Dr. Sam Ellis, dermatologist: 467 skincare products reviewed

Every review.

All 467 products Dr. Sam Ellis has reviewed, grouped by product type. Click a product to see the full guru consensus.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Against the gurus

Type

Serums61 reviews

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Hyaluronic Acid Serum

"A couple of peptide serums that I absolutely love are the one from The Ordinary, the multi-peptide serum, which you can get at Sephora and is very reasonably priced."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Tatcha Indigo Overnight Repair Serum in Cream

"This is my favorite splurge moisturizer of all time. This is the Tatcha Indigo Overnight Repair Serum, and it is divine. If you have redness-prone skin, easily irritated skin, you want something that truly feels luxurious, this is it."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum

"The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum is better because not only does it have that 1% concentration of copper peptides, it also contains a multitude of other anti-aging peptides. So you're getting a much more comprehensive serum at half the price. Don't layer copper peptides with ascorbic acid, vitamin C. So if you use a vitamin C in the morning, go with your peptides at night."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Timeless 20% Vitamin C + E Ferulic Acid Serum

"Another popular dupe is the Timeless 20% Vitamin C + E Ferulic Acid Serum. So slightly higher than the 15% that we see in the original, but a lot of people actually like this one better because it comes in a pump bottle rather than a dropper. And if you don't have sensitive skin and that extra 5% increase in vitamin C isn't going to be problematic for you, it's another great alternative and it'll run you like 27."

✓Yay

71%Guru Score

NIOD Copper Amino Isolate Serum 3:1

"Copper peptides specifically have some of the most robust research behind them. One of the most respected products in this space is NIOD Copper Amino Isolate Serum 3:1. It's around $65 and is formulated with a 1% copper peptide complex that can help improve skin elasticity and structural anti-aging. It's a great product."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Dark Spot Corrector Serum

"I am also a big fan of the La Roche-Posay Mela B3 serum, which has 10% niacinamide. That texture is a little bit richer. It almost feels like a lightweight lotion rather than a true serum. So, I like it for more mature or dry skin. And because it not only contains niacinamide, but also mel, which is a patented pigment fighting ingredient from L'Oreal, it's particularly good if people are trying to fight pigmentation by incorporating niacinamide in a higher concentration within their routine."

✓Yay

69%Guru Score

Timeless Coenzyme Q10 Serum

"One of my favorites for this is the Timeless Coenzyme Q10 Serum. This not only has the coenzyme Q10, but also has Matrixyl 3000, which is probably the best anti-aging peptide. So you get a peptide, you get coenzyme Q10 in this really luxurious, non-irritating serum that you can use morning or night. It's also super affordable."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

Allies of Skin Beta Glucan and Resveratrol Advanced Hydrating Serum

"I really love the Allies of Skin Beta Glucan and Resveratrol serum. I actually talked about it at the end of 2025 as one of my favorite launches of the year for a hydrating serum that also has resveratrol in it."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Bio-Oil Bio-Oil

"Things like Bio-Oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, these really prey on a person's insecurity about developing stretch marks, but they have never been shown to actually be effective in preventing them."

✕Nay

45%Guru Score

CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum

"Let's start off with a drugstore option, the CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum. This is going to run you about $24 to $30 depending on which retailer you are purchasing it from. It is 10% L-ascorbic acid, so a slightly lower concentration than your average vitamin C product. And what I really like about it is the consistency. It's sort of like a thicker gel. And a lot of vitamin C serums are very watery, which makes them great for layering, but it can also make them kind of messy. Aside from that ascorbic acid, it also has those skin barrier supporting ceramides that CeraVe is super well known for. And I would have to say this is one of my absolute favorite budget friendly vitamin C serums. It's very fairly priced. It's good for travel. It still has the most proven form of vitamin C, ascorbic acid, at a slightly lower concentration. So if someone does have slightly sensitive skin, but still wants to be using the most proven form of vitamin C, excellent option."

✓Yay

72%Guru Score

Sunday Riley C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum

"The Sunday Riley C.E.O. 15% brightening serum [...] uses 15% THD ascorbate, which is known to be very stable and less irritating than other forms of vitamin C. It's also oil soluble, so there's some thought that it's perhaps better absorbed into the skin and better utilized by your skin. This has a very smooth, creamy, luxurious texture when you apply it, and I think it's going to be great for someone who has really dry skin, or maybe dry, sensitive skin. [...] It layered beautifully with my other products and my makeup was so glowy when I used it. But this product has a lot of fragrance, and over the course of the day, I could feel my rosacea getting a little bit excited. [...] If you have sensitive skin when it comes to vitamin C, but you are not necessarily sensitive to fragrance, this is a really beautiful product and it definitely feels luxurious when you apply it."

~Mixed

64%Guru Score

COSRX 23% Ascorbic Acid Pure Vitamin C Serum

"This is going to be one of the strongest vitamin C's that I talk about today. One thing I really respect about this brand and how they handled the product, aside from it being very affordable, is the fact that they tell consumers that you should go through this product within two months of opening it. That is the reality of these less stable vitamin C formulations. And it's kind of a reality check that if you are using vitamin C to benefit your skin, you should be using it regularly enough pretty much every day that you go through it within 1 to two months. This product has 23% l-ascorbic acid, plus other pigmentation fighting ingredients like licorice root extract, niacinamide, and glutathione. And to me, that means if you can tolerate this product, you're probably going to see enhanced results when it comes to fighting hyperpigmentation because you have all those great brightening ingredients in there in addition to the vitamin C. However, those stronger concentrations can be more irritating for some skin types. So, it is definitely something to look out for. This is sort of a thin, watery serum with a slightly oily texture. I found that it applied quite evenly."

~Mixed

67%Guru Score

TruSkin Vitamin C, E and Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum

"This is the bestselling vitamin C serum on Amazon and it's going to run you somewhere between 20 and 30 dollars, so another very budget friendly option. The form of vitamin C in here is sodium ascorbyl phosphate, which is essentially a modified form of L-ascorbic acid. It may be less irritating for some people and it's been shown to have anti-acne effects. So if you're someone who breaks out with vitamin C, this derivative may be worth looking into. In addition to the vitamin C derivative, this also has some botanical ingredients, hyaluronic acid and vitamin E. I actually liked using this product more than I expected to. I feel like this loses a point because it's in that dropper bottle, but because it's more affordable, I'm not as worried about knocking it into my sink. I think this is a really nice option for people who want a vitamin C that's not going to be too irritating. If they also understand that maybe it's not a vitamin C powerhouse, and I also think it's worth trying if you are acne prone or L-ascorbic acid formulations of vitamin C have broken you out in the past and you want to try an alternative."

✓Yay

78%Guru Score

Maelove Peptide Squad Collagen Renewal Serum

"I also love the one from Maelove if you want a more affordable option."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

OGX Damage Remedy + Coconut Miracle Oil Penetrating Oil

"I like to reach for well-formulated hair oils that incorporate a healthy oil, but are also formulated with other ingredients to keep the overall product feeling a lot lighter and just make it easier to rinse out. I think a great affordable option for this is the OGX coconut oil. It comes in a more traditional format. It also comes in a spray mist, which I actually like a little bit more because my hair is a little bit finer. And yes, this does have coconut oil, but that's one of a handful of ingredients. These types of hair oils can be used in a couple of different ways. They can be used as a pre-wash, so you use it on your hair to almost protect it from damage during the washing process, or it can be used in between washes to just kind of help style and smooth your hair."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Moroccanoil Treatment

"I'm a huge fan of the Moroccan oil treatments. These use argan oil to smooth and add shine and protect from frizz. I do want to mention this product contains silicones, [...] and I think the reason it performs so well is not solely attributable to the oils that it has, but also to the silicones that are in there as well."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

Medik8 Advanced Pro Collagen Peptide Cream

"Their Advanced Pro Collagen and Peptide Cream is really what I think a lot of people are seeking when they're looking for an anti-aging moisturizer. I think this was formulated to be used with the peptide serum, but I think you absolutely could use this on its own as sort of your standalone moisturizer in the morning or at night or both. This cream comes in a jar. It's definitely on the thicker, richer side, but it's not super heavy. When I first started using it, I really thought of my patients who have more dry or mature skin who are looking for something that's going to melt into their skin, but also have added benefits because of the specialty ingredients that are in there to actually transform their skin. So it's not just moisturizing, which of course is so important and I think often an overlooked area of skincare, but it also has some peptides in there and some of their new technology to really help smooth out lines and wrinkles."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Plated Skin Science Daily Anti-Aging Exosome Serum

"I did try the Plated Skin Science Daily Anti-Aging Exosome Serum just out of like personal curiosity. And I knew some derms who carried it in their office and I was like, "Oh, that feels pretty legit." So I used it every day for 3 months. And I do feel like it helped with the redness of my rosacea and maybe my skin looked a little bit less textured, but it wasn't enough of an impact for me to feel like, yeah, I feel confident recommending this or selling this to my patients. So for me right now, it's kind of TBD when it comes to exosomes."

~Mixed

74%Guru Score

The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%

"If you like the idea of azelaic acid but don't have a prescription for it, [...] you could try an over-the-counter version, like a 10% azelaic acid. The Ordinary has a great azelaic acid emulsion that layers very beautifully with other products and is incredibly affordable. Azelaic acid is really nice because it inhibits excess pigment production. It's an antioxidant. It helps smooth the skin. And for people who have easily irritated skin, for people who are pregnant, azelaic acid is an incredible option."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Allies of Skin Azelaic & Kojic Advanced Clarifying Serum

"I have a small obsession with the Allies of Skin Azelaic & Kojic Advanced Clarifying Serum. That is not necessarily marketed as a hyperpigmentation serum, but it has azelaic acid in it, as well as some other pigment brighteners. That is another fantastic multifaceted product."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Allies of Skin Tranexamic Acid & Arbutin Advanced Brightening Serum

"This formula has 2% alpha arbutin, which is a really strong pigment inhibitor. I love to see it in a hyperpigmentation product. It's also a precursor to hydroquinone. And if you're not familiar with hydroquinone, it is the gold standard topical for treating any form of hyperpigmentation. It is prescription only within the United States and it's fantastic. It can work really well specifically when you combine it with a mild anti-inflammatory and with retinoid. However, it can be too irritating for some people. And so having a precursor of hydroquinone in the form of alpha arbutin allows you to have a lot of those similar pigment blocking abilities without the irritation without the big hit of hydroquinone to your skin. It also has 3% tranexamic acid in it which can be helpful for pigmentation as well particularly through an anti-inflammatory pathway. I use a lot of oral tranexamic acid in my office for the treatment of melasma, but there is some data to suggest that in its topical form, it can also be effective. This also has a brightening licorice root extract and other pigmentation ingredients. People see great results with this formula."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Medik8 Oxy-R Peptides

"This has oxyresveratrol, which is an antioxidant that has all of the beneficial antioxidant effects but it also has the ability to inhibit tyrosine, which is an enzyme in our skin that produces melanin and pigment. So when you block that enzyme from functioning, you reduce that excess pigment formation. In addition to the oxyresveratrol, this also has tetrapeptide 30, which is a peptide that also blocks tyrosine. So specifically for people who have hyperpigmentation and especially for those who are too sensitive to use vitamin C, which is also great for hyperpigmentation, I highly, highly recommend you try this. One package of this comes with two bottles and you activate them separately so that you go through one entire bottle and then you activate the second bottle because the big issue with antioxidants is they can be quite unstable. Medik8 has done a very smart thing here and they have you go through half the product at once and then you can activate the other half of the product so that what you're using is always going to be in its most efficacious form. If you have a vitamin C that you love and use successfully, don't stop it for the sake of this. I would just put this in your nighttime skincare routine instead. After you cleanse your face at night, put this on and then proceed with the rest of your routine."

✓Yay

93%Guru Score

SkinMedica TNS Advanced+ Serum

"It's one of the only growth factor products on the market that has actually proven to help with collagen production and elastin and help with fine lines. But it's definitely more of a splurge product."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Peach & Lily Power Cocktail Lactic Acid Serum

"Peach and Lily makes a super nice, relatively affordable lactic acid serum, and it also has a ton of peptides in it. So, if you're looking for something to gently exfoliate, but also give you like a peptide step in your routine, maybe you're trying to streamline a little bit, highly recommend."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Sophie Pavitt 8% Mandelic Acid Serum

"I love the 8% Mandelic Acid Serum from Sophie Pavitt. It's gentle enough for most people to use everyday, though I would probably start out using it every third day and work your way up."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Allies of Skin Multipeptides & Growth Factor Advanced Lifting Serum

"I get a lot of questions about the Allies of Skin growth factor serum and I'm very intrigued by it. I know a ton of people who use it and love it. They don't have the same clinical studies and it's a little cheaper at around $180, but it's still such a big investment that I would rather put that money towards an extra treatment in a dermatology office once a year instead."

~Mixed

82%Guru Score

The Ordinary Growth Factor 15% Solution

"The Ordinary offers plant-derived growth factors that cost under $100, but for me the data just isn't there yet because they're plant derived. We don't expect those growth factors to work on human skin the way human-derived growth factors would. I'm sure they could lead to certain benefits in your skin and they might make it feel more supple or smoother, but I feel like you can get that from other skincare as well, so that's not a place I would personally invest."

✕Nay

66%Guru Score

Peter Thomas Roth FirmX Eye Treatment

"The Peter Thomas Roth Instant Firm Eye Cream went viral for this. The way these instant under eye products work is as they dry, the molecules in the product create like a little net or a film that brings the skin together and tightens it. The problem with these is that as soon as you add water to that, for example, like a water-based makeup or anything in your skincare that's water-based, it breaks that netting apart and you lose the effect. So it's really good if you want to wear it on its own, but you have to understand that that effect is completely temporary and it's not making any long-term changes to the quality of your under eye skin."

~Mixed

68%Guru Score

Alastin Restorative Eye Treatment

"I also really like the Eye Cream from Alastin. It helps with puffiness and dark circles and fine lines and wrinkles. If you have those early changes, I do think some of those more proprietary eye creams can be great, and the one from Alastin is really nice because it's lightweight and has those clinically proven results."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Virtue Alpha Keratin Healing Oil

"I love The Virtue hair oil especially if you have thinner fine hair"

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

APLB Glutathione Niacinamide Facial Cream

"Big fan and that concludes our Korean moisturizer Roundup"

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Nzen Vitamin Concentrate Serum

"One of my favorite over-the-counter serums is by a Korean brand called Nzen, it's their Vitamin Concentrate Serum. This has a whole slew of brightening agents and antioxidants in it like tranexamic acid, glutathione, niacinamide, vitamin C, and arbutin, and to me it's one of the most affordable and effective lightening serums that exists on the market."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Vanicream Vitamin C Serum

"This uses 5% THD ascorbate as the vitamin C in here and is a really nice creamy almost milky serum. In addition to that vitamin C derivative, this also has some really nice ceramides in there, so I almost think of this as like the lightest possible weight lotion you could use that has vitamin C. I find this to be really gentle on the skin, it feels good going on, and also it's incredibly affordable like this thing is under $20. If you're new to vitamin C and you're really concerned about it causing irritation or you've had problems with other vitamin C formulas in the past, go with this one. Budget vitamin C's are few and far between and especially budget vitamin C's that are actually good, but I would consider this a winner."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

SkinBetter Science Alto Advanced Defense and Repair Serum

"My absolute favorite vitamin C product that utilizes a vitamin C derivative is the SkinBetter Science Alto Advanced Defense and Repair Serum. The reason I love this antioxidant serum so much and why I think it's sort of worth that higher price point is because this not only includes that vitamin C derivative THD ascorbate but also so many other incredible antioxidants. I also really appreciate that SkinBetter has done some clinical studies on this exact product to show that it helps with skin integrity as well as discoloration. This is a very creamy yet lightweight serum and I find that it plays well with a lot of other skincare products and builds well in a routine."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Numbuzin No.3 Skin Softening Serum

"Another moisturizing product that I've been absolutely loving this year is by Numbuzin, it's their No. 3 Super Glowing Essence Toner. The reason I'm talking about it in the category of moisturizers is because I use it as a moisturizing step. This is just a beautiful hydration product. The texture of this is not as watery as a traditional essence or toner, it has a little bit of thickness to it, and so you really feel it on the skin when you apply it and you're just like, ah, that feels so nice. It has over 50 fermented ingredients, so that is super nourishing and calming for the skin. I just find when I layer this either under my moisturizer or just directly under my sunscreen, my skin truly glows and just looks so much more plump and radiant the entire day. It has a little bit of fragrance to it, and I'm not usually a fragrance-in-skincare kind of gal, but this fragrance doesn't bother me at all. It doesn't linger on the skin whatsoever. I find that sometimes moisturizing or hydrating toners are a little bit sticky on the skin, and this has zero stickiness, which is just an extra point in my book."

✓Yay

65%Guru Score

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel with Hyaluronic Acid

"One of my favorite moisturizers especially for skincare newbies is the Neutrogena Hydro Boost gel cream. The reason I like gel cream moisturizers in general so much is because they feel incredibly lightweight on the skin but they still add that layer of hydration that a lot of people are craving. I'm probably a little partial to this Neutrogena one because it was the first moisturizer that I feel like I could get my dad to use consistently and even though I get sent all types of skin care and I want to buy him all sorts of things he still requests the Neutrogena Hydro Boost. For people who maybe have slightly drier skin or looking for something a little bit more rich but that still feels lightweight on the skin, it's great."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Experiment Super Saturated 30% Glycerin Hydrating Barrier Serum

"This serum is 30% glycerin and when you get into concentrations of glycerin that high, glycerin takes on this additional ability to act as a skin barrier protectant. When you pump this out of the container it's a bit sticky, it's giving snail mucin vibes if you've ever used a product with snail mucin before, but if you can tolerate and accept that texture, this really does pull a lot of water to the skin and make the skin look so plump and hydrated and juicy. If you're struggling with the appearance of like just little fine lines on the skin or you just feel like man my skin always looks so dry and you don't want to use an exfoliant or maybe you're already using an exfoliant or retinoid in your routine, maybe think about putting on the serum, see how it layers with your moisturizer and under your sunscreen and see if it gives you that extra plumpness and suppleness to your skin that you're craving."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Summer Fridays Dream Oasis Deep Hydration Serum

"I'm also really obsessed with the Summer Fridays Dream Oasis Dehydration Serum. It is so special. It is this really lightweight milky serum. It is so hydrating, it layers beautifully under sunscreen, it is probably one of my favorite summer skincare products ever."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

SkinBetter Science Trio Rebalancing Moisture Treatment

"The moisturizer I'm going in with today is my SkinBetter Trio Rebalancing Moisture Treatment. This is my Holy Grail moisturizer. It is exceptionally lightweight yet so, so effective. Fantastic for sensitive skin, layers beautifully with other products. Incredibly expensive, that is absolutely the downside. If it didn't cost so much, I would just be recommending it to everyone non-stop."

~Mixed

75%Guru Score

Clean and Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets

"The Clean and Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets are an oldie but a goodie. These have stood the test of time and continue to be a great way to help absorb excess oil without disturbing the rest of your skincare or the makeup that you have going on. There are certainly other blotting papers out there but they tend to be a lot more expensive and these really do get the job done, so they continue to be a recommendation from me."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Skin Better Alto Defense Antioxidant and Repair Serum

"The Skin Better Alto Advanced Defense and Repair Serum is an antioxidant serum that incorporates some serious powerhouse antioxidant ingredients, and really is sort of like the next level in my opinion of skincare technology. At the time of filming this video, Skin Better is really only available through a doctor's office, so part of what you're paying for is that exclusivity in some ways, but I really do think this is an incredible antioxidant serum. It does have vitamin C, similar to SkinCeuticals cephrulic, but instead of having L-ascorbic acid, it has something called tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, which is a different form of vitamin C that tends to be a little bit more stable but also is less irritating to the skin. The difference is the Skin Better version has so many other amazing antioxidants included in it, and so you're getting like an antioxidant smoothie. It's so impressive, and I found that people who can't tolerate the SkinCeuticals cephrulic because the L-ascorbic acid may be too irritating for them or it breaks them out do really well with the Skin Better Alto."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Naturium Multi-Bright Tranexamic Acid Serum

"I particularly like the Naturium Multibright Tranexamic Acid Serum. This does not just have tranexamic acid but a couple other pigment fighters in there as well. It's just a really beautiful texture and it layers well with other products, and I think it's a very affordable way to bring topical tranexamic acid into a hyperpigmentation routine."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

SkinFix Barrier+ Triple Lipid & Peptide Lotion

"This moisturizer has a really beautiful gel cream texture and I even personally like it even though I don't have oily skin. People who will really benefit from this are those who have more mature skin that leans oily. I also really love this product for those who have a disrupted skin barrier, so maybe you overdid it with your retinol cream or you use too much glycolic acid and your skin feels stingy or tight but it's still oily. If I compare this to say the La Roche-Posay mattifying facial moisturizer, I would say that the SkinFix one feels a little bit more hydrating, a little bit more moisturizing, but it's not going to help control oil or mattify as much as the La Roche-Posay product would. This one is more for if you lean oily but you don't need a ton of oil control during the day or overnight and you really feel like your skin barrier needs nourishment. I would also say that if you consider yourself to have combination skin where you're oily throughout your T-zone, oily on your forehead and nose and chin but the rest of your skin is normal to dry, this product sort of fits that niche perfectly because although it's not going to mattify your oily areas it's also not going to exacerbate those areas over the course of the day and it's also going to support the more normal to dry skin that you have on other parts of your face."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Neutrium 10% Azelaic Acid Emulsion

"Neutrium makes a really lovely ten percent azelaic acid emulsion that I'm a big fan of."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Timeless Matrixyl 3000 Serum

"When patients ask me for an affordable or approachable way to start incorporating effective peptides into their anti-aging skincare routine, I will often recommend the Timeless Matrixyl 3000 Serum. I find that this product incorporates very well into a skincare routine and it's very gentle, so you can use it on the neck and the decollete and the back of the hands and just any other place on your body where you're thinking I would like to be aging a little more slowly here."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Murad Rapid Dark Spot Correcting Serum

"The Murad Rapid Dark Spot Correcting Serum is a cult favorite. It uses glycolic acid as well as resorcinol and tranexamic acid to combat irregular pigment."

✓Yay

68%Guru Score

Faded Serum

"Some of my followers have had a lot of success with the Faded Serum which is for dark spots and discoloration. It has niacinamide, tranexamic acid, and azelaic acid."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Allies of Skin Mandelic Pigmentation Corrector Night Serum

"The Allies of Skin Mandelic Pigment Corrector Night Serum is amazing. I am a huge fan of well formulated products that combine multiple active ingredients. This has lactic acid and mandelic acid which are both alpha hydroxy acids but they are larger molecules than glycolic acid and so they don't penetrate as deeply into the skin which makes them a lot more gentle. For me having rosacea I could not regularly use glycolic acid without having a lot of irritation, so this still gives me some benefits of exfoliation and hydrating benefits of alpha hydroxy acids without having to use something quite as intense as glycolic acid. This serum also has salicylic acid which is a beta-hydroxy acid and that helps with exfoliation as well. One other ingredient I wanted to highlight in this serum is an ingredient called bakuchiol, which has been shown to have similar clinical efficacy to topical retinol in terms of the reversal of photoaging."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Medik8 Liquid Peptides Advanced MP+ Serum

"If you're looking for something that is a little bit richer that has a little bit more advanced technology, the Medik8 Advanced Peptide Serum is also fantastic."

✓Yay

87%Guru Score

SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic

"Starting off with the holy grail of antioxidant serums for the past 20 years, SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic, which will run you about $185 a bottle. This product paved the way for every other vitamin C serum on the market because this exact formula has been clinically proven to enhance sun protection, reduce fine lines, and fade dark spots. When you hear dermatologists and aestheticians talk about how amazing vitamin C is for your skin, it is because of the studies done on C E Ferulic specifically. For those reasons, it's not a bad place to spend your money, and I actually carry it in my own practice because it is the gold standard."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Prequel Lucent-C Brightening Vitamin C Serum

"Prequel's vitamin C serum is more of an evolution of the Skinceuticals C E Ferulic because instead of having vitamin E, it has a different antioxidant called erathionine. It was still formulated with the same goals of giving brighter, healthier skin and it's under $25."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Maelove Glow Maker Vitamin C Serum

"One that I love and have recommended for years is the Maelove Glow Maker, which instead of $185, will run you about $33. It has the same 15% l-ascorbic acid, which is the vitamin C, vitamin E, and ferulic acid at a low pH, just like SkinCeuticals. And similarly, it also comes in a tinted bottle with a dropper applicator."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Allies of Skin Peptides & Antioxidants Firming Daily Treatment

"The Allies of Skin Peptides and Antioxidants daily treatment is one of the best multi-purpose moisturizers I have ever tried. [...] It not only is an amazing moisturizer, but it also replaces multiple steps in your skincare routine. It is packed with antioxidants and peptides. So, if you're someone who normally does an antioxidant step, a peptide step, and moisturizes, this takes all of those products and condenses it into one. It's a super nice midweight lotion, so you can use it in the morning and at night. It is the moisturizer that I travel with because when I travel, I don't pack up my entire multi-step skincare routine. I want to wash my face, moisturize, put my sunscreen on, be done, and so this is what I use because I still feel like my skin is getting tons of helpful ingredients on it without having multiple steps. I love this product so much."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Prequel Multi-Quench Plumping Hydration Serum

"I am a big fan of my Prequel Multi-Quench Plumping Hydration Serum. This uses polyglutamic acid, which not only helps draw water to the skin surface and plump it immediately, it also helps with skin barrier support and repair."

✓Yay

63%Guru Score

Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster

"I love the one that Paula's Choice makes. Azelaic acid is antimicrobial. It's anti-inflammatory. It helps with pigmentation. It's kind of like a jack of all trades when it comes to clearing your skin. So it can be a nice add-on to your retinoid routine or you can use it on its own."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Naturium Vitamin C Complex Serum

"Another L-ascorbic acid product that I really like and I have found works well for those who have sensitive skin is the Naturium Vitamin C Complex. This product not only has L-ascorbic acid but it also has sodium ascorbyl phosphate in it, so you're getting the biologically active form of vitamin C in there as well as a derivative. Something that's a little bit unique about this Naturium serum is that their L-ascorbic acid is conjugated with gold, meaning it's attached to gold in the serum. This helps enhance the stability and the penetration of the vitamin C into the skin, and it also allows the pH of the product to be a little bit higher, so for people who are sensitive to traditional L-ascorbic acid products because of that acidity level, this might be a good option. [...] In terms of texture, the one from Naturium is [...] really nice, but [...] it's a little bit thicker on the skin and feels a little bit more like a traditional hydrating serum."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Prequel Redness Reform Soothing Serum

"I wanted to make a more targeted redness serum so Prequel also has a Redness Reform serum that I am obsessed with. This has something called an avenanthramide analog in it which is derived from oat and has soothing properties, so for people who have redness due to low-grade irritation this can be very helpful. It also has this really interesting ingredient in the skin called piperonal glucose which essentially targets certain receptors in the skin that make someone more prone to redness, and when those receptors are targeted their redness is less likely to flare. I really just felt like redness is a huge concern and there were so few products that I could routinely recommend to patients that weren't prescriptions but still would work well with the rest of their skincare, so I'm super happy to have that in the Prequel lineup now."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Haruharu Wonder Black Rice 10% High Hyaluronic Acid Cream

"First up is the Haruharu Wonder Black Rice 10% High Hyaluronic Acid Cream. It's a little bit of a mouthful, but this is such a gorgeous lightweight cream that is still so nourishing. Look at that texture, like that is so delicious. It's almost like if an essence and a moisturizer had a baby, it's this. I feel like so many times when people are looking for hydration and moisture, they're looking for really thick, heavy creams because they think that's what they need to lock everything in, and sometimes that is the case, but sometimes you can use a beautiful lightweight gel cream and achieve the same thing. This cream is so lightweight, which I think makes it extra lovely, especially if you have oily skin and you're really looking for something to help draw that hydration and plumpness to the skin, because you can have oily skin that is still dehydrated, so skin that's still lacking water even though it has plenty of oil. And I find that these lighter gel cream formulations tend to just look and feel better on the skin, so this is a nice option for you."

✓Yay

66%Guru Score

Apostrophe Hydroquinone 6% Serum

"Hydroquinone is the number one pigment fighter that you can be using topically in your regimen. I'm a huge Apostrophe fan. It's an online dermatology service that connects patients with dermatologic care so that they can get prescription medications for common dermatology concerns like acne, rosacea, hyperpigmentation, or melasma as well as cosmetic concerns like fine lines and wrinkles."

