Compare · Skincare Intelligence
Loading your saved session.
X · Compare
Two states of the same decision.
And two things worth comparing.
Your own session against the one you pinned — and, below that, whole categories against each other by what they do rather than what they cost.
Comparing your two states
Pinned against now. Routine against proposed. A normal month against a lean one. This table does not pick a winner — it shows you what moved, so you can decide whether the movement was the point.
Nothing pinned yet.
Pinning takes a copy of this session as it stands — job, products, tolerance, ceiling, scenario — and holds it still. You then change something, come back, and read what moved. It is for before-and-after: a simplification, a lean month, a new active. Nothing is sent anywhere, and pinning changes nothing about your current session.
Categories, by function
Comparing categories by function
Pick a category and read the price bands side by side. Every row leads with the job it does in a routine, then what it costs, then why it is here and what it costs you to keep it. Nothing on this page is a purchase recommendation, nothing links to a shop, and no brand is named — these are patterns, written to be recognised on a shelf.
34 patterns · 23 drugstore · 6 mid · 5 prestige
Standing note
A price band is not an efficacy rating.
Expensive is not better. The bands below sort by what a thing costs on a shelf, and that is all they sort by — a drugstore row is not a starter version of the prestige row beside it, and moving right does not buy mechanism. Where the price does buy something, it is usually texture, packaging or how pleasant the thing is to finish. Fund sunscreen volume and barrier care first; everything after that is optional.
Two ratings, two different questions
- Confidence
- How sure we are the product contains what we matched — we only ever read the name.
- Evidence strength
- How well-supported the ingredient's main claimed effect is. Not a claim about your skin.
They are not comparable and they do not average. A pattern we recognise with complete certainty can rest on thin evidence; a pattern we half-recognise can be a strong active. Rows below name both, separately.
Pick a category
No primary job is set on the Job board, so every row in the catalogue is shown. Set a job and this narrows to the rows that job usually touches.
Cleanse
Takes the day off — sunscreen, sweat, whatever the air left — without stripping the skin that has to wear tomorrow’s.
Drugstore / value
Where most jobs are completely served. First-class, not a starter kit.
23 patterns in this band across every category.
Gentle cleanser
Low-foam / cream options for irritation control jobs.
Fragrance-free cream cleanser
Basic ceramide cream cleanser
Drugstore / value · $10–$18 · about 60 uses a month
- Why it earns a place
- Removes SPF/dirt without stripping — the cheapest job that protects every other bottle.
- Trade-off, or when to skip it
- Skip prestige foams until barrier is calm; same cleanse job at $12–18.
- In the evidence dictionary
Barrier support · Moderate evidence
Real human evidence, but thinner, shorter or less consistent than the strong tier.
High confidence that a bottle sold as this pattern contains it.
Fragrance or irritation risk · Moderate evidence
Real human evidence, but thinner, shorter or less consistent than the strong tier.
Moderate confidence that a bottle sold as this pattern contains it.
You already have this coveredGentle cleanser already does this job in your routine. Nothing to buy. If you were considering a second one, the question is what it changes, not what it costs.
Cleanser
AM and/or PM wash. Double-cleanse is optional.
Gentle gel cleanser
Low-foam gel for oilier skin
Drugstore / value · $8–$16 · about 60 uses a month
- Why it earns a place
- Congestion jobs often prefer gel textures; still not a treatment.
- Trade-off, or when to skip it
- A $45 cleanser rarely beats a mild $12 gel + one leave-on active.
- In the evidence dictionary
- No entry in the evidence dictionary matched this pattern by name. That is a gap in our reading, not a verdict on the category — we would rather say nothing than guess.
You already have this coveredGentle cleanser already does this job in your routine. Nothing to buy. If you were considering a second one, the question is what it changes, not what it costs.
Oil / balm first cleanse
First cleanse for SPF/makeup; optional second water-based cleanse.
Cleansing balm / oil first cleanse
Mineral oil or balm first cleanse
Drugstore / value · $10–$20 · about 30 uses a month
- Why it earns a place
- Lifts sunscreen and makeup so second cleanse stays gentle.
- Trade-off, or when to skip it
- Drugstore balms do the same job as prestige oils.
- In the evidence dictionary
Oil or balm cleanser · Limited evidence
Mostly lab work, small studies or marketing — the effect on real skin is not established.
Name pattern only that a bottle sold as this pattern contains it.
Nothing of yours sits hereNo bottle in your routine fills this slot. An open slot is not automatically a problem — plenty of routines are complete without this one.
Adds a generic line to your routine so the rest of the desk can cost it, stage it and flag it against what you already use. It is a gap to plan against, not a product we think you should own.
Mid aisle
Texture, packaging, sometimes a genuinely different active. Often not.
6 patterns in this band across every category.
Your ceiling of $180 a month usually shops here. That is where the money lands, not where the better answer lives — mixing bands is fine.
Gentle cleanser
Low-foam / cream options for irritation control jobs.
Cream cleanser (mid)
Mid-aisle cream cleanser
Mid aisle · $18–$32 · about 60 uses a month
- Why it earns a place
- Optional texture upgrade — not a clinical step.
- Trade-off, or when to skip it
- If budget is tight, keep cleanser drugstore and spend the delta on SPF volume.
- In the evidence dictionary
- No entry in the evidence dictionary matched this pattern by name. That is a gap in our reading, not a verdict on the category — we would rather say nothing than guess.
You already have this coveredGentle cleanser already does this job in your routine. Nothing to buy. If you were considering a second one, the question is what it changes, not what it costs.
Prestige / clinic retail
Counter and clinic retail. Ask what mechanism changed before assuming one did.
5 patterns in this band across every category.
Cleanser
AM and/or PM wash. Double-cleanse is optional.
Prestige foaming cleanser
Clinic-retail foam
Prestige / clinic retail · $35–$65 · about 60 uses a month
- Why it earns a place
- Luxury texture only — same cleanse role as drugstore cream/gel.
- Trade-off, or when to skip it
- Expensive ≠ cleaner. Prefer prestige spend on SPF reapplication volume if any.
- In the evidence dictionary
- No entry in the evidence dictionary matched this pattern by name. That is a gap in our reading, not a verdict on the category — we would rather say nothing than guess.
You already have this coveredGentle cleanser already does this job in your routine. Nothing to buy. If you were considering a second one, the question is what it changes, not what it costs.
The whole spine, in one paragraph
One row per job at your ceiling — the catalogue’s own summary of what a complete routine looks like. A shape to check yours against, not a list to buy.