Clinique Skincare And Why It's Not For Me

I was talked into visiting the clinique counter when I had my makeup done by smashbox in boots a while ago. The lady on the counter was so lovely and had a look at my skin to recommend some products for me. She couldn't get over how dry my skin was and recommended the 3 step programme.

The Clinique Liquid Facial Soap Extra Mild was recommended to me as a cleanser which would be more suited to my extremely dry and sensitive skin. It is probably the worst cleanser I have ever tried. I gave it about two months I think but I am never using it again. As its the extra mild one it doesn't lather up which didn't bother me as its easier to rinse. However, it didn't leave my skin feeling clean at all. Just felt like I'd splashed some water on it. Then I needed a toner so got the Clinique Clarifying Lotion 1. It claims to be a gentle exfoliating lotion that de-flakes to reveal clearer skin. Sounded perfect for me as my skin can be pretty flaky. Wrong. Both of these things together gave me the worst breakouts I have ever had. They were big, red and so sore. I normally just have spots on my chin. After using this skincare, not only did my chin breakouts get worse but I ended up with them on my forehead as well. My face hurt. The breakouts were so bad that makeup wasn't even covering it.

As my skin is soo dry she recommended I get the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Cream instead of the lotion as it gives more intense hydration. I didn't find this moisturiser helped much with my dry skin and it definitely contributed to my breakouts. It felt like it just sat on top of my skin instead of sinking in and it just felt overly heavy and greasy. As you all know my foundation tends to crack and look scaly (not anymore though thanks to Nip & Fab feat. in my faves). It did get slightly better after using the clinique. However, it did still crack it was just slightly less noticeable. The breakouts were definitely more noticeable though.

I saw soo many people raving about Take The Day Off Balm and how amazing it is for makeup removal so I thought I'd give it a go. I have to say it is an incredible makeup remover. It takes everything off effortlessly and leaves my skin feeling super clean. I don't wear makeup enough at the moment to know if this contributed to my breakouts though. So, as I only wear makeup every now and then and this takes it off so well I'm probably going to carry on using this and see how it goes.

Before I purchased this skincare I only ever saw people raving about Clinique. Since I've had these issues and mentioned how much I hated it it seems like it's a very common problem. Definitely staying away from their skincare from now on.

What are your favourite products for extremely dry blemish prone skin?

Beth...x