Facial Products Review: Kate Somerville

I stopped using the Clarisonic Mia 2 brush for over eight months. Why? Honestly, the reason is pretty simple, I couldn't be bothered waiting for over a month for the brush head (if I do order it from Amazon) and the brush head that I want (sensitive/ normal) is always out of stock in Australia. As a result, I never did buy my replacement and thus, my Clarisonic was left to collect dust for over eight months.

During my trip at Canberra, my face wash (Mario Badescu's Enzyme Cleansing Gel) ran out and instead of purchasing a new bottle, I used my friend's facial wash. I sort of like it. It did not irritate my skin nor did it caused any breakouts.

It was after I returned to Melbourne, I've decided it was time to try out new facial cleanser because although Mario Badescu's Enzyme Cleansing Gel did not cause any breakouts or irritate my skin, I felt like it did not lighten my acne scars (which I so desperately want it to be gone).

And so, I started Googling and came across Kate Somerville, it has rave reviews. Some even said it is far better than Mario Badescu. Next thing you know, I purchased the Blemish Banisher Kit from Mecca. I'm glad I purchased the kit instead of the complete set in full size. The only thing I purchased in full size was their Clarifying Treatment Toner.

Below is my review for each of the products that I tried: 

Detox Daily Cleanser: I highly do not recommend this product! This is the facial cleanser that dries my skin and irritate my skin. I literally scratched my face and neck all day long. It caused my skin to breakout and it was one of the worst breakouts I had in years.

EradiKate Acne Treatment: This is Kate Somerville version of the Mario Badescu's drying lotion. It is slightly cheaper than Mario Badescu, and by slightly I meant $1.95 cheaper. The Mecca's salesperson convinced me that this is better than Mario Badescu's drying lotion. My verdict after using both? Go for the Mario Badescu. It's way more effective and you could really see a difference the next morning when you get up. With the EradiKate Acne Treatment, it takes more than a week to see that the acne becomes slightly smaller. On top of it all, it seriously dries your skin. After your face wash the next morning, you have to put as much lotion as possible to prevent your skin from becoming rough and patchy because this product literally sucks all the oil from your skin (or at least, I felt that way after using this).

Oil Free Moisturizer: This moisturizer is not heavy nor is it oily (duhh! It says oil free, didn't it). It felt like I did not even use any moisturizer on my face (bonus point, especially during the summer). I'll definitely try this during the summer but right now, I'm having a serious case of dry skin so this moisturizer is no where close to helping my skin stay hydrated.

ExfoliKate Gentle Exfoliating Treatment: This is a gentle scrub. I tried to use this as a replacement for the Detox Daily Cleanser (thinking that it was gentle and all) but it did not help with the irritation and breakouts that were cause by the Detox Daily Cleanser. I used this like three times only and there's nothing much I can comment on. Plus, I wouldn't be using this anytime soon since I'm back on my Clarisonic.

Clarifying Treatment Toner: The packaging for this product surprised me. Instead of the usual pour onto a cotton pad bottle or a spray on toner, you get a bottle that you have to place your cotton pad on top of the nozzle/ head and press down for the toner to be sprayed on to your cotton pad (if you know what I mean. I'm sorry, I'm just very bad at explaining things). This toner was alright only. I still am in love with the Mario Badescu's ALPHA Grapefruit Cleansing Lotion.

Overall, I did not enjoy using the Kate Somerville's line and I would never ever re-purchase any of it's products again. It caused me to breakout badly, even my sister was disgusted when I showed her a close up picture of my breakout.

Right now, I'm back on my Clarisonic and it's been about two weeks since I started using it again. For the brush head, I'm using Sensitive and I got it for $29 at Mecca. I'm so glad they've decided to stock up on Clarisonic products and it's relatively the same price as purchasing it from Amazon US. They're selling the Mia 2 for $175 and Plus for $265. I said relatively the same price after taking into consideration of International shipping and the fact that US$ is now relatively higher than AUS$.

My skin is still slightly irritated but the breakouts are now slowly healing. It wasn't as bad as two weeks ago.

What am I using as of right now?
Facial wash: Lush's Fresh Farmacy

Toners: Mario Badescu's ALPHA Grapefruit Cleansing Lotion, Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater and Lush's Tea Tree Water (I use the Mario Badescu's ALPHA Grapefruit Cleansing Lotion then I spray on the Lush's Tea Tree Water all over my face and neck. After moisturizing my face only then I spray on the Mario Badescu's Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater).

Moisturizers: Cetaphil's Derma Control SPF30 Oil Free Facial Moisturizing Lotion, Mario Badescu's Collagen Moisturizer SPF15 and Egyptian Magic's All Purpose Healing Cream (I alternate between the Cetaphil and Mario Badescu. The Egyptian Magic acts as an addition because the Cetaphil and Mario Badescu alone is not enough, my skin right now is seriously dry. When you rub over my face you can feel that it's rough and patchy).