credit do smabssputzer for the banana photo

Japanese sunscreens are my favourite sunscreens. Even after having used a lot of different Korean and Western ones over the past few years, their Japanese counterparts have won hands down. I am not even afraid to just randomly and blindly buy Japanese sun products anymore, since every single one I have used is quite excellent indeed. 

So I thought I would present to you a comparison of all the ones I currently have in my house to make choosing easier. To be honest though I would recommend all of these. They are also written in order of absorption speed, from fastest to slowest.

Biore Watery Gel SPF50 PA++++

Biore Watery Gel is my favourite of the bunch. I got it after my previous favorite the Biore Watery Mousse was just too small of a size for me and the gel comes in the more convenient 90ml size.

It is super easy to apply since it has a watery milky consistency.



It smells citrusy fresh and you can faintly detect the scent of alcohol as well. There is no white cast on my current NC30 skin and it absorbs practically instantly. It can't be felt at all on the skin, something that is very important to me, yet it is not drying either. I am really happy with this sunscreen since it not only works excellently, but has a good price to size ratio.

Sun bears Sensitive SPF35 PA++

I got this one for the little monster since it is waterproof and came recommended from the internet.

I know the SPF isn't the highest but I wanted to give an alcohol free sunscreen, targeted at sensitive skin, a try. I like this one a lot as well, but as I said before I like them all! The bottle looks teeny tiny, and I suppose it would get used up quite fast if I would to use it on me daily, but since the monster has a little body and only the exposed areas would get sunscreened, it is an OK size. The scent is basically non existent but if I would have to say anything I would say it smells very faintly like citrus. It has the same watery milky consistency as the Biore gel and absorbs very fast but a little slower than the former. 


You can't really feel it on your skin either but I would say it is a smidgen more moisturising. 
It also has no white cast, so all in all this one is also a success!

Sunkiller Perfect Strong Plus SPF50+ PA++++

This one is my least favorite of the bunch but it is still quite good. The reason I like it less, is a mixture of a few things. First off I am not fond of the alcohol smell it has. It isn't too strong but I can do without that. It also has this weird oily layer while it dries down. It absorbs relatively fast (around one minute) but during that time, if you would touch your skin it would be oily. 
That oiliness practically disappears completely once it's absorbed, but if you would compare that part of your skin to one without it, it would feel slightly less moisturised and a little rougher. But I am really splitting hairs here. 


I can imagine that people with oily skin would notice this the most though. It has the same texture as the others and also no white cast. Another downside is that the bottle is also very small but it is a great size to use when up and about.

50 Megumi Morning UV Protection Cream

This one I bought to see if a Japanese moisturizer/sunscreen combo would be better than its European equivalents. The thing is it is not the most moisturising cream there is, but it feels like the sun protection is reliable (unlike the western ones where I feel like they threw the SPF in there as a marketing ploy, yet it doesn't do much at all). Even though it isn't the most potent cream it is enough even for my super dry skin as long as it is;
A: summer time  
B: I have a good hydrating routine before hand. 
I don't know why I was under the impression that this was a gel type lotion but to my surprise it turned out to be a thicker cream type texture. It is still easy to apply though and looks thicker on a first glance than it actually is. It takes the longest to fully absorb but that is only about a minute and a half until it dried down completely. 



At first I thought it had a white cast but thankfully it disappeared once absorbed to the skin, so don't panic if you think it will make you look ghosty (tested on NC45 skin and no white cast either). 
It is the most moisturising of the bunch as well, but possibly not any more than the Hada-Senka Q10 BG Mineral Water UV Essence Gel (reviewed here). I don't have that one anymore so I can't compare but they are in a similar ball park. It doesn't smell very strongly but if I would have to describe it I would go with a slightly vintage scent. I also like that it is quite a large size just like the Biore which doesn't make me feel like I have to repurchase sunscreen all the time.

I think this one is really great for lazy or busy people since you can definitely skip moisturiser on top of it. It would also work as a more hydrating sunscreen on top of the regular cream in the wintertime.

