Why Summer Fridays' K-Beauty Exfoliator Is a Game Changer for Smooth Skin
Of all the calendars on my phone—friend group outings, looming work deadlines, the never-ending birthday alerts—none strikes fear in my heart like the one tracking my period. Every month, I peek, cringe, and slam it shut, knowing that in a matter of days, I'll be wrestling with cramps, fatigue, and the hormonal breakout parade that takes residence along my cheeks and chin.
But here I am, nine days out, and my skin is suspiciously calm—smooth, bright, almost as if she's on vacation instead of gearing up for battle. The plot twist? An unlikely skin care recruit I slipped into my routine at the eleventh hour turned out to be the reset my skin didn't know it needed.
I've long relied on Summer Fridays to keep my lips plush (Mint is my ride-or-die) and my post-flight face hydrated. But now? I'm convinced their new exfoliating pads might be the perfect sidekick because nothing pairs better with glossy lips and a juicy, plumped-up visage than skin that's nearly poreless, even-toned, and fully unbothered. After all, that is the Cali-cool brand's ethos—ease, bliss, and luxury, just like the flexible workday perk it's named after. Now, imagine a product that blends that breezy California edge with the innovation and radiance of beauty's most popular skin care capital. Summer Fridays' last launch took us to the tropics with a guava-inspired balm. With its latest offering, we're off to Korea.
'It's true that Korea is one of the global leaders in skin innovation. As we started to develop a product like this, we wanted to really focus on prevention, but also on gentleness,' explains Kendall Johnson, senior director of product development and packaging at Summer Fridays. 'Korea marries science and sensorial formulations. As we started to work with a specific Korean lab, we were able to find that perfect balance between effective exfoliation and daily comfort in the pad.'
Hydration is Summer Fridays' love language. From lip balms laced with shea and murumuru seed butters to hyaluronic acid-rich formulas like the Jet Lag Mask + Moisturizer, Deep Hydration Serum, and Skin Soothing Hydration Mist, the brand has built an empire on moisture. Then came the corrective era—vitamin C, retinol, and firming eye serums—proof that Summer Fridays could do more than quench skin's thirst. The Gentle Reset Daily Exfoliating Pads ($42) sit right in the middle: a marriage of correction and hydration 'without compromise,' says co-founder Lauren Ireland.
Safe for all skin types, it's tailored for sensitive skin. Each double-sided pad sits in a blend of glycolic, lactic, and mandelic acids—exfoliation's all-stars—tempered with PHA gluconolactone, aloe water, and glycerin to keep irritation in check.
'Glycolic, lactic, mandelic—all of these ingredients are effective and give you the full chemical exfoliation experience, but they're a little smaller in size in molecular weight, so that they can be a little bit harsher on the skin. The PHA gluconolactone is a much larger molecule, which still gives you that chemical exfoliation, but it's a little less harsh at the same time, so you still get those results,' Johnson adds.
As someone with acne-prone skin, I've long loved Korean toner pads for their conditioning abilities—especially when my weekly retinol, clindamycin, and benzoyl peroxide rotation leaves my skin a bit dry. Still, they've never made a real dent in the evidence of my pimple-picking past. These pads were different; they're deceptively potent—never stinging or peeling my skin—and ultra calming. Unlike the balms, there's no smell, just a chic suede-textured box that houses 30 individually wrapped pads—smart for travel and even smarter for consistency.
'Every pad delivers the same results,' co-founder Marianna Hewitt notes. 'With jars, the top pads can dry out and leave only the bottom pads soaked, so you don't get the same experience with every pad. [Gentle Reset Daily Exfoliating Pads] ensure that youre skin is getting the same amount of juice each time and perfect for on-the-go use.'
One side is textured, the other smooth—my acne-prone skin prefers the grit for a satisfying degunking. Post-use, my face looks like I just had a deep-cleansing facial—minus the redness or bumps manual exfoliation often causes. With these, you get exfoliation and glow all in one step without ever leaving your home.
