Nine years.
One routine that actually worked.

I'm Shyla. I built Shikara because I spent nearly a decade getting skincare wrong, and I don't want anyone else to waste that long.

I started getting adult acne at 22. Sensitive skin too — the kind that goes red when you look at it wrong. For nine years I tried everything: dermatologist prescriptions, K-beauty 10-step routines, stripped-back "clean beauty" brands, £100+ serums, drugstore basics, weird TikTok hacks.

I'd finish a bottle, see no change, switch to the next thing. Some products burned my face. Some did nothing. Some made everything worse for two weeks before I gave up. I have an embarrassing amount of half-empty bottles in a box under my bed.

Eventually I learned three things that changed everything:

One — fewer products, used consistently. Three good products used every day for two months will do more than ten products used inconsistently for two years.

Two — barrier first, actives later. If your skin is reacting, adding more retinol or vitamin C makes it worse. Heal the barrier first. Then add things slowly.

Three — the same ingredient at different concentrations is a different product.10% niacinamide and 2% niacinamide have different effects. The label matters. Knowing what's in the bottle matters.

Shikara is the tool I wish I'd had at 22.

Most skincare advice falls into two camps. Either it's influencer-driven (sponsored, hype-y, low-evidence), or it's expert-coded for skincare nerds on Reddit (overwhelming, intimidating, too much). The 90% of people who just want their skin to behave have nowhere reasonable to start.

So I built one. Three products. Picked for your skin. Used for six weeks before you add anything else. A daily check-in to see what's working and what's not. An ingredient encyclopedia for when you want to go deeper. A friend who actually knows what's in the bottle.

Shikara is:a calm, opinionated guide for people who don't want to spend 10 hours on Reddit before they buy a moisturiser.

Shikara isn't:a replacement for a dermatologist. If you've got cystic acne, severe rosacea, eczema flares, or anything that isn't getting better — see a real doctor. We can help you build a daily routine, not diagnose conditions.

Right now? I don't. Shikara is free. There's no premium tier, no paywalls, no email gates.

Eventually I'll add affiliate links to product recommendations — meaning if you buy a product I recommend, I get a small commission from the retailer (Amazon, Cult Beauty etc.). That money won't affect rankings; my recommendations are based on skin profile match, not commission rates. When this rolls out, I'll disclose it clearly on every product card.

I don't know everything. The recommendations work from your self-reported skin type and main concern — I can't see your skin, your microbiome, your hormones. The products I recommend are ones with strong community recognition (especially r/SkincareAddiction) plus my own filtering for ingredient quality.

If something doesn't work for you, that doesn't mean you're doing it wrong. Skin is complicated. The troubleshoot flow exists for exactly this reason — pause, take a break, try again.

Try it for yourself

Three minutes. Three product recommendations. No account.