My name is Adina, and I am a beauty product junkie.

Not, like, Sephora VIB Rouge-level beauty product junkie, but let’s say … a burgeoning beauty product junkie. I’m generally a cheapskate when it comes to consumable items, including cosmetics and such, which, in the past, has held me back from experimenting madly. With age, vanity is slowly winning out, so I have been dabbling at increasing price points.

Case in point: I finally caved and bought that damn Dr. Jart Cicapair cream. $60 – ayiyi! Alright, let’s do this!

[That is a fairly literal transcript of my inner monologue as I hit the order button on the Sephora website.]

Because once the dam breaks, the flood comes, I also splurged on a small bottle of the Pixi Glow Tonic ($20CAD). Baby angel skin, here I come!

You know how people say “I applied such-and-such product for the first time before bed one day, and the next morning I woke up looking like an extra dewy Gigi Hadid”? Yeah, that didn’t happen. I mean, my face didn’t melt off or anything, so that was all fine and good. Only not really different from the day before.

In the interests of fairness, I took a “before” picture and then continued to use both products for another month or so. I didn’t need to take an “after” picture. Don’t get me wrong, my skin looks pretty good. It just doesn’t look noticeably different than before. The only things I noticed during that month were the subtle changes in my complexion depending on my hormone cycle. While I don’t experience huge acne flare-ups, my skin does get a bit rougher and more prone to blemishes at certain times of the month – even using the same products consistently. What I realized was that my current regimen is probably as best as it can be, or as good as it needs to be. Short of cosmetic procedures, this is as good as my 37-year old skin is going to get. My inner beauty product junkie is a bit disappointed, because that means that there is really no need for me to keep trying new products. Whomp whomp.

So what about Cicapair and Glow Tonic?

I liked them both. I will be perfectly honest and say that I’m not inclined to buy Cicapair again, simply because of the price and the fact that, for my skin, CeraVe moisturizer works just as well. I did not notice a significant change in my skin tone; then again, my skin was probably less uneven (or prone to redness) than I thought. Cicapair does feel very nice on the skin (and I did not mind the slightly medicinal smell) and I like it a lot as a daytime moisturizer under my make-up. It absorbs quickly and doesn’t leave a sticky residue. So, for now I will continue to use my existing tube happily. When I run out, we’ll see. If I ever experience really dry, flakey skin, I might be more tempted to turn to Cicapair as a more intense moisturizing option over CeraVe.

I have been using Glow Tonic together with the remnants of my CosRX Sol A toner as a 1-2 toning punch on evenings when I don’t apply my retinol. I prefer that combo over using The Ordinary’s salicyclic acid, for example. I don’t know if Glow Tonic is better than TO’s lactic acid (which I use every morning), but it’s more easily accessible because I can buy it at the drugstore down the street. At $20, it’s not inexpensive, but it costs about the same as the CosRx toner, which I can only get on Amazon (with month-long waits). So I am inclined to re-buy this when it runs out.

In case you are wondering, here is my updated skincare routine:

AM: TO lactic acid, Cicapair cream, Biore sunscreen

PM: cleansing wipe, CosRx Sol A toner, Glow Tonic, TO Buffet, CeraVe // or // cleansing wipe, retinol, CeraVe (3 times a week)

A few other things:

– I randomly tried Pixi’s H2O Skintint recently. I say “randomly” because I found it (unopened) for $8 at my local consignment store (they have a beauty product section). I bought it because I was curious to try more Pixi products after my Glow Tonic experience, and … did I mention I’m a cheapskate? Skintint normally retails for $34CAD, so I jumped at the chance to try it out for a fraction of the price. I really like it! It’s kinda like a BB cream? Most days I can wear it on its own, instead of my usual Jane Iredale powder foundation; some days, I will add the powder on top for extra coverage/matte-ness. Does it make me look like an extra dewy Gigi Hadid? Mmmm, well, not really Gigi-esque, but maybe a little bit dewier than usual? I dunno, I just really like it, ok? One small pump is enough to cover my whole face, so I think the tube will last me a while. I would love for this to be a re-buy for me, but the price does give me pause. I will see how long this tube lasts and make a game-time decision.

Here is a side-by-side: bare face, “I woke up like dis” Adina and post-everyday-make-up (featuring Skintint) Adina.

– I had very dry hands back in February, and I stumbled onto a “cure” that worked wonders: Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Miracle cream + CeraVe. You guys – it’s magic! The skin on my hands went from sandpaper to baby’s bottom in 3 days – applying once, at night, before bed. I have been singing the praises of EA’s Miracle cream for years, and I will tell you again that you need this in your life if you’re dealing with flakiness/dryness. Just don’t use it all over your face – unlike the Cicapair, I found that the Miracle cream can clog pores. (Nose is fine; I use it on my nose whenever I get a cold to prevent my skin from cracking .)

That’s all she wrote, but if you guys have tried some cool products recently – I’m all ears. Old habits die hard, what can I say.