By day four, the glow was still there, but the breakouts weren't. The rogue cheek spot I'd been battling for weeks was noticeably lighter. One week in, my skin feels like it's finally on my side—supple, smooth, and almost smug about it. Not to mention my makeup routine shrank to a dab of concealer, powder, blush, and done. My mornings are easier, and my period calendar feels a little less ominous. At a recent work meeting, I walked in to a chorus of publicists saying, 'Your skin looks amazing.' Call it vanity, but for me, that's the ultimate litmus test of a product's success. And over a week later, the compliments haven't stopped.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
After pandemic debut, ENHYPEN sheds ‘boy band' image ahead of BMO Stadium show
Imagine if almost every moment in your life was documented: the good, the bad, the funny, the embarrassing and even the most heartbreaking. For the K-pop superstar group ENHYPEN, they don't need to imagine it. It has been a part of their lives since they were teenagers, when they participated in the Korean competition series 'I-LAND' in 2020. Premiering at the height of BTS mania, in which BTS made an appearance, the series was a joint venture between multinational entertainment companies CJ Entertainment and HYBE. It was a global success, with worldwide online viewership of over 20 million across 12 episodes, and participation from over 178 countries in the vote casting. Every part of the contestants' lives was documented as they lived and trained at the compound, with every fan-favorite moment turned into fan edits and memes. Even after the series concluded, it didn't take long for the group to debut and return to the public eye. Within two months, ENHYPEN — comprised of Jungwon, Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo and Ni-Ki — released their first EP, 'Border: Day One.' Since then, the group's meteoric rise has been nonstop: They've released 11 albums (five of which have placed in the Billboard 200 Top 10), performed at this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and accomplished two world tours. The group is currently on its third international jaunt, the 'Walk the Line' world tour, and is set to perform Saturday at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. It's hard to believe it has only been five years since they debuted. Now nearly in their early 20s, the group's members are trying to prove that they're no longer the boys they once were at the start of their careers. With their latest album release, 'Desire: Unleash,' they want to show ENGENEs — the name for their fandom — how much they've grown as artists and as people. Their recent Coachella set showcased a more edgy side to their performance, one that they had arranged themselves. 'One of the most impressive moments in our growth journey was Coachella,' says Heeseung. 'When I think back to when we just debuted, I don't think we were even boys. We were almost babies. We began this journey with such young members, and we've made it all the way here. We grew physically, but throughout this journey, we also grew mentally, and that has helped us show the best side of ourselves.' Growing up in the public eye was not easy for the group, whose youngest member, Ni-Ki, was 14 years old during the competition. They had to adapt to their new lifestyle quickly, but felt fortunate to be surrounded by a good team and staff that made it easier. Though Ni-Ki is aware his childhood was not the norm, he says he received a lot of mental stimulation that helped him develop into the person he is now. 'Because I started in this scene from a young age, I had to go through many changes,' Ni-Ki explains. 'For example, my personality underwent many changes, and I realized many different things because I was in a good environment for that to happen.' Sunoo admits they were a little immature and clumsy during 'I-LAND' and even during their debut, but it was really who they were at the time. What has been depicted through the show, behind-the-scenes footage and their social media is who they are. 'Now that I think about it, we showed almost everything,' Sunoo admits. 