No BS Beauty has tested more than 40 products for combination skin, approving most of them, giving a handful a mixed take, and skipping a few more. That is a strong record. She gravitates toward lightweight textures that hydrate without leaving a film, and she is not shy about calling out when something fell flat.
What does No BS Beauty recommend for combination skin?
The theme running through her approvals is lightness you can actually feel. She praised the SkinFix Barrier Balancing Water Cream Moisturizer with Hyaluronic Acid for disappearing into skin even in hot, humid weather, which matters a lot when combination skin goes sticky fast. She also has a long loyalty to the Neogen Real Ferment Micro Serum, which she says she has repurchased four times for its plumping, smoothing effect. Sunscreen is a big deal to her. She calls out the Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Watery Sun Gel SPF 50+ PA++++ for holding up through a period when many K-beauty SPFs were found to underperform their claims. Brightening ingredients come up often too. The Beauty of Joseon Glow Deep Serum: Propolis + Niacinamide won her over for stacking niacinamide, tranexamic acid, and glutathione in one lightweight formula she says works morning or evening.
No BS Beauty's combination skin picks, in her words
"The Neogen Real Ferment Micro Serum, it's 30 bucks. It contains Bifida, Saccharomyces, rice ferment, and Aspergillus ferment. No scent in it. I've repurchased. I think this is my fourth bottle of it. It's really nice. Serummy texture to it, really good for plumping up skin and lots of good ingredients in it. So I really love this one from Neogen and I've been repurchasing this one for a long time, so years."
"My main pick from Tatcha is their Luminous Dewy Skin Mist. I love it and it's 30 off. It's a steal in my opinion."
"A jar like this will last a long time because a little bit of it goes a very long way. [...] It's nice. [...] It's felt really nice during this humid weather. There's some moisturizer you put on and you go out when it's really humid out and you can feel it on your skin. This stuff doesn't do that, so it's really nice for the hot and humid weather we've had recently. I love it for that."
"This sunscreen is wonderful. I really enjoy it. I like seeing five different filters, I like seeing the combination of UVB and UVA filters, and I like seeing the L'Oreal patented one that's nice to see being used in some K Beauty brands. The manufacturer of this one is Colmar Korea, which I think makes a lot of innisfree sunscreens as well, and in my past testing some of the Colmar Korean ones I've had pretty good luck with them. I haven't really had any issues."
"Their sunscreen is great. They're hyaluronic watery sun gel. During sunscreen Armageddon, what was it now? Four, five, four or five years ago, when all these K beauty sunscreens were found out to be vastly underprotecting people for what they were advertising. The Isntree sunscreen stood the test of time there and didn't have any issues."
"I picked up a sarra facial moisturizing sunscreen uh with the European filters in it"
How many products has No BS Beauty reviewed for combination skin?
No BS Beauty has reviewed 80 products for combination skin, for an approval rate of 65%. 52 approved, 9 mixed, and 19 skipped.
What has No BS Beauty skipped for combination skin?
She skipped products when the ingredient list did not back up what the label promised. The AXIS-Y Dark Spot Correcting Glow Serum is a good example. She said it leaned almost entirely on niacinamide and delivered very little brightening benefit for her, calling it a disappointment and a loser despite its popularity. On sunscreen, she skipped the Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40 over concerns about the accuracy of its SPF testing, which she linked to a broader story about a research lab's integrity. Texture got products skipped too. She simply said she hated the Beauty of Joseon Matte Sun Stick SPF 50, though she noted it worked for plenty of others.
"First Aid Beauty Coconut Water Cream, this was in my travel bag [...] and it's pretty much empty and I opened it and there's like it was just dried up so there's nothing left of that."
"I don't have the stick version because I hated that one. I'm just pretend like it didn't happen but it worked well for a lot of people so whatever."
"This stuff smelled so strong, just floral perfumey. It was just too much. [...] The ingredients looked fine except for fragrance right in the middle and the fragrance was strong and it was overwhelming and it gave me the beginning of a migraine. So I didn't apply it on my face."
"Supergoop is a pretty popular brand, but I never thought any of their products were revolutionary. Not really Supergoop's fault, but the US chemical filters are just kind of sad, and I haven't been overly impressed with any of their mineral sunscreens either. In general I find most chemical sunscreens are more elegant and easy to apply and generally more efficient and effective than most mineral ones."
What should you take from No BS Beauty's picks?
No BS Beauty is a useful guide for combination skin because she rewards formulas that actually feel weightless and skips anything where the marketing outpaces the ingredients. Her Top Picks include the Purito Deep Sea Pure Water Cream and the Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist. Her approval rate for this category sits at 71%, a generally confident record with a handful of clear misses she is happy to name out loud.
Watch No BS Beauty say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun Aqua Fresh Rice + B5 SPF 50+ PA++++Named a winnerWatch at 11:01
- La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMune 400 SPF 50+Named a winnerWatch at 4:27
- The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair DensityNamed a winnerWatch at 2:06
- Allies of Skin Mandelic Pigmentation Corrector Night SerumNamed a winnerWatch at 12:17
- Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin MistNamed a winnerWatch at 1:26
- First Aid Beauty Coconut Water CreamSkipped itWatch at 6:16
- Beauty of Joseon Matte Sun Stick SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 0:15
- Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide SerumSkipped itWatch at 1:39
- Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40Skipped itWatch at 7:30
- Medicube Age-R Booster ProSkipped itWatch at 11:10
- Head & Shoulders Classic Clean ShampooSkipped itWatch at 1:12
- Youth to the People Kale and Green Tea Spinach Vitamin Superfood CleanserSkipped itWatch at 1:43
- AXIS-Y Dark Spot Correcting Glow SerumSkipped itWatch at 6:09
- Goodal Green Tangerine Vitamin C Dark Spot Care SerumSkipped itWatch at 7:05
- Glow Recipe Strawberry Smooth BHA and AHA Salicylic SerumSkipped itWatch at 10:05
- Stratia C+C SerumSkipped itWatch at 2:22
- BYOMA Moisturizing Gel Sunscreen SPF 30Skipped itWatch at 8:44
- Sunday Riley Tidal Brightening Enzyme Water CreamSkipped itWatch at 10:48
- Purito Daily Soft Touch Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA++++Skipped itWatch at 4:46
- The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5Skipped itWatch at 10:52
- Sunday Riley Good Genes All-In-One AHA Lactic Acid TreatmentSkipped itWatch at 7:44
- SkinCeuticals C E FerulicSkipped itWatch at 4:18
- The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning SolutionSkipped itWatch at 12:39
- Drunk Elephant Beste No. 9 Jelly CleanserSkipped itWatch at 3:45
About this expert
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This guide reflects what No BS Beauty said across her videos about 80 products for combination skin, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products she approved. It is general information, not medical advice.