Celebrity aesthetician Ian Michael Crumm encourages tailoring your routine to your skin’s specific needs, as everyone’s skin is unique. “If you have specific skin concerns, consult with a dermatologist or aesthetician for personalized guidance,” he suggests. If you have aging skin, for example, Crumm recommends opting for products with retinol, peptides, and antioxidants. In that same vein, your skin type (combination, dry, oily, or normal) should be taken into consideration while piecing together an effective evening skincare routine. Even a change in weather pattern or season can influence the behavior of your skin! Your age can also majorly influence what products should be a part of your nightly skincare routine.
Up until a couple years ago, my skin type was normal, but within a month or so of my 24th birthday, I noticed it was feeling a lot drier, which called for transitioning products in and out of my skincare routine. For dry skin types, board-certified dermatologist Teresa Song, MD, FAAD, of Marmur Medical recommends using a non-foaming, hydrating cleanser followed by moisturizer, retinol, and then a second application of moisturizer, also known as the sandwich method, to offset potential retinoid irritation. “If still feeling dry, one can even add in a hydrating serum prior to moisturizer application,” says Song.
Alternatively, oily and acne-prone skin can benefit the most from foaming or non-foaming cleansers alternated with a sulfur-based face wash twice a week. According to Song, if cream-based moisturizers feel too heavy, but your skin tolerates retinol well, consider moisturizers with water-gel textures. If you fall into this category, prescription retinoid usage may also be effective. Unsure of where to start? There’s a fast and easy way to determine which products to try without breaking the bank or putting your skin’s health at risk.
Welcome to “Splurge/Save,” a series in which we quiz beauty obsessives about the top luxury (“splurge”) and drugstore (“save”) products in their routines.
Amy Chang — the Los Angeles-based digital content creator known to her many followers on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok as @bondenavant — has some opinions when it comes to beauty products. She’s tested just about everything worth trying, and her fans know they can trust her for honest takes on formulas, treatments and trends. It’s Chang’s grounded, relatable presence, on social media platforms that can often feel overwhelming, that keeps fans coming back.
Born in South Korea but raised in Minnesota, Chang says her passion for beauty stems from her “Sicilian and French Canadian” mother.
“She always has a full face, even if we’re outside in the woods hiking,” Chang tells Fashionista. “She always has lipstick on — she reapplies it throughout the day, even when she’s home alone. This I still don’t understand, but she says, ‘Amy, I just apply it for myself.’”
At 19, Chang temporarily dropped out of college and got a job working at a Shiseido counter, where she recalls first falling in love with skin care. “That little seed of passion was there, it just needed another push,” she says. “When I went back to college, I got an internship at L’Oréal, at Shu Uemura in their PR department, and thought that this was going to be my path.” She spent years working in beauty and then hospitality public relations in New York City before experiencing burnout.
“My boyfriend at the time — now husband — asked me to move to L.A., and I was like, ‘Sure, let’s do it. Let’s go on another adventure,’” she says. “I knew I didn’t want to go back to an agency life, so I started a blog about beauty and wellness, things that I was exploring in this new world of L.A., like Botox and fillers and lasers and smoothies and juice cleanses.”
What initially began as a “passion project” eventually grew into a full-time career as a beauty content creator.
“I think I was just always searching for connection with other women, and my blog allowed me to have that,” Chang says. “I met so many interesting women along the way, and I had the best time talking with them and sharing what I’m exploring and what works and what doesn’t.”
Chang’s product vetting process is thorough and practiced, though it differs depending on the formula: “Cleansers, I can get a pretty good sense after the first couple of uses of how my skin is going to respond, so I feel like I’m switching out much more frequently than any of the other products. Serums, I give at least a month to see, ‘Okay, what is this doing?’ If I’m not seeing anything after a month of consistent use, I’m kind of like, ‘Okay, this is not happening.’ I need to be seeing something there, even if it’s just a little improvement.”
Whether she’s choosing to cover a product on her channels organically or deciding to partner with a brand, Chang always asks herself three questions: “Is this a product that I would spend my own money on if I didn’t already, if it was gifted? Is this a product that I would re-purchase? Is this a product that I would recommend to my sister, my mom, my best friend? If it’s yes to all three, then I bring it to my audience.”
Ahead, Chang shares her top “splurge” and “save” beauty picks across a wide variety of categories.
