Bistex Launches New Intense Lip Moisturizers With Color

Blixtex is no longer just a pot of petroleum jelly. Its lip moisture line now includes lip color and lip liner, 2 worthy additions. They contain ceramides to repair the skin barrier and vitamin E to smooth dry lips  -- the claim is for 24 hours of all-day moisture. Although I think Blistex makes superior lip moisturizing products, I've never used any brand that moisturizes lips (or skin) for 24 hours without reapplying it throughout the day. I suspect the same is true here. But ceramides do the most to moisturize the skin and last longer than other ingredients.

Products less moisturizing than Bistex include ChapStick and Burt’s Bees, which can be stiff and waxy instead of treating and melting into your dry lips. Maybelline’s Baby Lips melts into your lips without really treating or smoothing the dryness, and its degrees of pink hues bleed. That said, I'd use these 3 lip moisturizers over using nothing at all in winter.

Another excellent product to treat winter dry lips is a tried-and-true jar of petroleum jelly. It's super cheap and lasts forever. I wouldn’t spend the money on the minuscule jars of Vaseline colored petroleum jelly. The tiny pots cost more per oz than a 13 oz size that will last for years, and I’d rather carry a cylinder lip balm in a purse than a tiny jar of Vaseline. To boot, the pink color has no staying power.

The Blixtex lip colors let you moisturize your lips without having to apply lipstick under petroleum jelly, which smears. So if you must look polished on the job, Blixtex’s lip color moisturizers might be the answer to add a little lip definition as you moisturize your lips.

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3 Wellness Tools, 2 Will Stay in Their Boxes

When a child, my parents bought a waffle iron. We made waffles one time, put our new gadget back in its box and stored it on a shelf where it may still be to this day. We never made waffles again because it was extra trouble over pancakes or French toast that only requires a frying pan. The frying pan was much easier to wash and dry.

IMHO, the same hesitation will happen with 2 of the 3 wellness gadgets, and I’d think twice before buying them. It has nothing at all to do with the quality or functions of the wellness tools and everything to do with the innate laziness of human beings in not wanting to bother with certain aspects of using them. All 3 are appealing wellness gadgets, but it doesn’t mean customers will continue to use them after the novelty of owning them wears off.

Let’s go from negative to positive. The 2 devices that, IMHO, consumers will stop reaching for are: 

1) The Venom Go Heat and Vibration Massage Pad (top image👆) - The reason: It’s small and must be repositioned multiple times to get a comprehensive massage. It’s like a spot massager, and there are cheaper spot massagers already on the market, which humans will also stop using. Never underestimate our laziness! Better to get a heat/vibrator that is a full-body massager (for equal or less money because they’ve been on the market longer), that you place over a chair to massage your sore back and shoulders; or a foot/leg massager that you insert your feet into to massage your aching feet and legs at once. You don’t need to reposition either one to massage your entire body part.

2) Nanoleaf Lymphatic Body Sculpting Massager - The device uses massage and ultra red light to smooth skin and reduce puffiness, cellulite, tone the body, and improve skin texture. I have watched many YouTube demonstrations showing before and after the use of similar gadgets (some devices also treat fine lines), and the truth is, the difference is minimal. You must use them daily to get any results, and yet nobody ever looks much younger, less fatigued, or truly any better. It’s a lot of time and work -- that I’d need at least 10 years to be permanently removed from my skin -- in exchange for the motivation to use it daily! Wouldn't you? Reposition, reposition, reposition ... arghhh! Help, let me out of my bathroom or off my coach!!😱😱😱

IMHO, the gizmo consumers will faithfully use is the Autobrush Sonic Pro - Dentists tend to recommend using sonic toothbrushes to thoroughly clean your teeth without damaging your enamel. Usually, the job requires 2 minutes of time, positioning a standard sonic toothbrush in each quadrant of your mouth to go over your teeth for 30 seconds. The Autobrush Sonic Pro reduces those 2 minutes down to 30 seconds since it fits over our teeth to clean them all at once. It’s more than double the price of a standard 2-minute sonic toothbrush, but at $89.00 still affordable. Perhaps it’s worth paying the difference to get seniors or kids to thoroughly brush their teeth?

So that’s what I think. What do you think?