✓Yay

Notverified

The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

"I'm just going in with one serum tonight, it is the Naturium Azelaic Acid Emulsion 10. Azelaic acid can be great for redness, pigmentation, breakouts. I do work with Naturium but I think this is a lovely [azelaic] acid serum. Paula's Choice also makes a great over-the-counter azelaic acid serum. Azelaic acid is kind of traditionally hard to formulate with—it gets real gritty and grainy—so there are a lot of bad azelaic acid products out there."

✓Yay

70%Guru Score

Naturium Tranexamic Topical Acid 5%

"This is also quite a lightweight serum, and not only does it have tranexamic acid which helps fight hyperpigmentation, but it has other pigmentation fighters in it as well like kojic acid and licorice root extract and niacinamide, so it's a great serum for people who are looking for something that's easy to layer in their routine and has multiple pigment fighters."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Sunscreen60 reviews

Trader Joe's Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40

"Trader Joe's has a practically identical product for $9 instead of $38. Their daily facial sunscreen SPF 40 is a very similar formula with that same gel primer texture and 40 minutes of water resistance."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

e.l.f. Suntouchable Invisible Sunscreen SPF 35

"The e.l.f. Suntouchable Invisible Sunscreen SPF 35 at $14 would be your widely available drugstore alternative. Also very similar in texture and ingredient profile, and this one actually offers 80 minutes of water resistance, so it's actually a step up in that department."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Super Group Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40

"The Super Group Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40 was considered very innovative when it first launched because unlike other sunscreens that are white creams or lotions, this is a clear silky gel that doubles as a primer and is invisible on all skin tones. It's also very popular with men because it's not shiny and it doesn't cling to facial hair. And as a dermatologist, I will be the first person to tell you that sunscreen is the most important step in your anti-aging skincare routine. So, if this product helps you be consistent with your sunscreen application, it is worth every penny."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Banana Boat Light as Air SPF 50 Body Sunscreen

"I do not think as a dermatologist you should be spending a lot of money on your body sunscreen because you need a lot of product to adequately protect all of that skin. And if you have a product that's really expensive or is not that cosmetically elegant so you don't want to apply it, you're going to underapply and you're going to underprotect. Although honestly, even if this Banana Boat sunscreen was like twice the price, I would still buy it because it is the best body sunscreen I have ever ever used. You can get it at any drugstore. It's this very lovely lightweight lotion that honestly just feels like a body moisturizer. It doesn't smell like sunscreen. It's very lightly fragranced and it's not something that lingers on the skin, but I think makes the overall application process just more pleasant. And it has 80 minutes of water resistance. So, this is not just good for day-to-day, but also if you're doing outdoor activities like exercising or swimming or going in the ocean. I feel like sometimes patients are a little bit apprehensive when I'm recommending Banana Boat. They're like, 'Really, that stuff works and do you recommend it?' I absolutely do. It's highly, highly effective and you actually want to put it on and those are the most important things when it comes to a sunscreen."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

EltaMD UV Skin Recovery SPF 50

"The sunscreen launch of the year was EltaMD UV Skin Recovery SPF 50 with the green tint. For anyone out there who struggles with redness, you kind of know the struggle of finding a good sunscreen because sunscreen can sometimes irritate your skin, which can exacerbate redness or exacerbate your rosacea. So, the fact that they incorporated this green tint to sort of neutralize that, but it's also not an overwhelming tint. It doesn't look like you're wearing makeup and you don't look kind of gray or anything like that, which is often a problem with green tinted products. And the formula itself for being a mineral-based sunscreen is so creamy, blends into the skin so effortlessly. I just think this is such a standout. EltaMD tends to shine in the sunscreen category. And I feel like every person, if they're an EltaMD user, has their favorite within the brand, but to me, this is probably my tippy top for personal use. And I also really like that it's great for post-procedure. So, after I have micro needling, after I have laser resurfacing, and I want to kind of cancel out some of the red tones in my skin, and of course, I need to be protecting with sunscreen, this tends to be the one I reach for."

✓Yay

92%Guru Score

Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Face Shield Flex SPF 50

"This is the Colorescience Face Shield Flex. I think this is such an incredible tinted sunscreen. It comes in, I think, five shades. I have always mixed the fair and the medium shades because I change colors a little bit if I have a fake tan or if I have accidentally a little bit of a real tan, and I like to make sure I can get a perfect match. They have said you can mix their formulas together. In general, you should not mix your sunscreens together, especially if they're from different brands and they're different formulas, but these you can mix. They do have a light version as well which sits right in between. There are a lot of days that I wear zero foundation and zero concealer, and this is often when I'm in clinic and I will just have my normal sunscreen on and then just a little dab of this. I'm not getting a lot of SPF protection from this, but I am getting some blue light protection which would be relevant if you have a deeper skin tone, but more so it's just giving a really nice makeup effect. They are fantastic."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Ciele Tint & Protect SPF 50+ Tinted Serum Foundation

"One of my all-time favorite blushes, especially for daytime, is the Ciele Tint & Protect SPF 50+. This is gorgeous. What I like about it is that it also falls into that makeup for dummies category where you can put it on anyway. You can put it onto a brush, you can literally take it out of the tube and dab it on your skin and it will blend out into perfection. So it's just a very easy blush to work with and looks so natural. This is one of my favorite colors that they have, shade Bahadi. The colors that they have are also just so beautiful. If you do have really oily skin, I don't feel like this will have the same lasting power on you."

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

Alastin HydraTint Pro Mineral Sunscreen SPF 36

"The Alastin HydraTint Pro is almost $80 for a sunscreen, but people rave about the finish of it that it's glowy but not too greasy. And for a lot of people, it also has that perfect tint where it blends well with their skin tone. So it also doubles for them as makeup. It just checks so many boxes in one product."

✓Yay

70%Guru Score

DRMTLGY Universal Tinted Moisturizer SPF 46

"One I hadn't used for a while, but I recently brought back into my rotation and I forgot how good it is, is the DRMTLGY Universal Tinted Moisturizer. It's SPF 46. It's really hydrating. It helps kind of cancel out some of my hyperpigmentation and my redness. So to me, that's such a great multitasker."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

iNNBEAUTY PROJECT Mineral Sunlow Broadspectrum SPF 43 PA+++

"The iNNBEAUTY PROJECT Mineral Sunlow Broadspectrum SPF 43 PA+++ sunscreen is another tinted mineral sunscreen, but the tint is quite faint. It's not overpowering, but a bit more saturated than the CL. And this comes in three shades: fair to light, which is what I use, medium, and then tan to deep. I really appreciate the unsaturated tint where it's just enough to kind of balance off the white cast that might be coming from the zinc oxide UV filter in here, but it doesn't prevent you from using the appropriate amount of sunscreen to get adequate protection. Texturally, this feels kind of like a lightweight, whipped, but still creamy lotion. It applies really easily. It dries down quite quickly. So it's also got a nice finish if you tend to be more oily or combo skin. If you're very dry or you have mature skin, I do think this will require a little bit of skin prep ahead of time, like putting on a hydration serum or a nice layer of moisturizer."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Allies of Skin One SPF 50 Invisible Sunscreen Gel

"This is a chemical sunscreen with 80 minutes of water resistance. It has a clear gel primer type of texture that is beautiful under makeup if you wear makeup, and undetectable if you don't wear makeup. The reason it didn't make my personal top sunscreen faves for newer launches is because that silicone gel primer-like texture is not a personal fave of mine. It feels a little bit suffocating on me. But I also find that I'm in the minority here. Most of my friends who try this are like, 'Oh, this is amazing.' Men tend to really like this as well. There's just something very unique about it where it doesn't feel like a traditional lotion or cream, so if you have someone who's maybe not that into skincare, I think they would really love it. But also, if you have someone who's really into makeup and they like that makeup primer feel, this would be a total win. It's got the 80 minutes of water resistance and it's clear. It just checks so many of the boxes of what I would recommend for a sunscreen that I couldn't not include it."

~Mixed

66%Guru Score

Ultra Violette Future Screen SPF 50 Modern Mineral Sunscreen

"I got this just a couple of weeks ago, but I very quickly came to love it. This is an Australian-based sunscreen company, but just recently launched this in the United States. You can find it in Sephoras. They call this a modern mineral sunscreen. It's SPF 50. It is just an absolute delight to apply it. This is very slightly tinted. If you have super pale skin, the tint is going to be too dark. But if you are paler than me or my tone, it's going to be just fine. It's incredibly liquidy, so you have to be careful when you kind of take it out of the bottle cuz you could make a mess real quick. And then as you're applying it, it feels almost like a face oil. Like it's got like some slip to it. I don't know if that's because of the squalane in here. It feels nice. It feels nourishing. And then when you get it totally distributed, it is quite dewy, quite shiny on the skin. Now, as someone who has dry skin, I don't really mind that. It makes my skin look healthy and glowy. And I will take a little bit of powder, like translucent setting powder, and just kind of like blot it down. If you feel comfortable with makeup and sort of manipulating your sunscreen by blotting down some of the sheen with powder, I think this is a really nice product."

✓Yay

67%Guru Score

Heliocare Oral Sunscreen Capsules (Polypodium Leucotomos Supplement)

"Taking a polypodium leucotomos supplement, so polypodium leucotomos comes from a fern, it's a plant-based ingredient that offers antioxidant properties that help with UV protection. When you're taking this as a supplement in oral form you can take it as a pill, it also comes in gummy form, and it offers additional UV protection that extends beyond what your sunscreen or UPF clothing could offer. I've tried Heliocare in the past."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

EltaMD UV Physical Broad-Spectrum SPF 41

"One of my favorite mineral sunscreens for around the eyes is the EltaMD UV Physical SPF 41. This one is slightly tinted so you actually get a little bit of cover of dark circles if you're also going for that too. It's a face sunscreen but using it under the eyes can be really helpful."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Blue Lizard Baby Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50

"The Blue Lizard Baby Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 is water resistant for 80 minutes. It's a top recommendation from a lot of my dermatology colleagues. It's got that classic thick whitish slightly paste-like effect of typical zinc and titanium dioxide based sunscreens, but I almost like that in a way because if my son is going in the water I kind of want to be able to see just a little bit exactly where I've put the sunscreen and this allows me to do that. I've definitely tried thicker and pastier zinc oxide sunscreens that I absolutely cannot get behind and a lot of the ones I found at the drugstore kind of are like that, so that's why I've opted for Blue Lizard so many times."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Pipet Baby Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50

"I really like this sunscreen for kids and honestly for adults as well if they want a mineral only option. One, I really like that it comes in a nice big tube so you don't need to be stingy with your sunscreen application, which is an issue that I see come up time and time again. But I also really like that it rubs in quite effortlessly. It is a mineral sunscreen, and a mineral sunscreen without some type of white cast really doesn't exist, but I do find that this rubs in quite well. And if you've ever tried to put sunscreen on a kid who's screaming or running away or just fighting the application, the faster you can get that sunscreen rubbed in the better. Compared to a lot of mineral sunscreens, this also feels quite lightweight on the skin and it also has things like squalane in it which are going to add this moisturizing factor, so you get a little bit of sun care and skincare. I do want to make a note that this is not water-resistant, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. For example, if you're not going to the beach or to a water park, it doesn't really matter if it's water-resistant. It has the same lasting power, and the benefit of not using water-resistant sunscreen every day is that it's a lot easier to rinse off at the end of the day."

✓Yay

78%Guru Score

Coppertone Sport Sunscreen Spray SPF 30

"One of my absolute favorites is by Coppertone their sport sunscreen spray. I buy this in like multi-packs because it's just so easy and it's just something that is always in one of my bags in case I need to reapply on the go on me or my son. Now this is not my favorite way to apply sunscreen if it's the first application of the day or what I would call your base coat, but a lot of kids are not going to sit for a full lotion reapplication at the beach or at the pool or at the park, so if you can just get a little spray on them I will accept that. The key with using a spray is that you want to hold it about 6 inches from your skin, you want to do a nice even stream back and forth several times, and then you do want to rub that in with your hand. If you just spray you're going to miss spots and you will see that later reflected in a very patchy sunburn."

✓Yay

68%Guru Score

Eucerin Age Defense Plus Hyaluronic Acid SPF 50 Face Lotion

"When it comes to drugstore sunscreens I also love the Eucerin Age Defense SPF 50. I feel like Eucerin really kills it when it comes to sunscreens. This is an SPF 50 chemical sunscreen and I really like how nourishing it feels on the skin. It's not a heavy cream but your skin does feel really hydrated when you apply it."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Eucerin Daily Hydration Moisturizing Body Cream SPF 30

"One of my favorite super affordable sunscreens that you can use on your face and your body is from Eucerin, it's their Daily Hydration Moisturizing Body Cream and it's SPF 30. I personally use this more as a body sunscreen because it's kind of on the thicker side for the face, but if you have dry skin I think it's totally fine to use this on your face as well. I really like this body sunscreen because one, it addresses the fact that anti-aging skincare is not just for your face, you don't want to neglect the rest of your body. But two, you get so much product so you don't have to skimp or save, which is a huge issue with sunscreen because people underapply it and you're not going to get all of those protective anti-aging benefits if you're not using enough sunscreen."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Colorescience Unforgettable Total Protection Face Shield SPF 50

"This is the Colorescience Unforgettable classic. I have used this for years and still really really like it."

✓Yay

90%Guru Score

Derma B Everyday Sunscreen SPF 50

"This is a Korean sunscreen, SPF 50, and the easiest way to get it is online. This is really designed to be a face and body sunscreen. I love how lightweight it is, it's incredibly affordable, and this also has a really nice pleasant sort of sweet herbal scent to it. Keep in mind this is not water resistant, so this is a great everyday sunscreen."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40

"I know so many people who don't normally like sunscreen love this product and it's by Supergoop, it's the Unseen Sunscreen. This is the sunscreen that has almost like a primer-like feel to it so it's almost like silicone, it's very plushy, it's very mattifying, and it really is nice under makeup. For people who don't like the traditional cream or lotion type sunscreens, I find the Unseen Sunscreen is such a hit. Also with the guys, they love this because it's not like, you know, a lot of guys don't wear makeup primer so they've never felt that sort of silicone texture but it's actually something a lot of them enjoy."

✓Yay

69%Guru Score

Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF 50+ PA++++

"The Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence is an SPF 50 sunscreen and is probably one of the most popular Asian sunscreens. It dries down pretty much instantly and it just works so beautifully for reapplication. It's also my favorite sunscreen for reapplying over makeup because you can kind of stipple or pat it on the skin without it building up or leaving a white cast. This is a chemical sunscreen and does have quite a high alcohol content, but I really think that adds to the performance of the product. Just note for people who are sensitive to fragrance, this does have fragrance."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Australian Gold Botanical Tinted Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50

"This dries down fairly matte but it does have a bit of radiance to it. It also has 80 minutes of water resistance which is always a nice bonus. I really like it because it's incredibly affordable, it's around 17 or 18 dollars for three ounces so you get a lot of product. This is one of my top sunscreen recommendations especially for my teenage patients who are just starting to become oily. A lot of times they're also starting to have their first breakouts and they want to start wearing makeup but maybe they're not really ready for a full-on foundation, so using a tinted sunscreen like this that also offers some oil control is a nice balance."

✓Yay

78%Guru Score

Eucerin Oil Control Dry Touch SPF 50+

"The European version of this sunscreen is honestly incredible. I wish it was easier to get in the United States. It's much more of a gel cream in formulation, so a lot lighter weight. This also has more of a matte dry down. One of my patients, her mom lives in France and sent her a bunch of different products to try because she has oily skin and struggles with acne, and this was sort of the winner of the bunch. She brought it into clinic for me to try and it was incredible. Whenever I talk about products for oily skin on my Instagram or even on TikTok, this sunscreen comes up so much in the comments because people love it."

✓Yay

70%Guru Score

SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50

"This kit also contains an SPF 50 sunscreen, the SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion, which is a really nice lightweight milky sunscreen with a slight tint. So for someone looking to combat pigment, it's not just about reversing the pigment you have with topicals but also protecting from UV damage, so that sunscreen step is really essential."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Olay Daily Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30

"One of my favorite sunscreens for people who are new to skincare or maybe a little bit apprehensive about incorporating a sunscreen into their routine is the Olay Daily Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30. This is a two in one moisturizer and sunscreen. I think this sunscreen is really user friendly because it has no white cast, it rubs in super well to the skin, it's very affordable, and it's accessible at most drug stores."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Blue Stone Sun Shield UV Visor

"The Blue Stone Sun Shield UV Visor, if you follow me on Instagram you've definitely seen me wear this before. I often will wear it home from clinic and the whole reason for that is I don't really like to reapply sunscreen before I leave the office and this allows me to totally protect my face on my 45 minute commute. A lot of people ask if I can see through it but it's basically like large sunglasses and if I feel like I need to get another driver's attention or something I just lift up the visor and say hey. Aside from using this when driving this is also really nice if you are gardening or reading by the pool and you need to protect your face. Now some people will love this visor and some people will think it looks absolutely absurd but let me tell you it'll grow on you."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

ISDIN Eryfotona Actinica SPF 50

"Another untinted mineral sunscreen that I really like is the ISDIN Eryfotona Actinica SPF 50. It's a [...] really good mineral option, both because it goes on really seamlessly and because it plays well under makeup. I will say this does leave a little bit of a white cast on my skin, but I'm typically wearing it under a little bit of foundation or tinted moisturizer, and that cancels that out. This uses 11% zinc oxide as the mineral filter, and it's water resistant for 40 minutes. This is actually probably the most common mineral sunscreen that I use on my son when we're going into the water or going to the pool or the beach. One thing that's important to note about this sunscreen [...] is that it's not a particularly moisturizing sunscreen, so I think it's actually really nice if you have oily skin, but if you have dry skin I would put a good layer of moisturizer on first before layering this on top."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Kinship Self Reflect Probiotic Zinc Oxide Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 32

"I love this for dry skin. One problem with a lot of mineral sunscreens is because they have zinc oxide which is somewhat of a drying ingredient they can feel a little bit chalky on dry skin, but this one is so emollient and so moisturizing and I love it especially in the winter. Even though this is tinted it is a very light tint. One problem that I often have with tinted sunscreens is they almost have too much tint in them, they're either too orange or too dark, so if you have fair skin and you want something to sort of mitigate the white cast I think this is a really nice option. This uses 22.4 zinc oxide and is not water resistant. This also has a little bit of natural fragrance to it, it has a very light hint of vanilla and I find the smell really pleasant. This sunscreen is known for playing nice with blemish prone or acne prone skin. So if you're someone out there who's struggling with breakouts and can't find a sunscreen that works for you I think this is a really nice option. Oftentimes people who are acne prone tend to be oily and people who are acne prone and dry feel like they're not a lot of good sunscreen options for them but this one's it."

✓Yay

87%Guru Score

Pipette Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50

"The last untinted mineral sunscreen that I'll mention is the Pipette Mineral SPF 50. I think this is a little bit of a controversial sunscreen some people absolutely love it and some people think it leaves way too much of a white cast but it's probably my most used sunscreen on my son Theo who's 17 months now and I like it because I actually can see where I apply it the white cast is beneficial in this case. I also like it because it's really affordable it comes in a nice big tube and I don't feel bad just like chucking it in my backpack and bringing it with me wherever I go. This also is a zinc oxide based sunscreen it is not waterproof so it's great for days at the park."

✓Yay

65%Guru Score

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Melt-in Milk Sunscreen SPF 60

"I'm also a really big fan of the La Roche Posay Melt-in Milk, this is an SPF 60 chemical sunscreen meant for face and body. I love how moisturizing this sunscreen is but it's not greasy at all and it absorbs really quickly and because it's sort of designed to be used on the face and body I just feel like it looks so good on the skin and it's one that I like to bring on vacation a lot for that reason."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

EVY Technology Daily Defense Face Mousse SPF 50

"My number one holy grail for water resistant sunscreens is by a company called EV Technology, it's a Swedish sunscreen company. When you spray these out of the bottle they actually come out as a foam. What I really like about these sunscreens is that they are super water resistant so they give the typical 80 minutes of water resistance but then they've also done some additional testing to show that after eight hours of intermittent water exposure the sunscreen still remains relatively intact and still protective. It does just give me a little added peace of mind that these are super super protective."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

EltaMD UV Sport SPF 50

"Another water resistant sunscreen that I really really like and is a little easier to get your hands on in the United States is Elta MD UV Sport, it's SPF 50. This is a hybrid sunscreen that uses zinc oxide as well as some chemical UV filters to give you excellent protection."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Bondi Sands Daily Moisturizing Face SPF 50+

"This is a super moisturizing, comfortable sunscreen especially if you have dry skin. I love that this is available at the drugstore, that you get two and a half ounces for it, and it's so affordable—maybe the most affordable sunscreen that I am talking about today. I know a big gripe that people have with sunscreen, which is fair, is that it can be expensive, and really everyone deserves to be able to afford sun protection, so whenever I can find some kind of cheaper options for you guys I definitely want to incorporate those into my videos."

✓Yay

65%Guru Score

Naturium Dew Glow Tinted Moisturizer SPF 50

"If you have dry skin, if you want your skin to feel just super super moisturized from your sunscreen, you have to try this. Out of all the sunscreens that I'm talking about today, this one is the thickest and the creamiest. So when it first comes out of the pump it can almost be surprising like whoa that's really thick, I don't know how that's going to rub in, but it so easily works itself into the skin. This has all chemical or organic UV filters as well so it doesn't leave a white cast behind, and it just leaves such a beautiful shine to the skin in a way that doesn't look oily, just very hydrated and nourished."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Purito Daily Soft Touch Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA++++

"The sunscreen I'm going in with today is the Purito Daily Soft Touch Sunscreen. I love this one. I love their daily go-to sunscreen as well, but that's a little bit oilier, a little bit dewier. This has not a matte finish but more of a skin-like finish, and I do find that it plays well with other products. This does not leave a white cast on me at all. It really just feels like another layer of moisturizer."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Gel SPF 50

"The Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Gel SPF 50 is a Japanese sunscreen that truly feels weightless on the skin and dries down completely matte. It does have alcohol in it, which is not a bad thing. Alcohol in skincare can be great because it can help with how it feels and can help with the permeability of the product, but some people are sensitive to alcohol, so if you find alcohol too drying or irritating you might not love this sunscreen. But if your skin isn't sensitive and it's just oily, I think you will be obsessed. Even though I don't have oily skin, this is one of my favorite sunscreens for applying over makeup because it has that alcohol, it dries down super quickly, and has that matte finish. It's also amazing for applying to the body because it dries down so quickly."

✓Yay

67%Guru Score

IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream SPF 50+

"The Charlotte Tilbury reminds me of the IT Cosmetics CC cream where when you apply it you're like my skin looks flawless, but it's not as heavy and doesn't tend to get as cakey as the IT Cosmetics CC cream, so I feel like Charlotte Tilbury has totally replaced it for me."

~Mixed

66%Guru Score

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer SPF 30

"The La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer UV is broad spectrum SPF 30 and is a fan favorite, and I really enjoy it too. This is a chemical sunscreen, meaning that it doesn't have filters like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, but the big benefit of that is that there's really no chance of it leaving a white cast on the skin and it tends to rub in so smoothly. It is so moisturizing as well. The other thing I really like about this sunscreen is you get a little more in the bottle, so instead of the typical one ounce or 1.7 ounces, you get two and a half ounces in here."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Purito Daily Go-To Sunscreen SPF 50

"This is particularly good if you have dry skin. This is a Korean sunscreen, it's SPF50 and PA+++ meaning that it not only has very strong UVB protection but also strong UVA protection. It's not fragranced at all, it goes on the skin so smoothly. Now if you have oily or kind of like normal or combination skin you might find that this is too heavy or too greasy but I find that for a very hydrating or moisturizing sunscreen it really doesn't feel heavy on the skin but it does have a little bit of a sheen to it. So if you find that your skin gets dry or tight over the course of the day like mine does I think you'll love this, otherwise it might be a little bit too heavy for you."

✓Yay

70%Guru Score

Colorescience Total Eye 3-in-1 Renewal Therapy SPF 35

"One of my all-time favorite products for use around the eye is the Color Science 3in1 Total Eye. It essentially is sunscreen SPF 35, concealer, and an eye cream all combined into one product, so it corrects in so many different ways. I feel like so many people I recommended this to really enjoy using it for correcting their under eye immediately with the concealer and then more longterm with the sun protective and eye corrective benefits."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Watery Sun Gel SPF 50+ PA++++

"The thing I love the most about this particular sunscreen is how moisturizing it feels but it completely dries down on the skin and leaves sort of a dewy luminous finish. There are a lot of products that leave a dewy finish but then they feel kind of tacky on the skin, whereas this one completely dries down but still gives you a little bit of glow. I also find the sunscreen to be quite soothing. It doesn't exacerbate my rosacea. I don't need to layer moisturizer with it because it is so hydrating on the skin without getting oily or sticky over the course of the day. It is not sweat resistant or water resistant, but man it's good."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMune 400 SPF 50

"This is a very thin liquidy sunscreen. I actually like to apply it in layers because if I try to apply a quarter teaspoon to my face all at once it just goes everywhere. It is just such a nice lightweight dry down completely type of sunscreen. Now if you have really dry skin I think it's going to be too drying for you, or if you are sensitive to denatured alcohol I would skip this one because this does have denatured alcohol in it. But for me when I'm going outside to do outdoor activities and I don't want a tinted sunscreen, this is the one I'm going for."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Naked Sundays Collagen Glow 100% Mineral Perfecting Priming Lotion SPF 50

"This is not going to be a sunscreen for everyone and I recognize that, but I love it. When you squeeze it out of the tube it is super thick, and initially when you rub it in you're thinking oh my gosh this is never going to rub in, but magically and quite quickly it rubs in very well to the skin. Although it is a completely zinc-based sunscreen, it does not leave a white cast on my skin tone. The tint on this sunscreen is sort of a neutral to cool-toned tint, and I really like that because I find a lot of tinted sunscreens are too orange. This one is cool-toned and it actually doesn't have a lot of coverage on the skin, so I can layer my makeup on top of it or I can wear it on its own. This is also the sunscreen I've been reaching for for outdoor activities because it has 80 minutes of sweat resistance, so this would be great in the ocean or swimming or just on a hike. Also because it's tinted and it has iron oxides in it, you get some visible light coverage, so you're getting protection from blue light which can worsen melasma."

✓Yay

74%Guru Score

DRMTLGY Broad Spectrum SPF 45 Untinted Sunscreen

"I actually like a lot of the Dermatology sunscreens but this is the one I've been grabbing the most. This is a hybrid sunscreen meaning that it has both physical and chemical UV filters, in this case zinc oxide and octinoxate. It rubs in beautifully to the skin. There's really no white cast whatsoever and it's quite creamy and moisturizing. I've had no issues with it irritating or exacerbating my rosacea. If you are someone with sensitive skin and you want to try a sunscreen like this, it's kind of nice that Dermatology offers this 60-day money-back guarantee, because if you do try it and it's not for you, you haven't lost anything."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Naked Sundays SPF 50

"The one I'm using today is the Naked Sundays SPF 50. This is a zinc based sunscreen that has a tint to it. It doesn't oxidize orange on my skin which has been huge because I hate when you put on a tinted sunscreen and then you look in the mirror three hours later and you look like an Oompa Loompa. This is super thick and creamy the first time I put it on I was like there's no way this is gonna rub in well and then it did."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture Airy Fit Daily Sunscreen SPF 50

"I love this because it is a true midweight comforting lotion. It really feels like you're just putting on a cushiony moisturizer. It has no sunscreen smell. It is weightless on the skin. It almost acts like a primer when it comes to applying makeup. [...] This is usually the sunscreen that's in my bag when I don't know what to reach for or when I'm traveling. The finish is very skin-like, not matte but also not dewy or glowy, and it works for a variety of skin types. If you are slightly dry, normal combination, or even leaning slightly oily, this would be a perfect sunscreen for you."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum SPF 50+ PA++++

"This is particularly good if you have more dry leaning skin. It is such a lightweight lotion and rubs in so seamlessly that you would expect it to behave like a gel cream and flash off the skin, but it is actually so deeply moisturizing and gives this beautiful glowiness to the skin where you don't look greasy or heavy, just some degree of dewiness that makes it look radiant and healthy. This also plays very nicely with other skin care and with makeup, and I've never had the issue of it peeling up on me. I love this for people who have sensitive skin and especially acne prone skin, it has been such a hit for my patients who have acne or rosacea and struggle to find sunscreens that don't irritate their skin or break them out. When I say holy grail, I'm not just talking about holy grail Korean sunscreen, I mean holy grail of all the sunscreens I have ever tried in my entire life, and I have tried hundreds of sunscreens."

