Frankly Retinol 0.1%

I'm a big fan of Korean skincare which is very advanced. The brand, Frankly, offers high quality retinol anti-aging creams. The top image (o.1%) is the beginner potency. When using retinol, always start with a weaker strength and work your way up to a higher strength. Virgin skin won't be able to tolerate higher strengths, and you'll stop using it. The skin's tolerance builds up to the higher potency with regular use. Frankly has a 2-strength set, Retinol 0.1 paired with a 0.3 stronger strength. Week one of retinol use, you might use it once a week. Week 2 you might use it twice a week, and week 3 to 3 times a week, etc. You skin benefits by the consistency of retinol use over how strong the retinol is.

Frankly's retinol creams contain ceramides and ginseng extract to hydrate and nourish the skin while the retinol is working to smooth our fine lines and wrinkles. It's the perfect balance between effectiveness and gentleness. Retinol can be drying while it speeds up skin cell turnover. Ceramides and ginseng moisturize the skin.

For many people I recommend only buying one strength at a time since everybody's skin reacts differently and you don't know when your skin will tolerate a higher strength. So you may need to buy retinol 0.01 repeatedly before you can bump up the potency. Retin-A (prescription strength) and Retinol (non-prescription strength) tends not to have an eternal shelf life.

The price point ($15.90) is very reasonable for a high quality retinol. K-beauty tends to be a bargain which will surely change with tariffs slapped on all foreign goods to be passed on to customers. Let's all hope tariffs are short-lived! According to economists, tariffs on most everything will rise prices with little benefit to future production or the economy.

Originally Amazon aimed to show customers how much tariffs would add to the cost of products, but after a call to Jeff Bezos from the White House to object, this was scraped. In purchasing goods or services, I'm always on the side of transparency. What consumers don't know usually hurts their wallets. You decide whether or not you'll pay for tariffs on consumer goods. On essentials you won't have much of a choice. On extras you will!

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Neutrogena Collagen Bank Face Moisturizer with SPF 30 Sunscreen

Sunscreen should be worn on exposed skin every day of the year without exception. While many drugstore brands of sunscreen are ample and cheap, I can understand paying a little more for what goes on your face. If the consistency of sunscreen is too thick, white, or greasy we're less likely to reach for it. To boot, it might cause some faces to break out!

Neutrogena, a drugstore brand, is a top-notch skincare line, bar none. Neutrogena's Collagen Bank SPF 30 Moisturizer and Sunscreen does double duty as a fantastic sunscreen and anti-aging face moisturizer. It contains peptides that reportedly penetrate "10 layers of skin" to stimulate the production of collagen. Peptides (short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds) are anti-aging ingredients that help treat fine lines and sagging by plumping up the skin.

This non-greasy formula melts into the skin, absorbs quickly, and does not leave a white cast, the reason to pay a bit more! It's also fragrance-free, paraben-free, phthalate-free, dye-free, dermatologist-tested and non-comedogenic. Because it's a light agreeable formula, we're more likely to use it. 

As a drugstore brand, this Neutrogena Bank formula costs less than many luxe face sunscreens/anti-aging moisturizers yet more than sunscreens for the rest of the body. Customers can wait for a 2-for-1 or other sale to get the best value. Finding great drugstore skincare saves us money, and Neutrolgena is worth the splurge!

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