Project Pan: What’s Worth It, and What Wasn’t.

As I mentioned a bit ago, I’ve been doing a sort of Project Pan with my skincare supplies. (I am not a dude of makeup, so I don’t tend to accumulate enough of that to warrant one. When I do get fancy face colors, they’re usually sample sizes to begin with.) I’ve made quite a bit of progress, so I thought I might do a short breakdown of what proved to be worth re-buying, and what definitely wasn’t.

For full disclosure, I’ve got sensitive combination skin. Finding products that work for me is a challenge — even if I get samples first, it can take a bit for negative reactions to become apparent. That’s why I’ve accumulated skincare over time, as I try to find what actually does the job without too many downsides.

Also, absolutely nobody is paying me to do this and none of these are affiliate links. I’m just including them for convenience’s sake, so you can check out whatever piques your interest. All product photos belong to their respective brands.

First, the stuff worth re-buying:

Cleanser: Trader Joe’s Nourish cleanser, about $7

This stuff just works for me. It’s also cheap and easy to get and if they ever discontinue it, I may have a fit of apoplexy. It doesn’t irritate or dry out my skin the way many other cleansers do, and it doesn’t leave any weird residues. It’s just nice and functional.

My only complaint is the plastic bottle (the efficacy of plastic recycling has been greatly overstated), but it’s a pretty basic one without any extraneous bells and whistles so at least it isn’t as wasteful as it otherwise could be.

Toner: Pyunkang Yul Essense Toner, $15.99

This toner is more like a serum. It’s inexpensive, it’s soothing, and it has astragalus extract in it which I guess does something. I’ve had days when all I’ve used is a cleanser, this, and moisturizer, and my skin has felt fabulous. I also notice a difference when I’ve run out of it.

I pat it on my skin immediately after washing, while my face is still damp. Then I either use a serum on top of it, or go right to moisturizer.

This is another product that comes in a plastic bottle, but, because of the way it’s dispensed, I’m not sure how well glass or aluminum would work. As with the TJ’s cleaner, at least it’s a pretty basic bottle.

Serum #1: The Ordinary Marine Hyaluronate, $9.20

This is a waterier version of The Ordinary’s other hyaluronic acid. It’s very light, but it does the job. It doesn’t make my skin feel tight or sticky, it’s just a gentle, soothing humectant. I use about five drops of it, so a bottle lasts me for a while. The very light, watery texture also means that it layers well with other serums — it absorbs right away, so there’s no pilling or other weirdness.

Like the PKY toner, I also notice a difference when I’ve run out of this one. It’s just so nice for some added moisture under a heavier serum or cream.

This one comes in a glass dropper bottle. I often end up reusing these for oil blends and other stuff.

Serum #2: The Ordinary Pycnogenol 5%, $11.50

This is an oil-like (but oil-free) serum containing maritime pine extract. It’s a potent antioxidant, and the consistency means that it’s moisturizing, too. The naturally reddish color also makes me look like I’m painting my cheeks with the blood of my foes, and that’s a neat concept!

It has a natural sort of piney, almost floral fragrance. It’s very nice. I like to use this during the day, or at night any time I’ve been in the sun, on the road, or otherwise exposed to conditions that would make me benefit from some help with skin recovery.

These come in little amber glass dropper bottles. As with the hyaluronic acid serum, I usually end up reusing them myself. It’s a tiny bottle, but a little bit goes a very long way.

Serum #3: The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5% + HA, $8.10

This is a gentle chemical exfoliant. I don’t respond super great to retinoids, but lactic acid leaves my skin plump and glowy. There’s also a 10% version, but I like the gentler 5% version more for my sensitive skin.

I use about three drops at night, and definitely notice a difference when I haven’t been using it. It’s nice, it doesn’t sting, smell terrible, or leave my face feeling tight or gunky.

These come in frosted glass bottles.