✓Yay

90%Guru Score

House of Her Weightless Sun Fluid SPF 50 PA++++

"This is my number one pick if you have oily skin or you want a sunscreen with a truly matte finish. The name really says it all, weightless sunfluid. This is the lightest of the sunscreens I'm talking about today, it applies in two seconds and it's incredibly easy to rub in. Although it is matte, it's not drying on the skin. If you have oily skin it kind of keeps that oil at bay so it's not popping through to mess up your makeup, but it doesn't feel restrictive. Sometimes matte sunscreens can feel a little tight on the skin and not wear comfortably throughout the day, but this one does. It is so so good and not enough people talk about it."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics SPF 50+ PA++++

"You can also find green tea extract in one of my favorite sunscreens of all time, the Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics SPF 50. I recommend that sunscreen all the time. And although I did not specifically seek that sunscreen out or fall in love with it because it has that antioxidant, that is absolute bonus points."

✓Yay

92%Guru Score

EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46

"EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46 is the sunscreen I have recommended the most consistently to my patients over the last decade of my practice. It has great broad-spectrum coverage, so it's going to protect you from both UVA and UVB rays, but it also has niacinamide, which is a fantastic antioxidant that's anti-inflammatory and can help with things like acne. This is a really good sunscreen if you are acne prone. This was one of the first broad-spectrum sunscreens to incorporate niacinamide in a really intentional way. Niacinamide helps with pigment brightening. It helps calm inflammation. So when you combine it in a sunscreen, it makes for a product that is very good for people who have sensitive skin and acne prone skin. [...] If I have a patient who has struggled to find a daily sunscreen that their skin really agrees with, EltaMD UV Clear is my go-to because it is beloved by so many people and very, very consistently."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

DRMTLGY Luminous Eye Corrector SPF 41

"One other product that I really like for brightening the under eyes is the DRMTLGY Luminous Eye Corrector SPF 41. This is basically a tinted sunscreen with some eye friendly ingredients that help brighten the under eye area and you could use it on its own or layered over a different eye cream. Do not underestimate the power of consistent sun protection around the eyes in terms of making them look better over time."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Ciele Prime and Protect SPF 30 Primer

"Another sunscreen that I absolutely love for my acne prone patients is actually marketed as a makeup primer. It's by the brand Ciele and I love Ciele for their foundations and their blushes, but they also make an amazing makeup primer with SPF 30. It's a mineral-based sunscreen. And what I love about it is that it feels very lightweight on the skin for being zinc based. And this brand really prides itself on being an acne safe makeup brand and being very skin friendly. And I've had many patients over the past couple of years who have really fallen in love with this formula. And because this is a makeup primer, this also works really well under makeup. So it's very dual purpose. And I find that a lot of my patients who are prone to acne want to be wearing a little concealer or foundation while their skin is sort of healing, and this really lends itself well to that."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturizing Sunscreen SPF 50 PA++++

"This is an SPF 50 broadspectrum sunscreen where if you want something that is moisturizing but not oily, hydrating but not heavy, I would go for this every single time. I would say if you have combination to dry skin or dry mature skin, this is a pretty perfect sunscreen. It layers beautifully under makeup. It's not going to have a white cast on the vast majority of skin tones because it contains some really advanced UV filters different than the UV filters that are available for a lot of US sunscreens. [...] Korean sunscreens tend to have a lot lighter textures than a lot of European sunscreens. [...] I also love this for my body. I've purchased like 20 tubes of this because I can put it on me, I can put it on my son, I can force it onto my husband and I don't feel like I'm wasting it or I'm spending a ton of money protecting myself because these are so affordable as well as cosmetically elegant."

✓Yay

90%Guru Score

Prequel Sun Barrier Mineral Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50

"Another mineral sunscreen that I use a lot on my son is from my brand Prequel, it's our Sun Barrier Mineral Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50 PA++++, and the reason I started applying this to him was he was seeing me apply it in the morning and he was asking if he could have some on his skin. This sunscreen also has antioxidants and baobab to soothe the skin, so it's really nice for adult skin and for kids skin. My son, for whatever reason, cannot tolerate all of the mineral sunscreens out there, but he does really well with this one. I also had a follower send me a note saying that her daughter loves this sunscreen because it's very slightly tinted pink, so if you have someone who's resistant to sunscreen, finding those little charming attributes, whether it's a bottle that they really like or a scent or the color of the sunscreen, can be beneficial in getting your kid on board with application. This sunscreen sort of lives in our diaper bag, and then we pull it out at the park for reapplication."

✓Yay

57%Guru Score

Summer Fridays Shade Drops Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Mineral Milk Sunscreen

"The Summer Fridays Shade Drops SPF 30 is a zinc based non-water resistant sunscreen that comes out as a very thin liquidy milk and I just love how lightweight it is. I do like to wear a moisturizer underneath because it can be pretty drying if worn on its own, but I really love how it rubs into the skin. The finish on this is quite natural so you're not really dewy or glossy but it's also not a matte finish, and that's why I like it because you can kind of wear it on its own, you could wear it under makeup which I do a lot, and it's actually pretty easy to reapply, and that's pretty hard to find in a mineral sunscreen."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

ISDIN Eryfotona Ageless Tinted Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50

"This is the tinted version and also has some antioxidants and some anti-aging peptides in it as well. It's a little too tinted for my skin if you don't have a fake tan on super lightweight. You can kind of get a sense of the color there. It's a little warm on me. The other benefit of using a tinted sunscreen if you have hyperpigmentation or melasma is the iron oxides in the tinted sunscreen help block blue light from the sun, and we know that blue light also contributes to pigmentation, not just UV radiation, so if you have a tint in your sunscreen that's like bonus points."

~Mixed

85%Guru Score

ISDIN Eryfotona Actinica Ultralight Emulsion SPF 50

"This is a broad spectrum SPF 50 sunscreen. This version is non-tinted and the UV filter in here is zinc oxide, so if you're looking for a mineral only or physical only sunscreen this is great. In addition to being a mineral sunscreen, it also has something called DNA repair enzymes in it, so it's going to help repair existing UV damage in your skin which is great. You're not only protecting from the sun's existing rays but also fighting the damage that your skin has already incurred. I absolutely love about the Isdin sunscreen, and if other companies are watching this please take note, is that you get 3.4 ounces in a bottle that is basically double what most sunscreens give you, and the reason that's so important is because if you have a tiny package of sunscreen you might think about trying to save that sunscreen or use it sparingly, but sunscreen really needs to be used in the correct amount for it to be truly effective. Having a larger package really encourages you to use this sunscreen properly."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

EltaMD UV Facial Broad-Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen

"One of my favorite sunscreens to use during my pregnancy was the EltaMD UV Facial Sunscreen. This is an SPF 30 sunscreen and it's actually a hybrid so it had a mineral or inorganic filter zinc oxide as well as a chemical or organic filter octinoxate. It's a very hydrating and moisturizing formula which I really craved during my pregnancy because my skin was extra dry, so I just really enjoyed putting it on. It went on so well, there was no white cast, it didn't take a lot of effort for me to rub in, so it was kind of like the perfect low maintenance sunscreen for me to use and I felt very confident using it during my pregnancy even though it had a chemical filter."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Moisturizers50 reviews

Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream

"While I don't really agree with their marketing to preteens and teenagers philosophy, I will say their polypeptide cream is quite good. If you're someone who wants a lightweight moisturizer and to be incorporating peptides in your skincare routine, this does two jobs in one step. The peptides contained within this moisturizer are quite good—they're the ones that we often recommend because they have the most clinical data to support them. I also like that this is lightweight enough that you could easily use it during the day, layering it with vitamin C and sunscreen, or you could use it in your nighttime routine after your retinoid. My verdict here is stay. This is a really good two-for-one product, and although it is $72, if you look at the cost of a peptide serum and a moisturizer separately, you might end up at that cost in two separate steps."

✓Yay

65%Guru Score

Augustinus Bader Rich Cream

"They have their own unique proprietary peptide that I think is meant to justify the super high price point. If you notice some insane difference in your skin when you use this, by all means. We just don't have enough data around that specific peptide compared to things like retinoids, vitamin C, good sun protection that makes it worth it."

~Mixed

65%Guru Score

Dieux Instant Angel Lipid-Rich Firming Moisturizer

"I talked about their retinol earlier, but their Instant Angel is awesome. It's like a between mid-weight to rich cream, super calming, fragrance-free. I love this for skin that's like a little bit more reactive."

✓Yay

91%Guru Score

iNNBEAUTY PROJECT Extreme Cream Anti-Aging, Firming & Lifting Moisturizer

"You could swap this for the iNNBEAUTY PROJECT Extreme Cream, which is fifty dollars, and also be very satisfied. It has a very similar texture to the Augustinus Bader because both are reverse emulsions, meaning there are water droplets suspended in oil, which gives that rich but not greasy feel. And while the Extreme Cream doesn't have olopeptide 177, it does have its own blend of lipids and anti-aging peptides. So if what you're after is a deeply nourishing, skin-rejuvenating moisturizer, the Extreme Cream gets you very close at a fraction of the price."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

AmLactin Daily Moisturizing Lotion 12%

"If you want more of a traditional exfoliating body lotion, the AmLactin with 12% ammonium lactate is my go-to. It's affordable and it has that higher concentration of lactic acid, so you're going to get exfoliating smoothing and skin thickening benefits. Fair warning, it has a slightly sour smell, which some people don't notice at all, but some people will not be able to get past. But if it doesn't bother you, this is a tried and true affordable option for skin anti-aging and glowiness."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Tatcha Water Cream Oil-Free Pore Minimizing Moisturizer

"Even if you have oily skin, you should moisturize. It does not have to be a thick, rich, heavy cream, but having a layer of moisture on your skin is going to give your makeup something to adhere to, and it's going to make your makeup look a lot smoother and more cohesive. Over the past few years, I have been really lucky to work with a lot of celebrity makeup artists, and so many carry the Tatcha Water Cream in their kit. For years, it has been one of my go-to recommendations if someone with oily skin wants a moisturizer because it feels luxurious and kind of rich on the skin, yet dries down in such a weightless, hydrating way. It's perfect and it does so well under makeup."

✓Yay

78%Guru Score

Caudalie Resveratrol Lift Lightweight Firming Cashmere Moisturizer

"I like incorporating resveratrol in a nighttime skincare routine, but it's one of those things that I would not seek out a specific resveratrol serum, but if I have a serum that's also hydrating or plumping my skin, I would love if I could sneak a little resveratrol into it. For example, the Caudalie Resveratrol Lift. It's one of my favorite serums for anti-aging that does not have retinol in it. I recommend it all the time to my patients who are pregnant or trying to conceive or maybe just want something to boost the efficacy of the retinoid that they're already using."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

CeraVe Moisturizing Cream

"Follow that with what I would consider a bland moisturizer, a moisturizer that does not have active ingredients in it -- for example, the CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, [...] something that is just there to soften the skin and hold water and moisture within your skin."

✓Yay

87%Guru Score

SkinBetter Science AlphaRet Overnight Cream

"The SkinBetter Science AlphaRet is one of my tippy top favorites. Right now, you can only get it in dermatology clinics or from an aesthetician, and it is one of the pricier retinoids on the market. But when it comes to being spendy with skincare, it is one of the things that I think is truly worth the investment if you have really sensitive skin. If you want a clinically tested retinoid that has shown to be good for sensitive skin and yields really efficacious results, it is absolutely worth trying."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Celimax Pore and Dark Spot Brightening Cream

"The Pore and Dark Spot Brightening Cream from Celimax is really, really good. This was actually one of my surprise favorites for the year. [...] What I loved about this is that it has niacinamide and tranexamic acid, two highly proven ingredients when it comes to tackling hyperpigmentation. But the formula is so gentle. It's a really thick, luscious cream. So you could layer it under a moisturizer, but I think standalone it could function as a moisturizer as well. Rubs in beautifully. And if you are not sensitive to niacinamide, it is fantastic because niacinamide not only strengthens your skin barrier, it not only brightens your skin, it also helps you with oil control and shrinking your pores. [...] Using a product that tackles so many issues that one person might face in a single product was really a nice thing for me to see."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream

"While it is a great moisturizer, especially if you like the feel of a richer, more enveloping cream, when I look at the ingredient list, aside from having this miracle broth, it's pretty similar to what you would see in a drugstore moisturizer. There's a lot of oils, including mineral oil. There's a lot of waxes, which are not bad ingredients by any means. They are part of a lot of richer moisturizers, but those ingredients don't really set it apart or feel special enough to warrant that steep price tag."

✕Nay

48%Guru Score

Olay Micro-Sculpting Cream

"It doesn't have any unique peptides or retinol or anything that makes it specifically anti-aging, though it does have niacinamide which can help with brightening of the skin and can help with barrier strength. And the reality is it can be anti-aging in terms of appearance if your skin just looks really well moisturized. And I know for people as they get older, they don't hold on to as much oil in their skin, they really struggle with their skin looking as plump and firm and youthful, and having a great, really solid moisturizer in your routine can help. This cream has also been shown to offer 24 hours of hydration, so for those drier skinned people out there, $36 for 1.7 ounces, not bad."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

SkinCeuticals A.G.E. Interrupter Advanced Moisturizer

"There is clinical test to support some of the claims that they make. And the testing did show that when using this cream for 12 weeks, lines were reduced in the face. But when I looked closer at the data, the lines were reduced like 5 to 10%. So maybe enough to be significant in a study, but maybe not enough to be clinically significant. But nonetheless, it did reduce wrinkles all over the face. I will tell you just from personal experience, I have used this product and I just didn't enjoy it. I didn't really like the texture of it. I didn't love the smell of it. So it's not my personal favorite. But if you're interested in using a science-backed product to help with things like fine lines and wrinkles, it may be worth a try."

~Mixed

70%Guru Score

OneSkin OS-01 Face Topical Supplement

"I grabbed the OneSkin OS-01 Face Topical Supplement. This is a moisturizer I've been enjoying a lot lately. And if you're not familiar with OneSkin, they're kind of like a biotech skin care company hybrid that's based here in the Bay Area. They have a proprietary peptide that helps with cellular aging and basically helps stop the aging signaling that happens between your cells. So, a very unique peptide that is not offered in other skincare, which is why I wanted to give you an option to incorporate it into your anti-aging routine. But you can see it's lightweight. You could use this morning or night. They probably recommend that you use it morning and night, but a very lovely option."

✓Yay

74%Guru Score

La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5

"On the nights that you are not using your retinoid don't just use your regular moisturizer on your skin use a true barrier support and repair product and those are going to be products like the La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Balm"

✓Yay

91%Guru Score

Rhode Barrier Butter Intensive Moisture Balm

"Rhode Barrier Butter, I love that one."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

Lancôme Cream Skin

"I love the Lancôme Cream Skin toner, it is super milky and lightweight. Sometimes I like it if I'm not going to be using a regular moisturizer that day because I feel like it's going to be too heavy on my skin, so I still want a moisturizing step but not a full-on moisturizer before my sunscreen. Or if I feel like I'm using my moisturizer and my sunscreen and my skin is still a little bit thirsty, having that extra layer of moisturization can really boost what my skin looks like and feels like throughout the day. If you have dry or mature skin, that toner is like a holy grail."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

Naturium Multi-Peptide Moisturizer

"I also have been loving the Naturium Multi-Peptide Moisturizer rich cream. I already liked their normal peptide cream, and now they've made a richer version of it, and it is so good if you need an affordable moisturizer that's nice and thick."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Eucerin Intensive Repair Cream

"I love the Eucerin Intensive Repair Cream for this. It is thick, it is rich, it is occlusive. It is a great post shower body moisturizer."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Aestura Atobarrier 365 Cream

"This is a true midweight moisturizer that is really good for combo to dry skin. The claim to fame of this moisturizer is that it is very rich in ceramides and ceramides are a lipid that exists within our skin barrier, so when you put on something that is rich in ceramides it helps replenish the skin barrier, it helps support it, it's often very comforting on the skin. [...] When you apply it, it glides on, it's very silky smooth, and then you can really feel it absorbing into the skin. Often I find richer moisturizers can sometimes sit on top of the skin and you're like, well is this absorbing and really doing anything, but this really melts in which is so beautiful. [...] When you look at it there's these little ceramide capsules that are suspended within the cream, and you don't feel them when you rub in, they melt away so seamlessly. [...] This also contains some lightweight silicones which give it that really silky smooth feel on the skin. I [...] think this cream is particularly good for people who have acne who need something that's a bit richer."

✓Yay

95%Guru Score

Purito Deep Sea Pure Water Cream

"One of my favorite moisturizers for people who have oily sensitive skin or skin that is like very reactive needs to be soothed is the Purito Deep Sea Pure Water Cream. When it comes to skincare products that have oats in them or oat-based ingredients tend to be quite soothing. Oats have an anti-inflammatory property so I love that about this particular gel. It also has panthenol which is incredibly soothing for the skin. I envision the person who uses this and loves this is someone who is oily has sensitive skin doesn't like to feel a lot of products sitting on their skin. If I think about my acne prone patients who have oily skin I think they would love something like this especially if they're using like prescription acne medications and their skin's being a bit reactive. This will calm their skin and also play nice with the oily skin tendencies that they have. The texture on this is so beautifully lightweight. If you live in a more humid climate or you're traveling somewhere more humid this is lovely. It's also 3.38 oz so travel friendly."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer

"One of my favorite facial moisturizers that I recommend all the time in my clinic is by La Roche-Posay, it's their Toleriane Dermo moisturizer. The reason this tends to be tolerated so well is because it does not have a lot of the classic allergens that we find in a lot of skincare. For people who struggle to find a moisturizer that they can tolerate, whether that's because they get stinging or redness or burning, this is a great option."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream

"Using a thicker body moisturizer like the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream are also super nourishing body lotions that are not as thick or heavy or as greasy as a petrolatum based ointment but can still nourish the skin really well."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

CeraVe Daily Facial Moisturizing Lotion

"One moisturizer that I will often recommend to my patients who have perioral dermatitis who want to use a moisturizer is the CeraVe Daily Facial Moisturizing Lotion. This is a pretty basic gentle moisturizer and it's fairly lightweight, and that's why I like it because it's unlikely to exacerbate the perioral dermatitis. But it might not be your favorite moisturizer to use every day all the time, but again this is just while you're dealing with the perioral dermatitis and eventually you may go back to other moisturizers that you prefer."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Aveeno Calm + Restore Oat Gel Moisturizer

"I really love the Aveeno Calm + Restore Oat Gel Moisturizer. It's creamy but it's not so heavy that you couldn't wear it during the day under your makeup or under your sunscreen. I [...] really love this one for dry or irritated skin, and it's really nice that it's available at the drugstore."

✓Yay

90%Guru Score

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Ultra Cream

"One of my favorites is the La Roche Posay Toleriane Ultra. I've talked about this moisturizer before. It's a very simple moisturizer, it doesn't have a ton of ingredients, but I think it's very well tolerated if your skin is feeling sensitive or sensitized from your retinoids."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

SkinFix Barrier+ Restoring Gel Cream

"The SkinFix Barrier Restoring Gel Cream is one of my moisturizer picks for oily skin. SkinFix as a brand makes great moisturizers. This is a super lightweight moisturizer, and I would almost consider it more like a hydrator. This has 2% niacinamide, which is going to contribute to that oil control aspect of it, but it also has some really nice nourishing ingredients like squalane and allantoin as well as hyaluronic acid to give that immediate plumping effect. If you like the way gel creams feel on the skin and you're looking for one that fits really seamlessly into your routine and doesn't feel sticky or tacky on the skin, this is a wonderful option."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion

"The Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion is also great. Again it's very lightweight."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion

"The CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion is a cult favorite and it's a great facial moisturizer. You could use it in the morning under sunscreen or in the evening over the top of your other skincare products, or as the only skincare product that you use that night after you cleanse your face. This has hyaluronic acid and niacinamide and ceramide, so all things that help support a stronger, healthier skin barrier. This is one of the moisturizers I recommend to my teenager patients who maybe are starting in on an acne skincare journey and are looking for a nighttime moisturizer."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

DRMTLGY Peptide Night Cream

"This is a mid-weight cream that glides on the skin so smoothly and rubs in so easily. I actually really like to use it as a moisturizer during the day because I feel like it layers so well under sunscreen on a day that I'm feeling particularly dry, and then I save even thicker richer products for nighttime. But if you have more normal to combination to oily skin and you're looking for a nighttime moisturizer that isn't too occlusive or heavy and delivers some nice peptides to the skin so it has some anti-aging properties to it as well, I think this is a great option. So many different types of skin could also find a use for this in their routine, and as a dermatologist that makes a product a favorite is if I feel like it has really universal appeal."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Avène Tolerance Control Soothing Skin Recovery Cream

"Another moisturizer I really like and has quite a different texture from the La Roche Posay Toleriane Ultra is the Avene Tolerance Recovery Cream. This cream is slightly thicker and has a very rich emollient texture to it but also feels amazing on the skin. I have had some stinging with it when my skin barrier is completely trashed but on a night where I just want a good rich moisturizer and my skin barrier is feeling okay and I'm just trying to support it I reach for this all the time."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

CeraVe Skin Renewing Night Cream

"This is a super thick, somewhat occlusive cream, so it's great if you have dry skin. It retails for about $18. This feels pretty thick on the skin. It almost has a little bit of a waxy texture, which is what makes it occlusive and so effective for dry skin. Is this my favorite texture for a skincare product? Actually, no. But I know it's good for my dry skin, so I accept it. This does not cause my eyes to sting in case you're someone with sensitive eyeballs."

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

La Roche-Posay Lipikar AP+M Triple Repair Moisturizing Cream

"A lot of times my patients will come to me and they're like listen I've tried CeraVe, I've tried Cetaphil, those are great but give me something different and that's when I will recommend the La Roche-Posay Lipikar Balm AP. This is a super rich nourishing moisturizer and I just find that so many people love it. This is just a very effective moisturizer, it's kind of cosmetically elegant so it's a joy to put on. You could use it in little babies, you can use it in adults, so it's also incredibly versatile. When my son has some signs of dry skin this is certainly one that I don't feel any hesitation towards reaching for because it just has very gentle ingredients that are good for all skin types but also of course and probably most importantly it's very effective."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

Versed Dew Point Moisturizing Gel Cream

"A lot of my patients also really like the Verst Dew Point gel cream moisturizer. That's another very lightweight one that doesn't have a lot of occlusive agents in it."

✓Yay

74%Guru Score

CeraVe SA Cream for Rough and Bumpy Skin

"One moisturizer I really like for dry feet is the CeraVe SA Cream. This has salicylic acid which is a beta hydroxy acid and an exfoliant, and it also has lactic acid which is an alpha hydroxy acid which helps with exfoliation but also helps with hydration because lactic acid is a humectant. If you have deep cracks in your heels, I don't think this is going to repair your heel, but this is great for maintaining your heels or your feet once you've done the corrective work."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Avène Tolerance Extreme Cream

"One of my all-time favorite moisturizers for sensitive skin and one of the most popular moisturizers among my patients is the Avène Tolerance Extreme Cream. This moisturizer is quite a thick cream, but one of the things I love about it is that it is great for post procedures. For my patients who just had microneedling or they had a laser done and their skin is going to be ultra sensitive, I can feel very confident recommending this. It also doesn't have very many ingredients, so it really eliminates anything that could potentially be an allergen or an irritant."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Eucerin Intensive Repair Lotion

"Two of my favorites are the CeraVe Moisturizing Cream and the Eucerin Intensive Repair Lotion. These are both really rich, thick, creamy moisturizers, and it's really important to get in the habit of using these every single day. You want to try to use it after showering or bathing to help lock in the hydration as much as possible."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream

"The Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer will always hold a very special place in my heart because I pretty much exclusively used this moisturizer during the winter when I lived in Colorado during my interim year. This Ultra Facial Cream falls in the category of could be used day or night or both because it is a quite light texture while still being very rich and moisturizing. So it is one of those products where I was able to layer my makeup on over it and not have any issues with it melting off during the day. I also loved wearing this moisturizer when I was going to be out skiing for the day. In the morning I would put the moisturizer on, follow it up with sunscreen, and then I would be out on the slopes all day long with wind, UV light from the sky, UV light reflecting off of the snow, and at the end of the day my skin was still doing pretty well. It didn't feel overly stressed. My rosacea flares were kept at a minimum. And that is a testament both to the value of sun protection but also the ability for this moisturizer to just lock in hydration into my skin so that my skin didn't feel depleted even when it was under a lot of environmental stress."

✓Yay

90%Guru Score

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Firming Collagen Cream

"My first winter moisturizer that I think is wonderful is the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Firming Collagen Cream. This cream is quite thick but it has just this very slight mousy texture, not fully whipped, but it's enough that when you put it on it doesn't feel immediately heavy, but you can tell like this is rich. It has a little more smoothness to it compared to their regular Ultra Repair Cream, so it feels a little more cosmetically elegant to use on the face, and I think it's just like an awesome nighttime moisturizer especially for winter."

✓Yay

74%Guru Score

Prequel Anti-Itch Solution Medicated Calming Lotion

"This lotion is a little more substantial than the urea moisturizing milk, but not as thick as the barrier therapy cream. On the skin, it feels silky and nourishing. It glides on effortlessly, absorbs well, and leaves a very natural finish. It's not shiny, not dewy, and certainly not sticky or tacky. When your skin is itchy, you want comfort but not heaviness and I feel like this lotion strikes that balance perfectly. If your skin is itchy or you have that uncomfortable awareness of your skin, this would be my go-to for immediate itch relief. I think of anti-itch solution almost like a first-aid lotion if you have bug bites, random itchy patches, or any flare-up that just needs calming now. I am so excited to have this clinically tested option for both my adult and pediatric eczema patients. The Anti-Itch Solution Medicated Calming Lotion is non-greasy, fragrance-free, hypoallergenic, allergy-tested, steroid-free, and suitable for all skin types, including those with sensitive and eczema-prone skin. If itchy skin is something you deal with even occasionally, I truly think you will love this lotion. To me, this is exactly how medicated skin care should feel: effective, comforting, and thoughtfully made."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Prequel Half & Half Peptides & Ceramides Fluid Moisturizer

"I've seen so many creators on TikTok, on YouTube using the Half and Half Fluid Moisturizer under makeup, especially if they have oily skin. And I think that's because this is almost like if a milky toner got a plushy boost. So you get this beautiful amount of hydration, but it's not heavy on the skin. It's not going to break up the makeup, and it just adds the hydration that even oily skin needs."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

VT Reedle Shot PDRN Capsule Cream

"This would be a true anti-aging moisturizer packed with valuable ingredients. The banner ingredient in here is PDRN, which stands for polydeoxynucleotide, which originally in skin care was a DNA fragment derived from salmon sperm. Despite that somewhat unappealing origin, this is an ingredient that is very popular in Korean skin care because of its touted abilities to help with wound healing, anti-inflammation, and skin regeneration. I will say this cream is so much more than PDRN to me. The fact that this has an incredible array of anti-aging peptides that are very evidence-based, plus it has panthenol and shea butter and jojoba seed oil and squalane, it's just packed with nourishing ingredients. This absolutely could serve as the most enriching, nourishing nighttime moisturizer that also has all these incredible anti-aging properties. I just feel like this is a blow-me-away type of product. When you apply it, it almost feels like you're applying a gel cream, like it's quite lightweight despite all of those nourishing ingredients. But the way it sits on your skin, it doesn't feel heavy. Yet if you were to apply it at night, when you wake up in the morning, you still feel its presence on the skin. For people who feel like their skin just kind of dries out at night, this is such a great moisturizer, and then you have all these awesome anti-aging benefits and peptide exposures within it."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Mary&May Idebenone Blackberry Intense Cream

"This one is from Mary & May and is like a ceramide-packed, juicy, balmy moisturizer. I would categorize this moisturizer as a true barrier support moisturizer. Not only does it have this like rich, balmy texture that just melts into the skin and feels so good, but it also has hydroxydecyl ubiquinone which is an amazing antioxidant, an analog of coenzyme Q10. For people who don't like vitamin C or can't tolerate vitamin C but really want a great antioxidant in their skin care, this is a great option. It's incredibly soothing, so I also feel like this is nice to have in your routine for days or nights when your skin feels a little spicy, a little sensitive, maybe you went in too hard with your retinoids or your acids. This is just like an all-around great nourishing moisturizer that leans rich, but I feel like would be fine for anywhere from like combination, normal to dry skin types."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer

"The Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer is a bland moisturizer, a moisturizer that does not have active ingredients in it. It's just there to soften the skin and hold water and moisture within your skin."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

SkinFix Barrier+ Triple Lipid & Peptide Cream

"I recommend this all the time to patients. It's the SkinFix triple lipid moisturizer. That triple lipid name really refers to having the right combination of lipids that sort of mimic the type of fats that exist in the skin barrier. So, it's cholesterol, it's fatty acids, it's ceramides in the right blend to support the skin barrier. And what I like about this is that it's fragrance-free. So, that's good if you have more sensitive skin. It's just rich enough that you feel like your skin is getting a little bit of a hug, but it's not so thick that it would be unappealing to wear during the day or under makeup."

