Real User Reviews of Skincare Products

Says it pills instantly on their skin.

Redness from overuse calmed and came back after two weeks.

No breakouts or reactions on very sensitive skin, but it does little, leaves skin dull and can't remove sunscreen.

Good things check out: nothing spectacular but a great moisturizer, though too pricey for full size.

Great for rosacea on the cheeks; the redness is toned down for light makeup.

Works like a miracle on combination skin used one or two nights a week.

Can sting their irritated winter skin.

Super gentle and never stings even when their skin is angry.

Used the toner on a stubborn scalp dermatitis several times a week and had a clear scalp after two weeks.

Is using it right now and loving it, and sees no reason yet to try the Cetaphil alternative.

Went through a whole jar of the Anua azelaic acid without changing their scars.

One of the best moisturizers they've used on dry skin during tretinoin.

One of the best moisturizers they've used on dry skin during tretinoin.

No difference on acne scars but improved texture, tone, clarity and glow over years.

An oily, acne-prone user who has tried many products says switching to Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser four months ago worked wonders for their breakouts.

Has tried to upgrade three times, including pricier ceramide serums and an LRP barrier cream, but always returns to the $15 CeraVe Moisturizing Cream.

Calls Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream the best moisturiser ever; nothing pricier has beaten it.

Puts The Ordinary Azelaic Acid on fresh pimples at night and is amazed how much better they look by morning.

After four years of acne, the CeraVe Blemish Control (Acne Control) Gel is the only thing that has helped them.

Fades redness around old scars far more than the indent itself.

With severe eczema, has used CeraVe Moisturizing Cream for years without any issues.

Their holy grail for 1.5 years on dry skin with retinol; wakes up moisturized.

A user who builds their night routine around Anua and numbuzin products uses CeraVe Moisturizing Cream as their moisturizer and says it is the only CeraVe product they actually like.

After about five years using the Water Cream by day, a user finds it wonderfully hydrating, sinking in well and unmatched by anything else they've tried.

An oily-skinned user finds the Aqua-Fresh doesn't sting the eyes but pills a lot.

A tretinoin user says Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer is the only moisturizer that doesn't burn their skin when they overdo tret, gentle and fragrance free.

A drugstore skincare fan says the Byoma Moisturizing Gel Cream is one of their two most repurchased holy grails, using it in summer.

A user says their skin absolutely rejected The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%, suspects the zinc, and advises patch testing first.

A longtime user of CeraVe Moisturizing Cream in the tub had no issues for years, but since starting tretinoin it no longer moisturizes enough and their skin feels tight and irritated.

A user who has repurchased Cicaplast Baume B5 countless times over years loves it and finds other moisturizers overstimulating, but says it is too greasy and shiny for daytime without makeup.

On acne-prone, sensitive, dry skin, the Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream is their favorite moisturizer of all time.

Works when CeraVe, Cetaphil and Vanicream moisturizers didn't.

A year on it has transformed their skin, after quitting tretinoin they couldn't tolerate.

Loves it after tretinoin with no reactions or acne, at a fraction of luxury prices.

Broke them out, worse than any other CeraVe product.

Worked well after CeraVe repeatedly gave them texture and comedones.

Wouldn't use anything else: heavy but unscented, dries fairly quickly, and their skin has never been more consistent.

Doesn't sting their eczema- and rosacea-prone dry skin even with a weak barrier.

Doesn't sting their eczema- and rosacea-prone dry skin even with a weak barrier.

Never fails them and reduces redness when the usual moisturizers didn't work.

Their fragrance-free moisturizer after itchy rashes stopped with removing fragrance.

Has helped their sensitive, red, dry skin.

Gentle enough for their very sensitive skin once or twice a week, unlike harsher exfoliants.

Switched to the Skin Renewing Night Cream for very dry skin and wears it day and night: heavier than the regular cream, thick but not greasy, takes a minute to sink in.

Recommends Lipid Gold as not too heavy but very moisturizing and long-lasting.

The Hydrating Cleanser is a forever rebuy that never leaves their skin tight.

Loves the Relief Sun Aqua-Fresh: very light, doesn't break them out and leaves no white cast.

Eventually made their skin red, probably the niacinamide.

The classic CeraVe Moisturizing Cream in the tub is their holy grail when their skin is upset: thick, moisturizing and quick to absorb.

Works for their sensitive skin that reacts to ceramides and cetearyl alcohol.

Really likes the Dewy Skin Cream, one of their favourite winter moisturizers; the fragrance is fairly light.

Loves it after Vanicream turned them red.

Dried their skin out badly, so they switched.

Fine used sparingly on their sensitive dry skin, but breaks them out with daily use.

