After 10,000 years, a skincare post finally makes it out of the drafts _:(´ཀ`」 ∠):_ I put this one off for too long. While organizing some of my stuff at home I realized that I'd already amassed four boxes' worth of empties...crazy. I plan on shipping all my empty bottles off to recycling soon, after I finish writing about them. I'm only able to write in short bursts though, as right now being Miu's mom is a full-time job, so I'll be doing this in parts. (I've had some of these since 2019...please bear with me lol) Hopefully I'll have finished everything before the first half of the year ends. Hopefully.
My first cleansing oil empty. Before this I only used cleansing balms because they were easier to use and not as messy, but I guess I got used to using oils eventually! I liked this one a lot. Removes makeup well and rinses off without leaving any weird film/residue.
This used to be one of my HG's, but Aian and I eventually stopped using micellar water cleansers after we both got into the habit of going straight to double cleansing after removing eye makeup. Still good though!
One of the few point makeup removers that could actually remove my waterproof eye makeup. Found this while looking for a replacement for the Bifesta Eye Makeup Remover, which they pulled out of the PH market for a few years. (It's back now though, yay!) I liked this a lot, which is why I have 3 empties here, with a 4th one on the way. Sadly I don't really recommend this one, as it's a bit difficult to find these days.
Picked this up while we were in KL (was it in 2019?) because I forgot to pack facial wash, of all things. Despite not being low pH (pH level is 7), I liked it quite a bit! Gentle, fragrance-free, cleanses well, doesn't leave my skin feeling tight after washing. I'd recommend this, but I don't think it's available locally.
Bought this after using up the previous one, because I thought it would be more or less the same. A bit too drying for my skin, sadly.
Found this on the list of low pH cleansers and decided to try it out. Good basic cleanser. Not my fave, but it's super cheap and it works. Easily available at most supermarkets and Watsons, too. Recommended for skincare newbies on a budget.
This was just okay for me. Not a bad product by any means, but for ₱580, I wouldn't buy it for myself. The tube I got kept leaking, too. Won't be repurchasing, but I might try the Ampoule Foam next time instead.
Holy grail cleanser! Let me tell you something—I used to not care about my second cleansers much. As long as they're low pH and can cleanse well they should be fine, right? They're all pretty much the same, and you don't really get much of the promised benefits since you're washing them off with water afterwards. But this one changed the gentle cleanser game for me! I didn't think I'd see a difference after changing foam cleansers, but after switching to this I noticed my skin looking much better overall. I'm actually almost done with my second bottle! I have yet to see if their recent rebrand changed the quality of the cleanser, but hopefully not!
This was just okay. Just your regular gel cleanser. Not low pH. Broke Aian out, but it didn't break me out so I just kept using it. Phased out.
It's funny that we have so many empties of this, because this was just so-so! Not low pH, but it didn't break Aian out, and he loved the watermelon scent. It was the only way I could get him to use actual facial cleanser for his face versus soap 😭 so we ended up repurchasing a few more times. Sad these were phased out as well.
This was...interesting. You had to rub the gel around to sort of "erase" your makeup. Not quite like oil cleansers, but more like slime, kind of. I didn't like that there was a lot of rubbing involved. Messy, too. I did a quick review with a short video here if you're curious, but the brand has already stopped making and selling this product.
Used this as a cleansing toner (to get any dirt/makeup left behind after my first and second cleanse) and I quite liked it. It was mild and didn't sting or break me out. Too bad Simple pulled out of the PH market though. Would recommend if you can get your hands on them.
I really liked this! I stopped using separate AHA/BHA products for a while after realizing I was putting my skin through too much, so I switched to occasionally using toners with exfoliating properties instead. The difference is that these toners only have a small percentage of actives (in this case, AHA and PHA) versus products that are made for chemical exfoliation, so they're much milder in comparison. This one also had cica and tea tree, which helped soothe and minimize irritation. I tried the Some by Mi toner which is similar, but my skin preferred this one. I really liked it, and tbh this is almost HG, but I need to repurchase to confirm heh.
Holy grail toner 👑 I've tried so many essence-type toners but none of them really makes my skin look as hydrated and happy as the Gokujyun Premium. I don't know how many bottles I've gone through. There's only one in the photo, because at some point I started buying refills instead. It's been a while since I repurchased, since I'm trying to use up most of the skincare I already have. But still, this is my queen, my HG, the skincare loml.
If you're looking for Korean equivalents for the Hada Labo toners, this is one of them. Not as hydrating as the Premium, though it's really close! Read my full review here. Not quite holy grail status, but I highly recommend trying it out.
I thought this was just okay at first, until I noticed I was reaching for it more often than my other toners. In terms of hydration, it's very similar to the Hada Labo Gokujyun, only it uses sodium hyaluronate, the salt form of hyaluronic acid. This is why it doesn't have that tacky feeling from using hyaluronic acid.—instead of waiting for it to absorb completely, you can immediately move onto the next step of your skincare. I like it a lot. I have since repurchased, and am almost done with that bottle too. HG status!
This was my go-to whenever my skin needed soothing, especially after a full day of wearing makeup. I would use this with cotton pads as a DIY sheet mask and after a few minutes my skin would feel much better. I was going to do a review on this but I ended up using up the whole bottle before I could even start. Definitely recommend, potential HG!
Another essence-type toner that I liked. This one doesn't contain any HA though, so it felt a bit lacking in the hydration department for me. (My oily-dehydrated skin requires HA lol.) Still, this is good to use for masking or for layering (7-skin method).
Wanted to love this as much as I love the Snail Bee High Content Essence, but it was just okay for me. Not the best when it comes to hydration, but great for soothing irritated skin, which is why I often used it for masking. Won't be repurchasing as I much prefer the Snail Bee Ultimate Toner.
That's it for part 1! Next up will be essences/serums and moisturizers. I'll try to include sunscreens too, if I can.
What products have you finished recently?
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