It’s that time of year again where I ramble on about what I’ve been loving on my skin, products that have helped me with my oil, acne-prone skin and also what I would recommend for any skin type!

I absolutely love talking about skincare so let’s begin!

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Manyo is a new brand to me and I already have a very good first impression. Their Pure Cleansing Oil was more on the pricier side, but I absolutely loved using it!

This cleansing oil is quite dense and contains jojoba seed oil and argan oil which melts and removes excess sebum and pore waste effortlessly, according to their website. And I would have to highly agree! As someone who beats their face on a daily basis, this cleansing oil did a really great job of clearing all impurities from my skin.

By now I’m sure you’ve heard of pretty much everyone’s holy grail cleansing oil product, the Softymo Cleansing Oil.

I didn’t fall into the hype until the later part of 2022 and I understand why it is everyone’s holy grail cleansing oil. It is truly fuss free, doesn’t have a fragrance, doesn’t leave a gross, greasy residue and is super affordable! It also comes in 3 types of cleansing oil – White Cleansing Oil, Speedy Cleansing Oil and Deep Cleansing Oil.

If you have oily skin like me, I’d recommend either the Speedy or Deep. I already have 2 more bottles of this in my storage waiting to be used up and one of them has a Pikachu packaging – it’s so cute!

I am about a thousand years too late to board the Panoxyl face wash train. I discovered this being talked about online and how it ‘saved’ many cystic acne sufferers, which I am! How no one talked about this product to me previously BAFFLES me. Were y’all gatekeeping?!

I chose the 10% Benzoyl Peroxide version (there’s a 2% too) because my skin is thick like rubber and no product can penetrate it well if it is considered ‘mild’. This 10% version has worked very well for me. It has stopped any active breakouts – which is what I wanted!

I even did an experiment. I switched over to another brand when I finished my first bottle of Panoxyl, and lo and behold, within 2 weeks of using an anonymous brand, I had 3 new pimples! This has definitely convinced me that Panoxyl keeps my breakouts at bay. 10/10.

I know not everyone is a fan of physical exfoliants but I personally like feeling scrubbed out, so I’m a fan of sugar scrubs for the skin!

Dear Klairs’ Gentle Black Sugar Facial Polish is a great sugar polish in the cutest tub ever. It may seem like a small tub, but it lasts a very long time. I don’t exfoliate every day, but I try to at least 3 times a week.

This sugar-based facial scrub contains black sugar, shea butter and cranberry oil to gently exfoliate, and it doesn’t leave the skin stripped of any moisture. It even emulsifies when in contact with water, and turns into a slightly cloudy liquid which I love!

I kid you not when I say I have repurchased this Bija Trouble Skin toner 6 times this year. SIX. I run through it quickly because I love it so much, and also because it has really helped my acne.

From using this product, I have deduced that my skin really loves salicylic acid. It is not sticky, has a very fresh, almost minty (?) scent and feel to it, and is very very watery, which I like, as I use toners and other skincare products as a base before my makeup.

Definitely my favourite toner of all time, I can proudly say!

This item has been repurchased 3 times over the past year, and I really swear by it and love it.

L’Oreal’s Hyaluronic Acid Serum has been the best hyaluronic acid serum I’ve tried so far. I’ve not tried that many, but this has been the one I’ve stuck to as it feels the best, isn’t sticky or greasy, and also doesn’t give me any adverse skin reactions. It is fragrance-free, paraben-free and contains no mineral oils or synthetic dyes. I also love the glass bottle it comes in, gives it a really sleek, high-end look!

Silky smooth with fast absorption, this is definitely one of those fuss-free serums you could use both day and night.

I’ve talked about this product in a previous post where I chatted about Skin Food, and it is such a fantastic product.

The Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Pore Chilling Essence (what a mouthful) is a lightweight, watery essence that I usually apply before moisturizer and sunscreen during the day. It has a minty-tingly feel to it and I absolutely love the bottle too!

Its major ingredients include propolis extract (help skin retain more moisture to maintain a healthier, more vibrant complexion), royal jelly extract, (helps to protect skin against the effects of ultraviolet radiation), witch hazel (relieving inflammation, tightening pores, reducing acne) and many more!

I’m quite a fan of La Roche-Posay, and I would be a much bigger fan if the price points weren’t so crazy in Singapore. This Effaclar Mat moisturizer is my go-to moisturizer for the day time.

It really keeps my skin feeling matte without it being too tight, or feeling itchy. I love it, it’s great for oily skinned people! I’ve bought this 3 times throughout the year, and I will continue to do so until I manage to find another matte moisturizer that is… more affordable!

Snail serums have been everything for me over the past 2 years as you would’ve seen in my previous skincare posts. I’ve tried a lot of them, and one tops them all.

The SomeByMi Snail Truecica Miracle Repair Serum is godsent. This is a product I will recommend over and over again, to absolutely everyone. I used this when my skin was drying out due to accutane, I used it when I was my usual oily self, and I used it when I had what people call ‘combination skin’. And it worked so well every time!

This product contains 890,000ppm of Snail Truecica which consists of Black Snail Extract and Truecica, hence the moisturizing soothing and ‘healing’ effect. I see a glow every morning when I wake up after putting this on at night – it’s so great! And affordable! I’ve purchased this maybe 4 times, and one bottle lasts a very long time.

Retinol has been very popular amongst the acne community both online and offline. And whilst some retinol serums can be very expensive, I’ve found that the innisfree Retinol Cica serum has been the most affordable for the best effects.

I’ve repurchased this twice now, only because I don’t use retinol every day and also because a little bit goes a long way. I’ve definitely seem some skin-evening effects while using this, and that is hard to come by for me because as I’ve said before, my skin is like rubber and products that are meant to ‘treat’ something usually have little to no effect.

According to YesStyle, “The serum fights spots and blemishes and evens skin tone thanks to cica and retinol in its ingredients. Green tea in the formulation calms redness, while madecassic acid and asiaticoside (derivatives of centella asiatica) soothe ad repair skin.”

ElizaVecca is a very new brand to me and I only discovered it because of the about of hype around the hair collagen cream. As you can tell, I’m very easily influenced into buying recommended things.

ElizaVecca’s Aqua Hyaluronic Acid Water Drop Cream is a lovely, lightweight hyaluronic acid water drop cream. It is ridiculously affordable and works very well. One downside would be that there is fragrance to it, and it is quite strong. Whilst I am perfectly fine with fragrance in my products, I know it is something a lot of people want to avoid. In my opinion, it smells like clean, fresh soap.

I mainly use this product at night before bed, as it gives me a more ‘dewy look’. I also love the packaging – how cute is it?

The Body Shop is a brand I always love going back to. Their Vitamin E Moisture Cream (and frankly, the entire Vitamin E range) has worked very well for my skin.

This cream is non-greasy and contains both hyaluronic acid and raspberry seed oil. Alongside that, it has, of course, Vitamin E. Vitamin E (a.k.a tocopherol) is a protective vitamin that’s well-known in skincare circles for protecting and moisturizing skin.

If you’re not already wearing sunscreen daily, wyd?!

COSRX’s Aloe Soothing Sun Cream has been a stable SPF for me for quite a long time now. I’m on my third bottle and I intend to keep purchasing it. It is also extremely affordable, works well with my oily, acne prone skin and doesn’t have a white cast.

I’d love to hear about what skincare products you’ve been enjoying in 2022! Are any of the items I mentioned your favourites too? Let’s chat a little about it in the comments below!

Have an amazing start to 2023!