14. The Empties.
14. The Empties.
Overspending is so last season. Clearing the clutter. Bifida ferment, ftw.
I’m noticing a shift in the conversation lately regarding our collective relationship with consumption. And I mean our literal consumption of material things along with our consumption of media. In an era where "more is more" has often dominated consumer behavior, a counter-movement is gaining traction, underconsumption core. At its heart, this trend emphasizes minimalism, intentionality, and conscious consumption. Some articles are roasting GenZ for turning normal, everyday life into a trend–again. Yes, you should probably wear your clothes more than once and consider finishing the products you have bought before buying more. But are they 100% to blame when they’ve been influenced to consume at scale?
The content they’ve digested over the past decade, which accelerated at extreme speed over the last half in an attempt to escape reality, has been an endless stream of ‘hauls’ and influencers flaunting seemingly endless supplies of gifted products. A similar conversation right now in the Millennial chat is the ‘enough with the unattainable shopping lists’ sentiment. The influencers they’ve supported over the years and trusted to find the hidden gems, mixing highs and lows, and unlock the proverbial gates kept have now reached a point of success that comes with gifted luxury items and recommendations to purchase $900 wardrobe basics. Unfortunately, the audience never received a warning about these updated terms and conditions, and they were not given the option to opt out of this new subscription to ‘aspirational.’ However, in my most Carrie voice, I couldn't help but wonder, is our collective consciousness written in the stars or just written by policymakers?
None of this was ever meant to be sustainable or attainable. In a perfect world, everyone has equal access to all their heart desires. But that’s not what feeds our Country’s balanced socialistic and capitalistic tendencies. When too many people have too much excessive buying power, there’s no end to how high the cost can go. We got too hot. We hit a bubble.
Meanwhile, economists gaslight us about the minimal effects of inflation on the job and housing markets while ‘correcting’ salaries and the Fed manipulating interest rates. What do you mean? Everything is fine!
Anyway, I digress. The silver lining is the annoyingly coined but well-timed theme of underconsumption core. The trend is more than just a preference for fewer products; it’s a philosophy that values quality over quantity, sustainability over excess, and mindfulness over impulsivity. I find this shift to be extremely beneficial to the collective, and I love how it aligns with broader societal movements toward sustainability and wellness.
This mindset encourages consumers to buy less, choose better, and use what they have more effectively. It's a response to the overwhelming abundance of products, choices, and marketing messages that have historically driven consumer culture; instead of accumulating, underconsumption-core advocates for curation—selecting only what is truly necessary and beneficial.
This topic got me thinking about my own overflowing bathroom cabinet and how I’ve recently started adding more emphasis on educating myself on ingredient lists to avoid falling prey to paying a premium just for the brand name and opt for brands that provide the same quality, if not better, at a fraction of the price. Or the lower hanging fruit of how I’ve switched from liquid body wash to the more sustainable and, in my opinion, at times, more luxurious experience of bar soap. It kind of all goes back to the original ethos of Well Theorem. Take a holistic approach to beauty and wellness and find what works for you!
The Empties〰️What I’m switching out and what I’m rebuying.
➸ Retiring Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum $128
➸ Keeping ma:nyo Bifida Biome Ampoule Toner $15
The main ingredient here is bifida ferment lysate, and ma:nyo offers the same high concentrations as Estée Lauder Advance Night Repair at a fraction of the cost. Bifida ferment lysate is a probiotic product created from fermenting Bifidobacterium, a bacteria naturally found in our gut microbiome. It helps to recover the skin barrier, promote repair, and correct moisture retention. I used to be a staunch Advanced Night Repair follower. The high price tag had me stockpiling each holiday season to take advantage of the giftsets, including a full size and a mini. But discovering the Korean brand, ma:nyo, has been a game changer. I purchased the Bifida Biome Ampoule toner pads from a Korean shop in Chinatown and fell in love with how my skin felt the next day. The bottle of toner is slightly less expensive than the pads and can be applied by patting it onto the skin with your hands or using a cotton pad. This formula also has ten different types of hyaluronic acids to help plump the skin and focus on moisture, as well as a very mild PHA LHA to lightly exfoliate the skin. It’s retinol-friendly, so you can add this step at night before you apply your tretinoin.