Oh sunscreens you are so necessary and such a pain to find a perfect one. I can consider myself lucky to have found a sunscreen that is perfect to me. Unfortunately, I am pretty sure it is discontinued. (Yes it is...)  Dear Biore Watery Mousse I will miss you forever! But I really like Biore's Watery Gel!

On my quest to find a new sunscreen that I love just as much as my beloved Watery Mousse, I have gone through quite a few of them.

I have a whole ton to review and comparisons for you so I will split it up in two parts. Part I is about sunscreens I have used extensively in different weather conditions.

I would also like to mention that the swatches are done on NC35 skin which makes the white cast a little bit of a pain to deal with. I hope this will help some of my fellow brown skinned beauties to find something that won't make them look like a ghost. Unless they want to of course!

Lioele Fresh Sunscreen SPF 45 PA++

Let’s start with my least favorite sunscreen I have used to date. I was told by someone that this little cutey was their favourite sunscreen. I was super excited to give it a test when I realised it was just awful. It had a super strong white cast, felt really greasy and thick and didn’t smell good to boot. It is definitely better than your average western sunscreen, but is the worst Asian sunscreen I have tried so far. That teaches me not to listen to people who have no comparison to Asian sunscreens but only bad Spanish supermarket ones. 

Holika Holika Leports Sun SPF50 PA+++

The next one isn’t any good either. And by this I mean that they are both usable but if you have a certain standard of sunscreen comfort than I would walk a big circle around these two products.

I have reviewed Holika Holikas' thick mess here. To recap. Just as Lioele, it is thick and greasy in a very heavy way, takes forever to absorb and has tons of white cast. Somehow it manages to be a tiny bit less yucky than Lioele's but they are more or less equal ugh.

Nuganic Customize Sunblock SPF50 PA+++

Thankfully we are already in usable territory!

This Nuganic sunscreen was in one of my first Memeboxes. It took me forever to use this thing up since it is not the nicest sunscreen to have existed. Especially since I was using this at the same time as my beloved Biore. In general it is not a bad sunscreen. It is a tad thick but not that greasy. It also doesn't sink in very fast but in a few minutes this sunscreen is pretty much gone. There is no white cast on me but I can not vouch for skin darker than NC40 (which is the shade of my darkest body parts). The smell is not the most pleasant one but it isn't so strong as to turn me off. It is a decent sunscreen that feels fine in any regard. I would not repurchase this though since I know there are better ones on the market.

Laneige Sun Block Supreme SPF50 PA+++

I actually quite enjoyed this sunscreen. I haven't tried any other Laneige sunscreens but I was positively surprised when I started using this. That was at a time where virtually all my Korean sunscreens either sucked or were very average. This sunscreen feels pretty good. The texture is quite watery but not too liquid which would make it hard to apply. It doesn’t smell too strongly and it absorbs quite fast. The only thing that surprised me is that upon comparing it to other sunscreens, it does have a teeny tiny bit of a white cast. It is not something I noticed while using it on my face. It is not visible enough to notice unless you really really pay attention. I would not repurchase only due to the fact that it wasn't fun for me to use but I would definitely recommend this to people who don't require their skincare to have a fun factor. If I would get this for free, I would happily use the whole thing as well.

Etude House Sunprise Super Aqua SPF35 PA++

This might come as a shocker to some of you. At least it did to me. But my favorite sunscreen of the lot is actually by Etude House. The thing is not that Etude House is bad but their skincare tends to be pretty average to me. And I think just from looking at this lineup I would not pick the Etude House sunscreen as the best. Once again, best is relative and some of you might not be interested due to its lower SPF factor. But it is still one of my favorite sunscreens to date. It is watery and refreshing. It actually moisturises, which might be great for some combo or normal skin types so they can skip moisturisers. Johnny Clyde has used this a few times without a cream and it went well. I have done it a few times too and my skin did not fall off in a wrinkly pruney mess. That is honestly a feat! 
So not only does it apply beautifully and feel nice but it also has no white cast at all! It absorbs pretty fast. There is a glow that is visible for about 15 minutes but you can’t feel it beyond the same feeling you would have applying a moisturizer. The glow subsides eventually but still leaves your skin looking fresh. If you are more into mattifying sunscreens, than this is not your cup of (how is the saying) cheese, coffee, cake? I don't know. Either way this does not mattify at all but neither do any of the others on this list.  I would probably repurchase this one if there wouldn't be so many others to try. Full review can be found here.

