Who here remembers the good ol days when The Ordinary used to have their 2% Salicylic Acid before it was taken off the market?? They've FINALLY re-released the reformulated version after 2 years and I can't wait to try 😭😭 will you be trying as well?

The Ordinary New Release

When I first heard about Hyram's skincare line and his goal of making an impact I was actually quite hopeful, as I really resonated with his stated goal of wanting to make a change. I also really respected Hyram for speaking up often about the environment and how our skincare may be damaging it. 

As an environmental studies major, I also thought his facts were on the whole not too bad (some minor issues and more nuance needed, but I'm also aware that it may be too complicated for his audience).

I did a bit of digging on the details of Selfless' social impact goals and I have to say in really disappointed. It says that Selfless will only support Rainforest Trust for 1 YEAR.. and Thirst Project for 50. Just 10% of sales will go to these charities (they say it's a huge challenge but literally... it's Hyram hello are they expecting the brand to fail???).

What's worse is that in the next year they will only protect 2,500 acres of forest from deforestation. Do you want to know the area of trees deforested every year? According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, it's an average of 10 million hectares = 22.471 MILLION ACRES A YEAR. Selfless' commitment is just 0.00011% of the amount of forest that is cut down every year. How is this making a social change?? LOL

Needless to say I will not be supporting this brand. I was hopeful at first, but the best thing you can do for the environment is.... just not coming up with another skincare brand and fuelling even more consumerism. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[Selfless by Hyram] About the social impact...

Hi all! As some of you may know, Hwahae is a very popular skincare app in Korea. They regularly hold awards for skincare products in different categories. Some of you may recognize the logo. I was scrolling through it and what struck me was that a lot of these popular skincare products in Korea don't seem to be that popular outside the country! I don't really see many of them being recommended in Picky as well.

What are your thoughts? Have you tried them or heard of them?

Here are some of the most popular skincare products in Korea in 2020 according to Hwahae (source: https://themonodist.com/2020/11/26/hwahae-consumer-beauty-awards-2020-final-winners/#skincare)

Best Toners
1. Be Plain Chamomile pH Balanced Toner
2. Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Toner
3. The LAB by Blanc Doux Oligo Hyaluronic Acid 5000 Toner

Best Lotion/Emulsion
1. Scinic the Simple Daily Lotion
2. Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Lotion
3. Physiogel Daily Moisture Therapy Facial Lotion

Best Essence/Ampoule
1. Torriden Dive-In Low Molecule Hyaluronic Acid Serum
2. AllNatural Houttuynia Cordata Care Serum
3. Be Plain Cicaful Ampoule

Best Cream
1. Round Lab Soybean Nourishing Cream
2. Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturising Cream
3. Physiogel Daily Moisture Therapy Facial Cream

Best Eye Care
1. Marina Gebhardt Eye Care Cream
2. AHC The Pure Real Eye Cream for Face
3. Be Plain Artemisia Eye Butter

Best Mist
1. CNP Laboratory Propolis Ampoule Mist
2. Avene Eau Thermale
3. D'Alba White Truffle First Spray Serum

Best Gel
1. Aromatica Soothing Aloe Vera Gel
2. Scinic Hyaluronic Acid Soothing Gel
3. Sidmool Aloe Essential Gel

Best Cleansing Gel
1. Dr. G pH Cleansing Gel Foam
2. S. Nature Blanche All-in-One Cleanser
3. COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser

Best Cleansing Oil
1. ATRUE Pure Balancing Cleansing Oil
2. Yuri Pibu Grante Cleansing Oil
3. Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Cleansing Oil

Best Cleansing Lotion/Cream
1. Sidmool Dr. Troub Skin Returning Cleansing Milk
2. Banila Co. Clean it Zero Cleansing Balm Original
3. Make p:rem Safe Me Relief Moisture Cleansing Milk

Best Cleansing Soap
1. Skin1004 Cocoon Soap
2. Dove White Beauty Bar
3. Soonnoc Aqua Cleansing Bar

Best Cleansing Pads
1. BRTC V10 Pore Cleansing Pad
2. Keenoniks CAMO Cleansing Pad
3. Nightingale Daily Derma Cleansing Pads

Best Sheet Mask
1. All Natural Houttuynia Cordata Sheet Mask
2. Torriden Dive-In Low Molecule Hyaluronic Acid with D-Panthenol Mask
3. Mediheal Teatree Care Solution Essential Mask

Best Targeted Mask:
1. Dermatory Hypoallergenic Cica Rescue Gauze
2. COSRX One Step Green Hero Calming Pad
3. The LAB by Blanc Doux Oligo Hyaluronic Acid 7 Multi-Formula Pad

Best Wash-off Mask
1. Papa Recipe Eggplant Mud Cream Mask
2. STEADY:D Cica Leaf Clay Mask
3. Dreamworks I'm the Real Shrek Clay Mask Pack

Best Peel Off Mask
1. Lindsay Cool Tea Tree Modelling Mask
2. Sidmool ACbye Modelling Powder Base
3. Lindsay Soothing Herb Modelling Mask