'During the show, we were showing the very raw version of ourselves. I think our fans did love those sides of us as well. As we grew, they got to love us even more.' Leader Jungwon believes that having everything on social media helped the group's popularity as they debuted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since they couldn't meet their fans offline, they relied on social media to connect with them. He says, 'There are clear pros and cons of being in this [digital] era. Before we debuted and appeared on 'I-LAND,' social media was already widespread, making it easy for things about us to go viral.' Dr. Hye Jin Lee, a K-pop scholar and clinical assistant professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, notes that social media may have helped ENHYPEN grow further, as social media usage reached an all-time high during the pandemic. TikTok users soared around that time, providing another platform for the group to increase its visibility and share its music through short-form content. With over 30 million fans on TikTok, the group follows viral trends and dance challenges, as well as schedules livestreams on both TikTok and its company's official app, Weverse. 'ENHYPEN had to rely on digital media to meet and interact with fans due to debuting at a time when in-person performances weren't possible,' Lee explains. 'That has allowed them to build strong connections with their fans. That's why they're more prolific on social media. They post on Weverse daily and are very active on TikTok.' ENHYPEN is conscious of its public image and the constant surveillance by its fans through the group's media and livestream appearances. At first, they were cautious of the image they wanted to project. However, over time, they realized it was better just to be themselves. 'These days, I want to show who I am and the natural side of myself,' says Sunghoon. 'Going forward, as I age, the perception that I would like to have would change as well. As you get older, the way you think also changes. But, at the moment and present, I just want to be who I am in front of other people.' Fans noticed these changes, as the members have begun to express their opinions and boundaries openly. Jungwon recently admitted during an interview that he felt he was too young when he first performed their the group's song 'Fever.' Jake began opening up about the pressures he felt throughout his career. Sunoo, who was given the nickname 'Ddeonu' for his cute expressions, has started to turn down doing cute poses during interviews and livestreams. 'I don't think being cute all the time is very suitable for who I am at this moment,' Sunoo shares. 'Our fans still would love to see me being cute and adorable, so I don't think I can do away with it completely. So when they want to see that side of me, I go ahead, but I don't go out of my way to do it when there isn't any request. That's the kind of balance I'm trying to strike at this moment.' Jay has taken it a step further, going on the group's official livestream channels to offer advice to ENGENEs who are struggling or seeking guidance. He adds his own life experiences to his words of comfort and advice, opening up another side to the serious artist. 'Being in this career for the past five years, I've come to realize that it's really impossible to make things up,' he said. 'I believe that one side that we can truly show to people is when we're true to ourselves. Whenever I do something or think about something, I try to be sincere and honest about my feelings and no longer make things just because I want to be seen in a certain way or leave a certain kind of impression.' Fans have looked out for the group's best interests, including commenting on the members' hectic schedule. As one of the most in-demand groups in the industry, with several comebacks, tours, fashion shows, press days, variety shows, brand ambassadorships and writing/producing music, ENHYPEN's members knows what they've signed up for in becoming a K-pop artist. 'It's very heartwarming that our fans are very concerned about our health, but I want to say that the very core of everything that we do is coming from our passion,' says Jake. 'No one is telling us to do this. We want to do this. We chose this for ourselves. Going back to that thought helps us stay grounded and motivated.' Although they cherish the 'I-LAND' and debut memories of the past five years, they are looking ahead to the group's future in 2025. Jay says this year marks a significant turning point in their careers, highlighted by Coachella, 'Desire: Unleash' and the 'Walk the Line' world tour. 'This is a consistent flow,' says Jay. 'It's going to be this momentum that will bring us to our next step as ENHYPEN. We will use this as a beginning to venture out into many more fields ahead.' Sunghoon is looking forward to making it to a decade with the group, curious about how that will look for them together and individually. 'I'm sure ENHYPEN will be together, but I think we'll be more active in pursuing our individual pursuits,' he said. 'I'm curious to find out what that will look like and how much more we will have grown [by then]. When we work as individuals, we work hard, and when we get together again, we will work amazingly as a team.'
