Welcome to my skin diary
Real skin.
Honest notes.
I'm Clara Wren Ashby — and this is where I write down everything my skin is teaching me, product by product, season by season. No jargon, no gifted products I'm quietly obliged to like. Just someone who's been obsessed with skincare for two decades and started keeping proper notes.
Recent entries
Why I Finally Gave Tretinoin Another Shot — and What I Did Differently This Time
The first time I tried tretinoin, I gave up after a fortnight. The purge was awful, my skin was furious, and no amount of reassurance from Reddit convinced me it was worth it. Two years later, I tried again — same molecule, completely different approach. Here's what changed.
Read full entry →
My Current Morning Routine — and the One Swap That Changed Everything
Four steps. No exceptions. What's on my shelf and why it earned its place.
Read full entry →
The Only Five SPFs I Would Repurchase — and the Famous One I Won't
Twenty-three sunscreens tested in eighteen months. Five earned a second tube.
Read full entry →Currently testing
Advanced Night Repair Serum
Estée Lauder
Better than I remember it being five years ago. The texture has changed — it's lighter — and I find myself reaching for it without thinking, which is usually a good sign.
Full review due: July 10, 2026
Barrier Repair Moisturiser SPF 30
Paula's Choice
Only six days in, so I'm reserving judgement. The finish under make-up is impressive. The SPF leaves something to be desired. I'll know more in three weeks.
Full review due: July 20, 2026
Vitamin C 23% + HA Spheres 2%
The Ordinary
Six weeks of stubborn use. Real results, but an equally real smell I still haven't made peace with. Mixed feelings. Full verdict is incoming.
Full review due: June 30, 2026
My regular routines
Organised by when I use them, not by brand. Everything here has earned its shelf space — usually after something else lost it.
Morning Routine
The non-negotiables. What I put on before anything else touches my skin.
Explore →Evening Rituals
Where the real work happens. My night shelf, in order of application.
Explore →Treatments
Actives, acids, retinoids. What I use, how often, and what I've stopped.
Explore →SPF, Always
My (very strong) opinions on sunscreen, tested one tube at a time.
Explore →skin
diary.
I started writing this diary because I was tired of reviews that read like they were written by brands.
I've been obsessed with skincare since I was seventeen. That's close to two decades of reading ingredient lists, falling for marketing, occasionally getting it right, and quietly cataloguing all of it in the margins of notebooks. In 2024, I moved the diary online.
I'm not a dermatologist or a beauty editor. I'm someone who buys her own products, tests them properly, and writes down exactly what happens — including the disappointing bits. If a £300 cream doesn't work, I'll say so. If a £4 gel is quietly brilliant, I'll say that too.
Nothing on this site has been placed by a brand. I've never been paid to write something kind. That's not a policy — it's just the only way this diary makes sense to me.
What readers say
"Your Cetaphil vs CeraVe entry changed my routine. I'd been using the wrong one for years. Thank you for being honest about the disappointing ones too."
"The only skincare blog I've read where I believe every word. You saved me from buying the Augustinus Bader cream — my credit card is grateful."
"I found this diary when I was losing my mind trying to figure out retinol. Three entries later, I had a plan. Six months later — genuinely different skin."
Reader notes shared with permission.