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White-Labeling and Contract Manufacturing in Skincare

Whenever available, I buy the drugstore dupes of name brands with the same efficiency to save a few bucks. The formulas are exactly the same, yet you pay far less. Today, let's discuss how Walmart and chain drugstores can afford to sell us these amazing bargains. Along the way, you’ll also learn some industry jargon.

YouTube’s Doctorly channel (hosted by dermatologists Dr. Madiha Shah and Dr. Tom Maxfield) reveals that celebrity, drugstore, and doctor-branded lines often get their products through white-labeling and contract manufacturing. They don’t create unique formulas from scratch; instead, they buy pre-made stock formulas from private 3rd party, contract laboratories and slap their own labels on them. Some of these sellers may make minor tweaks known as ingredient dusting to market the skincare (or makeup) as rare or innovative products.

The 3rd-party beauty labs are independent contract manufacturers and cosmetic chemists who formulate the base recipes. A solo lab might make a core retinol serum or moisturizer or skin treatment or body wash and sell the same stock formula to a ton of brands across various price points.

Celebrities or influencers rarely formulate anything. Beauty companies and marketers work with a famous name or physician to select a pre-existing stock formulation from a lab catalog, pick out custom packaging, and plan a marketing story around it.

Another YouTube dermatologist, Dr. Usama Syed, also explains how white labeling works: Labs own established recipes and sell them to many competing companies. A $10 drugstore serum or moisturizer and a $100 luxury/celebrity one often come from the very same lab.

According to Dr, Syed, ingredient dusting (minor adjustments or adding a tiny pinch of a trending ingredient) lets brands claim a custom formula while using a default stock product. Frequently, contract labs let sellers decide how much active ingredient goes into a stock formula based on whether they want a marketing level trace or an actual clinical concentration level in their skin care.

So now you know that a $10 Walmart or drugstore skincare knockoff and a $100 luxury/celebrity one are usually exactly the same, and you have insight into what you’re paying for ... is it the ingredients (about $10) or is it (a feeling) the packaging and name?

I highly reccomend all the fantastic Walmart dupes featured on today's blog. Walmart’s version for Noxema Original Cleansing Cream is the only dupe, I’ve tried that fails short of the Noxema brand. The eucaluptus oil cream performs exactly the same, yet smells funky. If you can get over the smell, buy it at half price. Sometimes I return to the name brand for the pleasant smell.🙂

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My New Discovery: Olly Skincare

 I found another drugstore skincare brand with good, clean ingredients thanks to my dermatologist. My mother and I have our skin cancer screenings every year; it's a treatable disease when caught early. May is skin cancer awareness month, so we’re a tad late this year in getting our exams.

The office gave away 3-ounce samples of Olly Renew Mood + Skin Body Wash. We took one each (because I didn’t want to share mine :). It was so mild and moisturizing I decided to try the brand’s body lotion. Another winner. This is a brand I’ll put on my radar. 

Choice galore is a consumer’s best friend for scoring drugstore deals! You have more than one good brand you could buy depending on sales to save a few bucks! 

☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

Other brand products to snatch up when they go on sale at the drugstore or Ultra include: 1) The Ordinary (for actives); 2) Vanicream (for gentle, clean barrier care); 3) Nivea (in the blue tin for rich overnight sealing on dry patches); 4) Olay Regenerist Microsculting Cream (for its moisturing + anti-aging properties); and 5) Ponds Cold Cream (for simultaneously cleansing and moiturizing); 6) Cereve Moisterizing Cream (for the 3 essential ceramides to repair the skin barrier). These 6 products are as good as, and sometimes better than, marked-up luxury brands, and, on a budget, they can work as your entire skincare routine. They contain effective ingredients backed by science without extra skin irritants.

☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺ 

Two other giveaway brands I also liked and have previously blogged about are: Aveeno Skin Relief Healing Ointment and Neutrogena Hydro Boost -- the sample of the Neutrogena product was new, namely its Hydro Boost Water Face Cream.

Perhaps my dermatologist was cleaning out her office of samples manufacturers send to her, and I would think if not dermatologist-approved, she wouldn’t give them away to her patients.