Day Cream: Pyunkang Yul Calming Moisture Barrier Cream, $16.99

This is a light day cream that’s almost between a cream and a gel. I use it in the mornings, and it doesn’t feel heavy, break me out, or leave my skin sticky. It’s just a nice, inexpensive moisturizer that works. No fragrances, nothing that makes my sensitive combination skin uncomfortable, it’s just good.

The jar is heavy plastic. I wish it was glass. I love it, but if I’m able to find a substitute in a glass jar then I wouldn’t mind switching.

Night Cream: Derma-E Ultra Hydrating Advanced Repair Night Cream, $31.50

This is the most expensive item in my routine, and it’s still really reasonable for what it does and how much I use. It’s a nice, rich cream that absorbs well but is still occlusive enough that I don’t feel like it’s all gone by morning. Layered over hyaluronic acid and pycnogenol, it’s lovely. The jar isn’t huge, but it lasts me for quite a while.

This one comes in a glass jar, which is rad.

Sunscreen: haruharu WONDER Black Rice Pure Mineral Relief Daily Sunscreen, $22.00

This stuff is really nice. It’s SPF 50+, made for sensitive skin, reef safe, and doesn’t leave me with a whitish case. (I have light skin with beige undertones. It is aggressively neutral and, even though my skin is light, a lot of mineral sunscreens make me look like I’m wearing corpse paint.) It’s also lightly hydrating and feels nice.

I wish it came in a glass pump bottle. Their other packaging materials are 100% recycled and Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper printed with soy-based inks, so that’s nice.

The stuff that I’m not re-buying:

Serum: The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% + HA, $10.90

I don’t know if this even did anything other than make my face sticky and give me an occasional pimple. Someone else may very well benefit from it, but I didn’t see any.

I ended up using it on the backs of my hands so it wouldn’t go to waste. My hands did look smoother and feel softer, but I feel like adding a serum step to an anti-aging hand care routine is a bridge too far for me.

The bottle is a nice glass dropper bottle, though.

Serum: The Inkey List Retinol Serum, $15.00

This one was just sort of fine. I probably would’ve repurchased it, but the plastic squeeze tube was a really annoying and inconvenient way to dispense it. I feel like I waste product by dispensing it into my hands first, so I really prefer to be able to drop a single drop where my skin needs it most. With this packaging, it almost invariably dispensed way more than I needed, which got annoying.

I used it all up on my face, but the inefficient application and plastic tube make it a no for me.

Moisturizer: The Inkey List Bakuchiol Moisturizer, $15.00

I’ve used products with bakuchiol in the past, but this moisturizer was a no-go for me. The squeeze tube, while not my favorite, was fine for applying a cream. However, the moisturizer itself was just kind of sticky and irritating. I don’t like feeling sticky, and I don’t like feeling itchy, and this did both.

I ended up using it on the backs of my hands, and now my hands are officially fancy.

Lip Balm: The Inkey List Tripeptide Plumping Lip Balm, $13.00

I wanted to love this. I did. It even seemed to work at first — my lips felt smoother and plumper, and it wasn’t sticky. The trouble here lies in one single ingredient: Castor oil.

For some people, castor oil is fine. For others, not so much. If you find that lip balm tends to make your lips flakier afterward, you might be sensitive to castor oil. (You may also find that you react badly to natural deodorants that contain zinc ricinoleate.)

This balm made my lips to dry and peely, it was almost like a chemical burn. Like, dead-of-winter, have-not-had-a-drop-of-moisture-even-half-of-a-time-in-months dry. Your mileage may vary, but, if you’ve had issues with products containing castor oil or zinc ricinoleate in the past, you probably want to skip this one.

I’m feeling pretty good. I’ve whittled things down to what works for me, and I don’t feel a need to try to continue to optimize my routine. A cleanser, a toner, serum, and moisturizer. One exfoliating serum, one moisturizing serum, and one antioxidant serum. I’m pretty much covered for whatever my skin goes through.