So, Nikki from the Makeup By Nikki La Rose YouTube channel put me onto this. And thank god she did!! It’s SO hydrating. I went to Nikki when I needed to refresh myself on my makeup skills (it’s been about 10 years since I last self-taught, and I’ve barely done makeup in that timeframe, so though I remembered the technical steps, I just wanted a fresh professional take) and I came out with not only the makeup chops, but with a revitalized realization of HOW important skincare/hydrated skin is!! So I started a whole routine up in the last 2 months. Most of my skincare now is Elf, but Elf, to my knowledge, only makes a hydrating toner, not a milky one like this is. My skincare routine is a bit extensive cuz my skin does well with a lot of support, so how I use it is (Elf holy hydration line unless otherwise specified): Cleanser, hydrating toner, Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Exfoliator (the most expensive addition to my routine at +$50, but on sale rn for $39, and well worth it; it’s dangerous to mess around with chemical exfoliators, so I just wanted to go for an extremely reputable brand for this), this Anua Milky Toner, then my triple bounce serum drops, and then sealed in with a moisturizer, plus I do an extra under eye moisturizer, lip mask, and eyelash serum. Yes it’s a lot of steps, but I’ve gotten quite efficient at it, primarily leaning on Elf helps immensely with the cost, and my skin seems to respond markedly well to it all. I actually originally started this routine without the exfoliator or milky toner, and it smoothed out my skin a decent amount, but it remained quite textured. I found adding the exfoliator to be the remedy to this (though I’m soon going to add the CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol to alternate on my off-exfoliator days to manage keratin deposits that are still texture-ifying my skin) but the exfoliator dries out my skin quite a bit, so letting my skin drink up the Anua right after really brings that hydration right back, so now I no longer feel like I have to overdose on the moisturizer at the end to try and overcompensate for the dryness (and I used to STILL wake up dry, even using the hydrating toner after exfoliating and with putting too much moisturizer to try and work around not having this product before I bought it). And, at first, I was confused about the suggestion to put the hydrating toner and THEN the exfoliator, and while I’m still experimenting with what’s best, the skin does seem to like the order. I’m sure that you can, of course, use the Anua in a smaller, simpler routine, and I know you can also use it in place of sealing with a moisturizer. It just depends on your skin and personal preferences, and mine has gone without a skincare routine for basically all of its life, so it’s just soaking up all the love with fervour. When Nikki kept talking religiously about this thing, and mentioned that it’s Korean skincare, I imagined the price tag to run $70+, so I was PLEASANTLY surprised not only to find it here on , but for only $30!! And the bottle is bigger than I expected as well. It will last an easy 3 months even with the overdose amount I use to compensate for after-exfoliaton dryness (I’ve used it without exfoliating first and my skin needs, like, a third of the amount) but it could possibly last even longer than that too. It’s just perfect, and does exactly what I bought it for. It will now be rebought until the end of time and recommended to EVERYONE I know. Thank you for reading, now go buy it pls
