2017 Favourites: Skincare

My passion for skincare flourished this year. Growing up, I had always hated washing my face. It was messy and water got everywhere and it took too long and I didn’t know what I was doing. As a teenager, I primarily used a makeup remover from Clinique’s Take the Day Off line and a moisturizer from the Moisture Surge Line, plus a facial sunscreen in the summer. I became interested in skincare when I discovered /r/AsianBeauty in early 2015, but that was more because I was going through a lot in my personal life it was an excuse to purchase products. I developed a good routine, but I wasn’t ever passionate about skincare beyond making my skin look nicer.

In 2017, I discovered a lot of great skincare Instagram accounts that were fun to follow and didn’t take their “routine” too seriously, and I’ve become much more enthusiastic about skincare throughout the year. This year, I started following people who focused mainly on skincare, like melubbeauty, thewayofthesnail, lathertolashes, goalstogetglowing, and lazyglow. Skincare has become a really fun hobby and I like that I can draw on my knowledge from my undergrad courses in orgo and biochem.

In this post, I’m going to talk about my favourite skincare discoveries of 2017. I won’t talk about my all-time favourites – like Cosrx’s snail essence, honey overnight mask, and pimple patches – that I discovered prior to this year. For reference, I have combination/oily skin with large pores and some texture. I get hormonal cystic acne along my jawline. I tend to have product reactions in the form of immediate flushing/burning, whitehead breakouts, or cystic acne depending on the ingredient that triggers the reaction. My skin is easily irritated by certain ingredients, but I’m usually okay with ingredients like alcohol and fragrance as long as it doesn’t give me a headache. My skin is usually hydrated.

Of all the new products I’ve tried over the past year, these are the ones that have made the biggest difference in my skin. I have repurchased or plan on repurchasing all five of these. 

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5. Papa Recipe Bombée Honey Mask – You can read my initial review here. The hype surrounding this mask may have let some people down, but I was definitely impressed. This is one of those masks that makes my skin feel and look like a supermodel (or as close as it gets for me).

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4. Healavie Cleansing Oil Gel – I still love this cleanser and I agree with what I noted in my initial impressions. This is the nicest cleanser that I’ve ever used.

3. Farmacy Honey Potion – Whenever I’m having an adverse skin reaction, I use this wash-off mask and notice immediate effects. It makes my skin feel better and it looks smoother and more even. I usually avoid masks that have a warming sensation, but this one is fairly mild. I won this in a giveaway from @allanaramaa.

2. Stratia Skin Soft Touch AHA – This is 10% mandelic acid. This is my go-to exfoliator whenever my skin is sensitive or irritated.  After using this, I notice a decrease redness and an improvement in skin texture the next day. If you’re just starting to use AHAs or if you’re looking for something more gentle, mandelic acid is a great choice because of it’s molecular structure.

1. Pixi Glow Tonic – I’ve been using this 5% glycolic acid toner since April, and I’ve never been happier with my skin. It’s one of the few products that actually gives me overnight results! This is more effective than Stratia for me. I was avoiding AHAs for awhile, but this acid made me want to try allll the AHAs. (Note: The rosewater in glycolic acid from The Ordinary caused my skin to flush, so I cannot really compare the two. I’ve tried lactic acid products from The Ordinary, Sunday Riley, and REN, but I wasn’t impressed. I’ll probably write a post comparing AHAs eventually.)

What are your favourite skincare discoveries of 2017? Feel free to link your blog or Instagram posts in the comments!

Happy New Year! Thanks for reading 🙂