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Carrie Bradshaw dressed for herself, not men, and gave us licence to follow suit
Overdocumented as they might be now, the Nineties were a strange and lonely decade to be a fashion-lover. Fashion was a niche interest, like bone or stamp collecting. All information was strictly channelled through the pages of monthly magazines such as Vogue, Elle, The Face or i-D, bar the occasional style page in a newspaper. Interviewed for my first job as fashion editor of a national broadsheet, the editor asked, 'So, do you like clothes?' One wonders whether he asked the sport editor whether he liked football. It's hard to remember a time when people didn't post videos of their weird shoes, designer hauls, salacious handbag unboxings, bargain charity shop finds and #OOTDs on social media. In 2025, having a unique sense of style can make you rich and famous. In 1995, it was more likely to have you bullied or ostracised. Into this barren wasteland in 1998 tripped Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda, four New York women who loved sex, shopping, cocktails and men, though never as much as they loved each other. Based on a newspaper column of the same name by Candace Bushnell (published in the New York Observer between 1994 and 1996), Sex and the City (SATC) revolutionised fashion: how it was perceived, how it was documented and how it was consumed. It legitimised fashion – not because naysayers suddenly realised the allure of a Fendi Baguette bag, but because the show's popularity proved that clothes, shoes and accessories had mainstream appeal, and deserved to be given space beyond the pages of a glossy magazine. You might think that the vast exposure inherent to being featured on a TV show would be catnip to fashion designers, whose only recourse to publicity was via print and billboard advertising, magazine editorial or catwalk shows. Not so. Rather than seeing it as an opportunity, many designers were reluctant to place their brand in an environment where they would be unable to control the narrative. 'It was difficult to borrow clothes, as everyone heard the name 'Sex And The City' and thought 'what is this?'' remembers costume designer Molly Rogers. 'I guess it sounded pretty racy. No one loaned to TV shows then, as I remember – that world was strictly for editorial.' She cites Chanel, Dior and Christian Lacroix as early supporters of the show. Rogers worked on SATC from 1998 to 2002, and served as costume designer on the 2008 and 2010 films, as well as all three seasons of And Just Like That, the divisive sequel. She witnessed first hand the genius of Patricia Field, the show's formidable New York stylist and costume designer whose eclectic, exuberant tastes ensured that Carrie would never fall into the dreary trap of wearing 'quiet luxury'. Without Field, there would be no oversized floral corsages, diamanté skull caps or ballgowns as daywear. Nor would there be what many consider to be Carrie's most iconic look, a tiered white tutu teamed with a pale pink vest top and strappy sandals, as immortalised in the show's opening sequence. Field later revealed that she'd sourced the tutu from a thrift store bargain bin and bought it for $5 – a common practice for stylists and costume designers today, but an unusual one in 1998, an era when luxury brands would pull their advertising if a glossy magazine had the temerity to feature their expensive wares next to items that might threaten to devalue them. Field's 'high-low' approach of mixing designer and vintage together was hugely influential, although it wasn't until the beginning of season three that designers wanted in on the action. 'The show exploded then,' Field said in an interview, adding that costume design 'isn't about selling clothes, it's about telling a story. That's something I learned along the way.' Now 84, Field is still telling stories through clothes, most recently as the costume designer for Emily in Paris (Netflix), the fifth season of which is due to air later this year. Before Sex and the City, the idea of 'fashion' as a main character in any TV show was virtually unheard of. While clothes had an important role in shows such as Dynasty, Friends or Beverly Hills 90210, they existed as costume, and were rarely, if ever, discussed by the characters themselves. They certainly weren't an integral part of the plot: characters didn't utter pithy lines like 'I like my money right where I can see it – hanging in my closet.' SATC made fashion a fundamental part of each character's identity – literally, in the case of Sarah Jessica Parker's 'Carrie' necklace. Here were four women with very different aspirations: Carrie a hopeless romantic, Miranda a driven career woman, Charlotte keen to settle down and Samantha happy to play the field. Their wardrobes were a visual shorthand for their aspirations. From the beginning, the clothes were given as much consideration as the acting and the script. 