✓Yay

95%Guru Score

Alloy M4 Estriol Cream

"If you are in perimenopause and suddenly feel like your skincare routine stopped working or your skin is drier or less resilient than it used to be, that can be a sign of estrogen loss showing up in your skin. And this is where prescription topical estrogen can be incredibly helpful. One option I really like is Alloy's M4 line. It contains estriol, which is a low potency estrogen meant to work locally in the skin to help with hydration and elasticity and barrier function without going systemic. And from just a formulation standpoint, it is so cosmetically elegant, which matters because you actually want to put it on your skin and that's going to make you be way more consistent."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

Prequel Advanced Relief 10% Urea Moisturizing Milk

"I'm a big fan of moisturizers that have urea. They help smooth and soften the skin. They help with hydration, and they help your other products penetrate the skin better. I am a huge fan of my Prequel Urea Moisturizing Milk."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Prequel Hand Wrap Shielding Lotion

"When I am at work, you will not find me without my Prequel Hand Wrap. Because I'm a physician, I'm constantly washing my hands, I do it before and after every single patient, sometimes even during an exam as well. And this is what we call a hand-shielding lotion. So it actually creates a seal on the skin to prevent moisture loss with repeated washing. And because it creates that shield, you don't need to reapply this every time you wash your hands. I probably reapply it a couple times during the day. That is sufficient. And it's not greasy or heavy, so I can put it on and then just go about doing my tasks without worrying that I'm leaving sticky fingerprints."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Moist Cream

"The Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Moist Cream [...] is really unique. I like it because it feels very lightweight but it is so, so nourishing, and for people who have dry skin who don't like putting on a thick cream but feel like they really need that moisture and they actually want to feel their moisturizer on their skin, this is what that does. There are [...] people out there who feel like as soon as they put their moisturizer on it's absorbed by their skin and then it's gone and their skin is raisin again, and if that's you this is the product for you, because it sits on your skin, it absorbs in, but then you can still feel that it's there and you don't feel like you're drying out. You feel like you have a nice supportive moisturizer barrier on the outside of your skin, and that's exactly what this does. For me this is too rich to use during the day because I wouldn't want to go and put sunscreen on top of it, but at night, if my skin is really suffering or I just feel like I want that little hug of moisturizer and to feel it on me, this is what I use."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Purito Dermide Relief Barrier Moisturizer

"The Purito Dermide Relief Barrier Moisturizer [...] is a gorgeous luscious moisturizer that is packed with ceramides, ingredients that naturally exist in our skin that help keep our moisture barrier intact and keep our skin barrier supported. This is an incredible fall and winter time moisturizer or if you have really dry skin I think this could be used year round. The other really nice thing about this Purito moisturizer is that it's huge like for a face moisturizer, 3.38 ounces, so that is a lot of value."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Other45 reviews

Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex

"It is a really elegant serum with humectants like hyaluronic acid, peptides, and bifida ferment lysate that helps with inflammation and skin barrier renewal, so it's going to make your skin instantly look more hydrated and plump. However, I'm not here to tell you this is a bad serum. I just think it is not doing the job that people are hiring it to do. If we're talking about changing the trajectory of aging skin over the years, this is just not cutting it. If I have limited funds and am choosing between Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair or a retinoid in my skincare routine, I'm picking a retinoid ten out of ten times."

~Mixed

65%Guru Score

Sleepy Tie Sleepy Tie

"To help protect and preserve my style when I sleep, I use something called a Sleepy Tie. It's sort of like a silk scrunchie thing. I don't use it properly, I just use it to tie my hair away from my face. [...] It's big and plushy enough and silky enough that it doesn't seem to dent my hair in a weird way."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Dior Forever Skin Perfect

"I'm also a big fan of the Dior Forever Matte Foundation. This one has more coverage, but still doesn't look super makeupy in person."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Grande Cosmetics GrandeLASH-MD

"I want to talk about a beauty product that I feel like has done a lot of people dirty over the last 5 to 10 years, and those are lash growth serums that contain a class of ingredients called prostaglandin analogues. I actually made a whole YouTube video dedicated to this about 5 years ago. You will find prostaglandin analogues in a lot of very popular lash growth serums like Latisse, Grande Lash."

✕Nay

47%Guru Score

Latisse Latisse

"If you are using a lash growth serum with prostaglandin analogues for a cosmetic purpose, the risks far far outweigh the benefits. They can cause increased vascularity of the skin, meaning growth of new blood vessels. Often people will find that when they use these really consistently, the margins around their eyelashes become red or purple. [...] They can also change the color of your eye, lead to drooping of the eye, and cause hyperpigmentation around the eyes. Basically none of the things people want. That said, there will always be exceptions to this rule. I actually have patients in my practice who have been using them for over a decade and their skin looks totally fine around their eyes. They have not been subject to these side effects or at least not in a way that's negatively impacting their cosmetic outcome. If you've been using a lash growth serum with prostaglandin analogues, you should check and see if you have any of these side effects. Do your eyes look more hollow? Do you have more redness? Because those might not be worth the trade-off of having longer, fuller lashes."

✕Nay

61%Guru Score

Polysporin Polysporin

"For patients who are immunocompromised, for example those on steroids or with diabetes or on chemotherapy or with a wound on their lower extremity at high risk of infection, we will recommend Polysporin because it doesn't contain neomycin. You can buy Polysporin over the counter at your drugstore or Target."

✓Yay

61%Guru Score

L'Oreal True Match Lumi Glotion

"Also, if you are a makeup wearer, and even if you're not, I love the L'Oreal True Match Lumi Glotion. You just need the tiniest bit, but it gives you this really beautiful luminosity to your skin. And especially if you wear a medium or more full coverage foundation, having a luminous product underneath makes the skin read less flat and just more radiant."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

The Ordinary Volufiline 92% + Pal-Isoleucine 1%

"I want to give a little shout out here to Volufiline. The Ordinary just came out with a Volufiline product, which is essentially a molecule that has been shown to increase fat cell growth in the skin. If you have hollow under eyes or the fat pads under your eyes are shrinking down, doing anything to add fat or volume back to that area would be amazing. Now the clinical trials around Volufiline are not super impressive, but it's a very affordable product. I think there's very little harm in trying it, and I would probably use something like this for at least six to nine months before I really had a good understanding of whether it was benefiting me. This is a very concentrated serum, so you don't put it directly on dry skin. You can either mix it with your moisturizer or apply it on top of your moisturizer. The way I would recommend using it if you're Volufiline curious is to apply your normal eye cream and then put a little drop of Volufiline right on top."

~Mixed

61%Guru Score

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Color

"May I recommend the Laura Mercier Caviar Shadow Sticks ... These I highly highly recommend."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Pore Minimizing Capsule Ampule

"I almost passed this by because the name is sort of weird to me, but if you want to try this, I could not recommend more highly. If you actually are looking for something for your pores, this tackles dark spots as well, which is also why I'm including it because I love a multitasking product."

✓Yay

70%Guru Score

ZIIP Halo 2.0

"On one hand, these are safe, relatively painless. You might see some subtle snatch right afterward, but that has nothing really to do with the microcurrent that's being delivered to the muscles and much more to do with just the manual pressure and massage. On [...] the con side, there's really no evidence that they provide a lasting result of any kind, and they're generally quite expensive, usually in the $200 to $500 range. For me, for the lack of evidence that exists, that's not worth it."

✕Nay

81%Guru Score

Revision Skincare C+ Correcting Complex 30%

"If you cannot tolerate vitamin C in its ascorbic acid form, because these are just going to be too irritating for certain sensitive or acne prone skin types, may I recommend the Revision Skincare C+ Correcting Complex. I am obsessed with this. They have really good clinical data on this specific formula. It is lovely. This formula uses tetrahexyl ascorbate, also known as THD ascorbate. It's just a different form of vitamin C, less irritating, little more stable too. So you'll see that this is white, whereas most vitamin C serums are going to be slightly yellowish, and that's from the vitamin C starting to oxidize a little bit. But this is so beautiful. I would put this on in the morning before I do my sunscreen."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Alastin Restorative Neck Complex

"A really popular neck cream is the Alastin Restorative Neck Complex. Alastin is kind of famous or well-known because they have a proprietary peptide that helps stimulate elastin, and it's really hard to stimulate elastin in the skin. It's much easier to stimulate collagen, but the neck is much stretchier, so we need that elastin there. Having a product that has peptides in it that specifically focus on the integrity of your elastin can be helpful."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Alastin Regenerating Skin Nectar

"I am particularly fond of their Regenerating Skin Nectar because it's meant to be used post-procedurally so great to help you recover from micro needling and laser resurfacing. It's just a very gentle formula with those added benefits and it just feels really soothing on the skin. So especially for people who have very sensitive skin who want to be doing something that's very comforting post procedure that has some added benefits, love this."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Grande Cosmetics GrandeBROW

"For products like Grande Brow and Newttin, both very effective for growing brow hairs. These over-the-counter products that work for brow growth like Newttin and Grande Brow work because they have something called a prostaglandin analog that functions similarly to bimatoprost that's found in Latisse. Anytime you're applying a topical product like this there is a risk of irritation so it's something to keep an eye out for, but in general it tends to be well tolerated in the brow area. And if you do happen to notice side effects you can always stop using these topicals and the side effects should resolve."

✓Yay

70%Guru Score

Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve

"I have tried so many different hand creams over the years and one of my favorites is by Kiehl's. It's their hand salve, and it's a really nice thick moisturizing hand cream that's perfect for evening."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Moxy Laser

"Another brand is Moxy. If you have someone who's just starting to see those signs of skin aging or someone who isn't seeing those signs of aging but wants to prevent them from really ever showing up, that's where this type of laser really has a role. These lasers are targeting the very superficial aspects of the skin so you can get some brightening and some very subtle lightening of pigment, and then there is a deeper setting [...] where you can get more pore refinement and some improvement in texture. When I'm talking texture, I'm talking about the earliest of fine lines."

✓Yay

65%Guru Score

PMD Clean

"Other brands have sort of taken that idea and ran with it for example Foreo or PMD or even these sort of generic silicone facial scrubbers that are marketed to teens and adults."

✕Nay

71%Guru Score

Nair Nair

"The most common chemical depilatory cream out there is Nair and you have to be careful with using this on your face you want to start by patch testing it maybe on your inner arm to make sure it's not causing too much irritation to your skin. For some people they find a lot more success and a lot less irritation when they're using a chemical depilatory cream compared to shaving. Most of these chemical depilatories utilize an ingredient called thioglycolic acid which essentially dissolves the protein in your hair so you do have to be careful if you're using it on your face you don't want to put it anywhere near the hair you want to keep like your eyebrows."

~Mixed

66%Guru Score

Sensodyne Toothpaste

"Toothpastes like Sensodyne and Tom's of Maine and David's are all SLS free and are good options."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Dr. Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite LipWare Pro

"I also just saw that Dr. Dennis Gross launched one that just goes around the lips and I think if you're already using a face mask there's really no need for this but I do have this cohort of patients and followers who have messaged me over time being like hey I'd really love to use red light LED but my eyes are a bit too sensitive for it and so I feel like if you're trying to improve the skin around your mouth and you can't tolerate a full mask this lip product really does have a place."

~Mixed

71%Guru Score

Preparation H Preparation H

"For really uncomfortable or itchy hemorrhoids, you can use Preparation H. This usually has an anti-inflammatory in it as well as something to help with itching as well as constriction of those swollen blood vessels."

✓Yay

60%Guru Score

Lamisil Lamisil

"The most commonly used oral antifungal medication is terbinafine, also known as Lamisil. It's also available in topical formulations. This is active against many different types of fungus. It also treats some molds and kills yeast. Terbinafine offers the highest chance of cure, so about 75 percent of people who take this medication for 12 weeks, which is how you take it for your toenails, or six weeks, which is how long you take it for your fingernails, will have what we call a mycologic cure. Mycologic cure, which happens 75 percent of the time with terbinafine, is different than complete cure. That is where you have a clinically normal appearing nail, and that only happens about 38 percent of the time for the toenails and 59 percent of the time for fingernails."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Living Proof Full Dry Volume & Texture Spray

"I also have the Living Proof Full Dry Volume and Texture Spray. This is probably what I will be using most today since my hair does have volume, just to give it a little extra oomph and a little bit of grit. I don't need my hair to be super soft and touchable. I need it to last all day. This is like a work shape."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF

"This has one of their patented vitamin C serums, Phloretin CF. This is a 10% L ascorbic acid vitamin C serum and what I love about it is that it's very gentle on the skin. Yes, it's a little bit spendy but the reason for that is because SkinCeuticals has done a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to vitamin C research and this is a proven formula."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

SkinCeuticals Discoloration Defense

"This also contains a serum called Discoloration Defense which helps combat irregular pigment in the skin. Both the vitamin C topical in the Florentin CF and the Discoloration Defense are working to brighten the overall complexion. [...] These are both really thin liquidy serums and they layer very well with one another."

✓Yay

71%Guru Score

Colorescience Unforgettable Total Protection Face Shield Flex

"I'm going to go in with the Colorescience Unforgettable Total Protection Face Shield Flex. These are much, much, much more deeply pigmented. If I were to use the proper amount like a quarter teaspoon for my face of this it would look too thick and cakey and just not the finish that I personally want, but when used more sparingly it is beautiful, like beautiful coverage. It helps mitigate some of the redness and hyperpigmentation that I struggle with. The reason I grab two of these is because this comes in a fair tone and medium tone, and the fair is too light and the medium is too dark, so I like to kind of mix them one to one or play with the ratio depending on how tan I am or how much of a fake tan I have going on. It looks white coming out of the bottle but there's little pigment spheres in here that will kind of burst when you put it on."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Vanicream Clinical Strength Antiperspirant

"One of my personal favorites is the Vanicream Clinical Strength Antiperspirant because it doesn't contain fragrance or some other things that people can be sensitive to, especially in the underarm area. Aluminum on its own can be very irritating to delicate armpit skin, so if someone has a reaction to this particular antiperspirant, then I'm more likely to believe that they have a sensitivity to aluminum overall."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Glytone Enhanced Brightening Complex

"I really like my Glytone Enhanced Brightening Complex. This is a complex that has glycolic acid and [azelaic] acid. During my pregnancy I was able to use it pretty much every single night. But now that I still like to incorporate that, I only use it from time to time because I'm using a retinoid and I don't need it as often. On the night that I use my Glytone Enhanced Brightening Complex, I will skip my topical retinoid, and by alternating the nights that I use it, I don't experience any additional irritation but I get benefits of both products."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

Colgate Total Toothpaste

"Tonight I'm using Colgate Total, but I have no toothpaste allegiances whatsoever."

✓Yay

69%Guru Score

SkinCeuticals Silymarin CF

"The Skinceuticals Camerin CF is really formulated with oily skin and acneic skin in mind. Like the original C E Ferulic, this does have 15% ferulic acid, but it also has 0.5% carnosine, which is a plant-derived antioxidant that helps with something called lipid oxidation. When you have oils sitting on your skin, they can oxidize which can lead to inflammation, so it has carnosine to counteract that. It also has ferulic acid as well as 0.5% salicylic acid. When I did that Instagram poll of products that people love who have oily skin, this is another one that came up. I got so many DMs that were like, hey, I've never been able to tolerate vitamin C serums until Skinceuticals came out with this one."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Desitin Maximum Strength

"There are so many good ones out there. I typically just recommend looking for one that has zinc oxide in it, so Desitin is a really common one."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Water Wipes Water Wipes

"I think probably the most common wipe that we use are Water Wipes. They're basically water and a wipe."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Gloves in a Bottle Gloves in a Bottle

"My all-time favorite hand lotion is gloves in a bottle. This is the best, especially for hand lotion that you have to apply during the day, because it's non-greasy. It essentially forms this very thin film barrier over your hands so it doesn't transfer to other things—you can go type on your computer afterward or turn a doorknob and not leave sticky handprints behind—but it's like this barrier of protection. So if you are inadvertently coming in contact with potential hand irritants over the course of the day, your hands are additionally protected."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Hero Cosmetics Mighty Patch Original

"I really like the Hero Mighty Patch. These come in different sizes and you can apply them over your pimples. They help draw some fluid out of the pimple, keep a barrier between your finger and your face, and they also serve as a little bit of camouflage. There's just something about walking by a mirror and seeing a big pimple on your face that makes you really want to go and pop it immediately. So if it's camouflaged by a pimple patch, you're a lot less likely to do that."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Alastin Restorative Skin Complex

"The Elastin Restorative Skin Complex is one of my personal craves. This Restorative Skin Complex is packed with peptides that are proven to help with things like collagen regeneration as well as elastin generation. I make a point to emphasize elastin generation because a lot of things can help with collagen, that's what kind of gives your skin structure and bounce, but elastin is what makes your skin not only stretchy but it gives it the ability to recoil. And as we get older, skin tends to sag, and when we lose that elasticity to our skin, that's when we start to have things like under eye circles and jowls. So anything that you can use to help restore your elastin, in my mind, is a huge plus, and that's why I'm a huge fan of this particular product."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Vicks VapoRub

"There are a couple of home remedies for fungal nails and they work because they contain an antifungal ingredient called thymol. With Vicks VapoRub, you would apply it every single day to your nails for at least a few months."

~Mixed

69%Guru Score

Glytone KP Body Kit

"Probably my personal favorite KP product is the Glytone KP Body Kit. This is a glycolic acid based body wash and body lotion. They're the ones I personally use just for my general rough and bumpy skin, but it also just overall improves skin texture and tone, so I like this one because it has lots of benefits."

✓Yay

92%Guru Score

Hatch Rest White Noise Machine and Night Light

"I also love our white noise machine that also doubles as a night light: the Hatch Rest. For the first several months of your baby's life, they are going to be living in your room, and a white noise machine helps both of you sleep because one, it sort of mimics the sounds of the womb so it helps the baby stay asleep and not be startled by small noises in the night, but also babies are really noisy sleepers—they make grunting sounds and they cry out in their sleep and they strain against their swaddle. As a new parent you're going to wake up with every little sound that you hear, so having some ambient white noise helps you stay asleep also. This one's great because it connects via an app to your phone, so you can control it from your bed without having to get up. If your baby's kind of crying out in the middle of the night and you need to turn on a night light, you can do it from your phone—you're not fumbling around in the dark. You can turn on all different colors of light, so instead of turning on this bright white light in the middle of the night, you can turn on a glowing pink light or a blue light to be more soothing. You can kind of change the type of white noise that you want it to emit based on your preferences."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Kenra Volume Spray 25

"The Kenra Volume Spray Number 25 is one of my all-time favorite hairsprays. It holds so well without making your hair feel crunchy or sticky. If I'm doing an updo or even just a bun for clinic and I want my bobby pins to stay and every hair in place without looking like I'm wearing a hairspray helmet, the Kenra 25 is what I use. This bottle is also massive and will last you so long."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Prequel Scar Solutions Silicone Scar Stick

"If you have scars on the face or you don't like the adhesive, using a scar gel or a scar stick, which my brand created, Prequel, is also a good idea. With my Prequel stick, we do a massage of like little circles for 60 seconds and that lays down enough silicone to be protective and to help regenerate the skin."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Unite 7 Seconds Detangler

"I have a small obsession with the Unite 7 Seconds Detangler. I have been talking about this product on this channel for years because it just is so consistently amazing and nothing has really topped it for me. Not only does it detangle your hair really well, it makes styling so much more easy because it reduces the breakage when you are brushing your hair and it has heat protection up to 450 degrees. It's like all the things I could want. I love that this is in a nice spray bottle, so it's really easy to get an even coat of my hair. And this is particularly good if you have fine or limp hair. I feel like a lot of heat protectants can make the hair feel oily or weigh it down. And this just keeps your hair having all the volume it was naturally going to have, but it also protects it and it doesn't feel sticky or gross afterward. I use it on my son. I use it on me. A lot of you have bought this for your kids after I recommended it because it's really good for like kid hair and it doesn't have like a really overwhelming scent. So for me, this always goes on damp towel dried hair. But sometimes when I take my hair out of my hair towel, it's kind of like clumped together and I'm worried about tangles. So, I will just sort of spray this through my hair and then I will go in with a wide tooth comb or sometimes even just my fingers to sort of rake out any knots or tangles and it helps so so much with that process."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2

"It did reduce wrinkles all over the face. [...] I have used this product and I just didn't enjoy it. I didn't really like the texture of it. I didn't love the smell of it. So it's not my personal favorite. But if you're interested in using a science-backed product to help with things like fine lines and wrinkles, it may be worth a try. I actually prefer the SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2. It doesn't have that same targeting process, but I think in terms of how my skin feels, just like the experience of using the triple lipid, it's just so much better. And that product also has a huge cult following for that reason, and also because it works really well for mature skin."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Canopy Humidifier Starter Set

"I recommend humidifiers all the time for my eczema patients especially as we head into winter and these colder drier months. The canopy humidifier solves these problems because it's aesthetically pleasing so you want to have it out on display where it would actually be useful, it's okay to have it in your bedroom and it's not this unsightly machine in the corner. It has a filter that's very easy to change and you can even opt into a subscription service where they will send you new filters so that you're reminded to change it and keep your humidifier fresh."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate

"This antioxidant serum has been shown to boost skin's radiance in just three days as well as increase skin hydration and fortify the skin barrier. It's recently been reformulated to include fermented roselle extract and heartleaf extract which are two powerhouse ingredients that have been shown to increase skin's water retention as well as strengthen the skin and soothe it. I love the texture of this product, it feels silky as I apply it and it absorbs into the skin quickly so that you can then easily move on with the other steps in your skincare routine. I like to use this product in the morning and at night after I cleanse my skin and while my skin is still damp, I use about two pumps and smooth it over my face and neck. I always follow that with moisturizer and of course sunscreen during the daytime. I've been using this antioxidant serum now for definitely over a month and it's just something I'm excited to incorporate into my routine. It goes on lightweight, it layers well with my other products, it smells amazing."

✓Yay

Notverified

Cleansers40 reviews

Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water

"Number one is the Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water. It is my true ride or die. I literally cannot tell you how many bottles of this I have gone through over the last decade. Micellar water works through these little cleansing molecules called micelles that help lift off dirt and oil and debris off of the skin. So, it is a cleansing step in my routine. Some people will use this as the entire way that they cleanse their face. I really do it as a first cleansing step before I go in with like a soapy cleanser. For me, this is how I get all the benefits of a makeup wipe without actually having to use a makeup wipe. You shake up the bottle really well. I pour it onto a cotton pad and then I swipe over my entire face, neck. Sometimes I'll even bring it down to my chest if I've put makeup there as well. Especially for days where maybe you're not going to take a shower in the evening, this is just like a great way to reach all of the places without maybe getting as messy as you might with a cleansing balm or a cleansing oil. It's just so incredibly convenient, non-irritating, super affordable. I recommend it all the time to my patients. Even for like my teenage patients who maybe aren't the best at cleansing their skin consistently, I just tell the parents, 'Hey, give them a cotton pad with some micellar water on it. They can swipe and at bare minimum, they have significantly cleansed their face.' And this type of skincare product is going to work for everyone. Whether you're rosacea prone, you're acne prone, you have mature skin, you have sensitive skin. It's just great all around."

✓Yay

96%Guru Score

CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser

"In the morning, I would start with a very simple routine, a gentle cleanser like the CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser, and then follow that with [...] a bland moisturizer. [...] At night, you would use that same gentle cleanser."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Cleanser

"I know if they go in with this, they're going to do a great job and they're going to enjoy the cleanse and it's not going to leave their face feeling stripped. Because a lot of times if you have a really thorough cleanser, your skin feels a bit depleted afterward. And that doesn't happen with this at all. This is 10 out of 10."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

SkinMedica AHA BHA Exfoliating Cleanser

"If you want a recommendation for a nice blend between a chemical exfoliant and a physical exfoliant, SkinMedica makes an AHA BHA Exfoliating Cleanser that is beautiful. It's not too harsh. It's not too intense. It's beautifully exfoliating. You can use it on the face and the body. It's pretty reasonably priced. It's like big thumbs up for me."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Clarisonic Facial Cleansing Brush

"Any type of Facial Cleansing Brush is absolutely not worth your money. The only tool that you need to cleanse your face with is your fingertips. If you grew up in the early 2000s the Clarisonic Facial Cleansing Brushes were everywhere and I feel like they did a really good job marketing themselves and making people feel like they weren't appropriately cleansing their face with their cleanser and their fingers."

✕Nay

51%Guru Score

PanOxyl 4% Benzoyl Peroxide Cleansing Wash

"PanOxyl is an acne wash that I have been prescribing for years and it's wonderful for people who have facial acne but it can also be brought onto the body and into the groin area. Benzoyl peroxide works by not only destroying bacteria but it also can help unclog your pores. Another benefit of using an antimicrobial wash is that bacteria on the skin are what cause odor in that area, so if you struggle with body odor and you feel like it might be emanating from your groin area, a benzoyl peroxide wash is right for you. One downside is that it can bleach your clothing and your sheets, and if you don't wash it off very thoroughly, you end up destroying a couple of towels as you acclimate to using it."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Krave Beauty Makeup Rewind Transforming Jelly Oil Cleanser

"The first cleansing step that I'm going to use tonight is the Krave Beauty Makeup Rewind transforming jelly cleanser. This was like one of my absolute favorite products that I used in 2023 and I've brought it with me into the new year. You can see it's kind of like a gel and then I'm going to warm it up in my hands and then I'm going to apply it to my face and let it sink in and massage it in to kind of start breaking down my makeup. I feel like that first cleanse did a really good job at removing the majority of my makeup."

✓Yay

87%Guru Score

Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Soft Cleansing Gel

"This is the Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture Soft Cleansing Gel. I really like this, it's got a ton of glycerin in it, which I'm a big glycerin fan of. It's got this jelly type texture so you add a little bit of water and it lathers up and creates kind of like micro bubbles. Even though I sometimes skip a cleanser in the morning, I do enjoy when I take the time to cleanse because it just feels like it wakes me up and allows me to get ready for my day and give myself a little bit of a facial massage. I also really like that this is fragrance-free, which is great for people who have sensitive skin because cleansers can really strip the skin. Cleansers actually bring a lot of value to a skincare routine and you want to make sure you're picking one that aligns with what your skin can tolerate and what makes your skin feel good afterward. I love that my face doesn't look bright red because of my rosacea. Sometimes I'll go in with a cleanser and if I'm too aggressive or the cleanser is too intense my skin just reacts, but this one feels so lovely."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

PanOxyl Acne Creamy Wash for Face and Body 4% Benzoyl Peroxide

"My final favorite body cleanser is actually the PanOxyl 4% Acne Creamy Wash. It's meant for face acne but I think it's an amazing body product. PanOxyl actually makes a 10% benzoyl peroxide cleanser as well but I really prefer the 4% because it's a little bit more gentle but it's just as good at treating acne. Benzoyl peroxide as an ingredient is great for reducing inflammation and killing acne causing bacteria but it can be a little bit irritating and I just find that this formulation is quite gentle. In addition to being great for treating acne, I also like this cleanser because it's great at killing body odors. A lot of people don't realize that body odor is generated by bacterial byproducts so when you get rid of some of the excess bacteria on the skin you actually can reduce body odor as well. I love using something like this in the armpits and in the groin area and definitely on the feet in between the toes. When you're using any benzoyl peroxide product, benzoyl peroxide can bleach fabrics so you have to be careful about what towels and sheets you're using and even what pillowcase you're using afterward if you're using this on your face. That's even really true for a wash off product because the reality is not everyone is great at totally washing every single drop of benzoyl peroxide off and even if you have a little bit left over it can cause problems. The key with using benzoyl peroxide is you want to allow it to sit on the skin for at least a couple of minutes to exert its best effects."

✓Yay

87%Guru Score

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser

"The La Roche-Posay hydrating cleanser is one of my favorites. It's super delicate, it doesn't sting, and it's just a great way to clean that area postpartum. You can even put a little squirt of that in your peri bottle and then fill it up in the shower and apply it that way."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Tatcha Indigo Cleansing Balm

"This is the most effective cleansing balm that I have ever used. You really don't need a lot, so even though this probably has half as much product as the other one, it took me the same amount of time to go through it. As soon as I opened this, I don't think I touched another first cleansing step until this was completely gone. I've already repurchased another one because it is so so good. If you have sensitive skin, I think this is an amazing cleansing balm. It's incredibly effective so you don't have to push really hard or really rub or scrub at your eyelid skin, which is really nice. It also doesn't have any fragrance. It's calming, like all of the things you would hope for in a cleansing balm the Tatcha one has. It is a little pricier, it's definitely a little bit more of an investment, but if you don't like washing your face and you feel like that's such a chore, this makes it so effortless. It is incredible. I feel like if I could only use one first cleansing step for the rest of my life based on all the products I've ever tried, it'd be this one."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

SkinFix Barrier+ Foaming Oil Cleanser

"The SkinFix Barrier+ Foaming Oil Cleanser is more like a traditional cleanser, but one thing I really love about it is that it has a little bit of slip and hydration to it so it doesn't feel like it's stripping your skin or leaving your skin depleted, but you also get this really satisfying lather when you use it. It's great at removing makeup as well as sunscreen. This is probably one of my favorite cleansers to bring with me on a beach vacation because on days when I'm applying a lot of sunscreen or I have a lot of product build up on my face, I know it's going to get my face clean without leaving it feeling dry or tight. The reason I love this so much for people who maybe have a very minimalist skincare routine is because it has that hydrating factor to it, so you may not need to follow it with a moisturizer to keep your skin feeling really good."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

"The Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser isn't like a rich lathery super luxurious cleansing experience but it gets the job done and is not likely to cause problems. You probably hear dermatologists recommend it all the time."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser with 4% Benzoyl Peroxide

"The most common benzoyl peroxide product that I recommend in my own practice is the CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser. This has four percent benzoyl peroxide and it's a really nice once a day wash to help fight acne. Benzoyl peroxide products don't just have to be used on the face, they're great for acne that's on the body like on the chest or the back or the buttocks, or if you struggle with bacterial folliculitis, benzoyl peroxide products can be really helpful for that too."