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Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Invisible Gel SPF 40 Face Sunscreen Replacement For L’Oreal’s Miracle Blur

L’Oreal’s Miracle Blur was the bomb! Customers (including me) can’t understand why the retailer discontinued it. There was simply nothing at the drugstore like it! It blurred shine, fine lines, and wrinkles, leaving your face a velvety canvas. L’Oreal’s replacements for Miracle Blur don’t hold a candle to their old formula.

I’ve spent the summer trying to find a close drugstore match, and finally I found THE ONE that is fairly close, 🛢🥁🪘... Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Invisible Gel Face SPF 40 Sunscreen!

This recently launched product has the same light, gel consistency as Miracle Blur. In fact, it has more sun protection with SPF 40 (versus SPF 30). At 1.7 ounces, it’s the same exact size for less money (costing $11.28 compared to $20). Unlike Miracle Blur, Neutrogena’s Invisible Face Gel contains Vitamin E and is made fragrance-free for sensitive skin. It seems to lack the bit of powder which I believe was blended into Miracle Blur’s formula.

To spare you the unnecessary expense, I’ll list the 3 face primers that disappointed me, as each of them had little to no mattifying effect, leaving my face shiny and sometimes a wet, dewy mess:

Has a wet, dewy finish, not a matte finish 

- e.l.f. Power Grip Primer with 4% Niacinamide

- Milani Prime Protect SPF 30 Face Primer

- Neutrogena Invisibly Radiant UV Primer With SPF 30

- NYX Professional Makeup Blurscreen SPF 30 Primer

Moisturizing, but not matte enough.

The 4 rejected primers contain ingredients known to benefit the skin and may prolong your makeup's wear, but don’t expect them to remove shine or soften fine lines or skin imperfections like Miracle Blur.

This one leaves your face dry with a slight white cast. Perhaps right for oily skin, not mature skin.

Perhaps the 2nd most matte finish, yet not matte enough. Stays moist to the touch for about 20 minutes after application.

But now we have a winner: Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Invisible Gel SPF 40 Face Sunscreen, a face gel you could wear bare just like Miracle Blur. The new bomb has a matte finish, primes the face for makeup, and is invisible on the skin! The end look is close -- 95% of what Miracle Blur was, and I’ll take 95%. I’ll seal it with a dusting of powder for the complete old Miracle Blur finish.💣💣💣💣💣

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Look For An EWG Certification On Beauty Products

EWG stands for Environmental Working Group, an American non-profit organization that specializes in research and advocacy for human health and the environment. In the beauty industry, it is best known for its Skin Deep Database, a website where consumers can find a 1 (low) to 10 (high) hazard score to reflect unclean ingredients contained in their cosmetics. Beyond its rating system, the EWG runs a certification program. The EWG VERIFIED® seal on a makeup product means the cosmetic has passed the EWG's strictest standards, avoiding all of the group’s chemicals of concern. A product’s ingredients must also be fully disclosed (transparent) and be manufactured with robust safety practices.

A recent FDA report found 51 Forever Chemicals (PFAS) in the ingredients of over 1,700 products, frequently found in mascara, liquid lipsticks, and foundations. Forever chemicals are synthetic substances that companies add to makeup to improve durability, water resistance, and texture. Forever chemicals are bad because they never break down and have been linked to cancer and immune system suppression. Imagine using a mascara for years that contains chemicals that are compromising your immune system!

Despite some criticism from the beauty industry, the EWG VERIFIED® seal is your guide to safer personal care products. The organization doesn’t award its seal to brands but to a brand’s individual products. Its database is a useful tool in protecting your health!

3 brands that have the EWG VERIFIED® seal of approval on many of their cosmetics are:

Well People, which describes its products as makeup on the outside and skincare on the inside. It is a clean makeup powered by plants.

Ilia Beauty is highly rated for its clean ingredients and formulas that deliver a natural “your skin but better” glow.

RMS Beauty - offers natural makeup and skincare made with certified organic ingredients.

The EWG rates 1000s of products based on ingredient safety. You can check your favorite cosmetics in the Skin Deep Database to discover if they are clean or not because they contrain worrisome ingredients.👄

 

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10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 5

8 Leading Skincare Brands In the USA: A Blog Extra

Photo: Dreamtime

After finishing my 5-blog series on what skincare travelers would find in the pharmacies of 10 countries around the world, I thought my international readers might ask what skincare brands are popular in the USA?