'At the very start [of filming], Pat [Field] had an extensive conversation with [producer and writer] Darren Starr, where he gave her so much background information on each of the actresses that it really aided in building their costume DNA,' remembers Rogers. 'Charlotte was 'Upper East Side', Miranda was 'corporate', Carrie was 'eclectic and downtown' and Samantha spoke for gay men. Pat always said three things: that SATC was a moving fashion magazine, that we aren't making a documentary therefore I don't care where she gets these clothes, and finally, that we should never repeat an outfit – they don't repeat scripts.' This idea of SATC as 'a moving fashion magazine' is spot-on. Like many viewers, I might not always have loved the wilder reaches of Carrie's style, but I loved what she stood for. Thanks to a writing and production team powered largely by women and gay men – co-creator and writer Michael Patrick King, producer and writer Darren Star, with Parker co-producing from 1999 onwards – viewers were served a heroine who wasn't traditionally beautiful (straight men almost universally seem to think SJP is unattractive, and probably wouldn't have cast her in a lead role), who unabashedly loved clothes, smoked cigarettes, enjoyed sex and had an enviable career as a writer. Who said women couldn't have it all? Well, heterosexual men, for a start. 'I despised Candace Bushnell's vile cultural monster as a book and as a TV series,' one male critic opined in 2008. 'They represented a vacuous, trivialising, anti-feminist act of self-sabotage on the part of women. What amazed me was that women, even quite smart women, seized on this frivolous, vain confection as an emblem of sisterhood and empowerment.' It shouldn't need saying that women can be clever and stylish, or debate geopolitics with the same expertise that they discuss Phoebe Philo's latest drop. Yet there still exist people who seek to diminish anyone whose interests they deem less serious or worthy than their own. Rather than being a 'vain confection', it was a joy to see Carrie – and in a different way, Samantha – dress for themselves, seemingly unconcerned with any other gaze than the one that greeted them in the mirror. 'Carrie made me bolder,' says Alison Cragg, a 50-something fan who works in HR. 'I remember having a boyfriend in the early 2000s who had a habit of laughing at some of the wilder clothes I wore. I've still got most of the clothes, but I don't have the boyfriend.' In the absence of a fulfilling relationship, a good pair of shoes is a decent consolation prize. Most fans would agree that friendship, not fashion, was the beating heart of SATC. Flawed as the sequel was, when Michael Patrick King announced earlier this month that its third and current season would be its last (the final episode airs on Aug 14), longstanding fans of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha took to social media to share their sadness. 'Carrie Bradshaw is the most important character that has ever graced television, and arguably, she is up there with the likes of Odysseus, Hamlet and even Jesus,' said one user, perhaps only half-joking. While their fashion prowess will live on through re-runs and Instagram fan accounts such as @everyoutfitonsexandthecity, their honest representation of female friendship will die with them. I'll miss their finery, but more than that, I'll miss their flaws. As someone who grew up with them, I'd have happily watched these women navigate life, love and Loewe into old age. 'I'd have loved the actresses to make it to 'Golden Girl' status and create their own commune,' Rogers admits. 'But I always thought Carrie should have a certain ending, and when I read the last script of season three, I knew the final cosmopolitan had been drunk. I have not processed what it means – though superficially, it means no more stoops, no more closet scenes and no more shoe shots. It was the most incredible experience of my life. 'I saw the world and learnt from Pat and Sarah Jessica how to achieve visual success. The key to that is to be detail-oriented to a fault, make everyone around you nuts because you demand perfection – and never, ever, settle or compromise on an outfit.' Carrie couldn't have said it better. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Solve the daily Crossword
Epoch Times
13 hours ago
- Epoch Times
Epoch Watchlist: Recommended Viewing for Aug. 15–21
This week, we feature a drama about an immigrant Korean family trying to start over and a heartfelt story about a teacher's unconventional way of helping young men. New Release 'Relay' Ash (Riz Ahmed) is a ghost-level dealmaker trades in secrets and silence, cutting covert settlements between ruthless companies and those who threaten to expose them. He plays by strict rules, until a volatile new client drags him into a job with murky agendas. The film kicks off strong with a slow-burn setup and a world where whistleblowers walk the line between leverage and liability. The threat feels real as Ash navigates it all under strict personal rules. But just when it should be locking in, the third act swerves.
