I have always had problem skin since I was a teenager, in fact for a couple of years before that as well. Recently, a friend of mine recommended the Clinique 3-Step Anti Blemish kit, so I bought a month's supply for £20. I found that it was great for my skin, but I kind of resented spending so much on skin care. Because of this, I decided that I was going to try to same products but from the Simple range, which would cost me just £2 a month (their products are bigger, cheaper, and last longer). After trying that for two weeks, my skin has certainly got no worse, and in a way I feel that it looks better. Is paying more a better way to assure that something will work, or are you just really paying for the brand name? I use a cleanser, followed by a toner and then a moisturiser. I'm not sure how necessary the toner actually is so I might try without that (I have very little patience so a three step routine was never really going to work for me all that well). I would appreciate your thoughts on the matter!
As an ex-beauty consultant very familiar with the company mentioned, many never used the products they sold. There are some good products in the range, but a 3 step is a basic idea, to be honest it depends on your lifestyle. If you wear make-up in the city, you need a cleanser to remove the make-up and then a wash off cleanser to cleanse the skin. Then a toner or softening lotion rebalances the pH after cleansing, then you add a serum or eye gel then moisturizer. If you skip the toner, then the skin is still alkaline from cleansing so the moisturizer will sit on the face and not absorb. Skipping it a few days is fine, but at night it would be beneficial and also if you have dehydrated skin.
I also don't see much use for a toner, I always skip this step! As for skin are price, I've always been super allergic (like, SUPER allergic!!), so I've always been careful as to what products I use on my face, to the point to someone who doesn't know me they find me a snob. The thing is, after I used Neutrogena products and those gave me a massive allergy, I started only getting skin are that was fragrance free, made for sensitive skin, tested for allergies and all of that. I like brands like Perricone, Kiehl's and Clinique. But I am aware my case is an exception.... So you should always try out with drugstore affordable products, and only if they don't work as expected you should go hire end. If it works with the low cost option, there's no reason to try the expensive stuff.
