Hello everybody, welcome back to my channel where skincare is all about
progression over perfection. Because, perfection doesn't exist. Today I want to
share some products that I'm just not going to use this year or not, not worry
too much about. Last year I was very much like, oh my God, I need to use this if I
want this result or I need to use that because my skin needs this. I feel like
what became a hugely relaxing time for me very much became a kind of like, right,
what day am I doing this? What day am I using this acid or exfoliant or active?
Rather than just like chilling the f*ck out, you know? So I'm gonna share five
products that I'm no longer gonna use, not gonna try and use anymore, and not
worry too much about. Not because I think they're sh*t but they, I just don't, for
me personally, really need to use these. I think it might be interesting, I don't
know. Let's start off with the products I surprisingly probably get asked about a
lot, and that's actually facial oils. I feel like not a lot of people when it
comes to like the skincare community really talk about oils as a category in
their own that much, or I'm not just paying attention. But there's quite a few
reasons as to why I just don't like using oils on my face. For me, they are
just kind of pointless. They're also a product that I feel a lot of people
don't truly understand what they do or where they belong in the skincare
routine. And even if you just look on TikTok you see a lot of people using
them in odd places. A lot of brands market their oils as serums now or
elixirs and tell you to use them in the serum stage, which kind of isn't really
the point. Like a product that is literally five oils all mixed together
isn't really a serum in my books. It's not really gonna have the positive
effects that a serum does have for most people or really target anything in
particular. I personally don't like oils for a few reasons. One, I'm oily in my
t-zone and it's not that oils are bad for oily skin but I just do not
appreciate the feeling of an oil sitting on my skin. Also, I'd rather just
moisturize. If I'm gonna do anything at the end of my routine that I feel really,
really benefits my skin, rather than oil I'll just be moisturizing. Maybe a
moisturizer with some nice oils formulated into it. Oils can be
beneficial but for me, personally, I've never used an oil that I love the
feeling of or that I feel changes my skin enough in order for me
to use it as a standalone product. I also prefer the hydration and the barrier
repair that you can get from a lot of moisturizers, my skin just benefits from
that a lot more. Don't get me wrong, oils have their benefits. I used to love using
Jojoba oil, those waxy esters as like a top layer for when my skin was
incredibly dehydrated and dry to stop that trans epidermal water loss, but not
every oil can do this. And despite what a lot of people think, an oil isn't always
an occlusive layer, an unpenetratable layer. And as I mentioned I've never
found an oil that's so nicely formulated that I'm like, oh I'm gonna use this. Of
course I use oil cleansers to remove sunscreen, if my skin's feeling a little
bit stripped, a little bit irritated I'll opt for an oil cleanser rather than
using water on my face. But I do feel like they're a different category than
just oils that you leave on your skin, they are, they're formulated to be
cleansers, you know. The other thing I really hate about oils and a lot of
brands that launch oils is the clean beauty kind of bullsh*t that comes
behind it. The idea of them being pure and natural and quite literally squeezed
from a plant. Where, you know, they shove a load of f*cking rose petals in it. And
they're like heavily fragranced. We, we like fragrance here don't worry, it's just
they sometimes are overbearing. And it's usually just a load of essential oils as
well, that doesn't always irritate skin but the majority of the, the products
that I've seen that are like this is our something,
something oil elixir, and it's literally just a load of essential oils mixed in
together that really have no benefits as ingredients. Not essential oils all in
all but you know the particular ones that they tend to go for, they tend to go
for ones that smell nicer, do you know what I mean? Rather than have benefits. It's just, it's
just like, I don't... the marketing behind a lot of it has ruined it for me. The next
one is Micellar water. Again, a great first cleansing step, a great lazy
cleanse, a great waterless cleanse if, if that's your thing. And once they're
applied to a cotton pad they do such a good job at removing makeup,
sunscreen, oils, all that kind of stuff. So we know that Micellar water is like a
cleansing water, right, it's not a toner. That uses micells which, to put it
extremely simply, are like balls of surfactants to help trap oils and dirts
and stuff, you know. Whilst the outside of the balls help to dissolve all this crap.