When I wrote the 5 blogs in our series, I listed 5 of the most popular, best-selling skincare brands in each country featured. It's all done for fun. Truthfully, if publishing a book that one gets paid to write, a journalist would have to apply even more scrutiny to verify each entry by contacting a ton of primary sources, which I couldn't do for a personal blog. Perhaps the journalist would also visit the countries to do in-person research with funds provided by her employer, ahh, even more fun! My blogs come from reading a bunch of mostly secondary sources, deciding which are credible, and drawing from the consensus of what I find. It gives us a start and an introduction to the skincare of the 10 countries I featured.

So without further ado, our extra 11th country!🇺🇸

In American skincare, we hear the word efficacy spoken a lot. It means the ingredients are high-performing and in the right amounts to deliver the promised results. Retinol, retinal, retin-A (tretinoin), bakuchiol, peptides, vitamin C, niacinamide, and ceramides are some of the ingredients in top US skincare products with efficacy to moisturize and treat the signs of aging.

For US brands, I have two lists -- 1st I'll focus on knowing ...

5 Leading Skincare Brands Popular in the USA

1) CeraVe was developed by dermatologists containing ceramides to strengthen and protect the skin barrier. Super affordable, some of its formulas also have retinol for night and vitamin C serum with or without sunscreen for day.

2) La Poche-Posey is made in France (so I put it on France's 5 top skincare products since it is manufactured and popular in France).

3) Neutrogena offers science-based anti-aging products that target anti-aging, hydration, and acne issues. Its formulas are developed and tested in a laboratory and sold in drugstores. Its popular Rapid Wrinkle Repair cream contains retinol, hyaluronic acid, and glycerin but is free of formaldehyde, formaldehyde-releasing agents, benzoyl peroxide, parabens, and mineral oil. 

4) SkinCeuticals is often recommended by dermatologists as having clinical strength ingredients like vitamins C, E, B5, and Ferulic Acid. The brand is luxury priced to boot.

5) The Ordinary continues to be manufactured in Canada, so I grouped it with Canada’s skincare. I made the assumption that because of its budget-friendly price points, it is popular in Canada, as it is in the United States.

 

I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ↑above list. Why??? France’s La Poche-Posey and Canada's The Ordinary may be widely used in the USA, but we can’t claim them as US Skincare, so I did more reading. ↓Below is a 2nd list to reflect this:

5 Top Skincare Brands Manufactured and Popular in the USA are:

1) SkinCeuticals, as already stated, is science-based, antioxidant-rich skincare (often produced by L'Oréal USA, a fact I didn’t know). A double lister!

2) Estée Lauder, founded in 1946, specializes in luxury skincare. Today, it is the umbrella company of many other skincare brands, not only luxury brands. (See my info re: The Ordinary* to follow.) Estèe Lauder now owns MAC, Revlon, Bobbi Brown, Tom Ford, Clinique, Darphin, Too Face, La Mer, Origins, Deciem* (bought in 2021), and The Ordinary* (bought in 2024) + other brands. The woman who started the company was born Josephine Esther Mentzer in 1908, yet reinvented herself. She was the only woman on TIME magazine’s 1998 list of the 20 most influential entrepreneurs of the 20th century.

 
3) SkinMedica is a medical-grade brand focused on anti-aging formulas. This is a new brand to me! I’ve never used it.

4) CeraVe's formulas contain ceramides to protect the skin barrier, as mentioned in list 1. Often it is cited as America’s #1 bestselling skincare. I love the popular and bestselling CeraVe Moisturizing Cream for the Face and Body! A 2nd double lister!

5) EltaMD is known mostly for its professional-grade and lightweight sunscreen, yet it offers other skincare. A pity its superior sunscreen at $41 for 1.7 ounces is so expensive, the sun protection isn’t accessible for us common folk to use daily! Let them eat cake, eh?

Other key US brands are Aveeno and Cetaphil (the latter is another drugstore brand developed by dermatologists). I buy and like both brands for their hand and body moisturizing creams.