Photo: Courtesy of Amy Chang
Mascara: “I have non-existent eyelashes. You can’t even see them. This is just the byproduct of being Asian. They’re straight, thin, limp, short. My budget-friendly one that I love is No. 7 360 Waterproof Mascara in Dark Brown ($10.99). It does such a great job of lifting and providing a little curl. It doesn’t smudge. And dark brown is the thing — I feel like this past year, I’ve really opened myself to brown eyeliner and brown mascara, and it has been a game-changer. It’s such a soft look for daytime, and it makes me look like I don’t have anything on my eyes. Black is more dramatic; I wear that for nighttime.
“For high-end, I love the Tower 28 MakeWaves Mascara ($20). I don’t know if it’s because the founder is Asian and so she probably was creating this product for herself, but I love it. It builds up really well. It gives a nice curl, and it holds and lengthens my short lashes.”
Cleanser: “The ‘low’ is an OG in my household: the CeraVe Cream-to-Foam Cleansing Face Wash ($14.99). It works for everyone in my family. I’ve dealt with dermatitis. My kids have dermatitis and eczema patches. I use it on them, on myself, on my husband. I even use it as shampoo on my kids, and it’s phenomenal. I love that product.
“For ‘high,’ I really like the Philosophy Purity Foaming Cleanser ($27). At first, I was kind of like, ‘I don’t know about Philosophy brand.’ There’s something about the bubble baths. It seemed very… not serious skin care, right? But then I tried this cleanser, and it’s so good. I have sensitive skin, and it has salicylic acid in it. It’s extremely gentle. It helps to clear up clogged pores and blackheads. It’s one of my favorite cleansers now.”
Sunscreen: “Beauty of Joseon ($10.29) is a Korean SPF that went viral last year for a reason. I mean, it’s $10. It has the lightest texture. There’s no white cast. It’s just a beautifully crafted SPF. The only hesitation I have with it personally is that there’s no tint, and for someone like myself who’s dealing with melasma and pigment, wearing tinted SPF is really essential because it protects against that blue light which can stimulate the melanin production of pigment.
“On a day-to-day basis, I really do reach for the EltaMD Tinted SPF 41 ($36.50) for sensitive skin. I’ve been using it for years. I love it because it’s formulated to be used post-laser and chemical peel. That’s actually when I first got introduced to it — I had a Fraxel laser done, and my dermatologist recommended I use this SPF. I also really like the SkinCeuticals Fusion SPF 50 ($36). It also has a tint, so I feel good that I’m getting that extra protection from the blue light. It has more of a watery texture to it.”
Shampoo and conditioner: “The luxury one almost pains me a little bit to recommend it because it’s so expensive. Well, I love it. It’s the Augustinus Bader Shampoo ($55). The thing is that it’s a shampoo that the more you use it, the better your hair will get. Typically, shampoos are like a face cleanser: You want one that’s not going to be damaging, that’s going to be gentle — yeah, it can contribute some benefits, but because it’s a wash-off product, it’s not going to be as dramatic as a hair serum, so you really just want to find something that’s gentle that works for your hair type. But this, I actually notice improvements in my hair with continued use.
“For the budget-friendly one, I’m a really big fan of Kristin Ess Extra Gentle Shampoo ($11). I think there are five or six different surfactants in it. When you shop for a shampoo, one of the best indicators if it’s good or not is how many detergents they use, because if there’s two different types of detergents to get a foaming action, they need a lot of each of those two detergents. But if you have five or six different kinds and you just need a little bit of each one, there’s less possibility that you’re going to get an irritation or a reaction to that detergent. It also has a lot of film-forming humectants, which add moisture to the strands. When people think about hydration for hair, they’re always thinking butters and oils, which, yes, are great, but you really need things that will bind water to the strand, too. Butters and oils can really weigh down strands. It’s the film-forming humectants that really give that moisture that makes hair kind of flexible and bouncy.
“For conditioners, I love the accompanying conditioner for the Augustinus Bader [shampoo] ($55). I also really like the Briogeo Mango Cherry Conditioner ($30). If you have fine, thin hair, you want one that doesn’t have too many of these rich butters and stuff, because it’s going to weigh it down.”
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Retinoid: “I just recently got back on the retinol train after a very long hiatus. I’m using the SkinCeuticals 0.3 Retinol ($70), which I think is just one of the best if you have sensitive skin. It’s a targeted delivery system.
“For the budget-friendly one, I like the CeraVe ($20.99). I find that it’s a little intense. I go slower with those budget-friendly ones. I think they try to pack a little more punch into them.”
