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?

Dear Batlings, I might not make many requested posts but I really enjoy doing so.

Writing about subjects or products that are requested feels less aimless than trying to guess what all of you even want to read about.

So please feel free to request post anytime and I am happy to oblige if I can. On that note I want to also mention that sending me questions (on any social media if comments are not desired) is also always welcome!

I am saying this because this post was requested on reddit after talking a bit about what products I find essential for dry skinned folks.

I honestly don't know why I haven't written such a post yet so thanks for giving me the push to finally write one up.

Now we come to the hard part, how can I make a list of products that I consider essential for dry skin if all skin is different. 
Well, I really can't. 
So this will be a mix of product types that I noticed helped my dry skin be less painfully dry and products in that category that worked the best for me in that regard. And once again just because one product has created near miraculous results for me does not mean it will for you as well. 
I hope it will of course, since I assume that is the reason why you would purchase them after reading someone's recommendation.

If you are interested in other things you can do to that have helped me with both my dry and dehydrated skin you can also check out the Dry skin secrets Skinesodes. 

Oils and why I consider them essential

One of the most important type of products to use when having dry skin is oils. 
After all dry skin lacks natural oils. If not it wouldn't be dry but normal. I have noticed that many dried skinned folks rely on a cream as the only product to make their dry skin feel good but most moisturizers have an insufficient amount of oil for dry skin even if the product is targeted at dry skin in particular. Obviously this varies from dry skin to dry skin. But if you feel like your creams don't bring it and your skin is still tight, sallow or lacks the extra oomph try out some facial oils.

There is a lot of variation and I am still experimenting myself with what works best for my skin. 
For years I have used everything from pure “natural” oils to oils blends from all around the world. 

My favorites are oil blends since they often feel lighter and also give you more benefits from different fatty profiles (see here). I have also noticed that I am much fonder of Asian oils since they tend to be lighter and less greasy yet effective. So here are my current top three favourite oils from thickest to lightest:

The Saem Urban Eco Harakeke seed oil: 
This is the heaviest oil of the three but compared to others it is still very light. I really love this stuff since it makes my skin feel great and is light enough to be used by itself. 

Graymelin 100% Natural Facial oil: 
Until recently this was the lightest oil I tried and with its neutral smell and its dry feeling it was one I grabbed on a daily basis. 

Mamonde Age Control Camellia oil: 
This is the latest addition to my oil stash and boy oh boy is this stuff good! The first time I applied it I thought I was dreaming. Not only is this a super dry oil that still gives you the benefit of using an oil but it smells like heaven. Lemony dessert heaven to be precise. This stuff feels super luxurious and I can't wait to buy some more since I have sadly already run out.

Cleansers and why different types can make a huge difference

After having jumped into what I consider the most important addition to a dry skin routine I will continue following the usual routine steps. Which brings me to cleansers. For a long time now have I been trying to tell people to give cleaning milks and creams a try. If your skin is super tight, itchy or it feels like no matter how much you slather on it, doesn't change from its super desert like state, try changing up your cleansing routine. I have noticed that sometimes when my product line up is great and suits my skin well just changing the cleanser from a cream to a foam can wreak quite a bit of havoc on my face. And yes I also mean low PH non drying foam cleansers. 
I have talked about it here that going waterless as much as possible has really helped my skin be less dry. I also know that some folks have really hard or bad water which has less than positive effects on their complexions. Using milk and cream cleansers is also very convenient since they act as makeup removers at the same time. If you still want to double cleanse or feel that you don't remove all of the product with a cloth try using a cleansing water as the second step to make sure all is removed properly. 

Unfortunately I have not found a cleansing cream/milk that I loved since most of them have been quite similar but this is a selection of products I have enjoyed using.

Innisfree Green Barley Cleansing Cream: 
This is quite a light cleansing cream. A mix of a milk and a cream really. It is quite moist and not as thick as most of the creams on the market. It smells lovely and fresh and is easy to remove due to its lightness. Still usable to do facial massages with but a little more product needs to be used.

Ziaja Goat's Cleansing milk: 
This is a polish product that I actually picked up in Sasa a few years ago. The brand is know worldwide though and quite loved in some circles. I liked it because it was a nice change to the thicker cleaning creams and was very gentle to my eczema prone spots.

Bifesta Cleansing Water: 
I have tried quite a few cleansing waters/micellar waters by now but my favorite is this one from Bifesta. Not only is it cheap and comes in a large bottle with a pump (love the pump) but I have a feeling it actually removes makeup a little better than the others I have tried (haven't tested it yet but will soon). It is scentless and feels just like using water but it actually cleanses your face. I use it by its own, to remove eye makeup before foam or gel cleansers or as a second step after milk and cream cleansers.