Has helped their sensitive, red, dry skin.

Loved it, though they find it expensive.

Owns Cicaplast B5+ but finds it much thicker and harder to spread than their usual tret-night moisturizer.

60+ days as directed and it did nothing.

A long-time user always returns to the Tatcha Water Cream for daytime after trying others over the years.

A longtime user swears by EltaMD UV Clear: no sunscreen smell, forgettable once on and never caused breakouts, though it is pricey where they live.

A user with bone-dry skin uses Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream at night alongside the Water Cream and is very happy with both.

A user with hormonal cystic acne calls La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Matte Face Moisturizer gentle, effective and a life saver that doesn't break them out.

A dry, sensitive-skinned user has repurchased La Roche-Posay's B5 balm for years: spots heal faster and dry patches are gone, though it can be heavy in summer.

A cleanser they keep rebuying.

Can't go without it: no white cast on brown skin and doesn't flare their rosacea.

The tinted mineral works on them.

Their face and body moisturizer; they haven't gone back to their old one.

The only thing that stops their face peeling on low-dose Accutane; a little sticky.

Swears by it as a midday hydration mist.

Helped with their oily skin and large pores.

Cleared up redness under their nose when a derm prescription didn't.

The Ordinary's glycolic acid helped their texture a lot, but left their combination skin red and sometimes itchy from dryness even after moisturizing.

Imports the Relief Sun Aqua-Fresh and likes it.

Calls the Hydrating Cleanser a no-nonsense, affordable and reliable cleanser.

Loves the Moisturizing Cream as a hand cream but finds it too greasy for their face.

The Acne Control Gel seemed to work at first, then less so, so they moved to something else.

Even one use of the Vanicream face wash leaves their skin tight and irritated, with tiny red bumps the next day.

Loves the Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser (and the Double Repair moisturizer).

Loves the Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer (and the Hydrating Gentle Cleanser).

Someone with sensitive skin and hormonal acne finds the Haruharu black rice toner excellent.

Tried Lala Retro again: it doesn't hydrate their skin and almost irritates it, unlike other moisturizers they use.

Uses Laneige Cream Skin when their face is irritated: very gentle, never stings, like a comforting thin layer of milk.

Their pick under makeup because it feels like a primer.

Nothing has worked better for them.

The Cream-to-Foam Cleanser is probably their favourite cleanser ever.

Loves the Hydrating Cleanser as a morning cleanser.

Likes the Moisturizing Cream on the face too: a smooth, slightly dry finish and a unique texture.

Found Lala Retro thin yet greasy, never sinking in, with their face tight an hour later; used up the jar on their elbows.

A 42-year-old with dry, sensitive skin tried Cicaplast Balm B5 as a richer daily moisturizer and it broke them out within a week.

Lala Retro just sits on top of their skin without doing anything, frustrating for the price.

Two years with the Drying Lotion: shrinks deep painful pimples overnight about 70% of the time.

A user with combination skin says the Glow Recipe Watermelon toner works beautifully for them.

A user finds Tatcha The Silk Sunscreen weightless and elegant with no white cast, though it made their combination skin look a bit shiny.

A former skincare enthusiast says Tatcha The Water Cream was the best moisturizer they ever used and their skin was never better, but stopped because of the price.

A user allergic to niacinamide loves the Anua 3 Ceramide Panthenol Moisture Barrier Cream, which has treated their skin well without it.

Their acne marks got noticeably smaller using it twice a week.

Loves it as an affordable water-gel moisturiser.

The only cleanser that isn't too drying for their combo-normal skin.

Too drying for their combo-normal skin.

Too drying for their combo-normal skin.

Redness and flakiness improved within a week of switching.

Has been great for their skin, alongside glycolic toner.

Their skin didn’t like it, so they switched cleansers.

Exfoliates with Good Genes once a week, leaving it on 15–30 minutes then washing it off; left on, their face peels.

When their barrier is compromised and they still need to exfoliate, The Ordinary's ferment toner works well for them and is kind to the barrier.

Uses the COSRX AHA/BHA toner every other day for congestion, but it strips their barrier: skin looks dehydrated and feels sensitive the next morning.

The CeraVe cream in the tub has an in-between texture for them; a small amount on damp skin absorbs best, too much feels heavy.

Recommends the Vanicream Facial Moisturizer with SPF 30 as a nice, gentle mineral sunscreen.

With eczema and sensitive skin, they really like the Revive Eye Serum and use it all over the face because their skin is sensitive to retinol.

Has used it for years: a backlit glow no other vitamin C gives them, oxidises less easily and moisturises, but it's potent and not for beginners.

The Byoma moisturizing milky toner (blue bottle) is their all-time favourite.

