I used to be a Sephora 10-year-old—not in the sell out Sephora of every skincare product they have in stock way or in a 25-step nightly routine way but in a buy-everything brightly colored way.
When I first saw the Drunk Elephant mini skincare packages, I barely knew what a moisturizer was, and I still rushed to purchase it because it had fun colors. I had never heard of the brand before, but I discovered that investing my money in these brightly colored products that made my bathroom counter look fancy was one of my favorite things to do.
Over the past few years, I have put virtually every serum and cleanser that comes in cute packaging on my face, and I can say with certainty which work and which don’t.
I’ll start with Drunk Elephant, the brand that began my overconsumption of far too many chemicals I had never heard of. I own two of the Drunk Elephant travel-sized packages that they have released called “The Littles.” In the first one, I received a tiny, plastic, neon-yellow zip bag for all the products: the jelly cleanser, the glycolic night serum, the polypeptide cream, and the intensive hydration serum, and I later received the fresh day serum, the facial oil, the whipped cream, and the sunscreen.
I used these products pretty regularly for around six months, and they honestly did nothing for me except drain my bank account. These are expensive products with cute labels for virtually no benefits, and use this as a reminder that just because your face stings after using a product, it doesn’t always mean that it’s working; it sometimes just means it’s bad for your skin.
The two products I would recommend out of the ones I own are the Protini™ Polypeptide Cream and the B-Hydra™ Intensive Hydration Serum. The polypeptide cream is essentially just a moisturizer, and I went through two of the minis in six months. If I were to repurchase these products, I would definitely consider them more worth it. The other is the hydration serum, which didn’t do much for my blemishes or skin but was amazing during the summer for dry and sunburned skin. It definitely did its job of hydration. I would not recommend you purchase either of these products full size because they’re not at all worth $100 each, but if there’s ever a sale or if they’re available in a mini size, I think it’s a good purchase.
Next up is Glow Recipe, an even cuter brand that immediately drew my attention with its fruit-themed packaging and bright colors. I only own two Glow Recipe products at the moment: the Watermelon Glow Pink Moisturizer in a mini size and the Avocado Melt Retinol Eye Cream in full size. I am not at all a fan of the moisturizers, unfortunately, because they don’t work for my skin type. I find the smell generally unpleasant, and it’s way too liquid-y for me to use regularly; I’ve barely made a dent in my own container, and I definitely wouldn’t repurchase.
However, the avocado eye cream is still one of my regular and favorite products in my skincare routine although I only use it once or twice a week. This product is how I was first introduced to Glow Recipe when I blindly received it from an IPSY box—a monthly makeup and skincare subscription—two years ago, and I haven’t stopped using it since. It applies so smoothly, and although I’m not fighting any undereye wrinkles yet, I think it’s helped to decrease my dark circles from many sleepless nights. It is overall smooth and has a nice texture. I would definitely recommend this product and Glow Recipe as an overall brand, but I advise that you research and look into which products you’re buying because a lot of them are hit or miss—either a 0/10 or 10/10 product.
Last and most definitely least is iNNBEAUTY PROJECT. I just purchased a small skincare bundle because it was on sale, and I had heard some positive things about the brand. I bought the Mini Skincare Besties Set, which includes a cleanser, serum, and moisturizer. I can say with 100% certainty that I hate these products and will never buy from them again. When I got home to unpackage these, the serum and cleanser both had almost broken lids that exploded serum on my counter, and the moisturizer had an almost sickly sweet smell to it. I decided to give it a go anyway, and I don’t think my skin had ever felt worse.
Typically, when I try new products, I like to give them at least a two-week trial where I see if anything changes, how it feels, and how the products hold up, but I couldn’t put these on my face again after the first one. The cleanser felt like it was stripping off a layer of my skin, and I think the serum was individually ripping apart every skin cell on my face. My entire face turned bright red and stayed that way for three days, and I couldn’t touch my face without wincing in pain for a week. I don’t usually have sensitive skin, but these products wrecked my face and made me break out horribly. Although I wanted so badly to give this brand a chance, I don’t think I would ever purchase from them again.
So, please learn a lesson from me and don’t buy skincare products because they have cute packaging, even if they make your counter look more interesting. There are so many amazing brands and products that are cheaper, better for you, and won’t blind you with their flashy colors, so research before you buy and don’t fall for the same marketing I did.
