Sometimes I shy away from talking about skincare here because I try to keep things gender-neutral for my readers. (Shout-out to my 3 male readers!)
But then I remember that literally everyone has skin, it’s not a gendered organ, whatever.

On Black Friday, I got myself a few early gifts in the form of skincare value sets because I am a complete sucker for value sets. (You get such a variety of products! And they’re small so you can test them while you travel! And you don’t feel as much pressure to use a lot if you don’t like it! Yes, lemme at ’em!) I also received some products as gifts from loved ones, so here’s a quick rundown of what I am excited to try out in 2017 when I return from my holiday:

Tatcha: Beauty Essentials Discovery Set

I have been interested in Tatcha as a brand for a little while. (The branding works on me: I want to unlock geisha beauty secrets!) Every time they offer a value set at Sephora, I have a look, but I usually can’t justify the purchase for such little samples of product. I found this set at TJ Maxx, actually, so I am looking forward to trying out the entire set.

It includes:

• Camellia cleansing oil
• Rice enzyme powder
• Firming serum
• Silk cream

Can’t wait to unleash geisha beauty unto my face!

Sephora Favorites: Scouted by Sephora

So… I am a huge sucker for any value set, but I am especially weak for the Sephora Favorites value sets. (One of the single biggest purchases I ever made at Sephora was their Super Stars set a few Black Fridays ago.) There have been a lot of great ones in the past few months, and I chose this one because it’s a dedicated skincare set that covers a wide variety of functions. (Some of the sets are masks only, moisturizers only, etc. I also haven’t been as excited about the makeup sets because I’m usually most interested in the concealer/tinted moisturizer but the only shade offered in the set is too dark for me.) I originally purchased this set  a gift, and then circled around the store and grabbed another one for myself. Sometimes you just have to treat yo face.

Included in this particular Sephora Favorites box is:

• Cane + Austin Miracle Pad+
• Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum
• Estée Edit by Estée Lauder Pink Peony Overnight Water Pack
• Herbivore Botanicals Coco Rose Coconut Oil Lip Conditioner
• Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist
• Lancer The Method: Polish
• Lashfood Phyto-Medic Eyelash Enhancer
• Tata Harper Purifying Mask

There are a lot of different types of products in here, including some will be very new to me like glycolic acid pads and the eyelash enhancer, so I’m excited to try this set out!

I also have my free Sephora birthday gift to try out. This year, they had the option of a makeup gift from Marc Jacobs, but I chose the skincare gift from Fresh, which included a small soy cleanser and a rose face mask.

Korean Products from a Friend

Christine, being the darling gem that she is, sent me a package on my birthday! (And it arrived on the day of my birthday, great timing!) In it, she included a card that made me cry alongside 3 of her favorite beauty products.

• Missha Time Revolution: The First Treatment Essence
• Missha Time Revolution: Night Repair Science Activator Borabit Ampoule
• Skinfood Black Sugar Wash-Off Mask

I’ve actually been waiting to try out the Skinfood mask after I finish up the last of the black sugar mask I have now, and I am really excited to try out these Misscha products because I have actually never used an essence or an ampoule in my skincare routine before! As much as I read about skincare, I am actually not a strict adherent to the many steps of the Korean skin regimen and often get very lazy.

I will be traveling over the holidays, so I’m sure my skin will really appreciate some extra love and care when I get back. These products will be great for kicking off the new year by treating my body’s largest organ a little extra nice!

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Happy holidays, however you are celebrating! I am very excited that Chankuah begins on Christmas Eve (great for the Christmukkah celebrants!) and ends on New Year’s Eve this year; it makes the holiday season extra special.

Do you have any skincare recommendations for me? My absolute minimum recommendations to everyone is to use a moisturizer every evening and a light SPF every morning. I may have nagged a male coworker of mine the other day, but I think he knows I push sunscreen on everyone out of care!