James Welsh
@jameswelsh
1.6MSUBSCRIBERS
11 YRSON YOUTUBE
54PRODUCT REVIEWS
skincare focus, k-beauty specialistTOPICS
GrailPeople organizes this creator's product reviews by quote, screenshot, and source video.
Products They Love
“I ended up using this every single day, twice a day…”
“When I see a PDRN product, I know I'm going to get bounce, hydration, and just like a plump looking face, right?…”
“This one is so nice. It actually feels like it's doing something because it is an ampoule…”
“If you deal with redness, breakouts, post acne marks, this is so so good…”
“The texture. I love this. I will forever love this…”
Browse All Their Reviews
- “It's far more effective for doing what people want in a face mist. Hydration and soothing”18:09–18:16
- “You have that organic grape water in here, which is naturally rich in minerals, antioxidants”18:14–18:20
- “Caudalie also say prebiotics to support the skin's microbiome”18:20–18:26
- “It's often praised as like this multitasker. Moisturizer, primer, mask, and it does give the skin like a soft, nourished feel under makeup”13:27–13:34
- “It's effective”
- “It's fine um if you want that instantly smooth plump base, which is why makeup artists love it”13:47–13:52
- “It feels so outdated”
- “Is essentially a mix of like peppermint oil, rosemary, and a ton of fragrances that you don't really want in skin care or a product that you're going to be reapplying and reapplying and reapplying throughout the day”17:05–17:08
- “I find it absolutely horrific”17:21–17:25
- “The Laneige lip glowy balm on the other hand kind of combines some of those more nourishing butters with a formula designed for both treatment and aesthetics as well”11:03–11:07
- “It has that shea butter and muru muru, but it also delivers that like glossy finish without the stickiness that I find I get with the Summer Fridays”
- “The textures are a lot lighter in my opinion”11:25–11:29
- “It's got shea butter, muru muru butter, and vegan waxes. So, yes, it's moisturizing and softening, and it gives you a really nice shiny finish if that's what you're after”10:14–10:21
- “I feel like you don't have much control. It's shiny or nothing”10:32–10:38
- “It's just like a lot of like very basic lip balm stuff. It's not groundbreaking”10:38–10:45
Laneige$24.00
Lip Sleeping Mask
- “It's literally Vaseline in stick form”2:39–2:43
- “It just prevents that water from leaving the skin. It protects the barrier. It creates almost like the ideal environment for your skin to repair itself overnight”3:06–3:10
- “Perfect on dry patches around the eyes, lips, elbows, heels, spots of irritation”3:14–3:20
- “The House of HUR purifying cleansing balm on the other hand takes things just that little step further”3:59–4:06
- “It still has that like sherbet to oil to milk kind of like texture, but also includes cranberry powder which melts down as you massage offering like a really really gentle daily exfoliation which you can use alongside other exfoliants”4:06–4:11
- “You still got fruit extracts like strawberry, cherry, and sea buckthorn which are very antioxidant rich and help regulate oil production and help brighten the complexion too”4:21–4:27
- “It's iconic. It's very, very nice. It's very simple. It's fragrance-free and it gets the job done”3:32–3:38
- “It melts down makeup and sunscreen and rinses clean. It's very, very nice, very basic”3:47–3:55
- “It's more of a cosmetically elegant kind of feeling, right? It's nice. A little bit pricey”3:52–3:59
- “It always left like little plasticky feeling like little bits of balm that had to break down further”9:54–9:58
- “It feels like the starting point of a cleansing balm”9:58–10:04
- “It's decent, but outdated, and I feel like it's been replaced by many”10:12–10:16
- “I have got so many people onto this, like followers, other influencers, because it's so good”31:48–31:56
- “You have to soften everything first and remove gently. And that's why I feel like it does such a great job and why you see good results without any of the after irritation”32:48–32:54
- “The ilso sebum softener is designed to loosen and kind of like liquefy that hardened up sebum, making blackheads easier to remove. Um, reducing, I guess, trauma to the pore”33:20–33:24
- “It's got soy yogurt in soy yogurt biome made from fermented black soybeans”8:27–8:32
- “You're getting probiotics kind of support a healthier barrier under the eyes, which I didn't think I needed, but it really does make a nice difference, especially for this like chickeny skin”8:32–8:35
- “Where I've been doing tretinoin and stuff, my eyes can get pretty sensitive. And this really did kind of help just calm and soothe everything under my eyes”8:41–8:47
- “Actually helps deliver skin care ingredients”6:14–6:18
- “They got PDRN in them which is going to help calm the skin”6:16–6:24
