Summer Review Rounds
Products from Picky and brands from June/July. Both products I enjoyed and ones I didn’t like.
MeaningInMakeup
Dry/Sensitive
1
Rice Foaming Cleanser
Absolutely love this one! An acid free exfoliant that is purely physical. Safe to use with actives and still get rid of dead skin.
MeaningInMakeup
I received this product for free from Picky and 9Wishes in exchange for my honest review. Glycerin is the very first ingredient on the list, which explains why it was such a moisturizing exfoliator. This is a purely physical exfoliant, without exfoliating acid based ingredients. Instead it uses ground rice. As someone with dry leaning skin, I found that this exfoliating cleanser was nice and gentle, and didn’t overly strip my skin of moisture. It both felt moisturized after use, and like the top layer of dead skin was gone. It’s not quite as refreshing as an acid based exfoliator in my opinion, but some days I don’t want to use a chemical exfoliator. Especially if I plan on using actives like retinol or vitamin C after this face wash. It’s safe to use with a non-acid based exfoliator like this one. It also features willow bark, which is an ingredient that can help with sebum production/acne. Meaning it is meant to also work for people with more oily leaning or acne prone skin. But I’ll let other reviewers with those skin types to speak to whether it works for their skin type too or not. Granted I do get acne as well, it’s usually smaller white heads that clear up easily (most of the time, sometimes I get deep painful hormonal ones). I love that this cleanser this is free of synthetic colorants and fragrances. Fragrance is the very last ingredient on the list, meaning that the scent is an incredibly small percentage. As someone with a sensitive nose, I had no issues with the smell of this product. It was so minimal I could barely register a scent on this product. In my opinion, it mostly just smelled of rice which is a very light scent anyway.
9Wishes
Rice Foaming Cleanser
4.7
(639)
90
2
Midnight Blue Calming Cream
Need a moisturizer to help soothe a sunburn this summer? This is the product for you! Instantly cools and soothes irritated skin. If you have dry leaning skin like me, just use a little bit more. A nice medium texture (not too thick and not too thin).
MeaningInMakeup
Why is the cream blue? One of the main ingredients is Guaiazuleme, which comes from chamomile oil. It is usually a dark blue, but once the ingredient is added to the cream, it turns into the lighter blue we see. I really loved the texture of this cream. It’s one of those that wasn’t too thick or too thin, just right in my opinion. It absorbs into your skin super easily, which is why I think this would still work for people with more oily leaning skin. I have dry leaning and overly sensitive skin, and it really enjoyed this formula. I just had to use a bit more of it because of the lightweight texture. I also loved the glycerin, jojoba seed oil, and shea butter in the formula. Even though it features those ingredients, this didn’t leave my skin feeling oily or greasy after application. Not only is it meant to help cool down your skin upon application, it is also meant to help with redness for irritated skin. I’m someone who runs hot (it’s not uncommon for my temp to be 99 at Dr appts), so my cheeks are often red. I did notice an immediate difference in how red my cheeks were, and hopefully you can see the difference in my before and after picture as well! This is meant to help your skin heal after sunburns thanks to the Centella Asiatica which helps your skin’s barrier health. I think a lot of people would love adding this to their routine as a result.
Dear, Klairs
Midnight Blue Calming Cream
4.7
(3007)
1233
3
Argan Essential Deep Care Shampoo
I wanted to like this one, but it didn’t work for my hair type. My hair still looked frizzy and damaged after using this.
MeaningInMakeup
Product gifted for free by Nature Republic in exchange for my honest review. I had high hopes for this one because I’ve seen really good results Argan oil haircare before in the past. But there were some ingredients that I hadn’t used before that my skin ended up having a reaction to. So there were more negatives than positives for me. The best thing about it was probably the size. This would be a great option for multiple people using the same shampoo in a household.
NATURE REPUBLIC
Argan Essential Deep Care Shampoo
3.7
(7)
0
4
Retinol 0.1 Wrinkle Repair Cream
A nice and gentle retinol that didn’t leave me with flaky patches. The brand also offers a stronger strength if you aren’t new to retinols.
MeaningInMakeup
As I said in the video, this is a great starter retinol! I love the fact that this brand offers two different strengths (the 0.1% that I talk about here, or a 0.3% option for people more accustomed to retinols). For me with my overly sensitive skin, it was actually able to handle this low dose cream without flaking. As long as I used other moisturizing products in my routine! The sandwich method I suggested in the video definitely helped. A little bit goes a long way, and I love that the brand suggests only using it once every two days until your skin is used to the ingredient. I also loved the texture of this cream. I always say my favorite textures are not too thin and not too thick. I think that can sometimes be a tough consistency to find in a lot of creams. It didn’t feel heavy or greasy at all. I also didn’t notice a strong fragrance with this one if that can make or break skincare for you.
Frankly
Retinol 0.1 Wrinkle Repair Cream
4.9
(12)
16
5
Honey Melting Lip
Considering this one stung a bit, I saw no plumping benefit with this. But I didn’t mind the color or the fruity scent.
