Ever since I’ve heard of the effects of azelaic acid I’ve been in the search for a product. There are not a lot of products containing azelaic acid (compared to other active ingredients) on the market but I had the opportunity to test two.

The first one I’ve used was not so good for my skin since it burned and flushed my skin (even though this ingredients target redness and irritation) which was probably because of its formulation (the cream had cristallized which was shows that it was not so stable). However with the second one I’m using I can see why this ingredients is being talked about a lot lately. Overnight it controls my redness and irritation and helps slightly to exfoliate my skin and clear out my pores. 

What are your opinoins on azelaic acid? Have you ever tried OTC azelaic acid products?

Opinions on Azelaic Acid?

Event though Hyaluronic Acid is regarded as “an acid” that is not sensitizing or irritating as other acids like BHA or AHA, I recently realized that it was actually irritating my skin and making my inflammation worse. I was using some actives at the time and I thought the irritation was coming from those actives. However, I came to the realization that it was actually the HA I was using to hydrate and prep my skin for the actives that was causing my inflammation. I changed my HA product and it never got better untill I stopped incorporating and HA serum in my routine. Has anyone had the same problem with HA?

Hyaluronic Acid, not so gentle?

I’ve tried several asian sunscreens both from korean and japanese brands and they were all superior compared to western brands. However I still enjoy using some western-brand sunscreens like Eucerin Oil Control Sunscreen and La Roche Posay Shaka Fluid. Do you have any other recommendations?

Best Non-Asian Brand Sunscreen

Even though I’ve not used any personalized skincare products, I think they might be really great for people with specific skin issues and who do not know what ingredients / products to use. My only doubt is that the “skin quizes” they provide are sometimes too vague and undetailed questions about your skin. 
What do you think about personalized skincare products? Have you tried any brands?

Opinions on Personalized Skincare Products?

The only bad thing could be the fact that it is 100 mL. I believe it will be hard to finish it in 1 year

I received this product for free from Picky and SKIN1004 in exchange for my honest review.

The ampoule is quite unique with capsules containing MadewhiteTM, a brightening patented ingredient in addition to centella asicatica extract, niacinamide and tranexamic acid. It instantly brightened my skin and gave me a glow while also calming my redness and active acne

It is still early to tell if it works on hyperpigmentation but I will update my review

I really thing that there is no bad thing about this product though I need to use it for more to see . But as of right now I’ve been using it for some weeks and it did not cause any irritation or acne

I received this product for free from Picky and SKIN1004 in exchange for my honest review.

The toner is watery yet very hydrating and also slightly exfoliating with fruit acids. It’s definitely a toner you can use everyday to gently exfoliate the skin, calm and brighten the complexion

I had a bad reaction to this product: every time I used it, my face got super red and flushed and burned my eyes and nose even after thoroughly washing off with water. And this happened almost every time so I had to stop using it 

It had many beneficial ingredients for my skin, and it had no sulfates and had a skin-friendly pH 

There is really nothing bad with this product. The only thing can be that some skintypes and people might not really like the presence of silicone and the texture of the product

It is a no frills moisturizer which also happens to contain niacinamide. With ceramides and essential lipids, it saved my retinizing skin. It was quite a gentle moisturizer that I really liked (in terms of it not irritating my skin while using actives but also in terms of how it helped repair, strengten and maintain my skin barrier health)

I did not really enjoyed the scent though it did not cause any irritation on me. I would prefer this to be scented differently or not at all though it would not affect my highly positive opinions about this product

It is one of my holy grails. I’ve used several tubes of the old version of this cream and my skin loves it. It calms, repairs and also moisturizes the skin really well without causing any irritation. I felt like it helped a lot with my skin barrier health, and it did not cause any problems. To come to this renewed version, I fee like it has nothing less but a lot more: the skin calming properties and effects on my skin have been so much better and I feel like the texture of the product is perfect. I used it both in the AM and PM and it was perfect also under the sunscreen