- “Alongside those four different types of collagen that are in this serum that you get a good amount of on these patches, you get a nice plumping hydration under the eyes”6:24–6:28
- “It smelt syrupy like molasses, like brown sugar. Feels gritty and in a satisfying way back in the day and does make your skin feel super smooth instantly”12:35–12:43
- “It was too abrasive, especially for those with easily sensitized skin or acne prone skin”13:19–13:26
- “It just doesn't hold up to today's standards. We moved on to gentler. I would say smarter exfoliation”
- “I love this one”
- “It's a stick like Vaseline, but with actual active ingredients”14:28–14:33
- “It's dewy. It's glowy. It melts like instantly on contact. Not greasy, just very soft, almost silky, I would say”15:10–15:15
- “This one is so nice. It actually feels like it's doing something because it is an ampoule”4:15–4:19
- “It's got propolis in which is brilliant for barrier support and in general glow and moisturization. It's anti-inflammatory. It's got antioxidant properties in there”4:21–4:25
- “You got hyaluronic acid, panthenol, betaine, so you're actually getting a really nice dose of hydration as well”4:28–4:36
- “This is good. This is a proper occlusive style balm moisturizer”2:36–2:40
- “It's kind of their version of the Cicaplast but honestly, I feel like in a much more cosmetically elegant way”13:04–13:10
- “It's got hyaluronic acid complex in it”13:08–13:11
- “I cannot get rid of this. Not that I want to. I do have another one of this ready to go in the drawer, but it's so huge and for the price, it's such a bargain”10:14–10:17
- “It's just incredibly effective, especially if your skin is pissed off, angry, irritated”10:41–10:46
- “This is somehow very lightweight, but still rich at the same time. It's going to sink into the skin, but it's not going to disappear by the morning”11:30–11:36
- “I have like a little soft spot for because it's that classic Korean night cream, right? Feels rich, luxurious, but also slightly old school”12:16–12:22
- “It has a very outdated rose scent. Very 90s, very 90s Olay”12:27–12:36
- “As with most K beauty, the formulation is very impressive”12:46–12:50
- “The formula is way more advanced and it contains way more skin beneficial ingredients”14:41–14:44
- “Why not get a cream that's going to do the job and do more?”14:49–14:53
- “We have squalane in here again mimicking the skin's natural oils for deeper hydration and softness without the heaviness”
- “The texture is like gel, cushiony, breathable, weightless, yet it somehow feels like it's wrapping your skin in protection, hydration”22:55–23:00
- “This is a ceramide barrier supporting cream without being a thick, heavy cream”23:02–23:10
- “If you have oily and combination skin, every bit of your skin is going to love this”23:10–23:17
- “I ended up using this every single day, twice a day”6:18–6:23
- “It's like a very ferment serum with galactomyces and bifida ferment lysate. So very essency actually”6:21–6:32
- “Focusing on barrier support, brightening, elasticity of the skin, you know, it's a typical well-aging essence formulation”6:32–6:38
- “When I see a PDRN product, I know I'm going to get bounce, hydration, and just like a plump looking face, right?”9:18–9:26
- “It uses salmon PDRN alongside a hydrating essence and oil capsules in a 9:1 ratio”9:32–9:42
- “You get barrier support, moisture, and then that bouncy finish without it feeling greasy”9:44–9:48
- “If you deal with redness, breakouts, post acne marks, this is so so good”7:54–8:02
- “Azelaic acid is one of my favorite ingredients because it's anti-inflammatory, antibacterial. It helps regulate keratin production. So, it tackles congestion and redness at the same time”8:02–8:05
- “12% is strong, but still a cosmetic level. And in this formula, it's kind of buffered”8:09–8:16
- “This is like the poshest version of slugging you're ever going to get”5:08–5:16
- “It's like this ointment to serum sort of like nectar that melts the moment it hits the skin”5:13–5:18
- “It's thick, is cushiony almost like um a thick honey at first but once you work this in it becomes so moisturizing like like this soft um nectary honey blanket over the skin”5:18–5:27
- “It's marketed as this revolutionary hydrating serum packed with volcanic water and hyaluronic acid and is very very very nice”1:09–1:16
- “When I kind of look at the ingredients, it's quite basic in a nice way, not in a bad way”1:22–1:29
- “It's lightweight and hydrating. It literally just feels like water for your skin”1:34–1:38
- “While it still hydrates, the formula has kind of evolved, but all they've really done is highlighted the hyaluronic acid”11:03–11:10
- “It's just like not kept up with the times, which is sad because I used to love it”12:19–12:23
mixsoon$31.50
Bean Essence
- “I genuinely love this product”1:40–1:42
- “I think it's really really nice”
- “I love this product as a hydrating product”
