• Skinfood Tea Tree Clearing Toner - mildly astringent, alcohol-free, watery and absorbs nearly instantly, it appears to assist my other acne-fighting products 
• Hada Labo Gokujyun Lotion Moist - packed full of glycerin and different types of hyaluronic acid, very hydrating, somewhat thick and sticky, a routine staple for me 
• KEEP COOL Soothe Toner (gifted by the brand) - lighter than Hada Labo but still very hydrating, it cuts the stickiness caused by the Hada Labo 
• Mebika Moist Lotion - full of ceramides and different forms or rice bran, it can cause stickiness and oiliness if used for the 7 skin method, 1 layer helps to keep my skin hydrated while my serums have time to work 
• Eleven Huesday Deeply Control Balancing Toner (gifted by Korean Kiwi Beauty) - this is just a wee mini-size bottle that won't be in my routine long enough to evaluate it fully, but this toner appears to split the difference between exfoliating and hydrating. 

Now onto serums! I am super interested in the idea of skincare 'actives' that are not acids or retinoids, although I love those too. All the serums that I have tried to date have much slower, and more subtle effects than the more powerful actives I use. Initially, I was disheartened by this lack of visible progress and I began to give up on the category of serums as a whole. Thankfully, I have implemented a new serum testing process that shows measurable results.

• I'm From Ginseng Serum - this is one of the serums that I felt wasn't doing anything at all so I shoved it to the back of my skincare shelf for several months. Recently I have begun using it again as just a single drop swiped over the deep line that runs horizontally across my forehead. I'm keeping an eye out for changes but I don't expect to see anything for at least a month. 
• TMYS 01 Iconic Brightening Essence (gifted by the brand) - at first I thought this serum was useless too. I figured that it was going to be all hype and nothing more, but I was proven very, very, wrong. I place this on 6 specific points on my face and carefully make sure not to spread away from those places. Because of this method I can see a distinct line of brightening in each area of application. It took one month before I noticed any changes but now they are obvious even to the untrained eye. 
• Eleven Huesday Anti-Stress Recover Serum (gifted by Korean Kiwi Beauty) - I am absolutely blown away by this product. I saw initial results within a week!! I use only one drop that is spread across both of my cheek bones and nose because these are the areas with some of my most persistent acne, bumps, irritation, and redness. This serum deserves its own post so I will say no more for now. 

You may have noticed that I touched on actives without actually placing them within my routine. This is because I am reevaluating which actives I use and when I should be using them. Actives that I tend to use before toners are The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution, COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid and/or The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution (blog post here). I also use The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane, but I usually apply that near the end of my routine. It is nearly empty and so I will be opening the 1% retinol bottle next.

After my serums have had a few moments of uninterrupted rest on my skin I like to follow up with products that go over my whole face and neck. Also, now is when I use eye creams generally, and didn't I say my routines tend to be a bit extra? What I actually meant was that my routines are extra AF! To me, my routines feel normal and not overly long but when I type it all out I realize that I have written an essay.

So, eye creams. I need to write a separate blog post about them too because I have been running a year-long eye cream experiment complete with progress pictures. In short, I use one eye cream on my right side and another on my left side, then after two months I switch the sides. The eye creams I am using this minute are Swanicoco Biologia Fermentation Care Eye Cream and Elizavecca Gold CF-Nest White Bomb Eye Cream. I am diligent about making sure I apply eye creams regularly in order to maintain the integrity of my eye cream experiment, but I do fudge with their placement in my routine. Sometimes I apply them immediately after serums but before full-face treatments, and other times they go before my final creams. Occasionally, I apply them last of all (but only when I forget to use them earlier).

The skincare community is so wonderful that we now mail sheet masks and hand written letters to one another.

Now we get to full-face treatments! This is when I use Scinic Honey All In One Ampoule (blog post here), and/or a sheet mask. I sometimes use my sheet masks after just one layer of toner, or after toners but before serums, or after the serums have had a wait-time but before other full-face treatments, or after full face treatments but before creams, or... You get the idea, I get sheetfaced whenever I damn well please.

Another type of product that I love to use before creams are gels and emulsions. I have several open and I typically only use one per routine so these generally aren't layered over one another. I generally, but not always, use these post sheet-masking:

• Hanyul Pure Artemisia Watery Calming Gel
• Benton Goodbye Redness Centella Gel (see a full review and a comparison with the Hanyul Calming Gel here)
• Hanyul Pure Artemisia Watery Calming Fluid

My stash of creams is rather over the top admittedly

Since we are back to creams, let's finish up my routine outline now. After the gels have absorbed I apply a layer of Cerave Moisturizing Lotion or its store-brand dupe; Life Brand Moisturizing Lotion. I have several creams open at this moment but I don't use them in every routine. I'll give each one a little summary:

• KEEP COOL SHINE CREAM - tone-up cream that I consider to be more of a makeup item than a skincare product. I don't use this almost at all. All Keep Cool products shown here were gifted to me by the brand.
• KEEP COOL OCEAN CREAM - imagine if the famous Laneige Water Sleeping Mask actually smelled good and came in a better packaging format. I genuinely love this one!
• KEEP COOL SOOTHE CREAM - a fully mousse textured cream that soothes redness and absorbs into skin weightlessly. Lovely, but too light for harsh, dry winter weather.
• Eleven Huesday PHA Refining V. Ceramide Cream - I'm in the middle of testing a batch of Eleven Huesday products, all of which were gifted to me by Korean Kiwi Beauty. This cream sits halfway into the category of 'actives' and I'm still figuring it out.
• LadyKin Affinitic Snail Cream - newly opened because I have no other snail in my routine and I haven't for some time. I'm hoping for a hydration boost when I use it before applying my Cerave Moisturizing Lotion.

At this point is when I would apply facial oils, or The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane. Of course, that is for the evening routine only because during the day time I often drastically cut back on the number and type of products I use. My day time routine concludes with the application of sunscreen and my evening routine concludes with a sleeping pack. Respectively those are Secret Key Thanakha Mild Sun Cream SPF47 PA+++, and COSRX Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask.

Masks and Morganite

I use two different lip sleeping masks as well because once again; I am extra AF. The Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask is overhyped and underwhelming. It's a decently nice berry-scented lip balm with a big big price tag. I love the Aritaum Overnight Lip Mask because it actually lasts all night. It's sticky and highly occlusive and my lips have never been happier.

So there you have it! A huge overview of my routine and products and more information than anyone ever needs! If you actually read this far you are truly a knight and a scholar and a Glowie (^‿^)