Because even though I love the matte look anything mattifying makes me feel like a dehydrated sponge

Holika Holika UV Wonder Shield Smart Sun Spray SPF 50 PA+++ 

Last but not least, the outsider of this group. This spray has been raved about here already. I really like it simply because it is a joy to use. I have to admit that I only have it for times that I forget to use sunscreen. I bought it to reapply sunscreen during the day, but the bottle is too large to lug around.

The nozzle on this applies the spray in a very fine mist that one can not detect. There is no white cast and no offensive smell either. You can't feel the sunscreen on your skin and this format is so convenient to apply on your body or on top of makeup. I do recommend applying two layers to make sure that it is on your skin evenly.

By the way, I was under the impression that all sunscreen sprays would be great. So I went to the supermarket and tried 5 different ones. Some of them were marked dry spray or non greasy. Let me tell you, it was a mess! Those sprays were awful. They smelled bad and were super thick and greasy. One of them that I applied on Mother, marked as dry sunscreen, was still soaking wet after waiting for 10 minutes. I then tried to wipe it off but it left a shiny greasy mark on her arm. Yuck! That scared me off European drugstore sunscreens for a while!

This is it for today. Next time I will compare even more sunscreens to each other.

Now the question is, which is your favourite or least favorite sunscreen to date?

Is there any sunscreens you would like me to review or compare in particular?

Sometimes things happen in this world that make me feel like there must be more at work than just coincidences. So either one of the people involved is a mind reader/witch or this little episode is just one of those strange things that can happen sometimes.

A little bit ago I was doing my regularly (not really, but you know) scouring through the internet to see if I could find one of my favorite hair products, a little known item called Cer 100 Coating Protein Hair Treatment by Elizavecca. Unfortunately I have not been able to locate it online since I first got it almost two years ago. So you can imagine my surprise when I found it (and for a very good price) in a new shop I had never seen before called BB Cosmetics. I marked it immediately thinking I would purchase it after I come back from my holiday.

The thing is though that exactly 24 hours later I received an email from said BB Cosmetics shop asking me if I would like to start a sponsorship with them! 

I had a better browse at their store and saw a lot of interesting products I wanted to try including a very good selection of Elizavecca (all at great prices too!), so I said yes.

Well, here is one of the products that I received from them, a burgundy lip tint. It has been a long time since I got a new one (the last one was this gorgeous shade reviewed here) so I thought it was about time.

I never heard of Labiotte before but promptly saw a few of their items I would love to try like this pretty looking palette with burgundy shades as well. I love reddish eye shadows and even though they seem more common now they aren't that easy to find. But now I am drifting off, let's get back to the tint.

Skinny doe foot applicator

It is made to look like a little wine bottle which can be quite cute and whimsical to most people, strangely this fact leaves me indifferent, possibly because I don't like wine. Either way once opened it looks like a regular lip tint, with its doe foot wand and all. It smells really lovely, not very strong but like sweet candy. I like it a lot, especially since it dissipates quickly. As much as I like a good scent I’d rather not have it stick around too long.

The application is easy, whether you want a pale wash of color or layer it on for a stronger look, since the texture is neither too thick nor too watery. 

One layer on the right and one smudged layer on the left

The shade is really layerable which enables you to be able to achieve a really strong and dark color.

I like using it only with one thin layer to enhance my natural lip color but also as a deep burgundy which looks quite vampy. 