Let me Google, I'll Google a picture and I'll put it here, that'll help like show
it better than I just described it. But the benefits are of course that they're
super easy to use, and also can be quite gentle on your skin as well. So why don't
I use them? Purely because my skin doesn't like them. I have not found a
Micellar water that I can leave on my skin without my skin becoming itchy. I'm
guaranteed to wake up the next day with dry and itchy skin. Especially in areas
where I'm, I'm most delicate so like the corners of my eyes here, the corners of
my nose here. I get almost like what feels like a heat rash, do you know what I mean?
Like little dots that become really, really itchy and kind of warm. I, of course went to the
internet to find out why this was happening, and just gathering loads of
information from real skincare experts. I've come up with a few ideas as to why
my skin might not get along with Micellar water. The first point being
that whilst Micellar water can give you a really good cleanse, it may potentially
not be as effective as just a general wash off cleanser or the two step
cleanse that I usually do when it comes to removing the day's debris and oils,
excess oils and very oily in my t-zone and sunscreen. I personally don't think it's
that. I've seen quite a few really good Micellar waters, I know a lot
of people who will only cleanse with Micellar waters and their skin is
absolutely fine, and does an amazing job at removing all the above. The next issue
can be that the non-rinse aspect of Micellar water, leaving surfactants on
the skin, which, bear in mind are designed to stay on your skin, could be causing me
some irritation. I wasn't 100% sure how true those were, so whenever I have to
question anything when it comes to skincare and science, I always just go to
Michelle Lab Muffin Beauty Science, her blog, to check out what she has to say. I find
she has a really kind of like unbiased opinion on everything, just tells you the
cold hard facts in a really simple way to understand. She actually mentions in
her cleansing myth busting video that I'm looking at here, 'how to wash your
face without a sink', that when it comes to rinsing away Micellar water it really
depends on the product because of different ingredients and formulations,
of course. Her personal favorite being Bioderma which was specifically designed
for those with sensitive skin, and as a non-rinse Micellar water. You know, and
this is a Micellar water that I see is very popular amongst Dermatologists. Not
like, you know, your Garnier 2-in-1 oil Micellar water, you know the kind of
Micellar waters I've tried. So I will be giving the Bioderma one more go and if that
fails then I'm done, I'm done with Micellar waters. But when it comes to cleansing
waters I actually really love this one by Coastal Citizen, I've been using this
a lot recently. It does have some surfactants in alongside Green Tea,
Oak Kernel Extract, and brightening and spot fighting ingredients like Niacinamide as
well. And I've been loving it. I actually wrote this script when I moved house
back in September and I've got here that I've been too busy because I've
been moving house. And that was true back then. In the morning I'd get up, wipe my
face with this cleansing water then get to unpacking. But I still just do it
today. In the mornings I will opt for like a quick cleansing water cleanse and
then, you know, do whatever I have to do for the day. And it leaves my skin
feeling refreshed, it, there's no tightness, there's no drying, there's no
tingling in any corners. It feels incredibly, incredibly soft, soft? Gentle.
So I need to, I need your help, I don't know if there's really any difference
between a cleansing water and Micellar water. I know that in South Korea
Micellar waters are called cleansing waters but I wonder if there's, it's
purely a difference in the surfactants? Maybe I'm just, you know, get irritated by
some leave on ones. That's probably it, right? Anyway, mixing powders. I think
we're very lucky in the sense that I don't think we're going to be seeing a
lot of these anymore, at all. There was a bit of a mixing trend at the beginning
of last year. These are powdered actives that you mix into your wet products like
toners and essences, and even serums. Now, we're not talking like exfoliating
powders, I love the Keys Soul Care exfoliating powder, you know, enzyme scrubs, love those.
These are usually like Vitamin C powders but we also have Niacinamide powders
now that you're meant to like take a scoop of and mix in, and basically play chemist
at your vanity. Which, we know I don't enjoy doing, it takes up too much time
and we aren't chemists. We've also seen powdered Hyaluronic Acid as well which I
kind of enjoy. I got these little squares that you kind of like...
put your serum on it and it melts away. And they're kind of like pre-dosed for
you. And I guess the idea is that you get a higher percentage of these actives in
your ingredients. But, I have really grown to dislike these and never really would
I ever recommend them either. Here's another list of reasons why I don't like
something. So number one, these are fiddly as f*ck, they're so annoying. The, I know
The Ordinary Niacinamide ones comes with this little spatula, and you're
meant to kind of like get the spoon and take the
excess off the top, then pour it on your hand and mix it, and it's just, I don't
want to be doing that. I don't want to be doing that when my hands are probably
already covered in some product, they're a little bit slippery and...
