With so many skincare products on the market it’s hard to distinguish between the good and the bad, the popular and the underrated. From celebrities being paid to advertise products to viral brands it’s impossible to know which are worth spending money on and which you’re better off skipping. Some of the products I’ll talk about will be brands you may have never heard of and others are some of the most popular brands around.
Choosing ride or die products is nearly an impossible task with so many great products out there for everyone. Skincare is something that is ever evolving just like your own skin and unfortunately these desert island products won’t suit everyone’s skin.
To begin with I’m going to start with cleansers. Washing the day and night off your face is a must when it comes to skincare and it’s one of the only steps that everyone must do religiously. For those of us with acne-prone and oily skin my desert island pick would be the alba botanica acne dote wash, this is a product I, myself, started using over 2 years ago and the difference is unbelievable. This is one of the most underrated products for people with acne and I would highly recommend it to those with this skin type. I can guarantee you that if I was stuck on a desert island, I would be off using this wash by the river. For those with a drier skin type I would recommend Cerave hydrating cleanser. Cerave is one of the most popular brands for skincare now and rightfully so, many swear by this brand.
Hydration is key when it comes to skincare in my opinion, and I can imagine on an island with the sun pelting down you’d need it even more. My favourite hydrating serum is hyaluronic acid. Although many think moisturiser hydrates your skin, that is not exactly true, moisture should be used to lock hydration in which means you need a step or two before moisturiser to hydrate your skin. In general terms any hyaluronic acid is better than none but if you’re looking for a great hyaluronic acid, I would have to recommend the Oleus serum. A good hydrating serum can really pick up your skin care game and change the complexion of your skin.
Speaking of serums, my next desert island pick is a serum that completely changed my skin and its appearance. From oil control to acne and scar reduction this product is unbelievable. This brand has got some hype in the past year for another product which I have yet to try. Cosrx is the name of the Korean brand and it’s called BHA blackhead power liquid and just like its name this product is extremely powerful.
The standout spot cream of the decade would have to be REN clean skincare, non-drying spot treatment. I would call this spot treatment magic with its ability to reduce a spot to nothing in a night. This ride or die product is extremely underrated but also on the more expensive side of this list, if you are looking for a cheaper product with a similar effect, I would recommend Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel blemish stick.
My next product is from an extremely well-known brand, The Ordinary, although I think The Ordinary is a good affordable choice, I don’t believe all their products are worth buying. One product from the Ordinary I believe is worth it is the Azelaic acid suspension 10%. This product is amazing for its brightening effects as well as dealing with texture irregularities. This product should be used about once or twice a week, and you should always use sunscreen while using it. Speaking of acids on the side of the price scale lies the Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant, one of the more expensive products I’ve named so far but from their reviews alone this product seems definitely worth it, if you’re not too sure on whether you’ll like the product and don’t want to spend the money only to find out its not for you, they sell a small size.
Of course, any good skincare routine should include a sunscreen in the mornings but to be honest I haven’t found a ride or die face sun cream so far. So I’m going to move onto moisturiser. In my opinion moisturiser is the most underrated product of all, many people are either using the wrong one for their skin or skip it as they believe their skin is oily and that the moisturiser only makes it worse. For those who believe this they unfortunately couldn’t be more wrong. Moisturiser is never a skip as it helps regulate the amount of oil your skin produces and helps your skin to retain its hydration. My two favourite and must have moisturises include Simple hydrating light moisturisers which is perfect for all skincare types and amazing for acne prone and oily skin as its light weight and doesn’t clog the skin and on the other side for drier skin Weleda skin food light is unbelievable at keeping the skin moisturised and healthy particularly in the cold weather.
To finish up with this deep dive into the ride or die products I’d like to say that all these products I would highly recommend but that doesn’t mean that they’ll suit everyone. The task of narrowing down the millions of skincare products wasn’t an easy ask but I’m confident that I picked the ones that make life much simpler and that are worth the cash.