My Current Skincare Routine // derma e Review

In my Birchbox for January, I got the derma e Hydrating Night Creme with Hyaluronic Acid. Normally I’m so “ugh” about getting skincare products in my subscription boxes- because let’s be real, they are waaaay less exciting than getting a new lipstick or a fun eyeshadow- but I sucked it up and gave this a try and fell. in. love. Seriously, I have never really been attached to any skincare products until now. I mean, I’ve had products that I liked or even loved, but not products that I was like “OMG HOLY GRAIL SKINCARE,” you know? But seriously, I’ve already repurchased this product and I am noooot a repurchaser of skincare.

SO anyways, that was my intro to derma e. Conveniently enough, I was so kindly offered a couple other derma e products for review around the same time I got my Birchbox, so I figured, why not? I was sent the Soothing Moisturizing Creme, the Soothing Redness Reducing Serum and the Soothing Cleanser, both of which are made for sensitive skin, are fragrance-free, and contain anti-aging Pycnogenol (which derma e claims is a “potent yet gentle antioxidant that is 50 times more powerful than Vitamin E in neutralizing free radicals”). These products are also 100% vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, sulfate-free gluten-free, lanolin-free, mineral oil-free and GMO-free. Can you seriously get any better than that? The products in the Soothing line range from $15 – $30.

I guess I’ll start with the serum and cleanser, and then save my favorites for last. The serum is meant to reduce redness and calm irritation. I don’t really have any extreme redness issues but I do get easily irritated skin. Since using this serum, I haven’t had any irritation issues, but I don’t know if that’s due to the actual serum itself or due to the fact that my skin loves this line in general and therefore hasn’t been irritated. Either way, it seems to be working out well. It basically just feels like an extra layer of moisture for me; it’s pretty liquidy and I just put a thin layer all over my face (it absorbs quickly) and then apply my moisturizer over top. I’ve been using this morning and night and my skin has been feeling super soft (again, I don’t know how much of this I can attribute to the serum itself as the moisturizers have been great too). I don’t think I’ll repurchase this, however I would really like to try the Hydrating Serum with Hyaluronic Acid next time instead.

I like the cleanser quite a lot. It doesn’t foam up, which is great because if a cleanser gets foamy, then the chances of it drying my already always-on-the-verge-of-dry skin out are pretty much 100%. I’ve been using this with my Michael Todd Soniclear and I come out with the softest, smoothest skin that doesn’t feel like the life has been sucked out of it. I can’t really comment on how well it removes makeup, because I’ve been using my Julep Bare Cleansing Oil beforehand (this stuff is AMAZING. You NEED this for makeup removal, it just melts everything off your face! And now that I’ve thought about, I basically lied about not already having an HG skincare product, because this is the best ever- no exaggeration whatsoever. It’s worth every penny and lasts for quite a while) so it doesn’t have much to remove after that. I will probably repurchase this.

Onto my loves. Now, if you haven’t already gathered, I have fairly dry skin. If it’s not actually dry, it’s on the verge of becoming dry at the drop of any product that it doesn’t like (haha, seriously though, stupid sensitive skin) or one small gust of wind. Because of this, a good moisturizer is the absolute most important part of my skincare routine. The daytime moisturizing creme has been great for my skin, especially over winter. It’s quite a heavy moisturizer, so my skin isn’t left feeling parched as soon as it’s absorbed. It stays feeling nice and moisturized all day long, right up until I apply the night creme. I would repurchase this if I wasn’t so intent on trying out the Hydrating line, so instead I’ll be purchasing the Hydrating Day Creme with Hyaluronic Acid.

The night creme is 100% hands down my favorite out of all of these products, and is the reason why I want to try the rest of the Hydrating line so badly. It’s not super heavy but not too light either and it smells AMAZING. I can’t pinpoint the smell, but I legitimately think it’s probably my most favorite scent in the whole world. I honestly like it more than coffee and vanilla and grapefruit, and I LOVE those smells. It’s fresh and a little bit sweet but not like candy sweet and oh my gosh, putting this on at night just makes me happy because of the smell alone. I’m not even joking. I know I sound like a weirdo obsessing over a scent that I can’t even identify, but I absolutely love it. And if the rest of the line smells like this then, in the words of Janice from Friends, “well, I gotta buy a vowel because OH. MY. GAAAWD.” I will be the happiest girl. I’m just sitting here smelling this right now trying to figure out what it is, and I can’t, so sorry, haha. My skin feels awesome in the morning and, dare I say it, the fine lines on my forehead are looking the slightest bit less liney (you’re probably thinking “omg you’re 23, you don’t have wrinkles”) but I do have lines from raising my eyebrows when I can’t see properly without glasses. Woe is me and my young, wrinkled forehead, hahahaha. I’ve already bought the full size of this since I ran out of my sample. I love love love it.

The derma e products have obviously made an excellent impression on me. Once I’m through these current products, I’ll be purchasing the Hydrating Essentials set, which includes the cleanser, day creme, night creme and eye creme, and then the serum as well. I am honestly pretty excited about feeling so dedicated to specific skincare products, because it means I’m actually going to stick with the same routine for a while and hopefully I’ll see some improvements in my skin (particularly those stupid fine lines, fingers crossed). I’ll definitely do an update in a few months when I’ve been using the new line for a while and let you know how it’s going!

Is there a single skincare line that is your go-to, or do you tend to mix and match products?