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

Kate Somerville Eradicate 3% Daily Foaming Cleanser

"Another sulfur product that I really like, it's probably a little bit more cosmetically elegant than the Jose soap, is the Kate Somerville Eradicate Daily Cleanser. This has three percent sulfur, which is a solid concentration of sulfur that can help reduce things like blackheads and whiteheads and again address that oiliness that a lot of people struggle with."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser

"I then follow this up with a gentle cleanser. CeraVe, Cetaphil, Vanicream, they all make really nice gentle cleansers."

✓Yay

92%Guru Score

LMS Cleansing Balm

"The cap broke on this and it's not my favorite Cleansing Balm ever, it's like good enough to be in my shower. I'll use it up and then I'll move on."

~Mixed

69%Guru Score

Cetaphil Hydrating Foaming Cream Cleanser

"For the second step of my cleanse I'm going in with my Cetaphil Hydrating Foaming Cream Cleanser. I've been reaching for this a lot lately just because you're going for a very effective cleanse doesn't necessarily mean that it needs to be harsh or intense."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser

"For my second cleanse I have the CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser. When I'm traveling, I'm just looking for a gentle cleanser. Your skin goes through a lot with travel between the stress and if you're on an airplane the really dry air and then if you're changing climates that all can kind of mess with your skin. So the more gentle your skincare can be, in my opinion, the better."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

Allies of Skin Molecular Silk Amino Hydrating Cleanser

"I'm going in with my Allies of Skin Molecular Silk Amino Hydrating Cleanser. This is a super nice kind of rich jelly cleanser, very gentle on the skin, doesn't leave the skin feeling very stripped. It has a pH of 5.5, and so if you use a cleanser that sort of reflects the natural pH of the skin, it's a lot more likely to feel gentle on your skin."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

Hada Labo Cleansing Oil

"This has been my favorite of the bunch this year. I love this one because even though it's an oil cleanser, it's not a heavy dense oil that really sits on the skin after you rinse it off. After you put it on and work it into the skin to break down any makeup or sunscreen, it really emulsifies well and rinses very clean. There are times even when I forget to go in with my second step in my cleanse because this leaves my skin feeling so clean after just that first step. I don't get any eye sting when I use it, and compared to the average balm or oil cleanser, this one is so much better."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

Rovectin Skin Essentials Conditioning Cleanser

"I have gone through a second bottle for the year, and for me to go through a second bottle of literally anything means that I love it. I love a pump cleanser that I can just set up next to my bathroom sink and give myself one pump every time, and I like that it's in a clear bottle because I can kind of see how I'm going through the product. When it comes to picking your favorites in the world of skincare where there are so many amazing products, it's the little things that count."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Lancôme Bi-Facil Makeup Remover

"I am completely out of it and I feel like it is the best best best eye makeup remover and that comes from someone who is a connoisseur of makeup remover balms makeup remover oils this stuff works the best. I know it's definitely on the pricier side so I totally save it for the nights that I am wearing like waterproof mascara or a really heavy dark eye makeup look but I love that I don't have to tug on my eyes I love that I can really get everything off with this product."

~Mixed

69%Guru Score

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil

"I still love this product so so much. It's such an effective cleanser. I mean, the breakouts are on full display. I do get a little film over my eyes that I need to rinse out when I'm done using it, but that is a small price to pay. It retails for $15."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Gel Cleanser with Hyaluronic Acid

"I've been following it up with the Neutrogena Hydro Boost hydrating gel cleanser as my second gentle water-based cleanser."

✓Yay

78%Guru Score

The INKEY List 2% Salicylic Acid Cleanser

"The Inky List has a 2% Salicylic Acid Cleanser that also has a zinc compound in it which helps with oil control. This is just a great super straightforward affordable salicylic acid cleanser."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

SkinFix Acne Plus 2% BHA Cleanser

"I also really love the Skin Fix acne cleanser that has 2% salicylic acid and also has AIC acid and niacinamide. I think this is really just a very special combination of ingredients and it's a little bit unique. You don't see this combo in cleansers all the time. It has the 2% salicylic acid to help break up the blackheads but then also has niacinamide which can help brighten the skin and help with oil control, and then you have AIC acid which helps with bacteria on the skin and also can brighten the skin. So to me if you are someone who's having blackhead issues but also might have a little bit of hyperpigmentation and needs help with oil control, this is a fabulous cleanser."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser

"I'm bringing my CeraVe Hydrating Cream to Foam Cleanser. I like this because I can use it as a face wash, and then if I take a shower while I'm in the hospital, I can also just use it as my body wash, and I know it's going to be really gentle."

✓Yay

78%Guru Score

Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm

"I have really been loving the Pharmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm as my first cleansing step. I think cleansing balm is just nice because it can eliminate a lot more product more quickly and more efficiently. I really love that cleansing balm because I think it's highly effective at breaking down makeup and eye makeup in particular. It smells like a lime popsicle, so for people who don't like that like candy lime candy type smell you might not love this. There's also botanicals in here so if you have really sensitive skin or you can't tolerate certain fragrances or essential oils that might not be the first cleansing step for you, but for me it has very much agreed with my skin."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Prequel Non-Drying Glycerin Cleanser

"When you're doing that first night of skin care after microneedling, I want you to use a really gentle cleanser. I often recommend my Prequel cleanser."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Prequel Pre-Cleanse Cleansing Oil

"With this cleansing balm, I really wanted to create an oil-based cleanser that efficiently removed sunscreen, makeup, and excess sebum, but didn't feel heavy or leave any residue on the skin, and have it be something that everyone can feel good about using, even if you have oily or acne-prone skin. I have been using and scrutinizing cleansing balms in my skin care routine for over a decade, and I am so proud of where we landed on this formula. This cleansing balm is formulated with bisabolol, ectoin, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, and modern surfactants to melt away anything sitting on your skin at the end of the day. Linoleic and linolenic acids are essential fatty acids that support the skin barrier and are suitable for all skin types, even oily and acne-prone. Bisabolol soothes and calms the skin, and ectoin helps maintain a healthier skin barrier. It also has modern surfactants derived from glycerin and sorbitol that emulsify with water to remove debris, so it doesn't leave behind an oily residue after rinsing. It leaves the skin feeling soft and calm but rinses off completely clean. It starts as a not too hard, not too soft sorbet-like balm that transforms into a silky oil as it melts into the skin and then emulsifies into a milk as you add water, which helps break down sunscreen and makeup without needing to aggressively scrub the skin. I love a cleansing balm in any nighttime skin care routine, but it is certainly my preferred cleansing agent when I have a full face of makeup on. It's comfortable to use around the eyes, doesn't irritate or leave eyes cloudy, and is ophthalmologist tested. Every time I use this, my skin feels clean, soft, and balanced. It is fragrance-free, suitable for all skin types, safe for sensitive skin and eczema-prone skin. If you've been looking for a fantastic cleansing balm, and especially if you have sensitive skin, I think you will love it."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Prequel Non-Drying Glycolic Acid Cleanser

"If you have more sensitive skin or are looking for an exfoliator without any little scrubbies, or maybe you just want an exfoliation step that you can use every day in the shower without having to think about it, I'm obsessed with my Prequel Non-Drying Glycolic Acid Cleanser. It's the one with the navy cap. It just has 5% glycolic acid, so you get this very gentle chemical exfoliation that's just like a little nudge for your skin. You can safely use it head to toe, and it works amazing for shaving."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Prequel Redness Reform Sulfur Cleanser

"This cleanser is formulated with protective acacia senegal gum colloid, which is essentially a molecular complex that helps improve the dispersion and efficacy of sulfur within the formula and helps reduce the odor of sulfur. People often associate sulfur with that strong unpleasant smell of rotten eggs, but this cleanser is actually very pleasant because of the mindful formulation. [...] While there's just the slightest hint of sulfur, it's not off-putting. And that matters because using your products consistently is how you get the best results. In addition to sulfur, this cleanser is also formulated with a full stack of soothing ingredients. There's azelaic acid in a hydrosoluble patented form to support clearer, more even tone. Shea to calm sensitized skin and support the skin barrier. Alphitol, a potent antioxidant that soothes and brightens. Panthenol for improved hydration and elasticity. And aloe vera to soothe immediately. There are also a few calming ingredients [...] like fitins osmanthis, a unique antioxidant with proven calming properties, neocensil, a targeted soothing complex for sensitive skin, and guazelene, known for soothing and responsible for the cleanser's natural green tint. Every ingredient here is doing something intentional. [...] This is an ultra plush foaming cleanser that creates a gentle cushiony lather. When I use this, I feel clean and refreshed but never stripped, tight or dry. You could use this as a morning cleanser or an evening cleanser. I've actually been loving using it in the morning because it sets my skin up to look its best throughout the day."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Prequel 1% Salicylic Acid Cleanser

"Salicylic acid is not my holy grail when it comes to treating acne, but it has some good anti-inflammatory effects and it can help unclog your pores. So if your skin can tolerate it, incorporating a salicylic acid wash into your routine, which is especially good if you can't tolerate benzoyl peroxide, can be really helpful. With Prequel, we made a 1% Salicylic Acid Cleanser. So it's a really gentle cleanser with salicylic acid for the people out there who have sensitive skin but might also be dealing with some texture that they want to calm down."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Prequel Gentle Cleanser

"Cleanser is foundational to a skincare routine but it also has the potential to be irritating, which is why when formulating cleanser and now Cleanser Plus SA it was really important to create this super effective cleanser that's still really gentle on the skin and is non-stripping. Cleanser is our glycerin based cleanser and it was one of the first products that we launched at Prequel. Since then cleanser has become a beloved hero product within the Prequel lineup. It has gone viral so many times, it has sold out so many times, and I feel like using this product has really helped people appreciate the cleansing step within their routine. Cleanser is made with 50% glycerin, which allows it to be incredibly hydrating and nourishing for the skin. It also has this very special unique texture and it leaves the skin feeling supported instead of stripped."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser

"If you have combination skin that tends to be a bit more sensitive, I absolutely love the CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser. This has just a little bit of salicylic acid in it, and so I find that if you lean a little bit oily but you might have some dry areas, the salicylic acid in there is good for taking away that oil but not overly stripping the skin. And this is such a gentle cleanser that I really feel like you could use this most days in your routine if not every day without overdoing it. Because this is using a small amount of salicylic acid, this is really going to help mostly with oiliness, maybe a little bit of pore congestion. You're not going to get a ton of correction of dark spots or dullness with this particular formula, but if you're just looking for exfoliation to help with pore congestion, this is a great option."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture Deep Cleansing Oil

"The first step of my double cleanse is going to be with the Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture Deep Cleansing Oil and ooh she's a goodie. So many delicious oils in here: macadamia, jojoba, sunflower, rice bran, I mean amazing on the skin, not just to remove makeup and sunscreen but also to nourish the skin at the same time. I think if you have a cleanser that actually can give something back to your skin and not just take away, that is a huge win, and this definitely does that."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

iS Clinical Cleansing Complex

"This stuff is amazing, I've talked about it before on this channel. This is such a good cleanser, it's pricey but it takes forever to go through this bottle and it has like a bajillion five star reviews on every website for good reason."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Aveeno Calm + Restore Nourishing Oat Cleanser

"I have used this on this channel before and it's just a really nice mild gentle cleanser, definitely under 15 dollars. If you're going to cleanse your face in the morning, you don't want to over strip your skin. This doesn't suds up but it is going to help remove that top layer of residue and it's nice for removing the little eye boogies and little crusties around the eyes."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Naturium Purple Ginseng Cleansing Balm

"I'm an advising dermatologist for Naturium but I did not help develop this product, and I wish I did because it's awesome. I consider myself a cleansing balm connoisseur and this breaks up oil and makeup on the face really well, including eye makeup, which I cannot say is true of all cleansing oils and cleansing balms. One thing that's really important is it did not cause eye stinging for me. It would be a really great gift for someone who needs to step up their skincare routine or has been dabbling in skincare and you want to help them take it to the next level by incorporating a double cleanse. The price point is also excellent so they'd be able to repurchase it."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Haircare32 reviews

Dyson Airwrap Long Complete Styler

"I love my Dyson Airwrap so so much. I don't use all of the attachments, but I use this as my main blow dryer. I own a Dyson blow dryer and I never use it, I just use this. I will say the Dyson just has like a little something up on the T3 alternative."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray

"Typically my favorite thing to use is my Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray. I often describe it as almost like if dry shampoo and hairspray had a baby, [...] because it adds grit and volume to the hair and helps you hold your style. It is just such a perfect product. You can use it very sparingly if you just want a little bit of something, and my hair is still super soft and touchable. Or if you wanted to really give yourself some texture, either for wearing your hair down or for an updo, it is amazing for that."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

K18 Airwash Dry Shampoo

"Of all the dry shampoos I have ever tried, this one makes oiliness disappear the most effectively, and you don't need a ton of product. You just do like one little spritz into each section of your hair, wait like 30 seconds, massage it in, it's pretty magical. If I had to rate this on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it like a 9.5, which is very generous for me because I'm really picky about things. But the only thing I dock points for is that when you spray it, it can leave a little bit of white residue, so if you're wearing dark clothing or you have dark countertops, you will see a little bit of that fallout. So if I am going to use it, I make sure I'm not wearing the top that I intend to wear out into the world, otherwise it will look like I have dandruff. But in terms of what it actually does for your hair, 10 out of 10. I like to apply dry shampoo right before I need my hair to look good, and that is usually in the morning."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

OneSkin OS-01 Hair Peptide Scalp Serum

"Once I started incorporating this, I tolerated my minoxidil so much better."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Maelove Full Follicle Advanced Scalp Serum

"Their scalp serum is quite special. I think they make very thoughtful, science-backed products. I really appreciate that their hair serum is very reasonably priced and it has so many good things in it. The red clover extract with the acetyl tetrapeptide 3, caffeine. It also has panthenol and antioxidants like vitamin E and resveratrol and green tea which are going to help with the health and the environment of your scalp. The reason I like having the separate serum in addition to the shampoo is the one day a week that I usually don't put my products on is the day I am shampooing because I have a fresh clean scalp. So I don't like to go in and put serums on that day. But then I can go in the subsequent days with the serums to give my scalp that exposure to those great ingredients. I like that this is not particularly oily."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Maelove Full Follicle Shampoo

"The other shampoo I have repurchased so many times is relatively new, and that is the Maelove full follicle shampoo. In terms of price, accessibility, and the very comprehensive ingredient list, I think this is one of the best hair loss shampoos you can get right now. It has caffeine, acetyl tetrapeptide-3, a growth factor complex, red clover extract, and a bunch of ingredients that have actually been fairly well studied when it comes to improving follicle metabolism, doing a little bit of DHT blocking, and also anchoring the hair in the follicle so that it doesn't want to shed as readily. I also find this to be a very gentle shampoo. I [...] do a double cleanse of my scalp, finishing with this one, and that not only makes my hair super clean and healthy but I get this double hit of hair growth stimulation on my wash day."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Rogaine Minoxidil 5% Foam

"Minoxidil is the only FDA approved topical for scalp hair regrowth and it works by prolonging the anagen phase or the growth phase of the hair follicle and also driving better blood flow to the follicle. When I am using Minoxidil on my eyebrows, I'm technically using it off label, but we actually have many good clinical papers now that show that consistent application of Minoxidil to the brows helps with growth there as well. For me, I just find this to be a very easy, high yield thing I can do in my routine. [...] If you're trying to help promote brow growth or regrowth, minoxidil is a really nice, safe, well-tested option."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray

"WOW Dream Coat, an incredible hair product when it comes to making your hair soft and shiny and kind of resistant to water, that uses a heat activated silicone polymer system to coat the hair when you apply that. And if you're going to use it, you need to apply it really generously. And then you put tension on the hair and you blow dry the hair. It essentially creates this film that sticks to the cuticle and protects the hair. So if you struggle with your hair being frizzy or humid or you need your hairstyle to last a really long time, maybe you're going to be a little sweaty on the dance floor, something like that, the Dream Coat product is exceptional."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Crown Affair Dry Shampoo

"For so long, my go-to Dry Shampoo was from Crown Affair, and I actually still love their Dry Shampoo so much. [...] You don't need a lot of this. Spritz, spritz, spritz. I will rub it through my hair to basically get my hair looking clean and not oily."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

Topicals Ingrown Hair Tonic

"The brand Topicals also has an Ingrown Hair Tonic that is amazing, especially for the groin area because it has alpha hydroxy acids and beta hydroxy acids and niacinamide for brightening. So if you're someone who struggles with hyperpigmentation in your armpits or in your groin and that gets worse with shaving, using something like that as your after shave can be incredible."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Flawless Finishing Touch Hair Remover

"I do have an alternative that I really like and that is using the Flawless Razor. It's a little electric shaver that helps cut down baby hairs but you're not doing as close of a shave like with a razor for example. I recommend this all the time to my patients who have polycystic ovarian syndrome so there are certain conditions within dermatology where females can develop some male characteristics including thicker coarser beardlike hairs and so using a gentle shaver rather than having to do like a full face shave every day can be really helpful. Also if you tend to have breakouts, if you have active acne, dermiplaning is not going to be the right thing for you, so again having a little tool that's not cutting as close to the skin that's going to be less irritating is great. I really like this for my pediatric patients. There are a lot of young girls who grow a little bit of excess facial hair just based on their ethnic background so starting at the age of eight or nine they start to get a little embarrassed about the little fuzz that they have going on in the sideburn area and at that age I typically am not recommending laser hair removal, we're not having them shave their face but using like a little gentle electric razor is a nice way to help them cope with that if they're self-conscious without doing anything really invasive."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Head & Shoulders Classic Clean Shampoo

"If someone has a really flaky or oily scalp, one of the first things I do is incorporate an anti-dandruff shampoo. Most of the time we start them with Head & Shoulders."

✓Yay

74%Guru Score

Olaplex No.4P Blonde Enhancer Toning Shampoo

"I've used a ton of different purple shampoos over the years and they all kind of get the job done in terms of toning down the brassy notes in the hair but the reason I just repurchased the one from Olaplex and I like it so much and I recommend it is because one it foams up really well so you don't have to use a ton of it to evenly distribute it throughout your hair. Sometimes I feel like if it doesn't get sudsy enough it's really hard to feel like you're getting an even distribution of the product. And the other thing I really like about it is it doesn't leave my hair feeling super dry or stripped and a lot of purple shampoos will do that so that was a big win for me."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

K18 Peptide Prep pH Maintenance Shampoo

"Probably the two I use the most in my shower are the one by K18 and the one by Whey, both work really well. A little bit goes a long way, they lather really nicely so it feels good as a cleanser, and I just find that my hair looks great afterward too."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Dove Shampoo and Conditioner

"For a drugstore option I find that Dove makes a very nice Shampoo and Conditioner that is incredibly nourishing for the hair and whether or not your hair is aging I really like their products."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Advanced Clean Dry Shampoo

"I have the Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Advanced Clean Dry Shampoo. I even use this on clean hair at the root to give me a little more volume, especially if I'm in a climate where my hair is just looking a little bit flat or maybe I get to the hotel and because of the hard water or something my hair feels very weighed down and just doesn't have the fluff that I want. This is really nice to have."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Aquis Microfiber Hair Towel

"The other thing I pack for my hair is the Aquis hair towel. This is another thing that just like stays in my luggage. It is so light, it is so absorptive, so it really helps remove moisture from my hair. I want to let some excess water absorb out of my hair because I usually do not travel with a blow dryer. I rely on the hotel blow dryer, which is usually pure trash. Because a lot of these hotel hair dryers are just like a ton of hot air and not a lot of actual moving air, I want to remove as much water as possible so that it's not just boiling my hair strands."

✓Yay

92%Guru Score

Pureology Hydrate Shampoo

"I'm gonna use my Pureology Hydrate Shampoo and conditioner. I bought big ones of these and then as part of that I got mini ones which is perfect because then I can just keep refilling these from the bigger bottle."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Aquis Flip Hair Drying Towel

"Get a designated hair drying towel and one of my absolute favorites I think I have like five of them by now is the Aquis hair towels. These are much better than traditional towels that you would use on your body in terms of being able to remove excess water from your hair and that's great because then if you do anything like heat styling you don't have to blow dry your hair as long as you normally would or even if you're allowing your hair to air dry we know that prolonged wetness of the hair can be damaging so anything that's going to help safely remove excess water from the hair is beneficial. The one I have here is sort of their newest style I believe which is called the Aquis Flip and it's got this nice thick elastic band in the back so once you put your hair up into the turban you can really tuck a lot of it back behind you and keep it up and out of your face. This is also quite a large towel so if you have long hair or really thick hair I think this is a great model for you. It is an amazing gift I remember giving one to my mom and she literally texted me the next day like this is lifechanging."

✓Yay

87%Guru Score

Neutrogena T/Gel Coal Tar Shampoo

"One of my final over-the-counter recommendations is Neutrogena T/Gel shampoo. This is like an oldie but a goodie. It utilizes the beneficial properties of coal tar which is really an anti-inflammatory for the scalp and can help with both flaking and with itch. This is also a shampoo that I often recommend to my patients who struggle with scalp psoriasis."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo

"My Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo is like a holy grail hair product for me, and in case my hair just needs a little bit of love and revival, I'm going to pack that with me."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Fanola No Yellow Purple Shampoo

"The Fanola No Yellow Purple Shampoo really helps brighten up my blonde and take out some of those golden or brassy tones. I use this probably every fourth or fifth shampoo. It's heavily pigmented violet and how long you leave it in your hair determines how much toning you get. I usually leave it in for three to five minutes. Every single time that I wash my hair with this shampoo, everyone in clinic asks if I got my hair done because my hair looks so good. This has become a holy grail for me."

✓Yay

95%Guru Score

K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask

"K18 is a bond repair product. When you are harsh on your hair, whether it's through sun exposure, pollution, heat styling, bleaching, or coloring, the bonds within your hair that give them strength and flexibility break. Having a bond builder in my routine to help restore those bonds and re-strengthen my hair has been a game-changer. I do K18 about once a month, except after I get my hair bleached, when I will do four rounds of it, using it with every hair wash for four rounds before going back to once-a-month use. When I first bought this, I was like, 'Wow, that feels kind of pricey,' but then it took me so long to go through a bottle because I use about one and a half pumps for my entire head."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Crown Affair Microfiber Hair Towel

"I have to give a little shout-out to my Crown Affair hair towel. If you do not use a microfiber towel for your hair, it will change your life. It just cuts the drying time so much because it helps get moisture out of your hair. [...] I love that it helps pull water out of my hair faster. It's a huge towel, so it's really good if you have long hair, and it's super secure. I have given this as a gift many, many times, and you can even get it embroidered. It's just a very special, highly functional towel that really is just the best."

✓Yay

67%Guru Score

Nizoral A-D Anti-Dandruff Shampoo (1% Ketoconazole)

"You do want it to sit on your scalp for a little while. So I like to make sure I focus it on the roots and massage it there and then let it sit for 2 to 3 minutes. The main downside of ketoconazole shampoos is that they tend to be kind of drying. So, I really try to focus it just on my scalp and avoid it really getting washed up in my mid-lengths and ends. Nizoral shampoo is great. It's super affordable. It can help with dandruff and hair thinning. And if you have dandruff and hair thinning, this is the single best thing I think you could have in your routine."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Nutrafol Hair Growth Supplement

"Something I like about Nutrafol and Viviscal and the reason I tend to recommend those two brands to my patients is because they have done clinical testing to show that their supplementation is actually effective for hair growth. So it's not just theoretical, but the people who have taken these supplements have actually seen benefits in their hair. If you decide that you want to use a supplement to help with your hair growth journey, you want to make sure you're choosing from a brand that has clinical data to support their claims."

✓Yay

63%Guru Score

Viviscal Hair Growth Supplement

"Something I like about Viviscal and the reason I tend to recommend that brand to my patients is because they have done clinical testing to show that their supplementation is actually effective for hair growth. So it's not just theoretical, but the people who have taken these supplements have actually seen benefits in their hair."

✓Yay

65%Guru Score

Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer

"If you or someone you are gifting to is kind of hard on their hair, whether that means they do a lot of color treatments, bleach their hair, or use a lot of heat styling, using a Dyson blow dryer might help save their hair and preserve their hair health. The reason I recommend the Dyson hair dryer is because it is less harsh on your hair and it does less damage. It's not just about how your hair looks because you might be able to get your hair to look the same way with any styling tool, it's more about what does your hair feel like, what does it look like under a microscope, what's happening on the individual strand level, and is your hair remaining healthy."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector

"Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector doesn't work on the proteins in your hair the way K18 does, but rather on the disulfide bonds, which is a very important bond structure in your hair that often gets damaged with heat styling and chemicals. These are two products that help repair the hair but in different ways. I usually encourage people to try both and from there you can decide which one works better for you and your hair."

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

Aquis Hair Turban

"I love my Aquis Hair Turban. It cuts down on the drying time of my hair because it absorbs so much moisture out of my hair in a good way without drying your hair out. It just helps remove that excess moisture from the shower, and because it's so lightweight and self-contained, I can go around my home and do chores or breastfeed or do other things while my hair is drying. I love a product that helps me multitask."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Vegamour GRO+ Advanced Hair Serum

"I haven't personally tried Vegamour Grow Hair Serum, but I can tell you how many people on Instagram have messaged me that this really worked for hair regrowth for them. They used it on their scalp and a couple people told me they even used it on their eyebrows, so this might be something worth trying if you're looking for a drug-free topical to incorporate into your hair regrowth routine."

✓Yay

66%Guru Score

Oribe Gold Lust Nourishing Hair Oil

"The hair oil I'm using today is the Oribe Gold Lust Nourishing Hair Oil. I guess you guys are as big a fans of Oribe as I am. It's also nice when you have hair products kind of all in the same family just from a scent perspective. You're not mixing a whole bunch of different fragrances. With hair oil, a little bit goes a very long way. I like to actually spread it into my palms and really evenly distribute it, and then I will just rake with my fingertips first so I don't put too much on. It shines things up a bit and takes away some of the frizz."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Body & Tan24 reviews

Gold Bond Age Renew Retinol Overnight Body & Face Lotion

"The Gold Bond Age Renew Retinol Body Lotion is another very affordable option and one that I often recommend because it is widely available at the drugstore."

✓Yay

93%Guru Score

Cocokind Retinol Body Cream

"The Cocokind Retinol Body Cream is a great entry point. It has 0.05% retinol. It is well formulated. It's a nice big tube and it's easy to get your hands on."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser Body Scrub with 10% AHA

"The one that I have repurchased the most by far is the KP Bump Eraser from First Aid Beauty. Although they market this for KP, which is keratosis pilaris, sort of the chicken skin that people can get on their upper arms or on their thighs and buttocks, I use this on my skin everywhere. I think the reason I keep going back to this one so much is that the grit in there is just so particular. It's very gritty, but it's not sharp. So I get a lot of incredible buffing when I use it. I do like small circular motions over my whole body, but my skin doesn't feel irritated or stripped when I'm done with it. Also, this formula is not just physical exfoliation. It has alpha hydroxy acids and beta hydroxy acid, salicylic acid in there. So you're getting this dual chemical and physical exfoliation. I use this in the shower one to two times a week. And I actually like to do my exfoliation towards the end of my shower once the hot water has been on my skin and helped soften up the cells a little bit so that they just exfoliate off much easier. And I'm pretty generous with this. Like I'll squeeze a lot out of the tube because I want it to feel like a full spa experience. And I always use it on a day that I'm going to shave because it helps remove some of those surface dead skin cells so they don't clog my hair follicles and make me more likely to get ingrown hair."

