Good makeup starts with skin that’s comfortable under it. This skincare guide helps you find your skin type, put your routine in a sensible order and read ingredient lists with the evidence in view: which ingredients have published comedogenic ratings, which are flagged for Malassezia yeast, and how much weight each answer deserves.
Skincare Guide: Read Ingredient Lists With Confidence
This skincare guide collects our free skin type quiz, routine planner and ingredient checkers in one place. Each one explains every answer, with no brands and no product picks.
- Pore Clogging Ingredient CheckerPaste an ingredient list to see which ingredients have comedogenic ratings, where each rating comes from and how high up the list they sit.Check an ingredient list
- Fungal Acne CheckerPaste an ingredient list to see which ingredients reference lists flag for Malassezia yeast, and how strong the evidence is for each flag.Check an ingredient list
- Skin Type QuizFind out if your skin is dry, oily, combination or normal with a simple wash-and-wait check, plus a morning and evening outline.Take the quiz
- Skincare Routine OrderTick the products you use and see your morning and evening routine in order, lightest to heaviest, with a printable card.Order your routine
- Retinol Schedule PlannerA gentle, step-by-step way to start or keep up a retinol, where it fits in your routine and the moisturizer and sunscreen to pair with it.Plan your retinol
What this skincare guide covers
Start with the skin type quiz if you’re not sure whether your skin is dry, oily, combination or normal. Then the skincare routine order planner puts the products you already use in order, morning and night, with sunscreen last in the morning. If you’re adding a retinol, the retinol schedule planner gives a gentle, dermatologist-based way to start, with no strengths or percentages. Two checkers share one reference list. The pore clogging ingredient checker shows published comedogenic ratings, mostly from a 1989 rabbit ear study, with the grade, any range and a note on how debated it is. The fungal acne checker shows which ingredients reference lists flag for Malassezia yeast, and separates flags based on lab research from flags based on convention.
Every rating and flag on the shared list was checked against a published source, and each checker page lists those sources in full. Where the evidence is thin or the sources disagree, the checkers say so in plain words instead of picking a side, so you can see how much weight each answer deserves.
Both tell you how much of your list they recognized, point out flagged ingredients near the top of the list, and set aside fragrance and “may contain” shade colors that no list can check.
How to use the skincare guide well
Read every flag as a reason to look closer, not a verdict. Ratings and flags describe raw ingredients, often tested at high strength or on lab plates, and a finished product can behave differently. A list with no flags isn’t a promise either. If breakouts worry you or don’t settle, see a dermatologist, and bring your results along if they help.
Skin prep before a wedding
If you’re getting ready for a wedding, check your foundation, primer and moisturizer a few weeks ahead rather than the week before, and wear the full look for a day at your trial. Avoid trying new skincare in the last few weeks, so there are no surprises on the morning itself.
Questions about the skincare guide
Which checker should I use?
Use the pore clogging ingredient checker for comedogenic ratings and the fungal acne checker for Malassezia flags. You can paste the same list into both.
Do these checkers recommend products?
No. They explain what reference lists say about ingredients, with no brands and no affiliate links.
Is my ingredient list saved anywhere?
No. Everything runs on your device, and nothing is sent or stored unless you choose to copy a link that contains your list.
Can Reign Beauty Collective plan my makeup around ingredients I avoid?
Yes. Tell your Reign Beauty Collective artist at your trial which ingredients or products you avoid, and we’ll plan your base around them.
Who checked the reference list?
Every entry was checked against its published source, and the sources are listed on each checker page. It’s an educational reference, not medical advice.
Sources
Last reviewed October 10, 2026 by the Reign Beauty Collective artist team, Tampa, Florida.
This page is general educational content from Reign Beauty Collective in Tampa, Florida. It is not professional, medical, or financial advice, and results vary. Please talk with a licensed professional about your own situation.