MeaningInMakeup
I received this product for free from Picky and NATURE REPUBLIC in exchange for my honest review. It was a comfortable lippie to wear. Even though it’s a more traditional tacky gloss texture, it didn’t feel like it was sticking to itself as my lips were moving. It features ten different oils to moisturize your lips, along with manuka honey. This may have been why it was a bit more comfortable to wear compared to traditional gloss formulas that I grew up with. I feel like this pink was very similar to the natural color of my lips. This was a great option for people who are looking for a neutral light pink. I would describe it as a dusty pink gloss since it does leave your lips looking shiny.
NATURE REPUBLIC
11 Tint Plumping Pink
4.7
(981)
129
6
Propolis Energy Ampule
This is great for people with a broken skin barrier (ie dry skin or acne prone skin).
MeaningInMakeup
I received this product for free from Picky and CNP in exchange for my honest review. I have overly sensitive and dry leaning skin (with some acne), and it was able to handle this formula. I would say the texture is on the lighter side, but still a bit more sticky than I prefer. The scent is also a light floral scent. (This is repeated in the cons section in case people don’t read the entire review and wanted to know those things immediately.) I have to say I was really impressed by how this left my skin looking! I would say this was even better at leaving my skin looking hydrated than just the essence did on its own, but the two worked really well together if you’re really into dewy looking skin. Key ingredients: Propolis: comes from bees and has antibacterial properties like honey which means it promotes healing. It is a great ingredient for both dry skin and for people who deal with acne. Madecassoside: which comes from Centella Asiatica and is great for people who have sensitive/acne prone skin. Glycerin: another moisturizing ingredient to help people with dry skin.
CNP Laboratory
Propolis Energy Ampule
4.7
(513)
75
7
Deep Collagen Anti-Wrinkle Lifting Mask
Pleasantly surprised by this. Plus a disappearing mask is super fun to play with/wear.
MeaningInMakeup
I received this product for free from Picky and SUNGBOON EDITOR in exchange for my honest review. This is one of those unique “disappearing” masks, that turns clear the longer you wear it. You can wear it one of two ways: 20-40 minutes, or 3-4 hours. I only wore it for 30 minutes for this video, because I know how sensitive my skin is, and I wasn’t sure whether I would have a reaction to this formula or not. So I decided to be cautious. I was still happy with how hydrated it left my skin looking in that shorter amount of time. One of the first things I will notice about a face mask is the scent, and that will often make or break a product for me. Luckily this one wasn’t as strongly scented as some other sheet masks that I’ve tried. Overall, I still give this a four out of five stars. It was a pleasant experience, and I would definitely suggest this to others in the market for a new face mask to try out.
Sungboon Editor
Deep Collagen Anti-Wrinkle Lifting Mask
4.6
(248)
80
8
Perfect Original Hair Serum
I was so bummed out by this one. Left my hair full of static and made me break out.
MeaningInMakeup
I received this product for free from Picky and Mise En Scene in exchange for my honest review. For those who may not know, I have hair down to my waist. So I use hair oils and serums at least once per day (usually before I put my hair in a braid for bed so it doesn’t tangle from my tossing and turning while I sleep). They make for amazing detanglers, and help your hair stay healthier. This serum features amazing ingredients like rose water, argan oil, and royal jelly to help your hair stay hydrated. The biggest thing I liked about this product was the texture. I was really excited because it feels nice and rich. Usually my favorite hair products have a similar texture. My second favorite thing was the unique curved back side of the bottle, it was super comfortable to hold in my hands. The main reason my hair looks smooth in the first picture below, is because my hair was still damp. Scroll for a picture of what my hair looked like dry when it had static in it. Needless to say, I sadly had more dislikes than likes with this product, so read below.
MISE EN SCENE
Perfect Original Hair Serum
4.8
(1697)
196
9
Vitamin C Brightening Ampoule
This was a great lightweight option that’s great for summer time.
MeaningInMakeup
I received this product for free from Picky and COMMONLABS in exchange for my honest review. This product features 70% vitamin tree water (what Americans know better as sea buckthorn). It’s an ingredient meant to help with skin irritation. The citrus scent of this product wasn’t too overpowering in my opinion, and didn’t smell of chemicals or like a cleaning agent. It smelled like a pleasant lemon/lime. If you’re looking for a lightweight Vitamin C treatment, this is a great option since it is a water based ampoule. The texture doesn’t leave your skin feeling greasy at all, and I found that it absorbs quickly. I found that my overly sensitive and dry leaning skin could handle this formula, even though I can also see this working for people with oily and acne prone skin. This also features niacinimide, to help with post acne hyperpigmentation along side the vitamin c in this ampoule. I also found that this helped my acne my acne heal up. To be fair I’ve found this with other vitamin c formulas as well which is why I often suggest products with that ingredient to others. It works really well for me, and so did this product!
COMMONLABS
Vitamin C Brightening Ampoule
4.6
(575)
111
3
5
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