✓Yay

69%Guru Score

Alpha Skin Care Renewal Body Lotion 12% Glycolic Acid

"The brand Alpha Skincare also makes an amazing 12% glycolic acid body lotion."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

Glytone Exfoliating Body Lotion (Glycolic Acid)

"Glytone also makes a great glycolic acid body lotion. It just depends on where you want to incorporate and how you want to incorporate glycolic acid into your routine. One thing that's very important to note is that glycolic acid and all alpha hydroxy acids make your skin more sensitive to the sun. So if you are going out of your way to use glycolic acid to improve the quality of your skin, you also want to make sure you are protecting your skin from the sun, whether it's with sunprotective clothing or with sunscreen, so you don't undo all of the benefits."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Salt & Stone Body Wash

"I will get one of my favorite aromatherapy body washes, one from Salt & Stone, [...] and I will just wash my whole body."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Necessaire Exfoliator Charcoal Body Scrub

"I love the Necessaire body scrub. They have one that smells like eucalyptus and it's just you feel like you're in a spa when you use it. And right afterward, your skin is immediately softer and smoother. And it's those immediate results that I'm really drawn to. So much in skincare happens slowly and over time, and every once in a while I'm a little impatient and I just want results now."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Aveeno Therapeutic Shave Gel

"For years I have used the Aveeno Therapeutic Shave Gel. This is hypoallergenic, it's fragrance-free, and it does really well with hair everywhere but especially if you're going to be putting it down there. So many times I hear people say oh I just shave with soap, which is fine, but if you're dealing with razor burn, ingrown hairs, itching after you shave, like up your game and use a shave gel."

✓Yay

93%Guru Score

Bioderma Atoderm Shower Oil

"I really like the Bioderma Atoderm cleansing oil. This is a cleansing oil I recommend to a lot of my patients with eczema but it's also really good at breaking down sunscreen. So when your kid's in the bath or the shower they can apply this cleansing oil, it will help break down the sunscreen and then you can go in with a makeup eraser cloth to remove the rest."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair Lotion

"This is a super super affordable body lotion but is also very effective if you have dry creepy skin. It's a little bit thicker than the Ura moisturizing milk, so if you're really dealing with dry skin and you like to feel the product on your skin, to feel like you're kind of getting a little hug from your moisturizer, this one's nice."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Aquaphor Healing Ointment Body Spray

"I really just think it's genius that they took an ointment that usually feels so heavy and greasy and put it in a spray applicator to really just make it easier to apply a very thin even layer. If you struggle with super dry skin you might realize that using a regular body moisturizer on a day-to-day basis isn't really enough, so I really like this as like a final coat over whatever body moisturizer you're already using. Because it has this really nice fine misty spray it's easy to cover a large body surface area quickly and reach areas that might be hard to get like your back. This is one of my top recommendations for my patients who have eczema. Oftentimes they need a lot of skin hydration and this is a really nice thing to have in their routine to prevent transepidermal water loss."

✓Yay

90%Guru Score

Naturium Skin Renewing Retinol Body Lotion

"A lot of people think about using retinol in their face products to prevent signs of premature skin aging like fine lines and wrinkles and it even can help address things like irregular pigmentation and collagen loss, but your body needs love too and that skin also needs anti-aging support and retinol is great for that. There are definitely a few different retinol body lotions on the market but this is really my go-to because I find that the texture is so nice. Because retinol in any capacity does have the potential to be irritating, if you're just starting out with something like this I recommend applying it just once a week and maybe to sort of a limited body surface area to see how your skin does, and if it tolerates it super well then you can slowly increase the frequency of use."

✓Yay

74%Guru Score

Necessaire 0.1% Retinol Body Lotion

"I feel like your body is a little bit neglected like we're all about the retinoids and the exfoliants on our face and then our body skin is like hey what about me, I'm getting kind of crepy and saggy also, so having something like a body retinol I think is amazing. This also has alpha hydroxy acids. It's kind of like this plushy creamy serum and you can apply this like head to toe. It's 0.1% retinol which is like a good concentration and then a 10% blend of alpha hydroxy acids, I think it's glycolic acid and maybe mandelic acid. This is really nice if you're trying to kind of like up your body care game and you want some actives in your body care."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

Naturium Salicylic Acid Body Wash

"I do have one more cleanser, and that is the Naturium Salicylic Acid Body Wash. This goes in my shower. This is such a beautiful gentle cleanser that has a little bit of salicylic acid in it. Salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid, and it works by delving into the pores and cleaning out dead skin cells and that clog that's made up of sebum or oil as well as the dirt and debris that collects in our pores over the course of the day. I would say this is so gentle that you could use it on your face as well, but it's such a nice body cleanser. I wouldn't say it'd be my first choice if you have a ton of body acne, in which case I'd probably reach for something like a benzoyl peroxide cleanser. But salicylic acid just has this very nice gentle exfoliating quality. So if you just have a little bit of body bumps and you still want a really hydrating cleanser that has a little bit of exfoliation, this is excellent. You can also use it as like a shave gel, so it's kind of a plushier cleanser, so you could shave with it on armpits, legs, etc. I ran through this and I think I went through it so quickly because my husband uses it as well, but it's a really really nice affordable body gel."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Kerasal Intensive Foot Repair Ointment

"Another nail product that I really like is actually the Kerasal Intensive Foot Repair. If you've watched some of my other Instagram videos you know that I love this for dry cracked heels but it's also actually amazing around the nails. The way I would apply this is to just take a very small amount and apply it to the cuticle and around the proximal nail fold a few nights a week. That's going to help soften the skin around your nails as well as make it more moisturized. I find that if you're dealing with a lot of hang nails or ragged cuticles this is a really good way to calm them down quickly."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

Eucerin Urea Repair Body Wash

"One product I really like that has urea in it is the Eucerin Urea Repair Body Wash. This has five percent urea and also it actually has a high percent of glycerin, which is a great body wash for just that very mild keratolytic effect, so that smoothing effect, but it's also going to be very nourishing and moisturizing and help draw water to the skin surface. I really like this body wash for people who really struggle with dry flaky skin, particularly on the arms and legs. A lot of my patients who struggle with other conditions like diabetes that can be associated with dry flaky skin on the legs would really benefit from a body wash like this that not only cleanses their skin but also has this very mild keratolytic effect to remove that dry flaky skin, smooth the skin, and draw moisture to the surface."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream

"Probably the heaviest hand cream that I use is the Neutrogena Norwegian hand cream. This one much more feels like an ointment—it's a lot greasier, it's a little bit stickier—so that to me is like a nighttime only hand cream, but it's really thick and it's great for locking things in. And sometimes if someone's going to put cotton gloves on at night to sort of lock in their moisturizer or the ointment that they're using, that's the one I will recommend."

✓Yay

92%Guru Score

Nécessaire Body Exfoliator

"If you like a body scrub, the Necessaire Body Exfoliator is one of my absolute favorites. It comes in a fragrance-free version, but I actually really like the one with the eucalyptus scent, as long as you're not sensitive to fragrance because it really makes you feel like you're at the spa. It combines volcanic pumice for physical exfoliation, and it has salicylic, glycolic, and lactic acid for some chemical exfoliation as well, but it's not harsh."

✓Yay

90%Guru Score

Necessaire Eucalyptus Body Wash

"I will get one of my favorite aromatherapy body washes, so either one from Salt and Stone or I love my one from Necessaire that has that beautiful eucalyptus spa-like scent, and I will just wash my whole body."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Prequel Foot Rescue Advanced Restorative Treatment

"An occlusive formula when it comes to a foot ointment is so important because moisture is constantly wanting to be drawn out of that thick dead skin on your heels and being able to lock it in there is going to ensure that the formula actually works and penetrates the way it's supposed to. [...] This is truly the best foot product I have ever used and really the thing that makes this so exceptional is that you can see results in just one use. I almost never say that about a skin thing because the skin honestly takes a long time to respond to treatments but this works literally overnight. [...] This is a dense rich ointment that still spreads very easily and absorbs into the skin but I really wanted this to be thick enough that when you apply it it stays in place. Your foot skin needs a lot of help and you need something that's really going to hold on to the skin and work where it's placed. [...] This really is thicker and richer and we want it to be that way. [...] It has those added exfoliating and nourishing ingredients for the specific skin on your feet. Something that's [...] quite convenient is that you actually don't need to use it every single day. It is so effective that using it two to three nights a week alone will get you the results that you need. [...] I apply this on the weekends [...] and that is enough to keep my heels really supple and soft."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Nécessaire Multivitamin Body Lotion

"If you want more of a straight up body moisturizer with no active ingredients I also really like the Necessaire body lotion. This is a really mid-weight easy to apply body lotion that I think works great in a lot of different routines and with a lot of different skin types."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

Necessaire Body Cream

"I've really been waiting for them to come out with a super super rich Body Cream and that's exactly what this is. It feels very luxurious, it's really meant for dry skin, for sensitive skin, for mature skin, and it just gives you all of the moisturization and hydration that you could hope for. When you look at the skin barrier support ingredients in this cream, it's stacked. It has five different ceramides in it, it has colloidal oatmeal, it has glycerin, it has niacinamide, it has linoleic acid. I think because this cream is so thick and moisturizing you absolutely can get away with just applying it once a day. You could apply it to your entire body or you could really focus it on areas where you feel like your skin barrier is the most compromised, where you have intense dryness or your skin is feeling particularly sensitive. I also think it's helpful to apply it right after the shower or the bath when your skin is still a little bit warm because with thicker body creams you almost want them to melt down a little bit, and that heat coming off your skin combined with that thick rich cream just gives it the best application experience."

✓Yay

Notverified

Naturium Glow Getter Multi-Oil Body Wash

"This stuff is so so good, especially if you're a dry skinned gal like me, I'm obsessed. For me this also doubles as sort of a shaving cream or shaving gel, so it kind of has a multi-purpose in my shower routine. I'm not the most efficient person, but if I can make things a little bit more efficient in my shower, I'm all for it."

✓Yay

90%Guru Score

Necessaire Body Serum

"Right out of the shower on my upper body I use the necessary Body Serum. This is a lighter weight gel texture, it has niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, glycerin, ceramides, all the yummy stuff to kind of just trap the moisture against your skin, but I like how lightweight it feels because sometimes when I get out of a warm shower I still feel a little hot so I don't want to put on something quite as thick."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Retinoids22 reviews

Medik8 Crystal Retinal 20

"I use this one by Medik8. This is their Crystal Retinal 20. So quite potent but just way less irritating. I love this formula. It's really nice and creamy. So you get kind of like a moisturization and anti-aging situation all in one. But I do a pump of this on my neck and a pump of this on my décolletté pretty much every single night. The other thing that I love about this is it comes in multiple strengths. So like I said, this is the 20, she's pretty strong. You could start at the level three or maybe even the level six and then as you go through a tube of that, you can graduate to the next strength and the next strength and maybe one day you work all the way up to prescription tretinoin. And if you can't quite get there, it helps you find the most effective and the most potent retinoid that you can handle."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1%

"Adapalene is something you can get over the counter. For example, the brand Differin makes the 0.1% adapalene that I recommend all the time to my acne patients. Adapalene is well-suited when it comes to the treatment of acne specifically. So if you are breaking out, we are going to stick with things like adapalene, tretinoin, and tazarotene."

✓Yay

91%Guru Score

Medik8 Crystal Retinal 10

"For my neck, I'm going to use the Medik8 Crystal Retinal 10. This comes in different potencies. 10 is sort of like their mid-range. They also now have a 20 and a 24. One little pumpy. Smells quite nice."

✓Yay

70%Guru Score

Naturium Retinaldehyde Cream Serum 0.5%

"The Naturium Retinaldehyde Cream Serum is the best affordable retinaldehyde on the market. It exists in two different potencies, 0.05% and 0.1%. It's lightweight yet it feels kind of cushiony on the skin. If you're using retinaldehyde in your routine, you can put it on right after you cleanse your face before you do any of your other serums or moisturizers. I personally like to layer my retinoid products over my serums before I put my moisturizer on."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Medik8 Crystal Retinal 1

"Retinoids are notoriously irritating to the skin and can cause a lot of dryness and peeling with quite a long acclimation period somewhere between weeks and several months. The Medik8 Crystal Retinal 1 is exceptional because I find that you can acclimate to it quite quickly but it's also very very effective. [...] It is a retinal derivative product, so that's a step up in potency and efficacy from retinol, [...] but it's level one and this goes all the way up to level 20. I really like that Medik8 creates their retinoids in gradients so you can start with something less potent if you have sensitive skin or you're a beginner and then work your way up as you tolerate it. Retinal is traditionally tricky to formulate with, hard to keep stable and effective, but Medik8 has a great technology approach to this and their products with retinal are wonderful. [...] It's nice and creamy and you just need a really thin layer, one pump for your entire face. I really like this because you can use it on your neck. A lot of people can't use prescription retinoids on their neck because it's too irritating, but this one's fantastic. [...] Once someone with sensitive skin is able to tolerate this every single night on their skin without issues, then they could go up to the next strength."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Summer Fridays Midnight Ritual Retinol Renewal Serum

"If you're looking for a retinol that has a serum texture and in my opinion feels incredibly luxurious on the skin, I love the Summer Fridays Midnight Ritual Retinol. I absolutely love the way this product feels on the skin and I think a lot of that is due to all the amazing plant oils that it has. It also has some other really great skin barrier support ingredients that are going to help you tolerate the retinol better, for example it has things like dimethicone and shea butter, it also has glycerin and squalene and sunflower seed oil which is one of my favorite plant oils to support the skin. Of course it also has retinol and then a retinol derivative called retinol linoleate."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

Stradia Night Shift Retinol Cream

"If you have sensitive skin one of my all time favorite retinol products is Stradia Night Shift and if you've been around this channel for a little while you know that I continuously recommend this particular retinol because I think it is so beautiful. This formula contains 0.15% encapsulated retinol but the beauty of this product really lies in what else is contained in this formula. It has such beautiful skin barrier support ingredients like ceramides and allantoin and marula oil and when you put it on it feels like you're putting on a plushy creamy moisturizer. So when you apply this you're not only getting exposure to retinol but you are also getting these really lovely moisturizing ingredients as well. I probably first talked about Stradia Night Shift at least two years ago on this channel and since then I have gotten so many messages saying like yeah this was my gateway retinol and it has been so successful for me or I was never able to tolerate retinol until I tried Stradia Night Shift. So getting messages like that just reaffirm how amazing this product really is."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Naturium Retinol Complex Cream

"If you're looking for a retinol that's a little more lightweight, I am a huge fan of the Naturium Retinol Complex Cream. This cream almost feels more like a thick serum on the skin, and in addition to retinol it also has an ingredient called bakuchiol. Some brands will refer to bakuchiol as a plant derived retinol, but really it's a molecule that can mimic some of the positive skin effects that retinol offers. Now it's much less studied than something like retinol or tretinoin, for example, but there still is good evidence that it can be efficacious for the skin when it comes to anti-aging. I actually wrote one of the very first papers published on bakuchiol comparing it to retinol, so I would know. This product also has some other really great skin barrier support ingredients that are going to help you tolerate the retinol better. For example, it has things like dimethicone and shea butter. It also has glycerin and squalane and sunflower seed oil, which is one of my favorite plant oils to support the skin."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Shani Darden Retinol Reform 1% Encapsulated Retinol

"One of the best retinol products that I have ever tried is the Shani Darden Retinol Reform. This product doesn't just have retinol in it but it also has lactic acid, so an alpha hydroxy acid that's used in exfoliation. You might be thinking, like, putting together a retinoid plus an acid, is this going to be too irritating? But whatever they've done with this formula, it is not irritating at all and it makes your skin look so beautiful and glowy. Lactic acid is also a humectant that helps bind water in the skin, so I find that you get more immediate results with using a product like this because you're getting that skin plumping effect. You're also getting that more immediate exfoliation with the lactic acid and then that gives the retinol some time to kick in. If you're not just trying to get rid of fine lines and wrinkles but you're also using your retinoid to help with things like texture and discoloration, having it combined in a strategic way in a good formula with some type of exfoliant like Shani Darden has done here is the way to go. If you're someone who has more sensitive skin or you want a more streamlined skincare routine, this is the retinol for you."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Nuteum Retinaldehyde Cream Serum 0.05%

"One of my absolute favorite topical retinoids is by nuteum it's their retin alide serum it comes in two different strengths so you can start with a lower strength and work your way up if you want to and putting this on your skin every night under a moisturizer you're going to see improvements"

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

Olay Regenerist Retinol 24 Night Moisturizer

"If you have really sensitive skin but you still really want to incorporate a retinoid into your skincare routine, I would try the Olay Regenerist Retinol. This is a little bit more gentle, it's in a more creamy base, and you still get those skin strengthening retinoid benefits."

✓Yay

70%Guru Score

RoC Retinol Capsules

"One of my favorites for beginners is the RoC Retinol Capsules. RoC is sort of one of the OG brands when it comes to developing a stable retinol that can be incorporated into a variety of products, but they make an excellent face cream that I think is great for beginners. The other thing that I really like about this is that it's formulated in a really rich, moisturizing base, so you're sort of achieving two skincare steps in one, it can act as your topical retinol and your moisturizer."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Stratia Night Shift Retinol Cream

"I'm using the Stratia Night Shift. I talk about this retinol all the time. I think it is a beautiful product, encapsulated retinol, so creamy and luscious, so nourishing. I have plenty of people who use this on their face—it's a great face retinol as well. It still packs a punch, it's still effective, but much less irritating on the more delicate structures."

✓Yay

Notverified

Verso Super Facial Serum with Retinol 8

"The Verso Superfacial Serum uses a retinoid called retinal or retinoate, which is thought to be more gentle than retinol but perhaps more effective. This retinoid molecule does not have as robust data behind it as retinol, but for people who are trying so hard to incorporate a retinoid into their routine and they're just not able to tolerate retinol, go for this. I have found that even people with the most sensitive skin are able to tolerate this topical retinoid formulation."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Pro+ Regenerating Cream

"Another retinoid product from the drugstore that I love is the Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Regenerating Cream. This is also quite a thick, rich cream. I find that it feels a little more occlusive than the Olay Regenerist, and for me that's a good thing. I like when a product feels extra hydrating, and even if it feels a little greasy when I first put it on, I enjoy that because one of the main downsides of incorporating retinoid into your routine is that initial irritation and dryness and uncomfortable skin. So if the retinol product that you're using is actively combating those side effects because it's also a rich, hydrating moisturizer, that's a huge plus. Neutrogena is also using their own proprietary retinol ingredient, and it also has hyaluronic acid, which is a humectant that pulls water into the surface layers of the skin and can give an immediate plumping effect."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

SkinMedica Age Defense Retinol 0.25

"Another retinol product that I really enjoy is the SkinMedica Age Defense Retinol. If you're a beginner, I would start with their 0.25%. This retinol is more of a lotion texture, so it can kind of hit that sweet spot between a serum and the heavier cream. I think that this is probably one of the most recommended products that has a retinol in it that my patients have given to me. When I have patients who have amazing skin, I always like to ask them what do you use in your routine, and this retinol comes up all the time. Aside from the texture and formulation of this product, I really like the packaging, and that might be silly to mention, but the fact that it comes in a pump is super convenient because you can use the exact same amount of product every time, one pump or two pumps depending on how much surface area you're covering with your retinoid. I also find that pumps are just easier to travel with, they go well in my medicine cabinet, they're cleaner to use than like a jar, so for that reason too I just kind of really enjoy using this product, and that makes a difference."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Maelove Moonlight Retinaldehyde Serum 0.1%

"Another over-the-counter retinoid product that I really like is the MAY LOVE Moonlight Retinol Super Serum. This serum uses something called retinaldehyde rather than retinol which is one of the more common molecules found in over-the-counter retinoids, and retinaldehyde is a little bit more potent than retinol because when retinol is incorporated into the skin it has to undergo two conversion steps to become its most active form whereas retinaldehyde only has to undergo one conversion step to become its most active form. This serum also contains niacinamide, an antioxidant, and it has ceramides which help make it a little bit more hydrating and protective of the skin barrier."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

Prequel Retinal Renew Retinaldehyde Gel 0.1%

"If you're shopping outside of Sephora, my brand Prequel has a 0.1% and a 0.2% retinaldehyde. For people who maybe want something a little bit more potent or are looking to amp up their routine but are either not ready for or don't have access to prescription tretinoin, all good options."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Medik8 Crystal Retinal 6

"I absolutely love [retinaldehyde]. It's what I use on my neck and chest because [tretinoin] in any format just has no success there on me. I get way too irritated."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Night Retinol Serum

"The Haruharu Wonder Night Retinol Serum is a beautiful beginner retinol serum that is incredibly affordable."

✓Yay

78%Guru Score

Prequel Retinal Renew Retinaldehyde Gel 0.2%

"Most dermatologists would agree that retinoids are the backbone of any great skincare routine. But creating one that's powerful enough to deliver real results, gentle enough to use consistently, and texturally exceptional, that's a real challenge. Which is why I am so excited for this launch. Meet Retinal Renew, our 0.1% and 0.2% retinaldehyde gels."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

First Aid Beauty 0.3% Retinol Complex Serum with Peptides

"Another retinol serum option that I really really love is by First Aid Beauty, their 0.3% Retinol Complex Serum. I think the technology in this product is really interesting so it not only uses retinol but also uses something called retinol propionate and retinol propionate is another ingredient that falls under that retinoid umbrella but it works slightly differently in the skin. It's a bit more stable, it's a little bit more slow acting and therefore a lot more gentle too. I also really like how lightweight this serum is so you can easily layer it with your favorite moisturizer or other barrier support product to help your skin tolerate your retinol better."

✓Yay

Notverified

Lip16 reviews

Covergirl Outlast Lip Stain

"The new CoverGirl ones are so good, and then following it with a lip moisturizer, whether that's Aquaphor or Vaseline or an untinted lip balm."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Revlon Kiss SPF 20 Lip Balm Berry Burst

"I will go in with a little bit of like a hydrating lip balm or gloss. One I've been loving lately is by Revlon. This one is basically like my exact lip color, but it's like a perfect amount of shine and hydration. But if you don't naturally have a lot of color on your lips, you could get a pigmented version of this. But I love just the pink version, too."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Merit Signature Lip Lightweight Lipstick

"I have a true lipstick recommendation, the Merit lipsticks in general, all shades amazing, but going into fall this one La Avenue is what they describe as a berry brown. I just think like this is your fall color, it is absolutely gorgeous. I mean, I just think that is such a gorgeous color. It's such a comfortable formula. It's long lasting. If you have a slightly lighter or fairer skin tone I recommend the shade Slip, which is like a warm neutral, but Merit makes excellent lipsticks that they pretty much never put on sale on their website, so picking it up during the Sephora sale I think is the right move."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

YSL Rouge Volupté Shine Lipstick Balm

"So the other one was like a gloss in a balm, this is like a lipstick in a balm so more pigmented. I love this color, this is shade N which I think is like their nude color, gorgeous. It just looks so beautiful on the skin. You can see again that it's got like a little bit of that balmy texture to it. If you are afraid of lipstick where it just feels like too much of a commitment when it comes to pigmentation and how intense that is, this is a really nice hybrid where you get some color deposit on the lips for sure, like that color is there, but it also has that balmy texture and it also wears off really nicely. I find that it doesn't get patchy as the color kind of fades, it just sort of naturally disappears. So I think this is amazing for like parties or if you just kind of want something to wear at work."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Lineage Lip Sleeping Mask

"I'm going to go in with one of my absolute favorites, my Lineage Lip Sleeping Mask. This stays on your lips all night. She is sticky but she's good. The reason I'm putting my lip mask on first is because I'm going to be putting some other ingredients on later in my routine that have the potential to be irritating to the delicate lip skin, and so by putting this little barrier on in the beginning, I don't have to worry that any of my other products are going to cause problems."

✓Yay

90%Guru Score

Make Up For Ever Wherever Walnut Lip Liner

"I'm going in with my Make Up For Ever Lip Liner Pencil in shade Wherever Walnut. This is probably my most used pencil, it's what I use in 95 percent of my YouTube videos. This is a very long wearing lip pencil which is one of the reasons I really like it and totally think it's worth like the slightly more investment than a drugstore lip liner."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil

"I think this is supposed to be like a multi-use pencil but I exclusively use it as a lip liner and it is perfect. I really like this lip liner for a couple of reasons one is the texture so it is smooth and creamy enough to go on very smoothly but it's not so creamy that I feel like it's not going to last or it's going to smear because I want precision and then it's hard enough that I can get that precise line but it doesn't dry out or make my lips feel uncomfortable. My go-to color in this is Walnut it is such a beautiful pinky brown it's like my lips but better with a little bit of edge and it goes with so many different lipsticks. I'm obsessed I need like five of them."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

NYX Mauve Lip Liner

"I'm going to go in with my NYX Lip Liner in shade Mauve, which is a pinky brown color. I find that NYX lip pencils are so good, especially for a drugstore find. They're not as creamy as some lip liners on the market—they have a waxier texture and you have to put a little more pressure down to apply them—but they are very long lasting, which is great."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask

"The Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask is such a nice intense nighttime nourishing treatment that stays on the lips all night long, and to me it's a lot more fun to reach for than plain vaseline. It makes your lips softer, smoother, and more hydrated, and it's a very giftable item because who doesn't want that."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

Dior Addict Lip Glow Balm

"The Dior Addict Lip Glow Balm is totally like that your lips but better type of lip balm where they look a little plumper and a little more hydrated. It feels so comfortable on the lips and I don't have to worry about it going outside the lines. I can reapply it on the go without looking in a mirror, and if I'm in clinic all day I don't have to worry that the color is moving around. There's something special about having a little Dior balm in your pocket or purse, and when you bring it out you feel a little bit more glamorous."

✓Yay

74%Guru Score

NARS Afterglow Lip Balm

"The NARS Afterglow Lip Balm is more than just a sheer application balm—you really do get some nice color payoff, so the shades really matter. They're very long wearing for a lip balm, which is important because I don't want to feel like I have to reach for my product every hour to reapply. You can wear them on their own or layer them over a lip pencil or lipstick to shift the color."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

EltaMD UV Lip Balm Broad-Spectrum SPF 36

"This is a hybrid sunscreen with octinoxate and seven percent zinc oxide. It smells minty and comes out white, which was initially concerning, but because it is a sheer zinc application you can really sheer it out. You do need some practice with application, so it may not be the most user-friendly lip sunscreen, but if you get the method down you can make it look sheer and good on your lips. It's water resistant up to 80 minutes which makes it really nice for outdoor activities and swimming and going to the beach. This is not my absolute holy grail lip sunscreen but if I found it in the bottom of my purse and I was in a pinch I would not be mad about it."

~Mixed

83%Guru Score

Prequel Lip Visor Sunscreen SPF 30

"My brand Prequel launched an SPF 30 lip gloss last year, and I am so proud of the formula. We used organic UV filters instead of zinc, which allowed us to get a truly sheer, lightweight gloss, which you just can't get when you formulate with zinc because zinc is a white powder. It also has a sweet minty taste and has none of that gross chemical sunscreen flavor."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Tower 28 Beach Please Lip and Cheek Cream Blush

"I will use a cream blush. This is the Tower 28 blush, which I reach for a ton. I will take this and I will stipple it onto my cheeks, a little bit over my nose, and onto my forehead as well. I like this blush for this particular style of application just because it's incredibly forgiving and it blends out super well. So if you're doing this really quickly like I usually am, you're still going to look great."

✓Yay

90%Guru Score

Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm

"One is the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balms. Yes, you could buy the individuals, but they for the first time I think are having like a mini kit with four of their top shades and this is what I'm telling you to get if not for yourself for a gift. They will almost certainly sell out around the holidays and you get like four of them for I think like 25 bucks and then plus whatever sale you're going to get on top of that. So I think this is like amazing to pick up maybe even in bulk for gifts. I just think they are such nice versatile lip balms. They have a little bit of color to them. They're really nourishing on the lips. They're very comfortable. The little minis are so freaking cute."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Summer Fridays Lip Butter Bomb

"I'm going in with Summer Fridays Lip Butter Bomb in Beige Vanilla. This is one of my favorite lip products because it feels like it nourishes the lips but it also adds like a nice youthful glossy sheen. I also love the shape of this lip, it's like slightly curved so it perfectly molds to your lip shape."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Eye Care12 reviews

Lumify Redness Reliever Eye Drops

"I'm a huge fan of Lumify eye drops. [...] You essentially put them in and it instantly makes your eyes look more white and less red."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG

"I actually really like the Ordinary under eye solution that has 5% caffeine. It's a super runny fluid. So, what I love about that is you could use it on its own, or if you have an eye cream that you already love or are incorporating to help with other under eye issues, you could layer them."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

The INKEY List Caffeine Eye Cream

"The Inkey List also has a super affordable caffeine under eye cream. So, if it's something where you just want to get a sense of does caffeine work for my under eye, I think that's a nice option."

