James Welsh on Dry Skin: Five Category Wins and a Sharp Safety Bar

"This is probably one of my most staple products ever. As in like, it's always coming back and forth in my routine. It's always a cleanser I fall back on. In fact, when I'm testing new products, it's one of the cleansers I use because I know how well my skin reacts to it. Great for when your skin is stressed out, you want to focus on maintaining the skin barrier. Matcha for antioxidants. We've got hemp seed oil in here as well. Nice fatty acids, a good amount of glycerin, keeping those hydration levels up. I think that this is actually one of the first really non-stripping cleansers I ever used way back in the day."

"I love their Panthenol Essence Toner, it's got a load of soothing, hydrating, and barrier repair ingredients in it. I talk about this to death, this is my second bottle, this is now my go-to line for calming my irritated skin, for helping with redness, healing a damaged skin barrier and strengthening my skin barrier, this in conjunction with the cream is amazing for my skin."

"Rhode Barrier Butter surprised me in a very, very good way. I'm not a huge fan of the brand, but I'm not not a fan; I'm interested in the sense that I want to try everything Rhode has to offer because I feel like their products are good at worst and excellent at best. It has that thick, almost comforting, medical-feeling kind of texture to it, but this feels very elevated as far as the sensorial experience goes. The claims that Rhode make are that it helps strengthen the skin barrier, delivers deep long-lasting hydration, plumper and more toned-looking skin, softer fine lines over time, and an immediate glow. And honestly, it does 99% of that. I think Rhode are very good at their marketing without all the marketing fluff in their product descriptions. I feel like they never overpromise, so you're not left massively disappointed, even if you do find the products basic. Looking at the ingredients, there are five different weights of hyaluronic acid. Nothing new, but it's decent, it does the job it needs to do, meaning you get those different layers of hydration, giving you that plump glow-from-within kind of feeling and look. But then there's polyglutamic acid, which is kind of like a much better hydrator in my opinion."

"This is still a favorite that I'm emptying time and time again. [...] This is a better than basic barrier supporting moisturizer. It says it's created for dry, dehydrated, and sensitive skin, which it works great for, but my oily T-zone loves this moisturizer too. We have 150,000 ppm of squalane to replenish your moisture, keep your skin soft, and help support the skin barrier. They also have Quaxil in here, which is a patented complex of glucose and xylitol. I think they've removed that from their packaging, but [...] that's still on the ingredient list, and this helps improve moisture retention and helps reduce transepidermal water loss over time. The brand also claims the cream helps balance excess sebum and minimizes the appearance of enlarged pores while maintaining a lightweight, non-irritating finish. I disagree with that pore claim, I didn't see any difference for me, but as far as moisturizing goes, if you want [...] a moisturizer that does the basics, this is that, but in a 2026 version. It's lightweight, watery, it looks like a thick cream but then just melts into this watery texture, and that's what I look for in my creams. It's perfect for my dry cheeks."

"This cleanser kind of turns into a really lightweight foam that feels like you're moisturizing your face with that foam. It doesn't feel like it's stripping anything. It rinses away with a really really good deep cleanse without the stripping of a deep cleanse. We have oat in here as well, I believe it's oat kernel extract which is lovely and soothing, so you can really take your time with this, and aloe as well, soothing and hydrating. It's just such a nice cleanser. It's quite a unique cleanser in the sense that the texture is a little bit different. There are a few other similar cleansers, but as far as how it then interacts on the skin, how it then foams up, how it then leaves your skin, is fairly unique. The thing about this that just feels a lot more nourishing and moisturizing than any other cleanser I've used."

"The Summer Fridays Jet Lag Overnight Eye Serum has to be easily one of the best eye creams I have ever used, mainly because it's purposely made for that thinner, more delicate skin under the eyes and for nighttime use. It's nice and thick but doesn't take ages to rub in, so it sits comfortably without giving me milia. It's hydrating, moisturizing and soothing, and contains retinol that's safe to use under the eyes. It's made a difference especially to that texture under the eyes."