Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

During my little trip home I have had to come to terms with the fact that I am a hoarder. I keep skincare that I either don't like or that simply doesn't work for me and I have no idea why. I'm like a squirrel of the beauty world, hiding various masks, cleansers and treatments in cupboards all around the house 'just in case'. I've managed to dig out a few that I've been clinging on to and I think it's time to grit my teeth and say goodbye. 

In my bathroom cabinet of skincare wonders I found a cleanser that I bought around Christmas time, the Biore Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser. This is a gel based cleanser with the promise of giving you blemish free skin. Unfortunately for me it made the skin around my nose dry and flaky and it started to crack, creating a very red and sore little nose. Nowhere on the bottle does it say that it's not suitable for sensitive skin, so I went in all guns blazing. It does give you a lovely fresh feeling when you've washed it off but other than that it's pretty unusable for me. 

Next we have a cult product throughout the blogging community, the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo. This was one of the many things I bought because of YouTuber/blogger hype. The promise of a miracle skin clearing cream was too tempting for me and I rushed out to take advantage of the buy one get one free offer at Boots. I put a thin layer on my blemish-ridden face and went to bed with the hope of waking up to clearer skin, I was bitterly disappointed. I'm prone to blackheads and the occasional white head but I awoke that morning to my fair share of white heads. I thought about the whole 'purging the skin' theory and continued to use it hoping it would start working soon, it did not. I recently tried to give it another shot to redeem itself but it now stings if I put it anywhere near blemishes. 

Then we have a clay mask from one of my favourite skincare brands, Liz Earle. I wanted a clay mask that would lift all those nasty blackheads out of my gigantic pores. I trust Liz Earle as a brand so went straight to the counter to look for the Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask. I'd just like to pause here to admit something; the fact that this product didn't agree with my skin is entirely my own fault. It states clearly on the packaging that this isn't suitable for sensitive skin, but I was so determined to make it work for me I bought it anyway. Fast forward to today and I've used it about 4 times, it stings like crazy and makes my face super sensitive and sore, not to mention a little on the red side. This is a lesson to always listen to what the packaging tells you, they aren't lying to you so don't be a stubborn mofo like I was. 

And finally it's another item I bought due to being swept up in hype, the Clarisonic Mia. I got this in a rather funky Mango colour in the sale, again I was looking for something to clear out those blackheads and give me smooth radiant skin. It did nothing, absolutely nothing. The brushes are hard to clean, it doesn't make your skin look any different and it constantly needs charging. Since I came home I thought I'd give it a second chance. It's just under 2 years old now and I plugged it in ready for it to take a fairly long time to charge seeing as I haven't use it in forever. It continued to buzz and vibrate with no charge light for a good 2 hours and when I googled my problem, it turns out constant buzzing means dead battery. The only way to fix it is to buy a brand new Clarisonic. I don't know if it's just me but when I spend £90 on a product I would like it to last a little longer than 2 years, especially when it's hardly used! Not a happy bunny.

So it is the end of the line for these guys, the rubbish bin awaits their arrival. It's always disappointing when a product doesn't work like you expect it to, even worse if you spend a lot of money on it; I'm looking at you Clarisonic. But there has to come a time when you have to admit it's just not working and your relationship has come to an unfortunate and disappointing end. 

Have you tried any of these products? Have you had better look with them or is it a 'it's not me, it's you situation?