Something for your face

New favorites in skincare

There are two subjects on which I possess a large amount of useless knowledge: dogs and skincare. If you want to learn something about dogs or skin products, or putting skin products on dogs, I’m your girl.

My skin has been unusually good postpartum, which is probably due to the hormone avalanche I’ve experienced, and I’m sure it won’t be great forever.

As someone who routinely struggles with hormonal acne and the resulting scars, here are a few new things I’ve added to my regular rotation. I’m enjoying these new favorites, and they’ve been effective at improving my oft-troubled complexion.

Son & Park Beauty Water

I tried this a decade ago, when I first started getting into Asian skincare, and I wasn’t convinced. But I recently returned to this bottle, which I had bought some months ago on sale, and I gotta say: I might be a convert. I’ve started swiping on my face every morning during maternity leave, and it feels fantastic: a helpful, gentle layer to start the skin’s day. This pH-balanced toner is a staple of the Korean skincare regimen, and it acts as a mild exfoliant with a dash of witch hazel to improve skin texture and tone. I apply it with a cotton pad before doing anything else. The bottle is also huge and will last a long time. $25 on Amazon, Soko Glam, other Korean skincare purveyors.

Paula’s Choice 25% Vitamin C + Glutathione Clinical Serum

I think this has made the biggest difference in fading ancient acne scars and improving my complexion, and so of course it’s the most expensive things on this list. I applied it faithfully every morning for almost three months and went through two bottles. My very stubborn and long-lasting scars on my cheeks have faded considerably, along with some small patches of hyperpigmentation and sun spots on my upper cheekbones. It has a marvelous smoothing texture and sinks in as a penultimate step in my morning skincare routine (just before sunscreen). You can always trust Paula’s Choice for excellent formulations and high-quality active ingredients. $62 at Sephora or Paula’s Choice.

Because of the price, however, I recently started trying…

Timeless Vitamin C and E Ferulic Acid Serum

This is an alleged dupe for the famous SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic serum (which is an eye-watering $182). It is not elegant. It comes out like water, and it smells like banana-scented cleaning spray. I don’t enjoy applying it, but I’m committed to trying it out and seeing if it makes a difference (or at least maintains the progress I’ve made thus far at fading scars). For $20, it’s worth the trial. $20 at Target.

Biore Aqua Rich Watery Sunscreen

This Japanese sunscreen is a staple among skincare nerds, and I think it’s been reformulated since I last used it. I didn’t enjoy it some years ago, because of the strong alcohol whiff, but that no longer seems present in this current version. It’s such a high-tech product: Melts into your skin with absolutely no white cast, wears perfectly under makeup, affordable. A win all around. American-made sunscreens like this simply do not exist. $14 on Amazon

I almost always buy Asian sunscreens. This news article offers a good explanation as to why they’re superior: What’s keeping the U.S. from allowing better sunscreens?

Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Cream

I’m always hunting for an affordable nighttime moisturizer, and this has recently entered the running as a solid contender. Lord knows if it actually does anything for wrinkles, but the ingredients are top notch, and it has a nice occlusive weight as a last step in my nightly routine. $12 at Target, drugstores, etc.

What are you using and liking these days? Let me know!

---

A rare moment of calm on Mother’s Day

---

Currently reading

• Cultish, Amanda Montell

• The Book of Goose, Yiyun Li

• The Invention of Nature, Andrea Wulf