- “I think is now my favorite Glow Recipe product, overtaking the BHA watermelon toner”12:03–12:08
- “This is like the evolution of snail mucin without the snail”12:08–12:14
- “Glow Recipe has managed to mimic snail mucin so well with those 12 minerals and electrolytes”14:10–14:16
- “This actually uses a vegan alternative derived from snow fungus, which is really interesting”11:46–11:52
- “It's actually been shown to provide 9.7 times the soothing effect of heart leaf and over 100% more hydration than hyaluronic acid”11:59–12:05
- “You're not just getting hydration, you're getting targeted soothing for sensitive and easily irritated skin”12:07–12:11
- “This serum kind of uses like multiple pathways to target post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, redness, um pigmentation in general”7:35–7:43
- “There's something about the combination of all the ingredients in this one serum that I really, really loved for evening out skin tone”
- “It's very, very watery”
- “Love it love it love it love it it's incredible”
- “I absolutely love it when my skin is ruined when my rosacea is flaring up when I need some soothing”7:06–7:13
- “If I want to make like a quick like mask out of cotton pads in this serum cuz it's so affordable in such a huge amount I will use this serum”7:13–7:21
- “If you follow me on Tik Tok, you know how much I have used and repurchased this product this year”17:01–17:04
- “No irritation whatsoever. Just a nice more even looking texture to the skin”17:33–17:37
- “If you're very very oily um this is a great one. But then if you're dry or dehydrated it's not going to dry you out in any way whatsoever”17:52–17:57
- “This is my repair serum”
- “I always say this reminds me of that Body Shop serum that I used to love, the tea tree one, which my rosacea loves tea tree as well, but just more matured, a lot more modern”19:24–19:27
- “It's fragrance-free and great for easily sensitized skin”
- “Super lightweight but nourishing at the same time”2:08–2:12
- “There are mornings where I skip most of my routine. I'll hydrate and then I'll just use this because it's got the ingredients of a nice calming, soothing, repairing serum, plus a moisturizer, plus a sunscreen”2:10–2:16
- “They didn't have to sponsor anyone everyone was already talking about this product”3:08–3:16
- “It is not since the great Korean sunscreen scandal has a moisturizer been this elegantly formulated or has this sunscreen felt just exactly like a moisturizer and that's why everybody loved it”3:16–3:22
- “It's nice and light”
- “Out of all the Korean sunscreens, I feel like what this one does best is it feels like skin care”
- “This really really does feel like skin care. Not just in the texture and weight, but also the ingredient list is far more interesting”
- “The sunscreen doesn't peel, it doesn't sting, it doesn't feel occlusive”28:44–28:48
- “It would just make your skin look so refreshed when you use this consistently”13:55–14:01
- “Today it still works. It's still a great product helping with texture, hydration, prep”13:59–14:05
- “It feels like it preps your skin for other actives”14:03–14:10
- “It has this like vibrating metal applicator at the top that they say delivers 12,000 vibrations per minute, which sounds really dramatic, but it actually is actually really, really nice”10:44–10:52
- “It does help a little bit with like lymphatic movement and product absorption I found the most. It just helps the eye cream absorb super super fast”10:55–11:02
- “Really sinks down into the skin and it just feels nice”11:04–11:12
Shark$399.99
CryoGlow LED Face Mask
- “I love this. I love this”
- “LED therapy has been the best thing for my rosacea”29:38–29:44
- “Under eye cooling, the cooling pads. I love them because they reduce that puffiness, they calm down any inflammation and they kind of add this more like relaxing kind of feel to the LED mask experience”29:47–29:57
About
Hey its James, on this channel I take a deeper dive into skincare: the ingredients, the science, and the marketing. I explore Korean skincare trends and break down the myths that confuse people more than they help. With a degree in Editorial & Advertising Photography, I also investigate photo manipulation in beauty marketing, from filters and blurred-out complexions to the “perfect skin” illusions used by brands and influencers. Alongside deep dives and ingredient science, I post commentary style videos that look at the biggest beauty brands, their histories, their controversies, and the decisions that led them there. I expose brands when they deserve it, call out their BS, and break down why certain launches, scandals, or trends matter. My goal is simple: make skincare understandable, enjoyable, and rooted in truth. If you want relaxed, educational deep dives, ingredient breakdowns, brand investigations, and honest commentary on the beauty industry, then subscribe!