Toners and why they may or may not be necessary

Toners are pretty meh kind of a product for me but they can be useful to add some extra hydration to a very thick creams and oils heavy dry skin routine. Some people love toners and to be honest some of them can be fantastic. Even though I don't consider them necessary if your routine has all the important steps already yet you think you could add a little bit more oomph a toner might be just the thing. For dried skin people I would stay away from astringent toners because they will likely dry your skin out even more. If you have acne, spot treating might be the best choice if you still want to use them. Luckily there is a lot of hydrating toners on the market that target a lot of different skin concerns besides just dryness.

Dear Enprani Moistful Booskin: 
This is still my favorite toner after so many years. It simply is the most effective one I have used and I am still sad that it is so hard/super expensive to get in Germany.

Cosrx Galactomyces 95 Essence aka First Essence Toners: 
I love this stuff and I have said why in the review I posted a while ago. But to be honest first essences are pretty good stuff in general. 
I have tried quite a few my favourites being the Cosrx one and Iope's Bio Essence as well. 
I have to say that my skin seems to quite like fermented products and I believe the big dose of Niacinamide that most of these have helps with the hydration content of my skin. First essence toners differ from regular toners that they are generally filled with fermentation goodness of all kinds and are sometimes meant to be used before the regular toner. I believe that one can use them anytime in the routine though and don't see why I need a first essence and a toner in my routine since I have not seen a difference when I have used both. 

Emulsions, an underrated yet important step for dry skin

Emulsion are the other product type that people seem to ignore/not use similarly to cleansing milks/creams. I found them to be incredibly helpful to my super dry skin especially in the winter time. I actually tried them by accident since travel sets often contain an emulsion. I feel like it is a good mix of oils and hydration that really adds to the skin without being too heavy.

Nature Republic Snail Solution emulsion: 

This is my favorite emulsion I have ever tried. I don't know how it does it but when I use it it makes my skin feel incredibly smooth. It also has a lovely texture and really adds some soothyness to my routine. 

Guerisson 9 Complex emulsion:  
I wasn't able to use this long enough to review properly but my first impression is quite good. 
I actually tried to buy this over a year ago but the seller refunded me my money last minute and I never bothered to buy the full size until I was able to use a sample of it. It feels very lightweight but at the same time you can tell it is actually doing something good to your skin. And that feeling is quite instant. I enjoyed using this more than the cream of the same line and hope to properly test is one day.

Chosungah Wonder Milk: 
This is not an emulsion per se but I wasn't sure where to put it. Technically it is a multi purpose product that you could use as different steps in your routine but I like using it as my emulsion step. This stuff is really magical and I think a must try for anyone with dry skin. Mother loves this stuff and often skips moisturizer when she uses it since she has normal skin.

Moisturizers, the classic dry skin remedy

Now we get to the item that most dried skin people like to rely on. 
Moisturizers. Personally I have given up on finding a moisturizer that can all by itself make my skin feel like, well, regular skin instead of the tight itchy mess it is most of the times. But this also depends on your climate and level of dryness. When living in moist climates creams can be quite enough for me but when in Northern Europe they just dont cut it. That being said I am not able to skip them either since they are a very important part of my routine. 
Here are my favorites for dry and very dry skin.

Ladykin Vanpir Dark Repair cream: 
As I have said probably about a gazillion times since I used this for the first time I think this is the best moisturizer I have ever used. It is hydrating yet contains enough oils for my skin to be happy. 
It is relatively lightweight yet seems to be enough even for my winter skin. If you don't have any issues with any of the ingredients I consider this a must try for dried skinned folks.

Dear Enprani Bounce Cheese cream: 
I have used this in 2013 I think and already liked it then but upon re introducing it late last year I realized that it still holds up. This is a little on the thicker side compared to the Vanpir cream but still light enough to not leave a film on my skin. I like the scent and I like the slightly strange texture. It is not as easily accessible but still a cream I heartily recommend.

Sana Nameraka Soy Milk cream: 
Even though this is not the most heavy hitter in the super dry skin moisturiser department it does quite well. The part where it stands out to me is that it is really great for sensitive skin. I used this when I had eczema on my face and it did not sting at all yet helped soothe the itchy and sore parts. All while still being good enough for the rest of the scaly mess I had on my face. 

Occlusives, which can be used as moisturizers or to seal everything in

I like to split the cream bit up in two parts since I consider the sealant/occlusive bits to be on a different level than the regular moisturizers. You can still use these as your sole moisturisers of course but I feel like these products excel at their occlusive qualities to seal in all the previous steps.