The tint also tastes nicely. I have noticed that many a liptint has a gross chemical taste but this one is sweet. Not so sweet that you would want to lick it off, but good enough so you don't feel yucky when you accidentally do taste it.

The tint has a good lasting power whether layered thickly or not. It fades nicely and you can apply lip balm on top of it. 

All in all I quite like this liptint and have been using it a lot recently even though I stopped using burgundy tints for the past year in favor of brown lip products. Now the only thing that would top this one is a dark brown shaded tint!

If you missed Part I you can head over here and read about how I perceived pregnancy and my thoughts on the stereotypes that are shared around the net. Today I will talk a little bit about things that I would have done differently in my pregnancy and other random thoughts.

My only pregnancy regrets are really my own fault, and the ones of my lazy self. Regrets might even be a strong word but it is things that I would do differently next time.

I used to sort of work out before I got pregnant. It was this daily 10-15 minute ordeal trying to not be such a lazy bone all the time. Right after conception I was too sick to do it anymore so I took a break for three months. Yet instead of going straight back into my “workout” routine I somehow dilly dallied for two more months. Two months of muscle strength that I could really use right now. Basically at around months 7 or so my back started hurting and by month 8 it got quite bad. I have always had back problems so I was expecting it, but boy why did I not start doing my back exercises earlier? 

It just shows that not being depressed and more motivated than usual does not suddenly make me this super human but just a less depressed and more motivated lazy self. I have a wonderful physiotherapist that I sometimes see for relief but she is not free on a daily basis which is what my pain level dictates at the moment. I know I would have had back pain even with the extra two months work out but I simply feel like I could have done more and exercising while in pain is really not that fun. But I am happy to say that I have consistently done my exercises for a few months now! Semi success I call that.

Don’t wait until the last month to fix your place up

Unless you really have solid reasons, I recommend getting things ready before you are 9 months along. Why did I wait this long? Well maybe because impending parenthood is still very surreal to me and I’m still not even sure if there is a human in me or an Alien that will promptly beam itself into a space ship once it has exited my body.
Not only would I be semi screwed if it would come out now (the little monster came out a week after I wrote this article actually. The day after I finished fixing my apartment) since my place is a mess and I still need furniture, but my body is not happy with the level of activity I have right now. My pregnancy was quite wonderful and I didn't even feel pregnant until about 2 weeks ago. That is the exact moment I realized that it could come out any day now and I need to get going with the fixing.

Just before hitting 9 months my body decided to be really really pregnant without any warning. 
So now I have a lot of organising to do while feeling like a wobbly Totoro. I should have done it earlier, I really should have.

Me trying to turn around in the last few weeks

Don’t feel obligated to share the news

I am a very private person (even though it might not seem so here) and I didn’t really tell anyone I was pregnant until just now (now being 2 weeks before birth). In fact Johnny was the one who thought it was time to announce the pregnancy. And so was Mother. It took me 7 months to tell my best friend, so you see I am weird that way. Not that I am not happy to share, I mean I am super happy since this is one of the best things that has happened in a long time. But to me this is my pregnancy, my body and I neither want to share it nor let other people feel they have a right to it. 
So far the monster is not someones grand child, or niece, but my belly alien. 
Not even that. 
It isn't even my belly alien but I have a giant moving parasite inside of me that may or may not come out as a human (the humanity is yet to be confirmed). 

Or not human

Then things might possibly be different, maybe it won't be mine anymore but ours (so far it feels like Johnny and mine only). But for now it is not mine but ME. 
I am very happy to have finally announced it but I am just as happy to have kept it a secret until now. 

So this is not really one of my regrets but more one of Mother's. The lesson is, don't feel obligated to share the news with people who either don't care or would be negative about it.