The Vanicream cleanser is basic but never irritates their skin.

The Ordinary's fermented milky toner is their favourite and helps their very dry skin with hydration.

Highly recommends the Saccharomyces Ferment Milky Toner and often layers it with The Ordinary's microemulsion moisturizer.

Calls the Airyfit sunscreen the best ever and is hunting for stock.

A user saw a big improvement in skin quality pairing The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 with the brand's copper peptide serum.

Tried it before going on prescription and calls it a trash product.

Their clear skin started breaking out, so they stopped it immediately.

Loves the Tatcha water cream on dry, mature skin but not the price.

Someone with fragrance allergies and acne finds Cicaplast Balm too occlusive for their skin.

An esthetician who says Great Barrier Relief changed their skin and strengthened their barrier; starting tretinoin, they never got flaky.

Loves the Relief Sun Aqua-Fresh as a lightweight, non-greasy SPF 50+.

Has very sensitive skin and uses the Vanicream facial moisturizer as a warning sign: if it tingles, their barrier is compromised and they pause actives.

When their barrier is upset, they switch to the tub of Vanicream for a few days.

The foaming CeraVe cleanser doesn't strip, removes all makeup and doesn't sting the eyes.

On their combination skin the gel moisturizer seemed to pull moisture out, even with another moisturizer on top; they had to wash it off. Maybe fine for very oily skin, but awful for them.

Uses the DIVE-IN toner with the serum; some call it just water, but they find it simple and not irritating.

Uses the DIVE-IN serum with the toner; some call it just water, but they find it simple and not irritating.

Cannot recommend the resurfacing retinol serum enough after never noticing a huge acne improvement before.

After seven years as an oily-skin holy grail, a user finds the Water Cream too light now that their skin has changed in their 30s.

A user with normal-to-dry skin on tretinoin loves the Dewy Skin Cream but finds it rich enough to use only at night.

A sensitive, combination-skin teen water polo player finds the Beauty of Joseon Green Plum Refreshing Cleanser dries their skin out.

A game changer for their very dry skin.

A 31-year-old with oily skin likes the Toleriane Double Repair SPF 30 moisturizer, but it leaves their face greasy even with a small amount.

Moved to the matte version for their oily skin; still likes it, but it also leaves their face greasy.

A decent moisturizer, but it keeps pilling on them.

Works as a stand-alone moisturizer on their oilier skin: nice gel texture, absorbs quickly, not sticky and never clogs pores, though the hydration is light.

On dry skin, a user found the Water Cream disappears instantly; by noon their face felt tight and concealer settled into lines.

Many tiny whiteheads after a week on acne-prone skin.

A user likes the Beauty of Joseon Day Dew sunscreen.

A user relies on the Vanicream Moisturizing Cream in the pump tub as basically the only thing they can use when their moisture barrier is wrecked.

A user who switched from Cetaphil finds the Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser lighter with no film or burn on angry-skin days, and the random red patches stopped after a week.

On their 4th or 5th bottle: doesn't break out their reactive, Accutane-dry skin and keeps it hydrated.

Likes the black rice toner and finds it quite hydrating, but goes through bottles so fast they switched to a cheaper toner.

Loves the SPF50 on their dry skin, though they can see why it wouldn't suit oily skin.

On very breakout-prone skin the Dynasty Cream doesn't break them out or irritate; a fairly thin cream they use in the morning.

Their holy grail for repairing the barrier after starting Differin: very nourishing, a thin layer on off nights is enough, and unlike Cicaplast it didn't break them out (can clog if overused).

Has used CeraVe's Hydrating Cleanser with no tightness at all; it feels light but cleans fine.

Has used the Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser with no tightness at all.

Was disappointed by the black rice toner and prefers another rice toner.

One of the worst sunscreens they've tried: broke down their makeup fast while looking dry; the black rice line in general irritated their skin.

After an allergic reaction wrecked their barrier, the Cicalfate+ cream (with a gentle ceramide essence) was the only thing their skin tolerated at its worst, and it helped them heal.

Found the toner felt like thick water and kept waiting for it to do something.

A user calls Vanicream's tub cream their holy grail for any skin irritation.

A newly postpartum user has loved The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension through pregnancy and since.

A user says Cicaplast Balm B5+ changed their skin so much, even more than their previous CeraVe combo.

A user says The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner is cheap for a huge bottle and their skin has never looked better.

A user finds their skin looks bright and radiant every time they use The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%, calling it underrated for about $6.

Finds Tatcha's purple-jar moisturizer, the Dewy Skin Cream, too greasy.

With very sensitive, rosacea-prone skin, they love the Tatcha Rice Wash.