Banila Co Miss Flower & Mr Honey cream: 
Not really a cream I was a huge fan of due to its occlusive nature. I have a little bit of a sensory beef with occlusives and try to avoid them as much as possible. If you like them though this is a good option to skip a step or add on top of a lighter gel type moisturizer. 

Banila Co the Blacks 17 Sleeping Pack: 
Another banila product but this time a sleeping pack. It looks to be quite hydrating but I found it to be rather occlusive, more so than other sleeping packs. With this the more you apply onto your face the more occlusive it becomes. 

Mediheal EGT Midnight Capping pack: 
The least occlusive in this lineup and for me the most comfortable to use. I love the way the texture feels on my skin and added after your regular cream it does indeed bring some occlusive qualities to the table without being too thick.

Healthy skin and how to achieve it

Besides talking about the steps and products I consider important to keep dry skin feeling and looking good I would also like to talk about skin health. Whatever you do to damage your moisture barrier or when you use products that are too harsh (like too strong acids, very high PH foaming cleansers or jagged edged physical exfoliation) or even get enviromental damage, your skin is more likely to be dry, dehydrated or irritated. All of these factors can lead to itchy and dry skin that just feels uncomfortable. If you are already interested in looking and feeling your best it just makes sense that you invest just as much energy to keeping your skin permanently healthy. 
Obviously some things are a little harder to control such as weather and air pollution but it can be as easy as to use sunscreen daily or make sure your products aren't too harsh for your skin. 

Make sure to introduce new products only one at a time to see if your skin likes them or not. 
If not make note of the effects of the product to be able to eventually find out what exactly your skin did or did not like and even figure out if you have issues with particular ingredients. 
I consider myself to be quite lucky that I have not yet had any issues with a specific ingredient. 
My skin is quite happy as long as I don't use too harsh and drying products. 
But not all skin is the same so be sure to watch out and listen to how it feels.
Also don't dismiss any particular ingredient just because people say it is comedogenic or harsh since skin is really different and everyone reacts to it in a unique way (for more info see here). 
After all according to most my skin should wither and die if I use any kind of product with alcohol in it but it does not. 

Coming back to the moisture barrier I have also noticed that some people have it compromised due to it external factors but some simply need to pay more attention in keeping it up due to their skin types. If you have very dry skin, sensitive skin or  any type of skin issue such a eczema it is a good idea to use products with ingredients to strengthen that barrier regularly. The most promising one being ceramides. The issue with that is that not all ceramides are created equal and not all products containing ceramics are formulated to work effectively. 

Barrier repair 

Here are two products that I have recently enjoyed that not only include ceramides but are indeed properly formulated to help strengthen that barrier. 

Simply Pure Hydrating serum: It is called a serum but to me it is more like an emulsion. It is a creamy scentless lotion that feels quite pleasant. I do feel that this is more of a long term product to support the moisture barrier so don't expect any instant miracles. 

Rosette Aqua Ceramide Gel: This is a lovely and refreshing light gel that is suitable for any skin type.
If your skin is not on the very dry side and you have a good routine you could probably get away with using this as your sole moisturizer. For the ones on the super dry end of the spectrum I like using a gel cream in addition to a regular cream almost like an emulsion step. This could also work well during the summer time but I haven't been able to use it then yet. Will update when tested in different climates.

A few months ago Vivant contacted me to see if i was interested in trying their skincare line. 

After doing some research and having a look around their store I realised that I was indeed interested. They focus on actives based products and had some interesting items with mandelic acid in their lineup. A long time ago I reviewed a mandelic acid cream I got from Poland that I loved and have been looking to try out new products with that wonderful ingredient ever since.
I was put in contact with the Director of the brand, who was so nice and gave me not only an introduction to some of their products but also put together an entire routine for me based on my skin type and concerns. She was very detailed in her answers and even sent information leaflets for each product, how they work and how to use them. It was the first time someone put together a specialized routine for me and it worked quite well I must say.

Today I will review four of their products I have been using exclusively for four weeks together and separately as well.

Vivant Skincare Cleansing Milk

First off is the milk cleanser.

I requested a non drying cleanser since my skin seems to be super finicky when it comes to cleanser in general and usually prefers milk or cream cleansers. 

This one is a little different from the ones I usually use since it requires washing off with water.

It is scentless and feels very creamy which makes it comfortable to apply yet washes off very well.


I have only used this as my single cleanser when I didn't wear makeup and it worked really well. 
Even though it needs to be washed off with water it did not make my skin dry out since it is very gentle and moisturizing. 
I think this would be a great cleanser for people with sensitive or dry skin that still want to use water to wash their faces.