✓Yay

72%Guru Score

DRMTLGY HPR Eye Cream

"They also have a really nice eye cream that has a very gentle retinoid in it. So that could be good if you like the idea of using a retinoid under your eyes. You don't have sensitive eyes, but maybe you can't tolerate your stronger products there. It also has peptides in it which help promote collagen production."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Cocokind Peptide Fine Line Eye Gel

"A specific peptide under eye product that I really like and is really affordable is by Coco Kind. I think it's actually a pretty new launch for them, but what I like about it is it not only has some anti-aging peptides in it, but it also has a lot of ceramides which are going to help strengthen and fortify and support the skin barrier so that area around your eyes looks better, but also feels good."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Do Forever Eye Masks

"The do Forever Eye Masks are essentially like a little silicone mask that you can reuse over and over and over again under your eyes. Not only is this very environmentally friendly but this gift is also going to last a really long time and it's quite affordable. With these silicone eye masks you can put on your regular moisturizer or any eye serums that you like and then apply them right on top. They stay in place. It's a great way to hydrate and plump that under eye and then you can use it again and again. They also have these available in a few different designs so you can pick what matches the person you're gifting to. I envision this being used as like a stocking stuffer or also like an add-on to another self-care gift."

✓Yay

90%Guru Score

Dr. Dennis Gross Advanced Retinol Plus Ferulic Triple Correction Eye Serum

"Another popular retinoid eye product that some of my colleagues have been absolutely raving about is by Dr. Dennis Gross their Advanced Retinol Eye Serum. Not only has retinol but also has bikal which is a plant derived ingredient that has some retinol benefits. The reason I like this serum so much is it's a super lightweight gel so if you're someone who deals with oily eyelids or you're prone to milia and you only want to be using lightweight products around your eyes but also be using something that's very effective I think this is it for you."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Hydrogel Eye Patches

"The Peter Thomas Roth Hydrogel Eye Patch Kit is not necessary—it's fun and glamorous and for special occasions. Hydrogel eye patches really just provide some deep puffing and some hydration under the eyes, and it's all a temporary effect, but it can be really nice, especially if you're getting ready for a night out or if you're having a spa day. It's just like a really fun gift because it's not something even I would buy myself, but if I got it as a gift I would totally use it."

✓Yay

78%Guru Score

Mary&May Tranexamic Acid + Glutathione Eye Cream

"This is an eye cream for people who struggle with dark circles or under eye hyperpigmentation. It has glutathione which is a known brightening antioxidant, and it also has tranexamic acid which is an ingredient often found in hyperpigmentation focused products. Having that combination, there are not a lot of skin care products and under eye products specifically that utilize those ingredients. If someone has been trying to improve their under eye dark circles and maybe wasn't getting where they wanted to go with the eye cream that they were using, this would expose them to a different type of formula with different ingredients with different mechanisms of approaching hyperpigmentation that may yield them more success. Texturally, this is a really beautiful silky cream, absolutely nourishing enough to use during the day and at night especially if you have a more dry or mature skin type. Because it has that glutathione and tranexamic acid and niacinamide, it doesn't matter where you put it, it's going to help with hyperpigmentation. You could use this as a spot treatment for little post acne marks or even little patches of melasma, and this could be a very multi-purpose hyperpigmentation product."

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

RoC Multi Correxion Revive + Glow Eye Balm

"I'm also a really big fan of the RoC Multi Correxion Revive + Glow Eye Balm. This is a stick form, so I like it for people who have more sensitive eyes or find that their eyes sting or burn from a lot of eye creams. I find the balm is just generally better tolerated. This has vitamin C and a special peptide that helps strengthen the skin, and it's really meant to target under eye dark circles. It's also a little more of a budget option if you can't splurge on an eye cream."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Alloy M4 1% Estriol Eye Cream

"They also launched an M4 eye cream with a higher concentration of estriol and added peptides, which I think is a really smart option for a more targeted treatment, especially because this is an area where we see thinning skin and crepey texture appear first."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Neocutis Lumiere Firm Illuminating and Tightening Eye Cream

"My favorite eye cream ever is the Neocutis Lumiere. I only repurchase that because it is expensive, because I truly see a difference in my under eyes when I use it. I'm someone who's very prone to purpley under eyes, and when I forget it or when I run out, I'm like I'm going to try not repurchasing it, I really notice a difference in my eye skin. So it feels worth it to me."

✓Yay

Notverified

Eye Makeup12 reviews

Sweed Lash Serum

"If you do want to be using a lash growth serum because that's something that you struggle with, I recommend picking one that does not have prostaglandins. I recommend the brand Sweed all the time. It's just one that I've seen my patients have a ton of success with. And I always mention when you're putting anything near the eye, there is always a risk of irritation. So, always keep an eye out for that."

✓Yay

87%Guru Score

Tower 28 Make Waves Lengthening and Volumizing Mascara

"I love the Tower 28 waterproof mascaras. I think their brown shade is beautiful. Browns for mascaras can just be a bit softer, especially if you are like a blonde or a lighter brunette. Brown mascara, particularly for day, I think, is a nice way to go. I do have it in black as well. They have this beautiful, perfectly curled little wand. It doesn't put too much product on your lashes. It holds all day. It keeps your lashes curled. I just cannot say enough good things about this mascara."

✓Yay

92%Guru Score

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara

"I have a forever obsession with the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara. This one isn't waterproof, but I don't think you need the waterproof version. It is so good at lifting, lengthening, adding fullness to the lashes without them looking clumpy. If you need a drugstore option, this is fantastic. It has this beautiful, perfectly curled little wand. It doesn't put too much product on your lashes. It holds all day. It keeps your lashes curled. Just cannot say enough good things about this mascara."

✓Yay

90%Guru Score

Kosas Air Brow Tinted Brow Gel

"I'm a big fan of the Airbrow from Kosas. I think this holds really well. It has a really perfect shade for me, taupe."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Swede Peptide Lash Serum

"One of my favorite lash growth serums that does not have prostaglandins is from this brand, Swede. I've recommended it many times on my Instagram. I always get DMs afterward being like, 'Yes, this is amazing. Finally, I found something to replace my Latisse.' So if you're looking for a lash growth serum that does not have prostaglandins, highly recommend."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Kosas Brow Pop Dual Action Defining Pencil

"One of my favorite eyebrow pencils is the Kosas Brow Pop pencil. It's the one that I use on myself. It has a little spoolie on one end that you can kind of fluff your brows up with to get a general idea of the shape if you have enough hair there to do that, and then it has a nice fine tip that you can use to kind of create little brush-like strokes to fill in your brows. I like this pencil for a couple of different reasons. One, I feel like it's not too soft. Some brow pencils when you apply it to your brow they just kind of smush and you can't really mimic brow hairs so it doesn't look that natural. And also I think their color range is really nice. I feel like a huge mistake people make when filling in their brows is they pick too warm of a color, so even if you are like a warm red or a warm brown, having kind of a cooler tone in your brows tends to be more flattering."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette

"It's the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette. This powder is so beautiful on the skin, I use it as my kind of finishing powder, almost like a setting powder, and it just adds a nice luminosity to the skin, but it's not glittery. I feel like whenever I use this I get compliments on my skin, and I know in my heart of hearts that I haven't done anything new to my skincare except put on that very nice makeup setting powder. I don't think they really advertise it as a setting powder, and you wouldn't want to use a heavy hand with this, just a little light dusting over the top of your makeup, but everywhere on your face looks really nice. There are three different colors and I just sort of blend them all together and apply broadly. I remember when I was first going to purchase this palette, it came at the recommendation of one of my makeup artist friends, and I was like, oh my gosh, this is kind of expensive, but I've also had that palette for multiple years and it's still going and I use it a lot, so it's been a very nice investment."

✓Yay

71%Guru Score

Natasha Denona Glam Palette

"I'm looking the most forward to picking up the Natasha Denona Glam Palette. I've just been going to like a few more events lately and I wanted something with more sparkly options for the eyes and that just seems like a gorgeous palette. It's come highly recommended by a couple of makeup artists whose opinions I trust implicitly."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Merit Brow 1980 Pomade

"I'm going to go in with my Merit Brow Pomade in shade Blonde. I like this if you already have a decent amount of brow and you just maybe want a little bit of color and definitely some hold."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

Hourglass Eyeshadow Palette

"I honestly almost never wear eyeshadow because of the natural shadow of my eye. If anything, I typically take this Hourglass palette, the middle color which is like a very light pearlescent neutral, and I just put that in the corner of my eye to add a little bit of brightness."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze

"I use the Anastasia Beverly Hills brow gel which I've used for a really long time just to get the brows a little fluffier."

✓Yay

66%Guru Score

Clio Kill Lash Super Proof Long Curling Mascara

"This is the Kill Lash Super Proof Mascara Long Curling from the brand Cleo. Everyone told me I had to try the mascaras because they are so waterproof and really good at holding a curl, and they were 100% right. If you have oily eyelids and struggle with your mascara transferring onto your upper or lower lids throughout the day, or if you plan on going to a pool party, the ocean, or a wedding, or if you're a crier like me, try this. I wore it down to a pool day where I was in and out of the pool all day with my son, took a shower at night and washed my face, and I came out with perfect fluffy lashes. It deposits on your lashes in a way that makes them look fluffy and full without a spidery effect, it's just a more modern eyelash. You can build it up, one coat for day and two coats for being on camera. It also helps hold your curl, so throughout the day my curly lashes tend to get a little flat, but when I wear this they stay up indefinitely until I use my cleansing balm and second cleanse to get it all off."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Masks & Peels11 reviews

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant

"If you have been on the beauty side of the internet anytime in the last like 10 years, you have heard of Paula's Choice 2% salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid. It dives into your pores and can help clear them out. So, this is a really nice prep step if you're going to be applying makeup and something you can do anywhere from everyday to just a couple times a week depending on what your skin can handle."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Tatcha Rice Polish

"For my face, I am obsessed with the Tatcha Rice Polish. It is these super super fine granules and you can just buff it into your skin and it's not irritating. It's not harsh. It doesn't flare my rosacea, but afterward my skin immediately feels smoother than a baby's butt."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel Pads

"I think that one of the best alpha hydroxy peeling products that exists and it has been on the market for a long time are the Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel Pads. They come as a two-step system. This is sort of their like original strength. They also have a stronger strength and then they have a more gentle version, but the stronger one has seven acids. This one has five acids. Their more gentle version has three acids. So you could kind of cater it based on what your skin can tolerate. And the first step has all the acids which you put on, you let it dry down and then you have a neutralizing step with a bunch of antioxidants which is also a really helpful thing when it comes to fighting hyperpigmentation because oxidative stress breeds melanogenesis. It makes you produce pigment. And so when you can stop that process in its tracks by both exfoliating and then calming the skin, you're going to be in a really good spot. I find these incredibly convenient, very satisfying to use. I love that there's different strengths, so it caters to a lot of different skin types and tolerances. But the other thing I like about this is there's quite a bit of product. So when you're swiping it over your face, there's leftover juice in there. And I will always bring that onto my neck, my decollete, the back of my hands."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Allies of Skin Retinal + Peptides Overnight Repair Mask

"I'm a huge fan of the Allies of Skin Retinal and Peptides complex. A lot of my patients use prescription strength tretinoin on their face for anti-aging, but as soon as it gets anywhere near their neck they have irritation. For patients with that concern I really like the Allies of Skin because you have all these anti-aging peptides plus you still have exposure to a retinoid, but it's retinaldehyde, so it's a little less irritating and a little less intense than prescription tretinoin."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Sunday Riley Good Genes All-In-One AHA Lactic Acid Treatment

"The good genes exfoliant by Sunday Riley is amazing and actually now that I come to think of it they have a glycolic version and a lactic acid version. I usually recommend starting with the lactic acid again because it's a little more gentle but if you feel like your skin can handle a little extra oomph you could switch over to the glycolic acid."

✓Yay

67%Guru Score

Baby Foot Original Exfoliant Foot Peel

"The Baby Foot Peel is incredibly satisfying to use. It comes as a liquid that you soak your feet in for about an hour, and then over the next seven days or so the outer dead skin layer of your feet peels off. It is so gross but so satisfying, and for a lot of people it's a really nice jump start to their foot care because when you're peeling or shedding like that you're not going to be walking around your home barefoot because that is nasty—you'll have socks on, and that will start training you in the habit to wear socks more regularly in your home. Then from there you can start using something more regularly like the CeraVe SA Cream to maintain your results."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating Peel

"Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating Peel is a powerful product so I would not recommend using this more than once a week. I feel like it has the most potential to benefit people with post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, like if you had a lot of acne and now you have dark marks left behind. This is the one to go to. I like this one better than the ordinary because I like the blend of AHAs and I feel like it's more cosmetically elegant to use on the skin."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask

"The Briogeo Don't Despair Repair Deep Conditioning Mask makes the hair feel so luscious, so nourished. I think every single person I recommended this to has loved it regardless of their hair texture. I have friends with really curly, sometimes frizzy hair who adore this product, and even my friends with really limp or thin hair who feel like deep conditioning masks are often too heavy for them also really like this. It's pretty rare for me to find a conditioner that is so universally appealing."

✓Yay

91%Guru Score

Laneige Cica Sleeping Mask

"The Laneige Cica Sleeping Mask is a beautiful moisturizer that can be applied over any other type of skincare. I don't keep this in my medicine cabinet; I keep it next to my bed. I oftentimes do my skincare at like 6 p.m. once I know I'm not leaving my home for the evening, and then before bed I still feel like my skin wants another layer of moisture, and that's when I apply this. It is super nourishing without feeling really greasy or heavy, and then I just wake up in the morning with some glowing, radiant skin. It also smells really good—my husband thinks it smells like a poppy seed muffin—and it's one of the only moisturizers I can get him to actually put on his face."

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

Prequel Multi-Acid Milk Peel AHA Exfoliating Solution

"This is the same clinically proven formula you already know and love, now in an even more effortless, on-the-go wipe format. The solution is a staple and is not going anywhere."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Ultra Gentle Daily Peel Pads

"I have used some version of these peel pads for years. They have the gentle sort of the normal and then the extra strength. I wanted to put the ultra gentle ones in this dermstore kit because I feel like that's going to be most accessible for the widest variety of skin types. This has really gentle exfoliating acids and it's a two-step peel process. So you do the acid swipe first to help lift off those dead skin cells, add brightness and glowiness to the skin, and even help with things like discoloration. And then the second step of the peel pad is packed with antioxidants and calming ingredients. So you're doing the exfoliation and then you're calming your skin down to make this so so tolerable. I know these peel pads are marketed for the face, but there's so much juice in the pad that I actually use it on my whole body. So I'll do it on my face after I cleanse in the evening and then I'll bring it down to like my neck, my chest, back of my hands, forearms, booty. Like until that pad is dry, I'm going to get the most out of it. I usually recommend just once a week doing that. And on the night that I exfoliate, that is the only night that I skip my tretinoin."

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

Powder & Setting11 reviews

Huda Beauty Easy Bake Loose Baking and Setting Powder in Cupcake

"Probably the most popular powder for oily skin of all time is from Huda Beauty. That blurring powder that comes in a ton of shades. I just don't think I've ever seen a makeup artist not rave about that product."

✓Yay

78%Guru Score

Kosas Cloud Set Baked Setting Powder

"The one that I use and I've also seen used on oily skin is from Kosas. It's their Cloud Set loose translucent powder. This is also quite good for oily skin because it's so blurring and mattifying. Now, I think the key if you have oily skin, and honestly, this technique works even if you don't have oily skin, is to use a little powder puff. And what I will do is I will drop a little bit of powder into the cap, and I will rub my powder puff around in it. And then I will rub that powder puff into the back of my hand to really work the powder into the puff. I will then press that on any oily parts of my face. So, if I'm going to be on camera, I do this all the time. It's what I do to touch up in between takes and things like that. I will press kind of on the side of my nose, a little bit up under my eye, down by my chin, and around my mouth where product wants to tend to break up. And it just gives this most flawless coverage where you're not only controlling the oil, but because you're able to press the powder into the pores a little bit, you get even more blurring with the product."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder

"It's actually one of my absolute favorite ways to use this Danessa Myricks Blurring Balm Powder. This is an incredible primer. It's beautiful under makeup and especially if you have oily skin, but it can be used on its own. So, this has an ingredient called Upselite in it, which is a really unique molecule that is very good at absorbing oil and sweat and moisture. So, if you're someone who gets really shiny over the course of the day, you can take a little bit of this and use it on sort of like your oily spots and it will help keep the shine down whether or not you decide to put makeup on top of it or not. This is the universal shade. It's translucent. There's zero pigment here, so it's really just for pores and oil control, but they do have it in a ton of different shades. So, if you wanted it to be your foundation and primer all-in-one, especially if you wanted something that just sort of has like a light touch for a little bit of color correction without having to do so much makeup. A super nice option."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

L'Oreal Infallible 3-Second Setting Mist

"The one I recommend for this [...] is the L'Oreal Infallible 3-Second Setting Mist. It really does lock everything in place. It doesn't sting your eyes. I think this performs just as well as Sephora setting sprays at a fraction of the cost."

✓Yay

57%Guru Score

Rare Beauty Always an Optimist Pore Diffusing Primer

"If you like more of a liquidy texture for your primer, Rare Beauty has a pore minimizing primer that is also fantastic and similarly to this one."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light

"I like to take my Hourglass Ambient Powder and kind of swipe all the colors together and buff it over my entire face. I feel like it gives this beautiful glow to the skin without making you look oily or shiny. It also acts to sort of set things in place without having to apply a heavy powder. Hourglass is so good about this. It gives you this lit from within radiance that just makes your skin look healthy."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder

"I've used for over 10 years, and this is the mini. It goes with me when I travel, is by Laura Mercier. It's their Translucent Loose Setting Powder. This one is not tinted, but just incredibly sheer and makes for a very flawless application and finish. Now, the key with any loose setting powder is you don't want to just pack it on. [...] I like light layers. If you're sensing a theme, light layers is the way to work for mature skin. So, what I will do is I will pour a little bit of powder into the cap and then I will take a densely bristled brush and I will swirl it in the powder and then tap off the extra. Swirl and tap. And I will actually be pressing that powder into the brush so that when I go and distribute it on my under eyes or on my midface, I'm just getting the slightest but very even sprinkle of powder. Less is more. It will still work beautifully, but you're going to have a lot less cakeiness."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray

"The Charlotte Tilbury setting spray does a really good job of just locking in your makeup. It has a very nice natural finish. It's not going to make you look too oily or too glowy. It's definitely not going to mattify you."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

e.l.f. Power Grip Primer

"My go-to is from E.L.F. This is their Power Grip Primer. It's quite sticky when you first take it out of the tube, and you just need the smallest amount. [...] I will just press it with my fingertips into the areas around my nose, my mid cheek, forehead, chin. I will let that set for about 30 seconds or so, and then I'm ready to go in with foundation."

✓Yay

67%Guru Score

One-Size Powder Melt Glass Setting Spray

"I use a setting spray for two purposes: to help lock your makeup in place, and to help melt your creams and powders together, especially if you have drier skin, giving a more seamless finish. [...] When I have my makeup professionally done, they almost always use one, and one of the two I've had used on me the most is the One/Size Powder Melt Glass Setting Spray. It does a really good job of just locking in your makeup. It has a very nice natural finish, it's not going to make you look too oily or too glowy, and it's definitely not going to mattify you. If you're in the market for a great setting spray, I've had success with it."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Givenchy Prisme Libre Loose Powder

"The final complexion product I'm going to recommend is a powder. I don't know why it took me so long to buy this because it is so good, it is the Givenchy Prisme Libre setting powder. I have the shade three, which is the pinky toned one, which is what they recommend if you have lighter skin. It is so finely milled. I will often just take a big fluffy powder brush and just kind of dust it everywhere. I'll also use this for baking under the eyes, I usually take a little powder puff, work the powder into the puff, and then press it under the eyes. But it's gorgeous, it gives such a nice luminescent veil to the skin without looking powdery, without looking cakey. It is everything. One thing that I think is worth mentioning is this does have a slight rose scent to it, and I usually hate the smell of rose, I know that's a polarizing opinion, but I do not like really floraly things. But this is a very light sweet rose scent, and I will say once you apply it that scent really dissipates, so it doesn't bother me at all, and I will be the first person to be bothered by a floral scent."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Foundation10 reviews

Dior Backstage Face & Body Foundation

"Another oily skin friendly foundation that I love is the Dior Backstage Face and Body. I used to be a huge MAC Face and Body girl, but I feel like I've been gravitating more towards the Dior Backstage Face and Body, which is good for dry skin like mine if I do a lot of prep underneath it. But if you don't put a lot of moisturizer and heavy products underneath, it is beautiful on oily skin. And it is also sweat resistant. So, it's great if you have a more active lifestyle. If you're just more of like a sweaty girly, it's nice to have something that is just going to hold up. If you're going to be like dancing or at a wedding or you're in a humid climate, it just handles so well over time. They have an incredible shade range. I often will pick a couple of shades and sort of mix depending on how much fake tan or real tan I sometimes have. But a beautiful, beautiful product that works on so many different skin types."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Maybelline SuperStay Lumi Matte 30-Hour Foundation

"One of my favorite oily skin friendly foundations from the drugstore is the Maybelline SuperStay 24-hour skin tint. What I like about this is it's light to medium coverage. And to me, that is the sweet spot for foundation coverage. If you go medium to full coverage, it's always going to look makeupy in person, and that's fine. But if you want kind of an everyday look, light to medium coverage foundation is generally where it's at."

✓Yay

87%Guru Score

Hourglass Veil Hydrating Skin Tint Foundation

"I'm also a really big fan of the Hourglass Skin Tint. This doesn't have as much coverage as the CL, but gives a really beautiful wash of color on the skin. And I find it's really not irritating to the skin, which is important as well."

✓Yay

79%Guru Score

Maybelline Super Stay 24-Hour Skin Tint

"If you have oily skin or you live in a very humid climate or you often need a more longwear foundation just based on the nature of what you're doing over the course of the day or the night, may I recommend the Maybelline SuperStay 24-hour skin tint? This has basically replaced my Dior foundation because it is equally as beautiful and it doesn't have fragrance which just gives it like an extra point for me. Through trial and error, I have found for me this applies best with a brush and I will generally buff it starting in the center of my face working towards the periphery and really work it into the skin. I just pick up a little bit at a time, [...] working in layers. You can always go back in and add another layer of foundation in the area that you need more coverage or you can maybe go in with concealer, but you can always add more. [...] If you do find that your foundation is looking a little bit heavy, what I recommend doing is taking a damp beauty blender that's clean and just bouncing it over your skin. That's going to help pick up some excess product, shear out whatever is on your face, and also help resolve any little streakiness that you may have."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

BK Beauty 101 Foundation Brush

"The brushes you use to apply your makeup really do make a difference and I'm obsessed with these brushes. I like it because you don't have to put a lot of pressure on the skin to get a really even, flawless application. So one, dummy proof, but two, you don't have to worry about like breaking up your sunscreen or your other skincare that's sitting underneath your makeup. Sometimes I feel like I see people buffing really aggressively and I'm like, do we know if that's moving your sunscreen around? But I feel confident that if you let your sunscreen dry down for 10, 15 minutes then go in with your makeup and use a light hand with your brush, you're going to be just fine."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Dior Forever Skin Glow Foundation

"I reach for my Dior Forever Skin Glow Foundation when my skin is acting up, maybe I'm breaking out, my rosacea is going nuts, or if I want fuller coverage makeup. I recommend this one all the time to my patients who have more mature skin who have maybe more imperfections that they're trying to cover up. It has medium coverage and it's 86% skincare ingredients. I just love how it wears on the skin, that it's super long lasting so it's not like breaking up on the skin over the course of the day, especially if you have like dry maybe even combo skin. This is just phenomenal."

✓Yay

68%Guru Score

Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear Foundation

"My go-to foundation for events, weddings, etc. has been the Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear. This is the one with the matte finish. I thought I wouldn't like a matte finish foundation because I wanted things to look glowy, but it's not that matte, it's just skin-like. It's beautiful. It is so long-wearing, and that's the other thing I think is so important to me when it comes to foundation. I need it to hold up. If I'm putting on foundation, I need it to last, be consistent, not be breaking up on my face. This has SPF 25. I'm not using it for its sunscreen benefits at all. I love how creamy this is. I use either a beauty blender or foundation brush, and I like that it stays wet enough that you have time to work it into the skin, but then it dries down completely. This is my go-to when I need medium to full coverage. It builds really nicely."

✓Yay

71%Guru Score

Hourglass Ambient Foundation Brush

"I just pulled these out of my travel bag they're both by Hourglass and I'm obsessed. This is their foundation brush."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Foundation

"I've been a huge fan of the Charlotte Tilbury lip products for such a long time and I hadn't tried any of the complexion products, but wow, they're awesome. This is definitely a medium coverage foundation that I can also shear out depending on how I apply it. A medium coverage foundation can basically take away all of my redness, get rid of some of my hyperpigmentation and melasma, but still give me a very natural look. I really like this packaging because it's incredibly convenient and super lightweight. It applies very beautifully with just your fingertips so I don't need my brush or beauty blender. It feels very hydrating and nourishing on the skin and doesn't really weigh my skin down even though it has really good coverage. In some ways it reminds me of the IT Cosmetics CC cream where when you apply it you're like my skin looks flawless, but it's not as heavy and doesn't tend to get as cakey."

✓Yay

64%Guru Score

MAC Face and Body Radiant Sheer Foundation

"This foundation is my oldest, longest standing love when it comes to foundation. It's a water-based foundation that gives sheer to light coverage but looks so skin-like when you apply it."

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

Balms & Ointments9 reviews

Vaseline Original Healing Jelly

"I always really encourage my patients to keep their wounds moist with a little bit of Vaseline and keep it covered with a bandage until they take their stitches out."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Neosporin Neosporin

"Neosporin contains an antibiotic called neomycin and over 10% of the population is or will become allergic to that antibiotic in their lifetime. We see this all the time in dermatology where someone has been using Neosporin their whole life and then suddenly they're treating a cut or a scrape or some stitches after plastic surgery and now they're getting a red, irritated, blistering reaction. They have developed allergic contact dermatitis and it was totally avoidable. [...] You don't actually need Neosporin to heal wounds. Plain Vaseline, Aquaphor will work the exact same way when it comes to efficacy, and you're not subjecting yourself to any risk."

✕Nay

31%Guru Score

CeraVe Healing Ointment

"I'm also a really big fan of CeraVe Healing Ointment that's 46.5% petrolatum and then also has additional moisturizing ingredients like ceramides that CeraVe is known for as well as panthenol and even hyaluronic acid to help draw water to the skin surface so a lot of people find that product to be extra moisturizing."

✓Yay

92%Guru Score

Triple Paste Medicated Ointment

"I also really like Triple Paste."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

Eucerin Intensive Foot Repair Ointment

"I love this stuff. When we're thinking about the treatment of dry skin and using moisturizers we really want to incorporate products that have emollient so things that are going to soften the skin, humectant things that are going to draw water to the skin, and occlusive things that are going to trap water against the skin and this Eucerin foot cream has all of those. This is probably the fastest working foot cream that I recommend and it just gives such instant results that I find that patients are very compliant with it because they use it for one or two nights and they're like oh I get it."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Prequel Barrier Therapy Skin Protectant Cream

"I particularly like a body moisturizer with colloidal oatmeal because that is often what we recommend to eczema patients who also struggle with their skin barrier. Of course, I love my Prequel Barrier Therapy, and now we have Barrier Therapy Rich for people who want something a little bit more enveloping."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Prequel 1% Colloidal Oatmeal and Alanine Multi-Ceramides Adenosine Barrier Therapy Rich Skin Protectant Cream

"Even though this is richer, something that makes this formula particularly special is that it still applies beautifully. It is silky. It is luxurious. And it doesn't have a greasy finish. I have been using this all fall and winter. And on my skin, it feels slightly more occlusive. When you apply it, you immediately feel how hydrating and velvety it is. And when I feel like my skin just needs more barrier support, this is absolutely what I've been reaching for. Also, this tube is huge. You get so much product in here. When you're incorporating this into your skincare routine, treat it as a moisturizer and especially if your skin feels compromised, dry or flaky. Not only do I apply this on my body, but it works as a great facial moisturizer. I apply it in the evening after I've cleansed, done my serums, applied my tretinoin, and then this goes on top of everything. Especially if there are any of you out there who are trying to tolerate a topical retinoid like tretinoin, but you just can't get past that dryness or that flakiness, this will be a total game changer for you. If you ever finish your morning or your nighttime skincare routine and you think to yourself, 'Ah, my skin still needs something more, more hydration, more moisture,' then this is going to be great for you. It is non-greasy, fragrance-free, steroid-free, hypoallergenic, allergy tested, and safe for all skin types, including those with sensitive or eczema-prone skin."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

Prequel Skin Utility Balm Multi-Purpose Skin Protectant

"I'm going in with my Prequel Skin Utility Balm for my lip area. I am about to go in with a topical retinoid, and retinoids can be quite irritating for the lips. So I like to protect them ahead of time. It acts as a little buffer. If you have any other areas that are prone to irritation with your topical retinoid, you can go ahead and put that ointment there as well. Some people will apply it further out here or on their chin or around their nose where they tend to get peeling from their retinoid. This is a perfect little buffer. It serves as like a little nighttime lip mask."