Loves it as one of their favourite bargain skincare products.

Loves it as one of their favourite bargain skincare products.

Uses it to seal in moisture at night on dry skin in a hot desert climate.

Used it nightly for six months and the milia around their eyes disappeared with no marks.

During and after a fluorouracil reaction, the CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser didn't bother their skin.

The only cleanser that has worked for their dry skin after others dried them out.

Loves the CeraVe Moisturising Cream: keeps their face hydrated all night with a non-greasy texture, but it isn't fungal-acne safe for them.

Their one-product pick: in love with The Ordinary's milky toner, at about $10–12.

Their SKIN1004 Madagascar cleanser seems too harsh for their breakout-prone skin.

The COSRX Good Morning cleanser was the only cleanser that didn't break them out.

CeraVe's salicylic acid face wash has done wonders for their skin, doesn't bleach fabrics like benzoyl peroxide, and the big bottle lasts forever.

A 20-year-old has used Cicaplast Balm B5+ as their main moisturiser for years because their skin felt dry and irritated without it, but now suspects it was too occlusive for their acne-prone skin.

On their dry skin the CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser made them even drier.

Uses CeraVe Moisturizing Cream morning and night as part of the gentle routine that finally improved their acne.

Their usual last step, but for the past month it hasn't helped their dehydrated, dull skin much.

Vouches for the CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser: a no-fuss cleanser that doesn't strip the skin.

Part of the gentle routine that helped their lifelong acne finally improve: Cicaplast Balm B5+ over CeraVe cream at night.

A user says the CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser works well for them, especially as a morning cleanser.

On very dry skin, Sunday Riley Good Genes keeps their skin clear and bright.

Likes it on oily, dehydrated skin as their only morning step before sunscreen, though not hydrating enough alone in winter.

Layers it with a milky toner in winter for extra hydration on oily, dehydrated skin.

Regretted buying it right away; the texture didn't feel as nice as Byoma's milky toner so they exchanged it.

Uses it on oily, slightly dehydrated skin and finds it perfect.

Obsessed with it alongside daily azelaic acid.

Really likes it with azelaic acid on acne- and perioral-dermatitis-prone skin: hydrating, supple and no filmy residue.

On their dry, psoriasis-prone skin the Byoma Moisturizing Gel Cream left them greasy, especially in the T-zone.

Had no issues with the BoJ Ginseng Cleansing Oil, though they disliked the ginseng scent and switched to try another.

On their third bottle: affordable, niacinamide-free and feels lovely.

On their fourth 95 ml bottle: the only barrier serum that works for their very oily, acne-prone skin on adapalene; it doesn't break them out despite its thicker texture.

Their favourite milky toner after trying Byoma, Laneige, TirTir, Rhode and others; layers under azelaic acid.

Good luck with it: layers well with azelaic acid and doesn't pill on oily, dehydrated skin.

Helped their skin texture when used in the morning alongside a retinoid routine.

Loves it among their French pharmacy picks.

Twice daily for 1–3 weeks slowly made their milia disappear.

Has used the Dynasty Cream morning and night for two years: at first it really improved their skin, but over the last year their skin has become dull, sensitive and breakout-prone.

Two years with the Green Plum cleanser as part of a BoJ routine: a big early improvement that has since faded.

Liked the Glow Replenishing toner but wasn't obsessed.

Added the Milky Toner when Accutane left their skin dry and dull and it helped tremendously; nearly two years later it still keeps their skin soft without clogging pores.

Loves the Toleriane Double Repair moisturizer with ceramide.

Healed a badly damaged barrier over a long period with no actives; the CeraVe cream was one of the two products that helped most.

The only moisturizer that made their skin plump and glowing, though pricey for the amount.

Did little beyond mild hydration and made no difference to their face, so they use it on their arms.

Finished a bottle and felt it didn't do much beyond hydration.

Switched from a $40 cleanser for the price and their skin tolerates it well.

Names it alongside CeraVe PM as a favourite moisturizer.

Dabbed on milia for 10 minutes over three nights and they cleared; needs great care.

Names it as their favourite moisturizer overall.

One of the drugstore products that works well for their hormonal, acne-prone skin at 39.

The Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer sometimes stung their dry, sensitive skin.

Used alone, the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc worked wonders and practically cleared their dark spots.

After adding several actives at once their skin broke out; reintroducing one drop of the Granactive Retinoid brought a big bump two days later.

On dry, sensitive skin the Byoma pink gel cream tingled.

Has used Paula's Choice azelaic acid for quite a while and finds it awesome.

Found the Anua azelaic acid too sticky.

Nice for hydration but no noticeable anti-aging results.