I am not proud of this, but I accept it — and I have a feeling that most skin-care obsessives are more like me than those who keep the Reddit /skincareaddiction tab open at work. When you fall within the lazy-but-eager category, every product seems as much like a trap as it does a salvation; because even if you buy a good product and put it on your face, science says you can still screw things up. Mix it with the wrong cream, use it in the wrong order or at the wrong time of day, and your skin will be destroyed. Buying the things is not enough. The real thing separating me from the Skin I Want (downy soft, smooth, and glowy) and the Skin I Have (easily inflamed and itchy, dull, dry) is my refusal in memorising and executing these small rituals and incantations.