What Is A 'Neutral' Product?

I'm a firm believer in the psychological pleasures of beauty products. Sometimes, I want to treat myself to a luxurious product, to satisfy the lust we often feel as consumers for something new, something extravagant, something precious, something rare and hard-to-find. Often, however, I lose focus and the once-exciting treasure is not sought out for repurchase. Over the years I've come to the conclusion that when it comes to high-turnover products like skincare—quickly used up, quickly repurchased—I prefer my most-loved essential products to be boring. Neutral.

If I had no other skincare, I would be fine. I do have more, of course. =)

If your aim is simply to take good care of your skin, then finding a core routine of reliable products is all that's required. If you enjoy experimentation, you still need neutral products to fall back on, as a point of comparison for your skin's preferences. My 'neutral' cleanser is not my Tata Harper Refreshing Cleanser, and I know this, in spite of its heavenly fragrance of grapefruit and neroli, the creamy warm pink hue, the gentle purification from pink clay and willow bark, the bottle like summer sunshine filtered by a tree spreading its green branches above you; it's my Bioderma Atoderm Ultra-Nourishing Shower Oil, which you can buy in a colossal 1L size and offers little in the way of romance. It's a cleanser, in sum. A very good, simple formula, and an economical option for dry, sensitive skin. This isn't to claim that one is superior to the other—in fact both feature coco-glucoside as their main detergent—there's room in our skincare routines, surely, for both frivolous luxuries as well as boring, utilitarian products. However, for a routine to work, it does need to be built on a foundation of neutral products. The option to experiment is always there; it's harder to find the basics.

Some signs that a product is a neutral product:

• FORMULA   Typically (but not always) a simple, minimalist formula designed for most skin types including sensitive. Or, a product that you know well, and can be sure of how your skin reacts.
• PERFORMANCE   Reliable to the point it no longer requires much thought to use. It's always in the background, performing faithfully. Ingredients lists are a start, but they don't necessarily determine how they perform on the skin, so this differs somewhat from formula.
• LIFESTYLE   Integrates well into your routine and plays well with other products. Often this is where texture comes into play.
• ACCESSIBILITY   Skincare, unlike eyeshadow palettes, are high-turnover products and require frequent repurchases. Personally, I love the thrill of the hunt when it comes to experimenting, but strangely loathe the hassle when making repurchases. As such, I prefer to buy within the domestic market (currently South Korea). The beauty industry is rife with copycats, so you can often find products that are similar to each other; for example I don't necessarily consider Heimish All Clean Balm the best makeup-removing initial cleanse on the market, but it is a good product that I can find easily without too much expense.
• PRICE POINT   Again, because skincare tends to be high turnover, the pricing becomes a factor when it comes time to repurchase. For me, that's between ₩10,000–₩50,000, depending on its kind.
• CONSUMER HABITS   If you've repurchased it or have a stockpile of backups, that's an obvious sign. It's not always possible to avoid ordering online; something critical like sunscreen or a specialized treatment may prove more elusive when it comes to finding the right formula.
• COMPETITION   It becomes a standard by which you measure other products. If you enjoy experimenting with skincare, that core routine gives you clarity: drop after drop, Product X was enjoyable, but at the end of the bottle (or jar), you think, "Well, it's not quite as nice as old faithful Product Y." This makes dabbling in luxury products less burdensome, in my opinion, since you are not looking for commitment.

Most of my own 'neutral' products are fairly bland but well made utilitarian products and, though best suited for drier skin, I can recommend without much reservation: Bioderma Atoderm Ultra-Nourishing Shower Oil, Bifesta Eye Make Up Remover, Heimish All Clean Balm, Freeplus Moist Care Lotion 2, Etude House Soon Jung 10-Free Moist Emulsion/Atopalm MLE Cream/Huxley More Than Moist, and Sun Bears Super Strong Plus SPF50/PA++++. One is a treatment; Paula's Choice 1% Retinol is fairly aggressive, so this is one to consider carefully before introducing it into your routine.