another try. It actually uses citric acid as a preservative, which can be much less irritating than phenoxyethanol and features shea butter, dimethicone, niacinamide, rapeseed oil, vitamin e and extracts with humectant ability. I did find that the cream felt light on the skin to such a degree that I had to use an awful lot of product on my dry body skin and that likely due to the amount of niacinamide, it could sting over more irritated patches. I would use again as a nice everyday moisturizer.

Briogeo Curl Charisma Chia + Flax Seed Coil Custard ($34 CDN | 177 mL)

While it’s called a custard, I found this product a go-to cream with a bit of hold, control and ridiculous clumping. It’s rich but gave good results on my fine mixture of waves and loose curls, helping to hold my spirals together and form in a more controlled fashion. I used this cream every single wash day for months happily and I can confirm, it’s concentrated enough to be worth the money. It contains castor seed oil, fatty alcohols, glycerin, shea butter, rice and keratin amino acids, hydrolyzed quinoa, fermented extracts and a few plant oils. I tend to use this cream paired with a gel but actually does hold up as a single styler. It was an instant repurchase.

Curlsmith Curl Defining Styling Souffle ($35.99 CDN | 227g)

Over the past six months, I’ve been trying out Curlsmith products and this true loosely-packed soufflé-texture gel has been among my favourites. It’s concentrated enough that it lasted me months — even using it most wash days — and offered medium-flexible hold that casts nicely with medium weight and medium moisture. For a gel, it’s very curl enhancing and encourages my waves to form spirals, even working well as a single styler. I tended to use it to top a gel for multiple day hair that I didn’t have to think too much about. It contains glycerin, babassu oil, irish moss, flaxseed extract, avocado oil and shea butter. I bought a backup before I even let myself finish this gel.

What have you finished up?
Maggie, x.

Some Spring Product Empties

As a beauty product hoarder, the idea of finishing products and actually getting to recycle some is exciting. I’m on a bit of a spring cleaning kick and I was kind of thrilled to be able to get rid of some products that I finished — don’t worry, there are definite repurchases here too. Also, learning about the products people actually finish is fascinating to me and I hope it’s of interest to you if you’re reading this…

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Indie Lee Brightening Cleanser ($45 CDN| 125 mL): I’m disappointed with this this green beauty cleanser but I blame myself first and foremost. I had bought Indie Lee’s Rosehip Cleanser after hearing that it was a nourishing cleanser formula formulated with gentle ingredients. I like the simple ingredients list of both offerings but I didn’t find them offering anything special other than being a good gentle gel cleanser. To be fair, I only have tried these cleansers since their reformulation and I think they may have been better before. My issue with the product is probably that I’m not sure the tomato extract does anything for brightening and that it’s overpriced. The glass packaging is nice and I do like the simple fragrance-free ingredient list. Also, it does not remove makeup particularly well. I will say it feels nicely refreshing on the skin without containing any sort of harsh cleansing agents or sensitizing ingredients.

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm ($40 CDN| 125 mL): I absolutely adore this balm cleanser for its gentleness and amazing ability to remove makeup with ease. It’s fragrance free, free of irritants and has an exceptionally short ingredient list. I’ve managed to use this when I’ve had major barrier issues and eczema outbreaks on my face without any burning or stinging. It doesn’t sting my sensitive eyes and rarely clouds my vision. I already have repurchased.

Hada Labo Shiro-Jyun Premium Whitening Lotion ($31.98 CDN | 170 mL): This ‘lotion’ had the light texture of a lightweight traditional toner and I really enjoyed using it in the toner stage in my routine in the warmer weather months. It wasn’t one of those milky toners that are immensely soothing and nourishing on the skin. Instead, it had a lighter consistency and delivered a hefty dose of tranexamic acid, a vitamin c derivative, and multiple forms of hyaluronic acid. It was gentle on my skin and I used it without any other vitamin c or solely brightening products in my routine and felt it left my skin bright and as even in tone as it has ever been. I’d be more likely to purchase the more nourishing version of this product. It would be great for slightly oilier skin, however, or just skin that isn’t so prone to tightness.

Paula’s Choice RESIST Advanced Replenishing Toner ($24 US | 118 mL): I never stop talking about this soothing milky hydrating toner but it’s for good reason. I’ve purchased countless bottles of this and will continue. It’s filled with fatty acids, phospholipids, a number of interesting antioxidants, sodium hyaluronate, liquorice root and evening primrose oil. It’s soothing, helps tremendously with an impaired barrier and is great for packing in the hydration.

The Ordinary “Buffet” + Copper Peptides 1% ($28.90 CDN | 30 mL): This is a hydrating serum with a cosmetically elegant liquidy texture. It contains numerous peptides, which act as humectants and help the skin to function optimally. The copper peptides give this serum the striking blue hue and helps with barrier function in tandem with the amino acids it contains. Right after glycerin, this serum contains a probiotic ingredient that shows promise in helping skin cells turn over whilst reinforcing barrier function. I’d repurchase.

Hada Labo Goku-jyun Premium Emulsion ($28.92 CDN | 140 mL): This was the product that made me fall in love with hyaluronic acid on a personal level, as a twenty something with dehydrated skin prone to uneven texture and congestion. I used it in the serum stage as a premoisturizer of sorts that I followed with a heftier cream to lock in. It’s fragrance free, contains urea, mineral oil — not a bad thing for my skin type — and five different kinds of hyaluronic acid. I’m repurchasing as it really improved the hydration, plumpness and overall appearance of my skin.

L’Oreal Revitalift Cicacream ($27.99 CDN | 50 mL): This is a comforting fluffy textured fragrance free cream that’s great on more reactive skin types experiencing any sort of dryness. It contains glycerin, shea butter, cacao butter and centella asiatica. It’s great underneath the eyes and never stings or burns. I repurchased it as soon as I realized my tube was nearing empty.

REN Evercalm Ultra Comforting Rescue Mask ($ 62 CDN | 50 mL): I would have gladly repurchased this soothing and hydrating mask, had Sephora had it in stock when I placed my last order. It has a thick and creamy texture and works great to soothe redness, take down irritation and calm angry skin down. I find it super anti-inflammatory and will gladly reach for it when my skin is tight, I’ve overdone it with the acids or retinoid, I’m sick or my skin is freaking out from a weather change. At the top of the ingredient list is a probiotic or two, shea butter, jojoba seed oil and algae. It never burns on the skin (even when my skin is to tight it hurts and is in a dermatitis flare) and always leaves the skin looking more glowy and less angry. It does contain fragrance, but it’s in the lower half of the ingredient list.

Sephora The Peeling Mask ($9 CDN): I don’t normally save up my sheet masks for these posts anymore but this one was special enough to keep. It contains lactic acid and niacinamide at significant concentrations and really left my skin glowing and with increased clarity and brightness after using. It was the perfect mask to reach for on congested but sensitive skin, as you got the resurfacing from the acid but without doubling up on an acid exfoliant and potentially making things worse. It’s an expensive sheet mask but I’ll buy again.

Eucerin Complete Repair Hand Cream ($10.49 CDN/ 75 mL): This was the hand cream I purchased and would happily repurchase to combat the itchiness, dryness and dermatitis I experienced as a result of frequent handwashing, wearing gloves and increased hand sanitizer use. It’s great as both a hand product and as a product to spot treat patches of dryness and eczema throughout the day. It’s fragrance free and contains glycerin, urea, a bunch of natural moisturizing factors and lactic acid (functioning as a humectant, not an exfoliant).

What have you finished lately?
Maggie, x.