Ingredients: Here

Vivant Skincare 3% Mandelic Acid Toner

As some of you may know I am not a toner type person. They aren't fun for me so I hardly ever buy them. Somehow I always have a toner around so in the end I get to try quite a few. This is also not my first (pre) acid toner even though I don't consider them a necessity. Using this reminded me again how useful it is to have an acid toner around. They are really great to use if you have acne, PIH or simply like to keep your pores clean. I generally don't use it everyday since I don't think I need it but like to use it as a spot treatment occasionally. When a spot appears I apply the toner followed by an acid just to the spot or simply on my nose and chin, the areas I have the most sebaceous filaments. 

But remember that I usually don't have spots, luckily no PIH and have little issues with clogged pores. If you have any of the above this toner would be quite useful for you as a start into acids or to boost your regular acids.

It is very watery and smells quite a lot like alcohol. I am not fond of the smell at all but it disappears fast. Johnny (and his average sense of smell) can not identify the scent and says it reminds him of disinfectant. Due to the addition of humectants the toner is not actually drying to my super dry skin but it is definitely in the astringent toner category. I used it for a little while as my sole acid and it did ok as an upkeep type product. Keep in mind that I have been using acids for years now and my skin is quite used to them. Johnny's acid sensitive face did well with it too. His skin seems to love mandelic acid though! For our skin concerns and routine my favourite way of using this toner was before adding other acids. It is hard to measure how much it boosts them but I do feel like our pores were cleaner than without it.

So if you are an acid newb that just wants to give it a try or someone who wants to boost their other acids this is the item to use.

Ingredients: Here

PH: 3.5

Vivant Skincare Rejuv Rx Peptide Concentrate

This serum was a new experience for me. I have never used a peptide serum before so I can not compare this to others. It is very liquid but the convenient dropper bottle makes it easy to use. 



The strong alcohol scent is the first thing that I noticed. I am not sensitive to alcohol but I am not fond of the smell and it is quite strong here. I have to admit that it might just be strong to people who are very scentsitive since I asked Johnny (who still has an average sense of smell) what he smelled and he just said I don't know. The serum does not burn when applied but when I used it my skin had no wounds or anything like that. The reason I got it though is that I have been going through a seemingly endless bout of super dry very itchy skin. This serum was recommended to me to help with the itchiness. So even though my skin was “fine” it was quite sensitive when I used this and it still didn't burn. If you have previous sensitivities to alcohol though using this might not be a good idea. 

The serum surprisingly did not dry my skin out, which I honestly expected due to the scent but actually gave it quite a nice soft feeling. Not moisturising per se but definitely like you added a product to your skin that makes it feel good. The bottle lasted me for about six weeks and after around three to four weeks my itchiness was reduced. Some days it came back though so I might have to try this for a little longer for it to go away. All in all I was quite happy with it and would love to try more peptide containing skincare in the future.

Ingredients: Here

Excuse my bottle, I almost finished it by the time I realized I hadn't taken a picture yet.

Vivant Skincare Allantoin Sedating and Hydrating Lotion

This is a lotion that is meant for sensitive skin. I got it because I was hoping it would help me with my itchy dry skin issues. Allantoin is suppose to be an excellent soothing ingredient so I was excited to use it. It is a very non descript type moisturizer. The kind that is hard to write about because there is so little to say. That does not mean it isn't good though. I am almost out and actually sad to see it go. It is simply so useful and gentle that it is the kind you grab when you have any kind of skin issue. It is scentless and the texture is like a cream on the thinner spectrum. It feels refreshing yet emollient without being heavy at all. 



It worked really well on Johnny's normal to dry sensitive skin and well on my super dry itchy skin. 
I was sure the cream would be way too light for me and that my skin would fall off after a week of usage (not literally of course but it does feel like that somedays) but surprisingly it didn't. 
When I was in Spain I could use this by itself without a problem, back in Berlin I had to add some facial oil to it though. It did indeed soothe the itching quite a bit even though it did not make it go away permanently. Honestly this itching has been going on for so long and I have tried so many itch specific products I think it might be some very random cause that might not be fixable with any skincare (if it doesn't go away soon the dermatologist will be due). When I had a special bout of itching I would simply reapply this to the spots and it would make it go away. 

I was also surprised how super gentle this lotion is. I had some skin irritation going on for a few days where everything I added to it would burn. This cream did not though and the irritation was gone after three days. 
Consider me impressed. 
As I said however, as unexciting as the product might be it is incredibly useful for anyone that has any kind of skin sensitivity (unless that includes one of the ingredients of course) itchiness or dry skin. 
It is the kind of product I generally always have at home just in case my skin is acting up and I don't know why because I rely on this to not exacerbate it.

Ingredients: Here

Disclaimer: These products were sent to me for review purposes. That fact does not alter my review or opinion in any matter. For more information read my Disclaimer page.