I’ve spent thousands on skincare so you don’t have to.

FYI, I’m no beauty expert. Give me grace, please. I’m just a girl with a skincare spending problem who loves to experiment.

Cleanser:

La Roche-Posay Toleraine Hydrating Gentle Face Cleanser — This one is good. It’s gentle and it works. It’s not great at removing mascara, though.

CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser — This one is also good for my sensitive skin. It’s better than the La Roche-Posay at removing eye makeup, but sometimes it makes my sensitive skin burn.

CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser — When I tried this one, my face burned. I gave it a solid week, and my skin only got more irritated.

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser — This one cleared up my acne, but I didn’t find it particularly gentle. This also made my skin burn.

Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash — This was my first face wash. I destroyed my skin barrier with this one. It did clear up my hormonal acne, though. I loved the scent though.

Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Facial Cleanser — This was also hard on my skin, but boy do I miss fragranced face washes.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Cleanser — This gave my skin such a nice glow, but along with the glow came quite a bit of added redness. I’m not sure my skin loves hyaluronic acid.

Keihl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser — This one worked well, but I didn’t love the price tag. It also felt like it left a bit of a film on my face, but I liked it and it removed my makeup well.

Trader Joe’s All-In-One Facial Cleanser — This face wash worked very well, but I don’t have a Trader Joe’s near me and in my opinion, it’s simply not worth the upcharge to order it off Amazon.

Moon Rivers Naturals Coconut Milk Face Wash — This one worked so stinking well. It also took off my makeup like a charm. The only issue I had with it is that shipping took forever and a half. I’ll probably cycle back to it at some point, though.

The Ordinary Squaline Cleanser — This one didn’t do it for me. I loved the price tag, so I wish that it had. It left such a film on my skin.

Dove Sensitive Skin Beauty Bar — I like this. I wish I could just be happy using this all the time. But I was just so bored with it. This is another that I’m sure I’ll use again in the future.

Dial Antibacterial Soap Bar — This one cleared up my acne, but the scent was hard on my skin. Cheap, cheap, cheap. And so great. But my skin burned after a while of using it.

Skinceuticals Soothing Cleanser Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser — This worked. It didn’t perform the miracles the dermatologist had promised, but it did the job. I simply cannot shell fit it into my budget, unfortunately.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water — This is probably the beauty product I’ve bought the most of. It works well, my sensitive skin can handle it, and it’s pretty cheap. This is one I usually have on hand and use at least once a week.

First Aid Beauty Pure Skin Facial Cleanser — This one worked, but for the price I’d rather it not leave that film on my skin.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple Facial Cleanser — I really liked this one. I just forget about it.

Rhode Pineapple Refresh Cleanser — This one is wonderful for my skin…like once or twice a week. More than that and it starts to strip it raw.

OSEA Ocean Cleanser — I liked this one. Just not the pricetag.

Tula Purifying Face Cleanser — Same as the last one.

Caudalie Vinopure Pore Purifying Gel Cleanser — This one is incredible. I buy it every year with birthday money, and it does beautiful things to my pores. It works surprisingly well on my sensitive skin, and it smells delightful.

Pond’s Cold Cream — This was one of the first that I used. I buy and use it once a year. It’s just kind of boring.

Moisturizer:

Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer — This one is a gift from heaven. It’s simple and a bit dull, but it works like a charm and it’s cheap.

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer with Niacinamide — I’m not sure if it’s the niacinimide or what, but this one burned the heck out of my skin.

CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion — This also burned my skin.

CeraVe Moisturizing Cream — This broke me out. Super moisturizing, though.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Cream — This also burned my skin. Nice glow. Again, I’m not sure my skin appreciated hyaluronic acid.

Keihl’s Ultra Facial Cream — So good. So expensive.

The Ordinary Moisturizing Factors + HA — Not great. Cheap, but not great. Kind of sat on top of my skin, which I hated.

Pond’s Dry Skin Cream — This is nice, but I can’t stand the fragrance.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Face Moisturizer — This one does the trick. I just forget about it.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream (before reformulation and after) — Okay, so for this one I have a bit of a story. This one saved my son’s eczema. Nothing worked this well, ever. My face also loved it. And then they went and reformulated it and added eucalyptus. Heck. No. His eczema flared up horribly. And my face turned beet red. No.

Honest Beauty Hydrogel Cream — This one is felt so nice and cooling, but it didn’t moisturize my skin much.

Rhode Barrier Restore Cream — This made my skin so smooth, soft, and hydrated. But it also broke me out.

Rhode Peptide Glazing Fluid — I liked it, but I didn’t like it enough to repurchase it.

Rhode Glazing Milk — This is nice, but the redness I got after putting it on never really went away.

OSEA Seabiotic Water Cream — Too expensive for not enough of an effect.

Laneige Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Cream Moisturizer — Burned. So much. Hyaluonic acid has it out for me.

Laneige Cream Skin Toner & Moisturizer — Love, love, love, love, love. This is the best thing for my sensitive combination skin aside from the Vanicream one. I will continue to shell out for this at least a couple times per year.

Origins Ginzing Ultra-Hydrating Energy-Boosting Cream — Burned. Badly.

Amallow Whipped Tallow Cream — Super snazzy. Worked well. I’ll repurchase this at some point, probably in the winter. I went to the dermatologist to have her check on a mole about a month after starting this, and she complimented my skin. That’s a win in my book.

SPF Moisturizer:

Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Face Moisturizer With SPF 15 — Pretty, but it burned.

Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 — Worked without burning, but it was so greasy on my combination skin.

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer with Niacinamide Broad Spectrum SPF 30 — Burned just like the non-SPF version did.

CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30 — Burned.

Trader Joe’s Enrich Moisturizing Face Lotion Broad Spectrum SPF 15 — I love it so much. I buy like four every time I drive multiple hours to shop at a Trader Joe’s.

Serums, Oils, Acids, Treatments, Eye Creams, & Masks:

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid — Burned.

Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask — The ultimate mask for my sensitive combo skin. It makes my skin so soft, so bright, and so pretty. It helps my redness a lot, too.

OSEA Undaria Algae Body Oil — It smelled divine. I just don’t like to spend that much on a body product when my face and hair are so high maintenance.

OSEA Hyaluronic Sea Serum — So lovely. So expensive.

Caudalie Vinopure Acne Serum — Again. So lovely, but so expensive.

Caudalie Vinoperfect Brightening Dark Spot Serum — AGAIN. So lovely. So effective. So stinking espensive.

Origins Ginzing Eye Cream — This is the only eye cream I’ve ever tried. I liked it. I repurchased it a few times. I didn’t love it.

Bonus: The DIY skincare I tried in high school and early college.

Almond Oil. I tried to use it as a moisturizer. It made my skin red and the redness never went away.

Jojoba Oil. I used it as a moisturizer and still use it to remove eye makeup.

Rubbing Alcohol. I used it to spot treat hormonal acne. I think it worked. Sorry, not sorry.

Tea Tree Oil (undiluted). I used it to spot treat hormonal acne. It definitely worked.

Bentonite Clay Mask. I’m not sure it helped anything, but it didn’t irritate my skn.

Baking Soda. Say what you will, but it helped my acne in high school.

Honey. It made my skin so soft!

Green tea. I swear it helped the dark circles under my eyes.

XOXO, your diagnosed OCD list keeping bestie.