It is a fact that not everyone cares about people being pregnant, that is not horrible, just normal, some people just don't, but that doesn't mean they should drag you down if they can't be at least decent enough to faint some sort of happiness for you. Or maybe I should rephrase that to: Why would you tell someone you know doesn't care just so they drag you down? Because you probably feel obligated to do so. Why? Society I assume. 
Then there is the people you know will likely react negatively to your pregnancy and all they would do is make you feel bad about something you are possibly very happy about. 
Who the heck are these negative not caring people you ask? Probably family members I assume. Well, Mother did not heed my advice when I told her that certain people who may or may not share my DNA should not be let in on the news for her own sake. But as usual (my Mother is an oversharing kind of person in general) she couldn't hold it in anymore and told the not-carers and the ones that reacted quite negatively. The outcome was that everyone felt bad, Mother, me and possibly also those haters. Now she admits it wasn't worth it at all and I realize that telling those kind of people is not something I would do in the future. 

Now I have this picture in my head of people that are supposed to care about me (because society dictates it) saying things like “Was it planned?”, or  “Why would they get a baby in the first place?” to “Are they even capable of raising it?”.  Not a pretty picture, don't do it to yourself my dear people. Spectrum bias can be quite harsh and strangely enough usually from people who are pretty clueless about it. The people that really know us and my ASD specialists/therapist are super happy for us and all say we will be great parents and that being on the spectrum actually could give us some advantages. And in the end isn't it all about love? 
Well I got plenty of that to throw around!

Random Pregnancy Observations

Boy I was so pregnant in the first few months! I felt like the most pregnant person in the world the moment the sperm hit the egg. I was waddling, my boobs felt all kinds of odd, I couldn't lay on my stomach and I was very nauseous. I was prepared to get a very pregnant pregnancy and be the most stereotypical pregnant woman ever. My family was commenting on how pregnant I was and that I already had a bump before I finished month 3. And then it all went away once I entered the second trimester. Quite strange to be honest. Suddenly I didn't feel pregnant at all anymore, not even when my belly started getting bigger and bigger and was not hideable. ( I was still hiding my pregnancy in real life when I was 6 months pregnant. I got a kick out of that!) 

As you can see I was very inconsistent with the pictures, even forgetting a few months

Then at the 8 and a half months mark the pregnancy hit me again. Between the back and the rib pain ( I don't know why this one took me by surprise), I also started to go to the bathroom quite often including during the night. Something I had avoided for most of the time. I am happy to announce that my body took only a few weeks to get used to the interrupted sleep pattern and I am now passing out right when hitting the mattress again. WOOOOO! 

The weirdest symptom I recently got is the way my body feels though. Internet told me that I would get loose joints (it has been telling me that I would get them by month 6) but when I got them I was not prepared for how odd that feeling is. I feel like a semi broken marionette. Or not very well made rag doll. It is the oddest feeling. Sometimes I think I will stand up, walk and just fall apart.

But the emotional side effects of pregnancy are still spared (and never came after all). Even those pesky nightmares. 

Pregnant women are suppose to have weird and very vivid strange dreams, often riddled with nightmares. The thing is that I always had very vivid and strange dreams so I have not seen a change in that. I have had some pregnancy/baby related ones but they were very rare. My dream to nightmare ratio hasn't changed either.

One thing I recommend though is that you might want to carefully select what kind of info you acquire when it comes to pregnancy, birth and parenthood. 

Being on the spectrum, I want to know every single detail so I can be prepared, but reading too much too fast was really hard on me. Pregnancy is the most human thing I have ever done. I have never felt this human and normal in my life. And it feels like birth and the weeks after might be some of the most humiliating experiences I will go through (yes and no. It was really not as bad as I feared). 
I have noticed that many people with ASD have troubles with regular human things, like digestion and such. They have troubles letting go of a certain amount of control, and letting other people take over for them. I am not a prude person but I don't like strangers, especially don't like being touched by them. Just the thought of strangers touching my private parts makes me feel like I have given up a piece of me and my dignity. Not a nice feeling. These are some of the emotions that went through my head while reading all of this new info. Not that I was scared of the pain (more intrigued really) but I was scared about being human, and giving up some of my dignity that carries me through life. I am simply not the kind of person that accepts this kind of stuff as normal because I am just human (or am I?).

