I have oily and acne-prone skin and I use a lot of actives in my weekly routine like Adapalene, AHA/BHA, and Vitamin C. To balance that, I turned to Korean skincare to help me maintain my skin barrier and to recover from possible skin irritations. I’ve been using these products for a month now and here are my thoughts:
• ILLIYOON Ceramide Ato Concentrate Cream – my holy grail! It’s gentle, moisturizing, and absorbs well without feeling greasy. My oily skin is happy with it, and I love that it’s affordable that I also it use on my body. I’m already on my second tube and restocked. I did purchase the lotion for my body.
• Aestura Atobarrier 365 Cream – thicker and more moisturizing than ILLIYOON, but a little heavy for my skin type. I can see this being amazing for dry skin. I use it as a reinforcement on my skin barrier recovery nights.
• S NATURE Aqua Squalane Moisturizing Cream – I really wanted to love this, but squalane gives me comedones. The texture is lightweight and hydrating, and it absorbs well, but sadly my skin reacts badly to squalane. I have since stopped using it and will not be repurchasing. 🥲
• La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 – although not a Korean skincare product, but a lifesaver when my skin gets irritated. There was this one time when my face was red, stinging, and peeling, I applied this at night and by the next day my skin calmed down. The texture is thick and greasy though, so I only use it once a week as my skin barrier insurance policy.
Overall: I highly recommend ILLIYOON for all skin types, and Aestura for dry/normal skin. While, S Nature could work for oily skin if you tolerate squalane, but if you don’t, then skip it. LRP Cicaplast is a great emergency skin repair product.
by pepe_rolls