The verdicts
Every hyped product and ingredient, graded against the actual evidence. Four possible answers, no hedging, no "it depends on your skin journey."
Save your moneyBeef tallow on your face: the trend the internet has lost its mind overA heavy moisturiser wrapped in an "ancestral, natural" story the evidence doesn't back. Clogs a lot of pores.
Actually worksNiacinamide: the boring $12 bottle that actually worksThe cheap, gentle, evidence-backed ingredient half of you already own.
Worth a shotSnail mucin: I put slime on my face for three monthsGenuinely good hydration. Will not rebuild collagen, whatever the ads say.
Worth a shotVitamin C for dark spots: the thing half of TikTok swears byReal, but slow and temperamental. Buy a good one and store it in the dark.
Save your moneyThe "Botox in a jar" serum, bought three for the price of twoWhat the clinical data actually shows, and the cheap thing that works instead.