Sometimes, you want a skincare routine that just FEELS luxurious and wonderful on your skin. I’ve got the products for you that feel like a hug. Here’re skincare products that feel great on your skin!
If you’d asked me last year, I’d have told you that the most important feature of a skincare product was the effectiveness. Give me all that scientific approved stuff that’ll DO things!!! And then I started with Tretinoin: scientifically approved, does a lot of things to your skin – and I HATED it. It was so incredibly joyless, and I started to ask myself why exactly I was doing this. Was it to fight my many, many flaws? Was it to look younger? What did my multi-step skincare routine actually give me, and what did I want it to give me?
‘Self-care’ is such a loaded, and also devoid of meaning, term. We’re so used to it bandied about by marketeers that everything and nothing can be self-care, and better people than me have started to unravel that. Like skincare, it can mean a myriad different things to different people, and I don’t want to just glibly declare that sometimes, skincare can be self-care. I can tell you, though, that in the morning, my skincare (and makeup) routine can help me prepare for the day. In the evening, it’s half an hour of quiet time when I decompress from the day.
Personally, I also suffer from a chronic illness and I’m in pain quite a lot. Doing something that feels nice to my body is a great thing in my book, when so often, it doesn’t.
So, if you want skincare to feel nice, it’s a valid thing. And here’re some skincare products that feel great on my skin. They all veer to the richer side (I plan to write a similar post about skincare that feels cooling and refreshing when we’re a bit closer to summer), and feeling nice isn’t the only thing they promise to do. They also are suited to sensitive skin, meaning they don’t include fragrance or alcohol denat. in their formula.
Cleanser: PSA Reset
The least-stripping cleanser ever, with the texture of runny honey (review). The lather isn’t really foamy, but silky smooth, and my skin feels velvety soft afterwards. The reason for that are a lot of bells and whistles used in the formula – tiny spheres, for one, that slowly release safflower oil, manuka honey, and other hydrators.
The downside is: this doesn’t remove a full face of makeup. Also, for a cleanser, this is expensive. (Never, ever buy PSA or Allies of Skin full-price, they often have deals.) But honestly, while cleansing my face is often a chore for me, this makes it incredibly pleasant.
Toners: Paula’s Choice Replenishing Toner and cosrx propolis synergy toner
One is waterier, while the other sits in between a serum and a toner.
Budget
I like a toner with a bit of heft to it – especially because then, it’s not as messy as the very watery ones that tend to leak and run everywhere. So, the cosrx propolis synergy toner (review) is just slightly thicker than water, looks appealingly like honey, sinks in quickly and hydrates like it means business. It comes with a lot of good stuff like propolis that’s good at wound-healing and some niacinamide. It’s also affordable, and I’d immediately grab a bottle if I’d have sensitive, breakout-prone skin (and not some bottles of toners in my stash I have to use first).
High-end(ish)
The Paula’s Choice Replenishing Toner (review) is milky, and just one step removed from being a thin serum. Its USP are a lot of antioxidants and fatty acids that are ideal if your skin is on the drier side. It definitely feels rich, but never oily, and will leave you with the feeling of wonderfully nourished skin.
Downside: again, it’s expensive for a toner. But for a bit of smooth, silky goodness in your toner step – unrivalled.
Moisturizers: Paula’s Choice Barrier Repair Moisturizer, AoS Peptides & Antioxidants Moisturizer
Budget(ish)
Paula’s Choice Barrier Repair Moisturizer (review) appeared on the scene last year, and I fell in love when I first applied it. Picture Crème Fraiche, or a very, very smooth Sour Cream or Greek Yoghurt – and then, you have the texture of this moisturizer. It’s a lotion-type moisturizer that promises barrier repair and to lock in hydration via ceramides, peptides and a lot of emollients. It feels surprisingly lightweight for what it does, and delivers that ‘I just did my expensive skincare routine’ glow. My skin feels nourished, smooth but never tacky after using this one, making it an ideal moisturizer for me. It feels phenomenal.
Downside: the pump bottle makes it really hard to gauge when you’ll run out. It took six weeks for me when I used it daily twice, fyi.
High-end
Allies of Skin’s Peptides & Antioxidants Moisturizer (review) is undoubtedly a high-end product. And from those, I really expect an impeccable formula: one that you smooth over your skin and hear angels sing. And AoS delivers. This is a cream so thick, you start to doubt their wisdom to sell it in a pump dispenser. It’s creamy in the best way possible: substantial, yet lightweight and easily spreadable. Moisturizing, but never shiny. Nourishing, but never tacky. Not that annoying oily finish other brands market as ‘glow’, but that thing that says ‘look, I feel great and I had 10 hours of sleep, a private yoga lesson and a green smoothie and a massage’. It not only includes the peptides and antioxidants promised to you in its name, but also ceramides, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, manuka honey, caffeine and a vitamin C derivative.
Downside: AoS often has packaging issues where the pump stops working, and, obviously, this is outrageously priced. (Again, never ever pay full price for this. Ever.)
Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way! Twindly is an independent blog, and our reviews reflect that. Sometimes we’ll use affiliate links that will be clearly marked. Affiliate links mean that if you choose to buy a product through this link, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost for you. If you decide to do that, thank you for helping to keep the blog afloat! (No matter if the link is affiliate or not, the reviews will always truthfully reflect how any product performed when I tested it.)