✓Yay

71%Guru Score

Prequel Skin Utility Gel Multi-Purpose Skin Protectant

"I think a gel is really valuable here especially for people who want something lighter on their skin or maybe suffer from oily skin and want something that's not going to weigh them down. This isn't your typical gel cream or watery gel. It starts as a gel but as you work it into the skin it forms this very light veil on the skin that is just special. I have not touched something like this before in the best way. As a skin protectant, the thing that I think is so cool is that this could layer in multiple different places in your routine. You could do it as the first thing on your skin or over your moisturizers. Because of this lightweight texture, this product is so ideal for people who like the idea of slugging or skin protectants in concept but maybe have acne prone skin or oily skin and they've never really been able to get on board with that. This will allow you to still help your skin and heal your skin in that way but with something that feels more comfortable to you. Even though this is a skin protectant and it has some occlusive properties, it's still very breathable and so it's very comfortable on the skin. If you're in the category where you want your skin barrier to be restored but you don't necessarily want to feel the product on your skin, this gel is fantastic."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

Concealer9 reviews

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circle Treatment Concealer

"If you want a drugstore option, the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser. I like this one a lot. The only thing I don't like is the little spongy applicator that starts to get gross. But in terms of a formula, very, very nice."

~Mixed

85%Guru Score

NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer

"The best thing I have ever found to conceal a blemish, and I know a lot of makeup artists agree with me here because I see it recommended on their channels all the time, is the NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer. I love this because it is super pigmented. They have a ton of great shades and it's not as wet as a lot of concealers, so it builds and then it stays. It is so good for covering an acne spot. There are a lot of days where I'm not wearing a full face of foundation but I still don't want my big acne spot on my face, and [...] what I will do is dip into this concealer with a little flat brush. [...] You can just dip a little bit into the pot, swipe any excess off, and then [...] tap and dot it on any blemishes, redness, or discoloration. If I am wearing foundation, I will do my foundation first, and then if there's any residual redness or brown spot that I can see through my foundation that I don't want to see, I will go in afterward and put this on."

✓Yay

93%Guru Score

Tarte Shape Tape Concealer

"I feel like I'm a pretty big connoisseur of under eye products, both for my job and the fact that I'm prone to dark circles as well. And I have really fallen in love with the Tarte Shape Tape Concealer. I think actually one of you guys put me on to this, but it just looks so seamless under the eyes. It pairs well with makeup, but also if it's a day where I'm just wearing skin care and don't really want to put the rest of my makeup on, I can just pat that under the eyes and they instantly look brighter, but it's undetectable."

✓Yay

71%Guru Score

Lancôme Teint Idôle Ultra Wear All Over Concealer

"Another product that works really well if you don't have access to the Sarah Creel is the Lancôme serum concealer. Beautiful product."

✓Yay

88%Guru Score

BK Beauty Angie Hot and Flashy A506 Concealer Brush

"I love this little concealer brush. This is the Angie Hot and Flashy collab with BK Beauty. I think this is a genius brush. It's like a little dense paw that you can just really press and blend everything into."

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

Tower 28 Swipe Allover Hydrating Serum Concealer

"When it comes to concealers I have been loving serum concealers. I feel like a ton of brands are doing this now and they just tend to be a little bit more liquidy, they're less detectable on the skin. The Tower 28 concealer is particularly nice for under the eyes. It just sits and looks so creamy and smooth. I won't say it never creases, there is not a concealer in the world that doesn't crease under the eyes, but this one looks really good all day. It keeps the area hydrated. This has hyaluronic acid in it, it also has caffeine so it's going to help with like the eye bags, and it has centella asiatica which is soothing on the skin."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

Givenchy Prism Libre Skin Caring Concealer

"This is the Givenchy Prism Libre concealer, so glad I picked this up. This is as fantastic as everyone says. This is shade N120 amazing."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Huda Beauty Faux Filter Matte Buildable Coverage Waterproof Concealer

"This is the Huda Beauty Faux Filter and I am shade Coconut Flakes. It's a wetter formula, like it's super full coverage but you can actually blend it. I will often use this more like for under eye brightening some kind of highlighting and then I'll use like a slightly darker concealer on the periphery of my face. I think that this concealer with the Lancôme like underneath it, this to me is such an amazing pair. I mean they just look so good together."

✓Yay

74%Guru Score

Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Radiant Concealer

"I picked them up in a couple of shades which I almost always do for concealers. I always want one that is a true skin match and I use that for covering up blemishes or on days that I don't really want to wear like a full face of foundation and I just want a little bit of light coverage everywhere and then I always pick up a shade that's a little bit lighter than my skin tone for areas that I want to highlight or brighten like my under eye. What I really love about this concealer is the pigment so it's not the most pigmented concealer I have ever used but you do get some really good coverage with it but even more importantly is the finish it is the most beautiful hydrating radiant finish it's like your skin but better. I think the whole point within this sort of beautiful skin line within the Charlotte Tilbury collection is to actually enhance your skin while you're wearing makeup and I feel like they have really achieved this."

✓Yay

64%Guru Score

Mists & Essences9 reviews

Rejuran Turnover Ampoule

"This serum contains PDRN, which stands for polydeoxyribonucleotides, the trendy ingredient derived from salmon sperm. There are some legitimate studies that show PDRN helps with wound healing when it is injected into the skin. But people are extrapolating that data and saying if we apply PDRN topically, then we can have anti-aging benefits, and to me that is such a big leap. Could this serum hydrate your skin and make it look more glowy? Absolutely. But that also could be coming from the rest of the formulation and it is not proving that you're getting any type of enhanced skin longevity or regeneration from the PDRN that's in there. My verdict is skip, at least for now."

✕Nay

74%Guru Score

SK-II Facial Treatment Essence

"SK-II is a Japanese brand with a decades-long cult following and their hero product is this lightweight watery essence that you pat into your skin after you cleanse but before you apply your serums. People who have used it for years describe their skin becoming progressively more even, radiant, and resilient over time. [...] I actually love recommending this for sensitive skin types who maybe can't tolerate vitamin C or exfoliating acids. It works through a completely different mechanism than other anti-aging products and it's very well tolerated. [...] The main ingredient of this essence is Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, a yeast ferment discovered when sake brewery workers were found to have super young-looking hands. It's thought to be so effective because the fermentation produces a concentrated mix of amino acids, organic acids, and vitamins that support the skin's natural renewal process."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Rhode Glazing Milk Ceramide Facial Essence

"I love using this because it keeps the under eyes hydrated but allows your concealer to still set in place. If you don't have access to Prequel, something like the Rhode Glazing Milk would work really well here."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence

"Another hydrating serum I really like is the COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence. I know snail mucin sounds absolutely foul so you kind of have to separate yourself from the concept, but it works really well at hydrating your skin. But always remember to follow with a moisturizer."

✓Yay

78%Guru Score

Tower 28 SOS Daily Rescue Facial Spray

"Tower 28's SOS spray is really what put hypochlorous acid on the map when it comes to using it in skincare. The reason hypochlorous acid gained so much traction outside of a dermatology office is because people were seeing immense benefits in their skin with regular use. [...] One issue I found with hypochlorous acid sprays in the past is you don't get a nice fine mist when you spray it, it's more of a squirt, and so I really find that this has a beautiful application on the skin."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist

"Tonight I'm using the essence from Tatcha. This has a few different fermented ingredients that have been shown to hydrate, plump, and sort of soften the skin. When I do use an essence, it's pretty nice. I almost never use an essence in my personal routine just because I like to keep things as streamlined as possible, but when I do use an essence, it's pretty nice."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Laneige Cream Skin Refiner Mist

"I never thought I would use a spray moisturizer because it felt a little bit gimmicky to me and I couldn't really think of a time where I would use this instead of my traditional moisturizer. But it turns out there are a lot of times for it. When I wake up in the morning and I'm going to work out immediately, I don't do my full skincare routine, I usually just splash water on my face and go. But I was finding my face was feeling tight and dry during my workout, and when I would put moisturizer on after cleansing my face in the morning my skin felt heavy and kind of sticky and I didn't like that feeling when I was sweating it during my workout. This mist is the Goldilocks spot for moisturization. Now in the morning I wake up, splash water on my face, put on this mist, and then go work out and that is the perfect amount of hydration without making my skin feel weighed down. I also like to use this in the evening after I've cleansed my face but before I put my tretinoin or whatever retinoid I'm using that night. Occasionally when my rosacea is acting up or I've had sun exposure or my skin's just feeling a little bit, I don't want to put a full-on moisturizer on before my retinoid because for me I don't feel like my retinoids are as effective that way. But I like using the mist as a hydrating moisturizing step that doesn't feel thick or heavy before I go in with my retinoid and it helps me strike that balance of hydrating the skin but not making it feel occluded or stifled."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Prequel Universal Skin Solution Dermal Spray for Face and Body

"This is the Prequel Universal Skin Solution, it is hypochlorous acid. [...] It's a very gentle refresher for the skin, it's antimicrobial, it's anti-inflammatory, and it's what I use every day in my own clinic to prepare my patient skin for procedures. It helps cleanse the skin. I found that sometimes people who have very sensitive skin have low-grade irritation going on from their environment or they have an unusual microbiome, so the bacteria and fungi and viruses that sit on their skin sensitize it, and using something like hypochlorous acid in your routine can be so helpful. I love this one in particular because the mist is just so beautifully fine. I often will use this after I work out, but it's also so gorgeous in a nighttime skincare routine and it's so refreshing. We launched this product over a year ago now, and since then so many of my patients have come in and said that this truly saved their skin, whether they were dealing with perioral dermatitis or a little eczema patch. People put this on bug bites and just random rashes."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Tirtir Ceramide Milk Ampoule

"I have one more product I want to talk about that's going to make you look like a dewy dumpling. I have the Tirtir Ceramide Milk Ampoule, and I got to say I found the name kind of intriguing but I was like milk ampoule, what is that product going to be, and it didn't disappoint. One of the reasons this is in my current faves is because I've never really tried a product quite like it before. I would describe it as if you took a moisturizer and a face oil and they had a love child. So it has this beautiful hydrating moisturizing property to it but it's quite liquidy so it rubs in beautifully to the skin and then leaves this lasting glow the same way when you put on like a body oil and you can see that sheen. This does the same thing for your facial skin. So if you're someone watching this going ooh I have Sahara Desert skin where I go in, I put my moisturizer on, I finish my skincare routine and I'm like my skin still feels thirsty, it still wants something more, I am obsessed with this. I personally would use this more in my nighttime skincare routine. I think if you're going for that like really glowy glass skin look during the day you could use it during the day as well, but I personally don't love a face oil like they feel a little bit too heavy, but this where it's kind of like you get that oil effect but it's got more of that moisturizing milky."

✓Yay

74%Guru Score

Tech7 reviews

CurrentBody LED Light Therapy Mask Series 1

"I recently learned that CurrentBody is doing clinical trials at the University of Manchester where they're actually doing skin biopsies on the treated skin to show exactly what is happening at the molecular level with the collagen and the rejuvenated structure within the skin. I just find that incredibly admirable and if you're going to spend hundreds of dollars on a mask, wouldn't you like to see that data, especially when other masks are not offering that same quality of evidence? The two red light masks you will see me recommend the most, whether it's on Instagram or here, is the CurrentBody mask and the Omnilux mask because both of those companies have done independent trials."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Omnilux Face Contour Red Light Therapy Mask

"The Omnilux mask is one of the two red light masks I recommend most because the company has done independent trials and has actually proved that this specific device is efficacious. The two red light masks you will see me recommend the most, whether it's on Instagram or here, is the CurrentBody mask and the Omnilux mask because both of those companies have done independent trials."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

NuFACE Trinity Facial Toning Device

"A subscriber said they used their New Face for a year and didn't see that it did anything. Microcurrent, which is what New Face uses, is meant to stimulate muscle tone and contraction to induce lift over time. But when the face ages, it's not really a muscle issue. It's all the other tissues in the face loosening and descending, which is probably why most people find New Face results to be subtle, if present at all."

✕Nay

60%Guru Score

iRestore Laser Hair Growth Helmet

"The only other thing I do very consistently is wear a red light helmet. There's very good data that red light therapy helps with androgenetic or female pattern hair loss, so I do it. I've been doing that for over [...] 5 years, including through pregnancy and breastfeeding. [...] I have both the iRestore helmet and the CurrentBody one. I just use whichever one is charged. They're both effective."

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

NIRA Precision Laser

"The NIRA Precision Laser uses a 1450 nanometer wavelength, which is actually very similar to the wavelength we use for a clear and brilliant laser in an office setting. The challenge with a laser like that is that the power is incredibly low. The wavelength of a laser is only one aspect of what determines if it's effective. The power, the density of the beams, the duration of treatment, how many passes you do, these are all things that also determine whether or not you're going to have collagen stimulation. In this case, that's the goal for these. And the reality is these are such weak lasers that how much benefit you're going to see is going to be very, very conservative."

✕Nay

56%Guru Score

CurrentBody Skin LED Hair Growth Helmet

✓Yay

83%Guru Score

CurrentBody Skin LED Light Therapy Mask Series 2

"I think one of the best red light masks on the market is the Current Body Series 2 red light mask and it's something I've been recommending to patients and friends long before this video. Not only does this mask use clinically validated wavelengths of red light and near infrared light, they've also been super thoughtful about the way they designed this mask to fit the face, so it's very comfortable and very easy to use. One of the biggest determinants of whether or not your red light mask is going to work well and deliver the results you're looking for like clearer skin, brighter skin, firmer skin is how close those bulbs actually sit to the skin, and I think Current Body has done a great job making sure that you have a super close fit. Compared to so many other masks I have tried, they've really nailed the fit around the mouth, around the chin, and around the eyes, which are big aging zones and a lot of masks have gaps in those areas. Another issue I see that arises with other red light masks is there's no verification process so you don't really know if what you think you're getting is what you are actually getting, but with the Current Body Series 2 mask you get something called a Veritoss NFC card which you essentially scan and it tells you what the exact specs of your specific mask are, so you're actually getting the wavelengths that you're expecting."

✓Yay

89%Guru Score

Blush & Bronzer6 reviews

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Matte Bouncy Blush in Happy

"Another blush that I love for oily skin, not only because it mattifies, but it also sort of has a blurring effect, are the Rare Beauty Matte Bouncy Blushes. Just gorgeous shades. Also very pigmented. I would pick this up on like a slightly fluffier brush."

✓Yay

77%Guru Score

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Luminous Bronze Light

"I freaking love my Hourglass bronzer. It is so good. It is so flattering. It's got a little bit of radiance, but not like glittery sheen. I will just take a brush, kind of fluff it in there, and then just sort of dust it over the periphery of my face. It's a way to add powder to your face, but that's also truly makeup. So you're not just looking powdery and bright everywhere. It's truly adding something to your complexion."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

iNNBEAUTY PROJECT Extreme Cream Eye Firming and Contouring Cream

"The eye cream from In Beauty, their extreme eye... firming and contouring cream... this is a really comprehensive eye cream, and it's very reasonably priced for how effective it is."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush

"You can put it on anyway. You can put it onto a brush. You can literally take it out of the tube and dab it on your skin and it will blend out into perfection. And so it's just a very easy blush to work with and look so natural. This is one of my favorite colors that they have, shade Bahadi. But the colors that they have are also just so beautiful. If you do have really oily skin, I don't feel like this will have the same lasting power on you. [...] These are highly pigmented, though. So what I recommend doing is putting a little bit on like the back of your hand or the back of like a palette and then going in and dipping your brush in before you put it on your face. If you put it straight on your face, you're going to end up with like a streaky application. It's going to be oversaturated in certain areas."

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

Makeup by Mario Soft Sculpt Transforming Skin Enhancer

"One cream bronzer that I think is phenomenal is the Makeup by Mario Soft Sculpt Transforming Skin Enhancer, and this is shade light medium. They have a good shade range. [...] It's such a good medium tone bronze. It's not too cool. It's not too warm. It's certainly not orange, which I think is another huge mistake with bronzer. [...] The texture is gorgeous. The way it blends on the skin is just effortless. It looks very skin-like. It doesn't look too glowy or too oily. It's not shiny. It doesn't dry matte or get patchy. It is just perfection in my opinion. [...] This is makeup for dummies, meaning if you're newer to makeup and you want products that are just going to blend really effortlessly, you don't have to have a lot of artistry to make them look good. [...] It's great for mature skin because mature skin tends to lean dry and can look a little bit dull and so this adds some natural radiance and luminosity."

✓Yay

87%Guru Score

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer

"For my bronzer, I use the Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer in shade Bronzer. I really like this one because it's not too warm. If you have a fairer complexion like I do, if you use a bronzer that's too warm, you'll just start to look orange. This is a nice neutrally pigmented bronzer that also doesn't lean too gray, and I don't want it gray because I'm not trying to contour with this bronzer. I'm just trying to warm up my complexion and make it look like I have a tan."

✓Yay

73%Guru Score

Toners6 reviews

Anua Heartleaf 77% Soothing Toner

"This is such a wonderful calming toner. If you have redness, you're easily irritated, this is the toner I would pick for sure. [...] It feels like water. So, it's incredibly lightweight. But that heartleaf in there is a plant extract that has a ton of flavonoids in it. So, that's going to be soothing. That's antioxidant rich. It's really there to just calm the skin down and allow it to tolerate things that you put on top of it."

✓Yay

87%Guru Score

I'm From Rice Toner

"This is a very milky toner, but still quite lightweight. The goal of this toner is really to be brightening. It has niacinamide in it, which not only helps with dark spots, but also helps fortify the skin barrier. And remember, when it comes to mirror skin, we want the barrier to be strong and we want it to be clear."

✓Yay

95%Guru Score

Peach Slices Acne Exfoliating Toner with Salicylic Acid Acne Treatment

"One of my favorite exfoliants for oily skin is the Peach Slices Acne Exfoliating Toner. You don't have to have acne to benefit from this toner, but I think they call it an acne toner because it has 2% salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid and it's good at delving into the pores and breaking up those clogs within them because salicylic acid is much better than alpha hydroxy acids at removing oils from the skin. I find that oily-skinned individuals tend to lean into salicylic acid products because it helps with their oil control. There are tons of different 2% salicylic acid toners out there on the market, but I just think this overall formulation is really lovely. It also has a little bit of glycolic acid and lactic acid in there as well, so you're not just getting that removal of oil from the skin but it also does still help remove that outer dead skin cell layer as well, so you can really glow. This also has some nice soothing, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial ingredients, so that if you do struggle with acne or your skin is more irritated maybe from some acne products that you're using, this toner is not going to overdo it."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Medik8 Press and Glow PHA Toner

"Another exfoliant that I really love for people who have dry skin and particularly for people who have dry and sensitive skin is by Medik8, it's their Press and Glow PHA Toner. This product uses an exfoliant that maybe a lot of people have not heard of or not familiar with. It uses a polyhydroxy acid called gluconolactone. Polyhydroxy acids in general tend to be more gentle than alpha hydroxy acids, and gluconolactone specifically is really good at both exfoliating and hydrating the skin. So someone has tried to incorporate things like lactic acid or glycolic acid and found them to be too irritating, using something that uses polyhydroxy acids can be a nice way to still include an exfoliant but in a more gentle way. In my practice I treat a lot of patients who have facial eczema or rosacea and these patients still want to exfoliate, they still want to remove that dead skin cell layer, but a lot of products just don't play nice with their sensitive and dry skin. So if I have a patient like that who wants to exfoliate because their eczema or their rosacea is under good control, I will often have them start with a PHA type of product to reduce the risk of inflammation afterward. Similar to a lot of exfoliants this has a very lightweight liquidy texture. So I would apply this first thing on clean skin. You could do it in the morning or in the evening. If you're doing it in the evening I would skip any retinoid that you're using at that time until you know if you can tolerate this well, and then if you are able to use it every day without irritation then bringing it in."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution

"One of the most affordable topical glycolic acid preparations that I have used is by The Ordinary and it's their 7% Glycolic Acid Toning Solution. This is super cost-effective you get a pretty large bottle for under $15. I don't typically use this on my face because it feels a little bit too spicy to use on my face but I think it's amazing for your body. You can actually buy a little spray top from Amazon and attach it to this bottle and then just spray it on the body and then go in with whatever lotion you like afterward."

✓Yay

76%Guru Score

Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner

"Next I'm going in with the Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner. I really love a toning step if you have sensitive skin because working in layers of added hydration can really make the skin not just look better, look more plump and supple, but also feel a lot better. Also, a hydrating toner like this can kind of act as a gentle buffer between your skin and any skincare actives that might be irritating like retinoids or acids. [...] You can see it's nice and liquidy, layers very, very nicely under other products, it's super lightweight on the skin. [...] The Haruharu products [...] are also fragrance-free, so I know with people who have sensitive skin, me included, sometimes fragrance can just set things off, and so going in with things that are fragrance-free just helps eliminate that variable from the sensitive skin equation. And already my skin just feels juicier. [...] My skin feels juicy, so I would consider that like my first layer of hydration, just kind of nourishing the skin, babying it a little bit because when we go in with our anti-aging actives we want our skin to be able to handle that."

✓Yay

82%Guru Score

Tools6 reviews

BK Beauty 107 Brush

"I really like the BK 107. Again, about the size of like two fingers, and it allows you to get a good swath of product without it just blowing out all your features."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

BK Beauty Essential Collection Face Brush Set

"Getting someone a great set of makeup brushes is such a beautiful gift. I got the BK Beauty Essential Collection face set and the eye set and these brushes are fantastic. I have really not reached for many of my other brushes since. If you've been anywhere on the TikTok beauty space then these brushes have probably been marketed to you and I 100% feel that they live up to the hype."

✓Yay

74%Guru Score

BK Beauty Holy Grail Trio Brush Set

"I have really not reached for many of my other brushes since this. If you've been anywhere on the TikTok Beauty space then these brushes have probably been marketed to you and I 100% feel that they live up to the hype. Their Holy Grail brush Trio, which is a few different face brushes, is fantastic. This has their 101 contoured foundation brush which is my main foundation application brush these days. It also has their 109 which is a mini brush of this which I often use for blush and it has a great little kitten paw brush that you can use for concealer under the eyes around the nose. Not only are these brushes super soft and super high quality but I think probably most importantly, especially for someone who doesn't do makeup professionally, is they make your application of your makeup flawless."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Tweezerman Tweezers

"Having a good pair of tweezers is fabulous, whether you're plucking out a chin hair or an eyebrow hair. I think that's a great stocking stuffer or addition to any gift, and I have been super happy with my pair of tweezers for a very, very long time."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Slip Silk Pillowcase

"There are definitely a wide variety of silk pillowcases and bonnets available. I've always used the one from Slip. I bought it many many years ago and it continues to last and do really well."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Lily Silk Mulberry Silk Pillowcase

"I've been traveling with a silk pillowcase for over half a decade if not longer because I feel like sleeping on silk is something that I love doing. The Lily Silk quality is excellent, it is so buttery soft and it doesn't have colorant or dyes so it's great if you have sensitive skin. It has a zipper now that might seem like a trivial feature but it's not because silk has got a little bit of slip to it and you don't want it sliding off your pillow in the middle of the night. The other thing that makes this awesome is it has this little pocket on the inside and this entire pillowcase can fit in the little pocket and that's what makes it so supremely excellent for travel. Sleeping on silk is something that I really do feel like is beneficial for both my skin and my hair because silk can be very very tightly woven so it's not super absorbent, which is great because when I'm sleeping on my silk pillowcase I don't have to worry that all of the goodies that I've put on my face to kind of soak in overnight are instead going to be soaking into my pillowcase. Compared to a cotton or cotton blend pillowcase, silk is also really nice and slippery. There's not a lot of friction between your silk pillowcase and your skin or your hair, and that kind of serves multiple purposes. One, I feel like it makes me less prone to getting these like sleep creases, and it also doesn't make my hair frizz up overnight, which is huge because when I travel I want to maximize the amount of sleep I'm going to get and I don't want to get up early to do my hair."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Acne4 reviews

Mighty Patch Original Hydrocolloid Acne Pimple Patches

"These hydrocolloid pimple patches help draw a little bit of fluid to the surface so they can actually help shrink your pimples faster. I really like the Mighty Patch Original Hydrocolloid Acne Pimple Patches, and having the patch over it it's like out of sight out of mind."

✓Yay

86%Guru Score

Cetaphil Gentle Clear Mattifying Acne Moisturizer Salicylic Acid Treatment

"I think this is a wonderful product for those who have oily skin, are starting to see a little bit of increased skin texture or increased blackheads, but also have sensitive skin because it's formulated with all of those skin concerns in mind. Unlike any of the other moisturizers that I've discussed today, this one has salicylic acid and salicylic acid is a beta-hydroxy acid that works within the pore to break up debris so it can really help with early acne and skin texture. It can also help minimize the appearance of pores. The problem with salicylic acid usually is that it can be a little bit irritating for people so when you formulate it within a moisturizer like in this product you're sort of preventing the irritation from the salicylic acid before it even happens because you have all these other nourishing, moisturizing ingredients going alongside it."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

COSRX Acne Pimple Master Patch

"I would much prefer that you use a hydrocolloid pimple patch on any blemish that's sort of coming to a head, something like the CosRx pimple patch because not only will this hydrocolloid patch draw fluid out of the pimple and help dry it out quicker, it's also formulated for use on the skin and it acts as a barrier to prevent you from picking at the pimple."

✓Yay

75%Guru Score

Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide

"Another benzoyl peroxide product that I really like is the Neutrogena Stubborn AM Acne Treatment. This is a leave-on product so instead of being a wash that you rinse off, you put this on as a cream and then you can layer your other skincare products on top of it. This contains 2.5 micronized benzoyl peroxide. 2.5 is absolutely strong enough to be effective and exert all of those amazing positive anti-acne effects in the skin, and the fact that it's micronized means that the benzoyl peroxide particles are teeny tiny and can easily penetrate into the pore where the acne starts. The key with this product is to not use it as a spot treatment. I feel like a lot of people buy this and they use it on their active pimples, but once an acne bump comes to the skin surface it's kind of at the end of its life cycle, and anything you do to it at that point is not really going to expedite its resolution that much. The real value of benzoyl peroxide and really of all acne products is to prevent future acne from coming to the surface. So I typically recommend applying a thin layer of this to areas that someone tends to break out, so that might be on the cheeks, the nose, the forehead and the chin. Usually we're sparing the areas around the nose and the eyes and the mouth just because those areas are more prone to irritation, and that is applied once a day usually in the morning followed by sunscreen, and over time that's going to reduce the number of breakouts that someone has."

✓Yay

85%Guru Score

Nails2 reviews

Dazzle Dry Nail Polish System

"Dazzle Dry is a nail polish brand that's known for being a little bit more gentle on nails. The thought is this nail polish doesn't contain an ingredient called nitrocellulose which can be a little bit damaging to the nail plate. Dazzle Dry kind of meets this nice niche of getting a little bit of longevity out of your nail polish but not being a traditional gel or dip polish."

✓Yay

84%Guru Score

Derma Nail Conditioner

"The Derma Nail Conditioner is something that you apply to the cuticle every single day. I was actually recommended it by one of my patients and I have since recommended it to so many people who also love it."

✓Yay

80%Guru Score

Fragrance1 review

All Free and Clear Laundry Detergent

"Using a hypoallergenic laundry detergent is great because it just eliminates that as a potential option for the reason that you're having sensitive skin or breakouts. I really like this particular detergent because you can use it with any type of washing machine."

✓Yay

81%Guru Score

Ingredients1 review

Allies of Skin Retinaldehyde

"I love the allies of skin retin aldhy it also comes in 0.05 and 0.1 concentrations but they've put it in a moisturizing base"

✓Yay

71%Guru Score

Supplements1 review

Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides with Amino Acids, Iron and Protein

"There's been some really nice systematic reviews that have consistently shown that collagen does benefit your skin health, and so for me it's kind of like two birds one stone. I'm getting the protein that I would want to get in my diet but struggle to get through regular food sources plus this added collagen boost. I tend to reach for the one by Vital Proteins just because you can get it in quite a large container, it's quite affordable, and it's quite easily accessible online as well as at large retailers like Target and Costco. I tend to blend it into a smoothie, so my sort of typical collagen powder smoothie also has spinach and berries and lime and banana and chia seeds."

✓Yay

67%Guru Score

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