My Monthly Favorites - January 2020 Favorite Products & BeautChat 2019 Best Skincare
by Rosy Day Blog
I've decided to do something different this month since I previously received some goodies from BeautChat a Korean beauty review/blog site, and many of them happened to be my favorites in January. This post will serve as both my "Monthly Favorites" for January 2020, as well as my mini-reviews for the items received from BeautChat's 2019 Best Skincare winners. The back story is that I was contacted from BeautChat around October 2019 to participate in a "Best of Beauty" poll. I didn't know many of the products on the poll, so I just voted for what seemed the most interesting. The winners were eventually posted late December 2019/early January 2020, and BeautChat started contacting all participates for their mailing address. Each participant was given one of two different sets. I believe I got all of the winning items except for the sunscreen. Obviously not everything was a hit with me, but I will still provide a mini-review as a courtesy/special mention. I just wanted to say thank you to BeautChat for the opportunity and also to online store Jolse, which I believe supplied most/if not all of the winning products.
Disclosure:
I was not given anything in exchange for reviewing any of these products. I enjoy doing product reviews to share my own experiences with the product and hope someone finds it useful. I do not work for BeautChat, Jolse, or any of the brands featured in this post. » View All Monthly Favorites
BeautChat 2019 Best Cleanser
ONEOSEVEN Low pH Chaga Cleanser
Oneoseven’s brand ingredient of fermented vinegar, sounds like something that belongs in a pickled dish rather than your face, LOL. But this is actually a very good, all-rounder type of ingredient (kind of like centella asiatica). It’s very healing and anti-bacterial. The cleanser has a nice jelly kind of texture with little bits of green tea, that lathers into a nice little foam. It does smell like vinegar & green tea which is actually enjoyable if you like herbal/earthy kind of scents. People say you shouldn’t invest too much money into cleansers. However, this cleanser is 1. Not expensive, and 2. I can actually see and feel it gently exfoliating my face everytime I use it. I no longer use AHA or some kind of scrub in my routine. Just this and my Son & Park Beauty Water, have been keeping my sensitive face extra smooth and flake free. I’m very impressed with both this and their Illuminating sheet mask. I want to try more from Oneoseven, but they’re not exactly the easiest brand to find in the U.S. I am now a believer in fermented vinegar. Other interesting ingredients include: 1,000ppm chaga mushroom extract and 10 Complex (10 different skin brightening plants/flowers). Final Rating = 5/5 (Unless fermented vinegar as an ingredient and/or scent doesn’t excite you very much). » Buy Product
BeautChat 2019 Best Serum
TIAM My Signature Red C Serum
This scared me at first because I had a bad experience over exfoliating with Tiam’s original vitamin C serum (when they were still OST). However, despite this version having 20% vitamin C, it was a lot more gentle with the addition of vitamin B12 (repairs and promotes growth of healthy skin cells) and glutathione (antioxidant - protects from free radicals). Since I have sensitive skin, I’m still a bit cautious and mix this with another serum designed to soothe irritation and redness. I even sometimes use this twice a day and I still haven’t over exfoliated. I have an extreme fear of over exfoliation. I’ll probably never try any other 20% vitamin C serum except this lovely gem from Tiam. Thank you Tiam for restoring my faith in vitamin C. In terms of results, you can expect the usual effects from vitamin C, though I’ll have to say vitamin C works a lot better with niacinamide. I often use a niacinamide serum after this and I become bright like a diamond. Final Rating = 5/5 (I can’t find a fault with this unless you don’t think it’s “strong” enough for you). » Buy Product
BeautChat 2019 Best Cream
Dr. Jart Cicapair Tiger Grass Cream
Trying the Cicapair Cream couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m fed up with a lot of different products/ingredients, so I’m actually trying to go more soothing with my skincare this year. This cream is not only soothing (cica is a good all-rounder ingredient), but it’s a good hydrating cream for my combination skin, yet keeps me fairly matte and doesn’t add any excess oil. I have tried this on warm days as well, so I’m sure it will wear well into the summer (unless there’s a heatwave). You probably already know how great cica/centella asiatica is, so I won’t talk more about that. While I’m still on the hunt for a good anti-aging cream for night, this is my go-to for during the day. Final Rating = 5/5 (Unless you have very dry skin - this won’t be enough for you without facial oil). » Buy Product
BeautChat Top Sheet Mask
ONEOSEVEN Botanics Illuminating Moisture Mask
This claims to brighten and hydrate skin with niacinamide, propolis, andrice extracts, as well as 3 types of hyaluronic acid and 6 types of flower extracts. The mask sheet itself is made of a combination of tencel and eucalyptus extract which is 100% eco-friendly. The mask does smell like a fresh bouquet from all the flower extracts (if you don’t like floral scents - this might not be for you). I’m not sure about brightening effects as I already use vitamin c and a niacinamide serum, but considering I didn’t use either of them when I used this sheet mask, my face did look more even and not as dull looking. It was definitely plump and hydrated from the hyaluronic acid, and I do feel that the tiny bumps I had on my face were a bit soothed and less severe from the propolis. I would totally purchase this sheet mask for myself. I would say the effects are similar to the Oneoseven chaga cleanser but obviously in a sheet mask format. Amazingly as I’m typing this, taking a quick glance in the mirror again, any darkness under my eyes have disappeared (I have minor dark circles by the way) and the minor bumps on my face are almost gone now. I guess this sheet mask does continue working even after you’ve long taken it off, LOL. Final Rating = 5/5 (Unless you don’t like floral scents and/or can’t handle some of the ingredients such as the flower extracts). » Buy Product
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Please note that although the products listed below didn't quite work for me or just weren't to my liking, doesn't mean they can't work well for someone else. It's always important to know that your mileage may vary and I do try to see some positives with the products despite any negatives.