I have the benefit of in-person research in the US, and yes, both lists seem correct, or in the words of the late great Executive Editor, Ben Bradley of the respected Washington Post during his tenure (1968 - 1991), of getting at "the best obtainable version of the truth.”:)  

As it happens, Estée Lauder acquired  The Ordinary* by 2024, adding it to its portfolio of brands. This explains why this Canadian brand is on the 1st US skincare list. I love The Ordinary’s many products and am only too happy to add to its American success! I hope Estée Lauder doesn’t change the company (its philosophy, formulas, or price points) for the sake of profits! Critics accuse EL of buying and then running MAC (also Two Face, another of its acquired companies) into the ground by weakening the pigments in MAC lipsticks while simultaneously raising the retail price of the lipsticks. Let’s hold our collective breath for The Ordinary!🙏

The skincare brands I buy repeatedly are CeraVe (my overall favorite moisturizer - clean, thick, and never greasy), The Ordinary (for serum treatments, especially Retinol and Retinal), Neutrogena (Rapid Wrinkle Repair, Sunscreen), and Cetaphil (Moisturizing cream with glycerin, Vitamins B3 and B5).

Here’s a little insight into how the beauty industry works:

Today, Cetaphil products are primarily manufactured in Canada, specifically at a major Galderma plant in Baie-d'Urfé, Québec, which serves as a global supply hub. While the brand was originally developed in the USA in 1947, it is now owned by Galderma, a Swiss company. Making my 11-county skincare lists, at times, I had to split a few hairs. Cetaphil was created in an American lab, is widely available in US drugstores, remains a bestseller, and is widely used by Americans, so I grouped it as a US skincare brand. Moreover, once a skincare brand becomes part of a conglomerate, users should stay alert to notice any changes in formulas over time.

What skincare brands do you use where you live?

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10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 5

10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 5

🦘🐨🪃🦜

Australia’s🇦🇺 skincare brands focus on clean, natural, gentle ingredients along with sun protection. Australians live closer to the sun and receive up to 15% more solar UV rays than Europeans. Daily sunscreen use is vital to prevent skin cancer.

Below are 5 Top Australian Skincare Brands found in Aussie pharmacies:

1) Go-To Skincare is known for its simple, effective,

 skincare to nourish and protect the skin. 

2) Alpha-H is famous for its Liquid Gold, a powerful glycolic acid exfoliating treatment.

3) Ultra Violette is a leader in SPF sun protection for the face and body.

4) Lanolips uses sustainable, natural lanolin to make super-hydrating lip, hand, and body balms, such as its popular 101 Ointment.

5) Frank Body gained cult status with its coffee scrubs and has a full range of uncomplicated, natural body and skincare products that use coffee as a main ingredient.

Other key brands include: Naked Sundays, QV Skincare, Bondi Sands, Grown Alchemist, and Rationale.

🍀🍀🍀🏰 ☘️☘️☘️

The skincare of Ireland🇮🇪 centers on local organic seaweed, botanicals, and sustainable practices. Products are developed to treat sensitive skin, anti-aging, and natural wellness.

Ireland’s 5 Top Skincare Brands popular with locals are:

1) Pestle & Mortar (Co. Kildare) goes by the names Codex Beauty and Bia. Natural extracts and active ingredients go into making its skincare.

2) Collection (Co. Cork) formulates organic, scientifically backed hydration for sensitive skin.

3) Green Angel (Co. Dublin) contains organic seaweed harvested from the west coast of Ireland.

4) Kinvara Skincare makes vegan and plant-based, natural products.

5) Seabody is a luxury skincare brand that uses sustainably sourced seaweed from the Atlantic coastline.

Other key brands include: Ground Wellbeing, Dublin Herbalists, Nunaia Beauty, and Skingredients.

With Ireland, our 10th featured country, we complete our series of 50 top skincare brands used by the natives of each country. Whose skincare would you most like to try?

Update: As an afterthought, I wrote an extra blog for my international readers who wish to know what leading skincare brands they’d find in US drugstores. Publishing on Monday!

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10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 4

Sweden🇸🇪 is known for the high-quality ingredients in its skincare, which is also wrapped in sustainable, minimalist packaging. The formulas are made to calm and protect the skin from cold, harsh climates. 

5 Top Skincare brands popular in Sweden include:

1) Verso, which has a patented Retinol 8 complex, said to be 8 times more effective than standard retinol and with less irritation.

2) L:A Bruket offers organic, sea-based, spa-inspired products for the bath, body, and face.

