I had been using Augustinus Bader’s The Rich Cream and Biologique Recherche’s p50 lotion for over a year.  I was convinced I had found my holy grail moisturizer and toner and my search was over.  But like 95% of the beauty products in my arsenal, after about a year of use, they seemed to stop working.  I wasn’t seeing any visible benefits.  Maybe my skin got so used to both, they lost their efficacy.

And so a new search began.

Toner

I had heard great things about Moon Juice’s Acid Potion being a great alternative to p50 lotion.  While Biologique Recherche has one of the tightest quality control standards in the world and is considered very clean, the Acid Potion is officially green, clean beauty.

I’ve been using it for 4 months now and love it.  Unlike p50 lotion, I can feel it working every time I apply it (it tingles/burns).  A little goes a long way.  I put a few drops in my palms and pat it on my face and neck (no cotton ball).

I love that it’s easily accessible – it’s carried at Sephora, etc. – and comes in a glass bottle.

Final verdict?  I’d recommend Acid Potion over p50 lotion.

Moisturizer

At the end of the day, The Rich Cream ended up being too rich for me.  I tried switching to The Cream, but didn’t like it near as much.  For how expensive it was, I wasn’t seeing enough of a benefit to continue buying it.

I’m now using a combo of OSEA’s Atmosphere Protection Cream and Ere Perez’s All-Beauty Crème.  They clock in a $48 and $35 and leave my skin feeling so soft and hydrated.  I love that they’re both clean beauty.

Final verdict?  I love both and have re-orderd both several times.

Retinol

Due to pregnancy and breastfeeding, I couldn’t use retinol for years.  Now that I can, I chose this clean beauty version.

I use it two nights per week (start off with one night/week).  A lot of people will experience “purging” when they start retinol (your skin will break out and bring all of the yucky stuff to the surface).  Since I had been using p50 lotion, my skin was already well prepped so I didn’t experience this.

It makes my skin feel SO silky and smooth after applying.  It does, however, definitely dry out my skin (what it’s intended to do).  It comes with a hydrating serum they recommend using to cut down on the dryness.  It’s also offered in a mini size if you want to try it before committing to the $74 full-sized version.

The combination of these three products has increased cellular turnover, kept my skin smooth and hydrated and I love the results.

Final verdict?  I’ll be buying this again.