Eye cream: “For the ‘low,’ I’ve loved The Inkey List Caffeine Serum ($13.79) for years. The only drawback is that it doesn’t have anti-aging benefits to it, but it gives you that immediate payoff of helping with dark circles because that’s my problem. Caffeine is a vasodilator, so it helps with improving blood flow. And it’s $10 and it just brightens it right away.
“On the higher end, when I’ve been using nightly, I love the Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye ($70). It’s so funny because I feel like this product has been around forever, but they recently reformulated it and added in this technology that has this antioxidant blend that helps block the blue light. With studies coming out and finding that blue light damages collagen and elastin and helps to stimulate that pigment, I think about all the time in the day I spend in front of a screen — I wake up, grab my phone, go to the Peloton screen, to the TV screen, to my computer screen, back to my phone screen at night and then I go to bed. There literally is no break. It’s very sad.”
Body scrub or wash: “The Kopari KP Volcanic Ash Scrub ($26) is hands down my favorite body scrub. That’s really good.
“I’d say on lower end for body wash, I really love the Raw Sugar Body Wash in Watermelon and Fresh Mint ($7.99). It’s really gentle, it smells great, it’s only $10 and you get this huge bottle.”
“I really love the Rare Beauty Eyeliner ($22). It’s really wet, so you have to be careful, but it’s amazing at getting that really sharp winged eyeliner look.”
Blush: “The one that I’ve used the longest and really stayed true — I feel like I always come back to it — is Nars Orgasm ($32). That’s just an OG. I love that one.
“For the ‘low’ pick, I like the W3ll People Stick Blush ($22). I just tried it the other day and it’s really nice.”
Foundation: “Kosas Revealer Foundation ($42). I like that it’s really hydrating. On days that I use it, I don’t use any moisturizer. I’ll just put my SPF on and then I’ll put my foundation on. I really like the Summer Fridays Skin Tint ($42). It’s super sheer. That’s for the days where I feel like my skin is looking great and I don’t actually want that much.
Essence or toner: “I love the SK-II Pitera ($185). That’s really great because it has that fermented yeast that has the B vitamins. It’s so expensive. And for the longest time, I was like, ‘Come on. Really? Why is this so expensive?’ But then I used it and actually noticed a huge difference in the redness on my face, especially around my chin and nostrils. And it did help with my pigment, oddly. I can’t deduce exactly what’s causing it, which really perplexes me because I’m like, ‘How could just the B vitamins and this fermented yeast do this?’ But I think it helps with the skin barrier, really strengthening it. That’s how it helps with the pigment and the spots and the redness.
“I really like the Cocokind Rosewater Toner ($17.99). I’m a big fan of rose water. I constantly spray it on my scalp, on my face; when my girls get itchy, I spray it on them.”
Highlighter: “Everyone is just obsessed with the Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter ($46). I use it in a shade lighter than what they recommend for my skin because it really gives a lot of brightness to the face.
“There’s the viral dupe, and it works just as well — it’s called the L’Oréal Lumi Glotion ($15.99). It works just as well at giving that same kind of high beam, strobe light, really big brightness to the skin. The difference is the consistency: The Lumi Glotion is very thin and lightweight, and the Charlotte Tilbury one is thicker.”
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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For as long as I can remember, I’ve been prone to redness. I suffer from mild rosacea, so redness is basically my middle name. Spicy food, an intense workout, a relaxing glass of wine, a hint of anxiety, a slight breeze, a Tuesday—basically, you name it, and it irritates my skin.
I always assumed this was a personal problem that I had to deal with. It wasn’t until I read a Repeller Instagram post about an editor’s battle with pink cheeks and saw the hundreds of comments that I realized this is a common problem. Being the product hoarder that I am (don’t judge), I’ve tested just about every formula on the market that’s promoted as redness-reducing, anti-inflammatory, neutralizing, calming, etc., so I figured I should share the knowledge I’ve acquired.
Below, I’m breaking down the real deal with all of these options and giving my honest reviews about the best redness-reducing skincare products—essentially, which ones helped and which ones are a waste of time (and money). I gave each product a rating on a five-star scale, and only two earned the honor of five stars. Now, I’m strictly talking skincare here, not makeup to cover up the rosiness. If you’d like another story on that (or would just like to discuss this further because I could truly talk about this all day), feel free to slide into my DMs here.