Best Sleeping Mask
1. Sidmool Royal Honey Peptide Deep Moisture Sleeping Pack
2. Hanyul Yuja Sleeping Mask
3. Round Lab 1025 Sleeping Pack

Best Sun Cream/Lotion
1. Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturising Sun Cream SPF50+ PA++++
2. Hyggee Relief Sun Moisturiser SPF50+ PA++++
3. Dr.G Green Mild Up Sun SPF50+ PA++++

Best Sun Stick
1. Scinic Enjoy Super Active Airy Sun Stick SPF50+ PA++++
2. AHC Natural Perfection Fresh Sun Stick SPF50+ PA++++
3. Nature Republic California Aloe Fresh Powdery Sun Stick SPF50+ PA++++

Hwahae Beauty Awards

Since 8.8 is coming soon what are the top skincare items on your wishlist? I'm curious 😄

Here are mine! I'll be looking out for good discounts on these 🤞🏻

Top Wishlist Items???

Hi everyone, with the recent SPF scandals, I've been looking out for sunscreens that meet their claims. Most of those that I've heard of tend to be quite expensive for me. This is especially as I use up sunscreen very quickly. I've heard Round Lab and Be Plain sunscreens meet their claims but they are too expensive.

What are some affordable SPFs out there that also meet their SPF claims? The only one that comes to mind so far is the Biore Aqua Rich line. Please help!!

Affordable sunscreens that have passed SPF testing??

Using it too often (AM and PM) has left my skin more sensitised. I need to rotate this between other gentler cleansers.

Even though this contains (I believe) 2% salicylic acid, it does not feel stripping on the skin! I&#39;ve used several exfoliating cleansers with lower concentration of BHAs like Cosrx and Hada Labo Tamagohada, but this cleanser by far feels the least stripping. It also helps with blackheads control.

Nothing at all. It&#39;s a great product.

This is such a wonderful wonderful serum. It contains a plethora of beneficial, skin soothing ingredients and provides a ton of moisture as well! I love that it is fragrance free and not tacky as well. It spreads really easily on the skin too. I&#39;ve used this when my skin has felt on the brink of irritation and it helped to calm my skin down and repair it. I would recommend this to anyone who needs a gentle, versatile and skin-barrier friendly product!

People with drier skin types may find this a bit too harsh for their skin. Also, it can be quite easy to accidentally dispense too much, and using too much may be too harsh for your skin.

I’m not a fan of the gritty bits that I sometimes get when using the cleanser. I definitely do not want to get microtears on my skin from harsh physical exfoliation. However, I can look past this as there aren’t many of these particles in the cleanser.

I LOVE this cleanser. It is perfect for my oily-combi skin. 

Texture: This comes out as a rich, thick paste. It lathers incredibly well, so you only need a little bit to go a long way. It also has some brown chunks within it, which I presume is matcha or tea leaves? 

Performance: I use this as a second cleanser in my evening routine. It does a very good job at cleansing, yet does not overly strip my face. My face feels cleansed but not squeaky clean!

Price: This is such an affordable cleanser. Combined with the fact that you only need a little to cleanse effectively, this is really a bang for your buck!

Fragrance: This contains no fragrance at all.

Nothing bad at all. No fragrance, not tacky, I love it!

Texture: Lightweight gel texture that spreads and sinks into skin easily.
Performance: I use this as a sleeping mask at night as I have oily skin and live in a place where it is hot and humid. This provides great overnight hydration, as it contains emollient ingredients (Ceramide)
Price: This is such a steal honestly. Illiyoon is such an affordable brand and such a bang for your buck! Can&#39;t recommend this enough.

1 I don't like how it takes a bit of effort to set on the skin. Upon initial application, it feels like you're just shifting the moisturiser around.

2 The price is a bit steep (to me).


I received this product as part of the Picky x Purito giveaway, in exchange for my honest review on the product. Thank you Picky and Purito for hosting this giveaway! #pickyreview #gopicky #puritopicky

Purito is one of my favourite brands and I was excited to try this moisturiser in their updated range! It claims to soothe and repair the skin barrier, and is targeted at dry and sensitive skin types. I have oily-combi skin, but I gravitate towards thicker and more nourishing moisturisers in my night routine for barrier care. This product also comes in an airless pump packaging which I really appreciate!

💦Texture: This has a rather thick, almost pasty texture when you dispense it. It does not shift at all.

✋🏻Application: Given the thicker texture, this takes a while to fully spread and set on the skin. For some reason, I experience a bit of difficulty rubbing it into my skin, and it foams up a bit as I spread. But with some patience, it sets into a semi-matte finish and does not leave an overly dewy finish. Even though it is on the thicker side, it doesn't feel too suffocating either!

💨Performance: I really like how it keeps my skin moisturised throughout the night. My skin still feels plump in the morning!

🏷️Price: This goes for about S$25/100ml, which to me is on the steeper side for a moisturiser. I would say there are other moisturisers that are more bang for your buck out there.

🌸Fragrance: No added fragrance, no discernible scent.

Overall, I think this moisturiser is worth a try, especially if you are looking for one that is on the thicker side. I will be finishing this up! However, I personally wouldn't repurchase due to the difficulty in rubbing it in on my skin.


Cedric