➸ Retiring Ourself HA+ Replenishing Serum $260
➸ Keeping Mixsoon Centella Asitica Toner $25 (2-bundle)
I was super excited to try Ourself HA+ Replenishing Serum. I swallowed the hefty price tag and took the cute silver bottle home to add to the arsenal, and unfortunately, I wasn’t blown away. It has two types of hyaluronic acid in it, but the consistency never melts into my skin the way I want it to. Plus, there are just way too many other HAs on the market to justify the price. What I am enjoying right now is the Mixsoon Centella Asiatica Toner. Mixsoon is another Korean brand with a cult following. The ingredients are not the same, but Centella Asiatica extract is very interesting. The extract is a rich source of natural bioactive substances, triterpenoid saponins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, triterpene steroids, and amino acids, meaning it fights free radicals and inflammation while adding back a ton of moisture and promoting collagen production. It’s also great for skin issues like acne or rosacea due to its calming, anti-inflammatory features. I use this one in the daytime as it plays well with vitamin C.
➸ Retiring Eighth Day Labs Reparative Moisturizer $180
➸ Keeping La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer $23.99
I love the story behind Eighth Day Labs and Dr. Antony Nakhla’s approach to using his knowledge of growth factors, and I will be keeping an eye on the evolution of his products. However, La Roche-Posay is a cheaper alternative, minus the proprietary Peptide-Rich Plasma®. Both moisturizers have a healthy amount of ceramides and glycerine. And as far as nighttime creams, Toleriane just feels more moisturizing. My suggestion is to also opt for your own body’s Platelet-Rich Plasma, which comes out to be way less expensive in the long run (a pack of six sessions costs roughly $104 per session).
➸ Retiring Kosa Sport Good Body Skin AHA Enzyme Exfoliating Body Wash $22 and Drunk Elephant Kamili Cream Body Cleanser $22
➸ Keeping Soft Services Microcrystal Exfoliant Buffing Bar $28
I enjoyed both Kosa’s and Drunk Elephant’s body washes, but honestly, why pay for the water? Plus, I feel like I looked up one day and had a million bottles on my shower shelf. So, I switched to a physical exfoliant. Soft Services is the new kid on the block, and so far, I’m pleased with the experience. I did not even realize when I bought it that two bars were in the package, so it lasted a lot longer than I expected. It’s a moderate to intense exfoliator that suds, so the application isn’t too abrasive. But I would still start with very light pressure and work your way up to what feels good for you.
➸ Retiring Nécessaire The Body Wash Santal $25
➸ Keeping Aēsop Refresh Bar Soap $23
Again, there are too many bottles in my bathroom. Nécessaire will always be the cool girl in the bathroom shelfie, but alas, I’ve moved on. Aēsop Refresh smells so damn good, and the bar is massive. It’s basically two bars in one. I cut mine in half, storing the second half until needed. It has tons of botanical oils to keep your skin feeling soft, but the stars of the show are bergamot, ylang ylang, and lime oil.
A few more keeps.
➸ Keeping Ceremonia Guava Shampoo and Conditioner—Both are super conditioning and smell great.
➸ Keeping Rhode Pineapple Enzyme Cleanser and Rhode Glazing Milk—Late last year, I bought the full Rhode discovery set. Out of everything, I live by and die by the Glazing Milk. It feels so good under makeup and works at night as a buffer to retinol. When Hailey dropped the Pineapple Enzyme cleanser, I naturally tried it out, too. It’s a great mild daily cleanser. It stays.
➸ Keeping Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun Rice + Probiotic SPF—Until I’m convinced otherwise, this is my go-to SPF.
➸ Keeping Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Musin Power Essense—I was so late to adopt this product into my routine, but as the saying goes, it’s better late than never.
And a few more let-gos.
➸ Retiring Osea Undaria Algae Body Oil—I’m trying out a fragrance-free option right now from MindBodyGreen, but whether it stays in rotation is still TBD. It might be a simple vitamin E oil for me.
➸ Retiring Summer Friday Heavenly Sixteen Face Oil—It’s just collecting dust, and I’m currently using serums during gua sha’ing. The verdict is still out if I’ll look for an oil replacement.
➸ Retiring Soft Services Smoothing Solution Chemical Exfoliant—This was the only Soft Services product I wasn’t keen on. It’s just a little too sticky for me.
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