I have never been like this. I quickly realised that I needed the info but only in little bits and pieces with lots of time to work through it in between. At this point I have not gotten any new info for over a month and I feel strangely chill about it all. I am positive that birth is going to be fine and that even if the weeks after are hard and I might not get an emotional connection with the creature, that it is also normal and it will come with time. (the birth was fine, the weeks after too. I even connected with the monster straight away). 





I think going to the hospital, asking lots of questions and making it clear to my midwife that since I am on the Spectrum, in order to have the most relaxed birth possible, having some requirements are sort of mandatory.  I feel super confident now and am not afraid at all anymore. Even though I am not of the hippy variety that thinks positivity fixes everything, I definitely believe that negativity is no good. And I worked hard to not have any in my surroundings. I am planning birth as best and vigorously as I would any other trip so I would feel the most comfortable possible. I want to know all the variations and situations that might ensue and my snack and goodies bag is bigger than expected (Internet said you won't need food during labour so I packed quite little. Big mistake. I was starving and needed much more food than what I had). But if it makes me feel better and more calm why not. Now I just hope I am not being completely naive about the whole situation (thankfully I wasn't).

I would love to hear some pregnancy/birth related experiences from my fellow Spectrum peeps.

How was it for you? Did you relate to the usual stuff you read and thought my experience was really foreign to you?

I have reviewed the toner and the emulsion from this line ages ago. Even then I loved them quite a bit. I remember being very happy with the results but particularly the emulsion. When I found a travel set of the entire line I did not hesitate one bit to snap it up!

Sorry for the banged up box

So now for a refreshed review of the two oldies and two newbies to boot.

By the way, I am purposefully not reading the old review since I want to write this with as fresh of an impression as I can. I am curious to see how much of it has changed or stayed the same through time.

Snail Solution 90 Skin Booster

As usual I have to preface I am not a toner type person. I can appreciate them and I use them regularly (believe me I must have some magical toner portal because I don't buy these things, yet always have one here) but even if I enjoy them I usually feel pretty meh about them.

I have mentioned before that if I had to choose a favourite toner it would be Dear Enprani Moistfull Booskin (reviewed here), but now I have to add that the Snail Solution toner would be in second position.

It is not the best toner ever but I actually enjoyed using it and that means something!

It's a thicker texture that reminds me more of a serum or gel toner. I find it pleasant to apply though, since it wont just trickle through my fingers on the way to my face. Due to my skin being so dry I also appreciate a more substantial texture since it makes me believe it might be more potent/hydrating. 

The entire line smells more or less the same. Like unintrusive fresh skincare.

The toner really does feel like it hydrates more than others and this is why it would be on my second spot. Not only is the texture pleasant but my face feels pretty good after applying it as well.

Snail Solution 80 Emulsion

Man this is good stuff.
I don't know how it does it, but everytime I use it my face feels soo smooth!
Like really smooth.
By now I have used quite a few emulsions and not one of them came close to the effects this one has on my skin. As mentioned above it smells about the same as the toner. A scent that is difficult to describe but dissipates fast anyway. The texture is like a milky lotion. It absorbs fast into the skin and even though it feels fresh and a little watery, it has quite an average texture and feeling for a korean emulsion. The magic happens later. Because suddenly the skin turns into magic velvet softness and you didn't even expect it to happen!

It is hard to explain how lovely this stuff makes my skin feel so I guess you just have to try it out!

If you have dry or normal skin this can be used before a moisturiser if your skin is combo or oily this could even be used instead of a moisturizer. So it really is for any squinty (damn autocorrect)!

Snail Solution 70 Cream

I quite like this cream! 
It is gooey and stringy in an interesting way. I like weird textures in my skincare since I find it more entertaining than the regular old stuff. Like many Korean creams this one feels somewhat watery once applied to the skin but it is also quite smooth and creamy so it feels nice and soothing on dry skin. It is not the most lightweight moisturiser in the world, so I would say it is probably best suited for normal to dry skin types. My super dry skin was quite happy with it. Both using it alone with other products, or with the rest of the line. 

