The truth of the matter is

..I love online shopping way too much. It is so easy to research, compare ingredients, and check out the thoughts of others while online and so very difficult to do that in person. Skincare is particularly fraught because of all the marketing hype and over-the-top claims about what a product can do. It is also considerably easier to lurk in stores online, unlike real stores where the salesperson is waiting for you to stop violating their store space with your grabby children.


My kids are mostly well behaved, actually. They just get really, really impatient when I insist on reading every label on every product and cross-reference that with every product in that same category in store.

I also like to read. I love to absorb pages and pages and pages of text until my eyes physically hurt. I don't like that part but inevitably my eyes are ready to give up before my mind is.
The fantastic thing about skincare is that when your eyes somehow manage to side-eye you into quitting reading, you can just close your eyes and slather the fruits of your research on your face. I am infinitely grateful to the many skincare bloggers out there, and reddit users of r/AsianBeauty for all the reviews and comments that have guided my purchasing decisions.

A special shout-out to the following blogs, in no particular order:

Snow White and the Asian Pear

The Acid Queen

Fifty Shades of Snail

Skinfull of Seoul

Holy Snails

Lab Muffin

Fanserviced-b

Kind of Stephen

The Wanderlust Project

Adoredee

Skin and Tonics
Vanity Rex

All of these folks, plus the many others who have written helpful reviews, are huge contributors to why my skin is looking so much better than it was a few months ago. Check them out and check in with me for product reviews and skincare routines.