it's too much faff. You know, like cupping your hand and then doing all this, it's
not for me. The second point is that I don't like to play chemist, I don't want
to be in my, in my room, in my dressing room mixing up all my products together
to get like a product. I just want pre-made products done for me, thank you,
with all the good stuff in them. Pretty much every step of the skincare routine
has an active in nowadays and it's just not needed, so I don't think we really
need to be adding in these powders where they're not needed either, you know? The
third point is that just because you're mixing in this powder into this product
it doesn't mean you're getting the full effects of the active of the powder. Like
I said, not playing chemists, we don't know how to get an even spread of this
ingredient within our skincare. We might not be reaping the full benefits. I know
when I was using a Niacinamide one I would be rubbing that serum or that
essence back of my face, and there'll just be balls of this product where it's
kind of like clumped up, and it's just, it, it really wasn't for me. The final point
is I've seen a lot of people say they are good money option. So you buy these
tubs of powder as you're active instead of spending a lot of money on like a
fancy serum with this ingredient in. So yeah, while they may last longer than a
serum, in this powder form you're not really getting the full effects of
the ingredient. Like I just said, sorry to repeat myself but it just feels like a
waste of money. What I am interested in is there does seem to be a new trend of
water-activated skincare. And this is designed, not to try to be fancy and
gimmicky but as an eco-friendly alternative to a lot of skincare
because obviously water within products weighs a lot. A lot of the time water is
a huge percentage of the formulation, so if you get your products as powder you
can then activate them with water. Shipping is a lot less expensive, a lot
less heavy, you know, all that kind of stuff. I think it's a really good idea
and I think the difference here is that it's, they're going to tell, you know,
exactly how much water you need to use. It'll be a tiny amount to activate, you
know, a certain amount. So it'll be interesting to see how that is done in a
way that you're going to get the full effect of the product. But I think that's
a good idea. I've seen some that are like sorry, I keep going on about this but
I've seen like a product, I can't remember if it's like a serum or
something that's powder, and then on the bottle it tells you how much water to
fill it up with and then you mix it yourself and then you've got your product.
Which, I guess having the exact measurement is the better option, I don't
know, I don't know. Let me know what you think, let me know if you've seen this or
not. So yeah, to me it just seems like a whole waste of money and a gimmicky
trend that, thankfully, didn't stick around. And I don't think we're gonna see
any more of it, to be honest with you. Let's talk about tinted sunscreen. I am
giving up on finding a good tinted sunscreen. Disclaimer, I found some really
good compact, like makeup CC cushions, balms? I don't know what you call them.
With factor 50 in that give good sunscreen coverage, that are light makeup
coverage as well, so they could be a good option. But tinted sunscreens I just, it's,
I feel like a lot of brands are putting out tinted sunscreens like, oh here's the
option for anyone with darker skintones, you know, a bit of brown in there and
it'll be fine. Do you know what I mean? And with tinted sunscreen there's always
the same shade range. We're talking huge companies here as well who
have the money to invest in a bigger shade range. They're all that light tan
kind of color, that whilst they'll be fine for people with
white skin, if you go any darker... like even I struggle, I look a bit lighter on
camera, you can't really see. The fact that I've
got like an olive skin tone. I'm not, I'm trying to like show you my
true coloring. So the fact that I have what is considered an olive skin tone,
you can't really see under all this lighting, and I guess the color
correction I do. It's not that crazy olive though is what I'm trying to say
here. Like you'll look at my skin and you'll be like, oh he's not white but he kind of
is, do you know what I mean? What I'm trying to say is that even me as someone who is a very
light-skinned person of color, I struggle
to match these shade ranges of tinted sunscreen. So I feel like unless you are
white or the exact color of the tinted sunscreen
these don't work for you. And isn't that the point of a tinted sunscreen, is to
remove that white cast so people who don't have white skin can use this
product absolutely fine? But the tint colors are terrible. And I always say if
these tinted sunscreens were a makeup foundation shade range, the brand would
be getting called out all over the internet. We've already seen certain
sunscreen brands come out with tinted sunscreens that don't have a big enough
shade range and their excuse was that they're multifunctional, and you can pick
a color that's roughly your skin color and it'll work. That's not the case, that's
not the case at all. My brother who's a makeup artist pointed out that they
have a whole selection for whiter and lighter skin but then nothing for dark,
so if the case was that you can just pick one and it will kind of work with
your skin, why have all these shade ranges for white skin to light tan and
then nothing, like barely anything... like if that's the point, why did they need so
many for that? You know, do you know what I mean? It's kind of like if this was a makeup brand
they would have been cancelled, they would have had a whole controversy, you
know. I just feel like if there was a Zinc
based sunscreen with a tint color that matched my... so the Bliss something
sunscreen is just about right, it still looks a little bit white on my skin. But
I just don't like the formulation of that particular one. So I just wish there
was a brand who did a full shade range of tinted SPF. Do you know what, I don't really
care because, well, I do care about the ethics behind it but I'm a chemical
sunscreen kind of person. I think the idea of people constantly wanting a
tinted sunscreen is because they have this idea in their head or they've been
told that mineral sunscreen is better for people of color, and black skin. Or
that chemical sunscreens are poisonous and toxic, and you find them in your
blood. All of which isn't true, being myth busted time, and time, and time again.