I have to say I really enjoy these snail products. They are my favorite snail containing products I have used so far and I have used quite a bit. They have a high concentration of snailyness, if you are into that sort of thing, but if you dont care about it they are really good products even without it.

Do you have a favorite snail product? If so which one?

Ingredients: Booster, Essence, Emulsion, Cream

Purchased at Stylekorean
Available at Ebay

If I would have to guess which question I have been asked the most when it comes to Asian skincare it is probably how C20 and C21.5 compare to each other. C20, formerly known as OST, is an incredibly popular Vitamin C serum. The reason why it is so popular is because besides being very affordable it is really fantastic stuff. I really love it and you can see my near miraculous results and why I love it here.

It is one of those few products that actually visibly changed my skin for the better and that in quite a short amount of time. Funnily enough I didn’t expect any fast results at all when I started using it way back when. After all I was using the Vitamin C more for prevention than anything else.

You see Vitamin C is great at lightening pigmentation spots and post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) but also at boosting collagen production in the skin. The thing is that lightening pigmentation and boosting collagen is something that can take months to happen. So when C20 more or less obliterated my forehead lines I was more than surprised. 

I still don’t know why or how this stuff gets rid of my wrinkles so well but I am too happy to question it.

This photo is from the original C20 review

The other immediate side effect that is reported by most users is the wonderful glow it can impart. For me the glow appears a few days to a week after use. It is hard to describe but when you see the glow you know what I mean!

The thing is that many people complained about C20 being a tad sticky despite its great results. I am not one of those people since hardly anything is sticky on my spongey skin but I know plenty of people who were not fond of that.

So one day C21.5 appeared, a new and improved version of C20. This was touted to be more effective and less sticky. 

How do I use these Vitamin C serums?

From what I have read the most common way to use a Vitamin C serum is in the mornings. The reasoning being that since it is an antioxidant, it can help with the sun damage that can occur during the day.

Some people like using it at night because they like a shorter routine in the mornings when getting ready.

There is two camps on when you should use it in your routine. On clean skin after washing your face or after a low ph toner. If you use a low ph cleanser it is fine to use the serum on clean skin, but some people think it is better to use it after a low ph toner if you previously washed your face with a cleanser that has a ph of 6 or higher.

Then there is the waiting time. Since Vitamin C serums are PH dependent products and they need a low ph to give you all its benefits, it is advised to wait anywhere between 10 to 20 minutes before applying another product.

The way to use a Vitamin C serum, is just like all other skincare, quite personal. Some people do it this way, some do it the other way. I personally do all of the above. I have used the serum on clean skin or after a low ph toner. I have used it only mornings, only nights and both. And since I never really look at a watch I have probably have had any waiting time from 5 minutes to two hours (when I forgot to apply the rest of my routine). I have tried all the different methods to see what works better for me and in the end I saw good results with each so I ended up just doing whatever felt most comfy at the time. I will leave some links on the bottom for those of you who are more interested in the details of how and why Vit C works and other science stuff.

So what is the difference between the two?

Will, let’s start with the similarities first.

Both serums are wonderful!

They are both equally effective. I can not speak for the collagen boosting action since there is no way I can measure that, but both serums give me a wonderful glow, make my fine lines practically disappear and lighten PIH. I have used about 4 bottles of C20 and 3 of C21.5 including some time of using one on half a face and the other on the rest of the face. I could not see any visible difference between the two on my skin.

The packaging and smell are identical so if you dislike one than you will likely dislike the other. I am personally fond of the packaging. Dropper bottles are my favourite after airless pump bottles and since the smell is not so strong and disappears fast I have no complaints about either. 

So are they different at all?

The biggest difference is in the texture and finish.

