Best stuff to complement actives?
Hi everyone and before you say Aestura or Illiyoon, please hear me out!
I'm 35 y.o. lucky girl with sensitive combination hormonal acne prone, easily congested, post-accutane-dehydrated-first fine lines skin. I've been using non-AB retinol and AHAs combined with basic Korean hydrating/moisturising products (Pyunkang Yul, Skin1004 Hyalu-cica, Torriden Dive in and Solid in) for years, but now that I am older my skin wants MORE.
So first, I want to replace my western retinol for either CU Skin (0.5%) or IOPE (0.3%). As for an acid product, I've used By Wishtrend Mandelic Water in the past, it was quite gentle - so maybe that.
And now I am torn looking for products to complete the routine...
On the one hand, I don't want to fall for marketing, because Korean brands such as Rejuran, VT, Bioheal, Medipeel etc have a lot of nice anti-aging products but I don't believe I NEED peptides, PDRN or stuff like that while using higher % retinol.
On the other hand, I would love to find nice cosmetically elegant (see skin description...) no-BS products what do a liiitle bit more than basic hydration/barrier repair.
I would be so grateful if you could share toners, serums, creams and eye creams what worked for you in a similar setup!
In particular, I am currently eyeing Skin1004 Probio-cica line, CU Skin Bifida & Hydro lines, BOH Hyacell, IUNIK Beta-glucan - did anyone have a good experience with these? What's weird, I barely see any reviews for Skin1004 Probio-cica, is it because it's not popular in Korea?
Apologies for excruciatingly long text and thank you all!!