BeautChat 2019 Best Toner
Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Toner
Despite this having 3 different types of hyaluronic acid, I actually wasn’t impressed with this toner and found it a bit “boring” compared to the tons of hyaluronic acid toners out there. This is a watery, almost gel-like texture that absorbs the best on a damp face, though it didn’t quite feel all that hydrating and it’s not like I have a dry face or anything. Maybe if it had more interesting ingredients, but almost everything has some form of hyaluronic acid in it, so this ingredient alone is a bit overrated for me to find products dedicated to it. If you want something cheap with a relatively short ingredients list, and isn’t as sticky as some of the other hyaluronic acid toners out there, then this is still worth a look. Final Rating = 2.5/5 » Buy Product
BeautChat Top Sheet Mask
Celimax Skin Repair Bee Tox Therapy
The star ingredients are bee venom and 5% AHA. I’ve used bee venom before and do think that it’s a good ingredient. Though my first time taking this out of the packet, I already had a bad experience. The sheet mask was dripping wet with essence. Some of you might consider that a good thing, but when you have a small face coupled with a huge (for me) sheet mask, the essence was just getting everywhere. It was getting over my mouth where I felt like I was beginning to taste it, and it even got in one of my eyes which was not good at all. I was partially blind in one eye for a bit. This sheet mask would probably work better if I had laid down, but come on, I like to be able to move around and do things (I always use a silicone mask over my sheet mask to keep it on). Effects wise, I did feel like my skin was a bit more luminous (though not as bright and even as the Oneoseven sheet mask). However as someone with sensitive skin, I kind of dislike sheet masks with AHA in them. I feel like the longer they sit on top of my skin, the more they irritate it. I was right. The bee venom didn’t really do much for my skin barrier and I got a few tiny red bumps from the AHA. It’s a good thing I used my CBD oil and cica cream after - my skin might have been in worse shape. Despite my experience, if you can handle and you like both bee venom and AHA together (and you don't have a tiny face like I do), this might be worth a look. Final Rating = 2.5/5 » Buy Product
BeautChat Top Sheet Mask
Etude House 0.2 mm Therapy Air Mask Artemisia
These sheet masks are supposed to be thin and airy, yet highly hydrating/nourishing and good for sensitive skin. The star ingredient is of course Artemisia and I am glad to give this a try after the Celimax Bee Tox irritated my skin a bit (and my skin was still a bit irritated prior to trying this sheet mask). If you’ve ever used a cica/centella asiatica product, the effects of this artemisia sheet mask are pretty similar to that. The redness was reduced so it evened out my skin and made my overall face look a bit brighter. It was also nicely hydrated from the excess essence. There was actually a bit too much essence. I got tired trying to pat it all in and wait for it to absorb, that I just towel dried the rest off (sorry, but I ain’t got time for all that). I don’t think I’d buy this for myself as I already have a lot of soothing products in my routine, but I wouldn’t mind using it (especially when traveling), and I’ll look into more artemisia products in the future. Final Rating = 3.5/5 (Does what it needs to do and is cheap). » Buy Product If you have any questions about any of the products above, please let me know. Photo Credits: Jolse/Sephora/Gotham Grove/Style Korean
