The best things in life are free (ish!)

Ok, so in one of my earlier posts I mentioned how unhappy I was with my oily skin and that my make up was kinda melting by 11am (yeah, nice I know!).. So later that night I turned to Youtube and typed in the search box 'Oily skincare routine' and I also did a search to see if anything else backed up the MoM acting as a good primer .  One of the videos that came up was from beautybargainhunter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fch8q5uqqog this covered all bases.

She was really really informative and I found her video really interesting.  One of the things she mentioned was witch hazel, now I bought some of this in the Summer of 2009, I think at that time I was well into my Clearasil routine, it was clearing up my skin and I was seeing great results so I brushed off the Witch Hazel and sent it to a dark corner of the cupboard (yes, the same cupboard as the thousands of shampoo's!)!   I felt, at the time, that it wasn't getting my skin as clean as the Clearasil Treatment Lotion, it didn't seem to take off the remainder of my make up like the Clearasil did, I also didn't see any self tanner come off either, which kind of confirmed to me that it wasn't working as well..

But, after watching that video the other day I wanted to give it another try.. and now..

Im in love with it!

I know I might be being a bit premature, after all its only been what, 4 days of use (I think)?  But during this time the oil production on my face has been significantly less, my make up has been lasting and my skin seems as clear as it was with the Clearasil.  Result!
She also mentions in the video to take a look at your skin in the morning after using your toner with alcohol in, then take a look at your skin in the morning after using the witch hazel.. She was so right, my skin after using the W.H was much much less shinier, with the Clearasil its pretty gross in the morning as it would be incredibly shiny!
The downsides could be that A) Ive not given it enough time to get the full picture, but hey, I can't help my excitement! and B) My skin will become used to it like it normally does with prolonged use of any product!

The upsides, the main one has to be the fact a 200ml bottle (the same amount as the Clearasil) costs £1.25 VS the £4.75 I was paying for the Clearasil Deep Pore Treatment Lotion!  I do have to admit though, that I despise the smell of the witch hazel, it is just vile!
In with the witch hazel I dropped in some tea tree oil, I dropped in 5 drops, then 10, then I actually ended up dropping in 20 in the hopes it would get rid of the smell!  In reality you'd probably only need 5 to see some benefit from the tea tree oil, but I just wanted to get rid of the smell so I went overboard!

I won't be turning my back on the Clearasil, its been my good friend and my ticket to clearer skin and I also find my skin looks a little more clarified with the use of Clearasil, but for the time being it will have to take a back seat while I stick with my £1.25 bargain..  I suspect I will be pulling out the clearasil again when my hormonal skin makes a visit, or perhaps during the Summer months when I need something stronger.

So thanks beautybargainhunter for giving me the push to try witch hazel again!

In

Out (for now anyway!)