3) Björk & Berries is a sustainable luxury brand that makes skincare serums, lotions, and creams from birch leaves and the vegetation -- flowers, herbs, shrubs -- that grow in the Nordic forests.

4) Estelle & Thild formulates pure, bio-active, and organic skincare without toxins and pesticides. 

5) Woods Copenhagen - is clean, natural skincare containing Nordic ingredients like birch bark and sea buckthorn, all of it created to nourish and protect the skin.

Other key brands are True Organic of Sweden and Ida Warg.

Denmark’s🇩🇰 skincare is similar to that of its Nordic neighbor, Sweden. It also emphasizes minimalism, sustainability, and all-natural, high-performance ingredients often sourced from its own Nordic region. 

5 Top Danish Skincare Brands are:

1) Ole Henrikson has antioxidant-rich products like its top-selling True Serum to brighten the skin.

2) Nuori strives for freshness by blending small batches of products with natural ingredients every 10 - 12 weeks.

3) Woods Copenhagan mixes clean Nordic ingredients like
plants and berries with modern science.

4) Kjaer Weis, a luxury brand, makes certified organic and sustainable skincare. 

5) Ecooking uses simple, pure, organic, and locally sourced ingredients that are easy to recognize and pronounce. Founder Tina Søgaard, who worked in the beauty industry for years, began mixing her own skincare in her kitchen using raw, unpolluted, effective ingredients. Called food for the skin, each of her products, from scrubs and lotions to creams and her special Multi Oil™, is designed to target a specific skin issue. So clean, her formulas are perfectly safe to eat!

Other key brands are Rudolph Care, Beautè Pacifique, and Tromborg.

Return to this space next Thursday for part 5, the finale of our skincare in foreign pharmacies series. Guess the last 2 countries I'll feature. Hint, hint: Trish of The Red Cardinal lives in one country.

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10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 3

Sundrug in Tokyo

Asian countries have innovative and advanced skincare. Without a doubt, I'd be especially excited to browse the aisles of the 2 countries below:

Japan🇯🇵 is known for concentrating on hydration, sun protection, and using gentle, effective ingredients.

5 Top Skincare Brands Popular in Japan include:

1) Shiseido is arguably the most famous Japanese skincare beauty line globally. A luxury brand, it sells its makeup under the name Clé de Peau Beauté and its sun protection under the Anessa name. Superior quality, whatever it calls itself.

2) Sk-II is renowned for its signature ingredient, Pitera, a fermented yeast, extracted to improve skin texture, firmness, and a healthy glow.

3) Hada Labo specializes in intense hydration. The brand's famous skin laboratory mixes, not one, but multiple types of hyaluronic acid, which is sold at affordable prices.

4) DHC is an affordable label popular for combining traditional Japanese ingredients with modern science. The brand’s Deep Cleansing Oil is world-famous!

5) Blorè is known for some of the best high-protection, light-weight sunscreens ever sold, like its UV Aqua Rich Water Essence. Sunscreen is the skin's #1 anti-aging tool!

Other key brands are Kose Sekkisel, Tatcha, Melano CC, Curèl, and Cure.

South Korea🇰🇷 is renowned for having the most advanced skincare products on earth. The South Koreans are 20–30 years ahead of the rest of the world due to their innovative research and development, rapid trend cycles, and focus on preventative care. K-Beauty zeros in on a gentle approach, hydration, barrier protection, and prevention through top-notch, natural ingredients such as snail mucin and ginseng, selling at low prices. Its skincare is world-famous for achieving a healthy, glass skin appearance.🎉💥🎆

The Top 5 South Korean Skincare Brands are: 🎉🥳🎊

1) COSRX is known for using snail mucin and clearing imperfections.

2) Beauty of Joseon combines traditional herbal medicine (known as Hanbang) with modern science. The Dynasty Cream is a bestseller!

3) Laneige is known internationally for its advanced hydration in its creams, lotions, and lip sleeping masks.

4) Sulwasoo is a luxury brand known for its ginseng anti-aging serums and holistic skincare.

5) Anua makes soothing, clean formulas like its calming Hearleaf toner.

Other key brands include Medicube, Blodance, and Skin1004.*ੈ✩‧₊˚

If you want to learn more, please return to this space next Monday for part 4 in our 5 part skincare series. Which 2 countries will I feature next? Try to guess ... and stay tuned!

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