So, if chemical sunscreens work for you just use them, that's what I'm going to
do now. I have given up trying to find a tinted sunscreen that actually matches
my skintone. But I do look forward to the day that a brand comes out with a
full shade range of tints so I can maybe try one, you know. I don't know, I've given up
anyway, I don't care. Okay, let's talk about Retinol. Retinol is
of course like the queen of the skincare world. Like everyone knows she works,
they know what she does. Scientifically backed, all that kind of stuff. But for me
I'm just, I'm... so I posted about this on my Instagram, and
it's not that I'm never gonna use Retinol again but I'm just gonna calm
down being so diligent and strict about it and thinking, oh my God I need to use
it otherwise what's the point? I have a love hate relationship with Retinol. It's
down to my very mild, yet sometimes very noticeable rosacea, and my rosacea just
seems to hate Retinol in any form. Even when I buffer it with a moisturizer, it
just doesn't seem to be loving it. And I didn't really get this
link until I watched Doctorly, The Doctorly channel and they mentioned how Retinol
could be a trigger for some people with Retinol,
Retinol? With rosacea. I would start using Retinol and be like, my
skin absolutely loves this, then after a while I just start flaring up. And that's
the thing is it's not a noticeable kind of like, oh it's reacting, it would be when
my rosacea does flare up it's very obvious and much worse than it usually
gets. Or I'd wake up the next morning incredibly flushed as well. Again, even if
I buffered or used a small percentage. But there's so much talk online of
Retinol, of course, being the only true anti-aging product and how it must be in
everyone's routine, to the point where I do an updated skincare routine video and
people are like, what about your Retinol? Where's your Retinol? Why don't you use
Retinol? You should be using Retinol. So you know, you do feel that pressure to
use it because everyone, you know, you should I guess. That's what it feels like.
And yes, it's true, it's great. You should use it if you can. But you know what, one
day I looked at my mum and my nan, pretty much wrinkle free. Like I don't think I
saw a single wrinkle on them until like they hit 60. And thought, you know what, I'm
gonna be just fine. I'm gonna be fine, I got my Botox, I'm
gonna be fine. Also, it's that thing isn't it, like men tend to age well. Men have it
so f*cking easy that even when they get older their beauty standards are like, oh
do what you want, you know. I've looked pretty much the same for 10 years now. I
may be two stone heavier but I pretty much look the same, so I'm not in a
desperate rush or panic to be like, I got to start using Retinol now, it's time. Use
it if you can. I have to admit I wish I could just slap on Retinal and be
absolutely fine with it. I feel like I did have a really good tolerance to it
for a while then my rosacea just like, was like, you know what, you're not gonna
use this anymore. So kind of annoying but you know what, I'm just gonna stay
hydrated, exfoliate. I don't know. Get my Botox and just hope for the best. But
there we go, those are products that I'm going to stop using, I'm just going to
stop stressing out over. Let me know about yours in the comments down below.
You can watch some more product reviews here, and watch my new series here. There's only
one but there'll be a new one Sunday, and I'll see you over there.