C21.5 is noticeably more liquid than C20. Some people prefer that but I'm not fond of it. The reason being that I lose quite a bit of product through the crack of my fingers. Also I prefer thicker textures since they are more comfortable to apply to my skin for me. 

The other difference is that people say that C21.5 is significantly less sticky than the original.

The thing is that since I didn't find C20 sticky I dont really notice a big difference in the updated version. I have asked a few people if they had issues with the stickiness of C20, and even though they confirmed that it was indeed a little sticky they said it did not make them want to stop using the product and that it disappear once the rest of the routine was applied on top. Those same people also commented that C21.5 is indeed less sticky but also leaves a tiny bit on the skin when applied. To me it really is a negligible feeling since both serums absorb quite fast and as mentioned before it is not noticeable when you apply more skincare on top. 

So which one should I get?

Well, it really is up to you. It is a very individual and subjective decision. I have heard everything from “they are the same” to “one is way better than the other”. I think the best way is to simply get the original, try it out and then test C21.5. You can then judge properly which one you prefer for yourself.

Both products are really excellent so in the end whatever you are most comfortable with works best.

Have you used one of these or both? If so what did you think and did you have a favourite?

Purchased at Wishtrend: C20, C21.5

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

Here is a referral code " 021617712" for those of you who are interested and don’t have a Wishtrend account yet. It gives you a 5$ discount upon signing up. Yay for savings!

Believe it or not sometimes I still use Western skincare. I'm not actually a cosmetics snob (even if it might look that way sometimes) but I generally have little rules on the products I try out. Usually it is anything that is either cheap, available, or looks interesting. Sometimes all of the above. Of course I mostly get things that suit my skin type or concerns and check ingredients to make sure I use the ones that I think might give me the most benefits. 
The way I found Tilk was quite curious actually. I happen to know the person who designed the packaging. And to be honest Tilk's packaging is incredible. I really like it and it might be one of the most interesting and fresh packaging I have seen in awhile. 

So Elerin (the designer, you can check her stuff out here) put me in contact with the co creator and CEO of Tilk who then offered to send me some items to try. Today, as seen in the title, I will review the cream for sensitive skin.

Tilk is an Estonian brand that focuses on organic and natural ingredients with a fresh and simple approach to skincare. This concept is something that appeals to me when my skin is being fussy and sensitive. The cream arrived at a convenient time of my life when my skin was on the fritz and most of the products I used were pretty average to me. 


Not only do I need a moisturizer that doesn't aggravate my skin when it is being sensitive but also one that is hardcore enough to soothe and hydrate my super dry skin. This might not be the thickest and heaviest moisturiser ever (thankfully, since I am not a fan of those at all) but it holds up quite well in my routine.

The texture of this is quite surprising and lovely. It is like a whipped mousse which makes it light to be honest. It looks delectable and feels lovely when applied. It is lighter than it looks yet has a nice creamy texture to it. 


There is a definite freshness when applied but it is not really watery either. More like a kind of soothing feeling to the skin. It is practically scentless which I really appreciate since I am not a fan of scented skincare. 

this cream was indeed very gentle. Neither mine nor Johnny Clyde's skin had any issues while using it. Considering that we both have somewhat sensitive skin but in completely different ways that is quite a feat.

His skin was lovely while using it which makes me think that this cream is best suited for normal to moderately dry skin. At the time he was using this it was his only item in his routine besides a cleanser. It was also wintertime and his skin was drier than usual so this tells me that it might be strong enough to be a stand alone item in a routine for people who have little time or don't feel like using too many items. Since my skin is so incredibly dry I had to supplement it with a hydrating product and a facial oil to make my skin happy. But I have to do that with 90% of moisturizers anyway. 

All in all I was quite satisfied with this product. It did what it promised and that is really all I want from it. It is one of those gentle convenient moisturisers that is not too exciting but in the end you are happy as long as your skin is happy.

Ingredients: Here

Rating: 1.Blegh  2. Pff  3. Meh  4. Oohh  5. Awwyeah 6. Wooha

Available at Tilk