New Skincare Products I've Tried (Combination, Acne Prone Skin)

As someone who has suffered from moderate acne in the past and moderate rosacea / redness since I was a teenager, I am always on the hunt for new skincare products. Currently, I have combination / oily skin which is blemish prone and has a lot of redness around my t-zone and chin. I have learnt over the years that my skin really likes salicylic acid and tea tree oil and most products that don't contain either of these don't do much for my skin. I am 23 years old, so I don't have any fine lines or wrinkles yet, so I can't comment on any issues relating to those. These are some skincare products that I have recently picked up and I thought I would let you know my thoughts on them.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Spot Proofing Purifying Toner 200ml - £4.99
Over the years, I've found that my favourite toners by far are The Body Shop Seaweed toner and the Tea Tree Oil toner, however, I thought I would try a new one as I've been using those for years. I still love those two toners, but this quickly became a new favourite toner. This contains salicylic acid, which my skin loves and it has a lovely scent that smells fresh and clean, and I feel like it tightens my pores and leaves my skin feeling firmer. It sinks into the skin quickly and I think this helps control my oils during the day, although it doesn't claim to do that. I haven't found that this has made my breakouts any worse so I will continue to use this daily and will probably repurchase it.
Recommend - YES

Soap & Glory The Fab Pore Daily Micro Soothing Moisture Lotion 50ml - £12.00
This is a nice, everyday moisturiser which is blue in colour and definitely resembles toothpaste. The tube even feels like toothpaste as it comes out and it does leave a slight, minty fresh feel to the skin. The texture of this is obviously nothing like toothpaste (that would be super weird) and it does feel like a moisturiser when applied to your skin! You don't need to use a huge amount to cover your face and it sinks in relatively quickly. I didn't find that it broke my skin out and it didn't make my face turn into an oily mess by the end of the day, although it didn't do much to control my oils. I can't say it made a massive difference to my pores, so for that reason, I wouldn't purchase this again. I don't necessarily think that it's worth the high price tag, as it's just as good as many cheaper moisturisers that I've tried, but it's not a bad moisturiser by any means.
Recommend - MAYBE 

Witch Hazel Overnight Clearing Serum 50ml - £5.99
I've tried quite a few of the Witch Hazel range over the years and I can't say I've ever really been blown away by any of the products, but I needed a new night treatment so I thought I would give this a go. This again, didn't blow me away, but it's not a bad serum. It has a thick consistency, which is more like a moisturiser than a serum, which takes quite a long time to sink into the skin and feels slightly sticky and tacky to touch even 10 minutes after you've applied it. The bottle has a pump which is great for controlling how much product you use - I find that one pump is enough to cover my face. It feels nice and cooling / refreshing on the skin, but I didn't find that it made a huge difference to my skin in terms of redness or breakouts. I also found that my skin is particularly oily when I wake up having used this the night before. Again, it's not a bad product, but I wouldn't rush into purchasing this again. You can find Witch Hazel products in Superdrug or online.
Recommend - MAYBE

Lacura Exfoliate Daily Cleansing Pads 60s - £2.49
So I picked these up in Aldi a few weeks ago because I'd seen people posting about them on Facebook and they are an obvious replica of the Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Pads, which are £13.59 in Boots for 60. I haven't tried the Nip+Fab ones, but I really didn't expect these to do much to my skin... I was very wrong! These made a huge difference to the redness of my skin straight away (I used them before I went to bed the first night I had them and by the morning my skin tone looked so much more even and the redness was massively reduced. However, I have also noticed that if I stop using these for a few days, the redness returns. These have a nice scent, the pads themselves are quite gentle and not too rough on the skin and they leave my skin feeling tight and fresh. I wouldn't say that they do a huge amount of exfoliating but to me, they are definitely worth trying for the price!
Recommend - YES

Yes To Grapefruit Pore Perfection Night Treatment For Uneven Skin Tone 50ml - £12.99
This product caught my eye because I love grapefruit scented products and as I mentioned, I have rosacea, so I am always on the hunt for new products that could help my skin tone. This didn't make any difference to the redness in my skin and the only difference I noticed was that my skin was mega oily when I woke up having used this the night before. It also doesn't feel like it sinks into the skin properly, so again, you get a tacky / greasy kind of feel to your skin. It has a weird top, that means you have to turn the bottle upside down and push the top down to get product out onto a cotton pad, which usually means I get too much product out. It does smell nice and you don't need to use a lot to cover your face, but I just don't think the price tag is worth the product as it doesn't do what it claims to do.
Recommend - NO 

Soap & Glory No Clogs Allowed Self-Heating Deep Pore Detox Mask 100ml - £11.50
This face mask is very different to the usual face masks that I use, but it had good reviews online and it contained salicylic acid, which as I mentioned, my skin loves. I have to say, I'm not a fan of the texture of this face mask, it has a weird grainy texture that feels rough to put on, kind of like rubbing sand into your face. The tube also makes it look and feel like toothpaste, but that doesn't really bother me. I had to use quite a lot of this to cover my face and it has a clay kind of smell to it. It did start warming up instantly, but it wasn't uncomfortably warming like some face masks can be. Once washed off, it does leave my skin feeling fresh, clean and slightly tingly and it did definitely leave my pores looking smoother. It is easy to remove with a warm, damp facecloth, however, it doesn't seem to want to come out of the facecloth now! Overall, I'd say this isn't a bad face mask for the price, but I probably wouldn't purchase this again.
Recommend - MAYBE

The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% 30ml - £5.00
This serum claims to reduce blemishes, pores and congestion of the skin and you can find The Ordinary products on Cult Beauty, Beauty Bay and Deciem's website. This product is so popular, along with most of The Ordinary products, so it is often out of stock on numerous websites. I can understand why! This serum definitely makes a difference to my redness and overall texture. The glass bottle has a dropper, so you can get a controlled amount of product out easily. It sinks into the skin quickly and leaves it feeling tight and refreshed, without feeling drying. I do think it helps to keep my oils at bay, although it doesn't claim to do that. I think it also helps with reducing breakouts on my skin. However, I would say, be very careful not to get this in your eye. I did, and it REALLY hurts. For £5, this is amazing quality and I would definitely recommend it!
Recommend - YES

Nip + Fab Teen Skin Fix Zero Shine Moisturiser 40ml - £9.99
I've not tried many Nip + Fab products, but I saw this and thought, although I'm not a teenager anymore (and haven't been for a while!), my skin does often behave like teenage skin! This moisturiser didn't really blow me away. I saw it contained Zinc, like The Ordinary serum, so I thought it might make a difference to redness, but it doesn't really. It's nice enough to use, but it doesn't do anything extra that my cheaper moisturisers do. I found it was okay at oil control and it does sink into the skin quickly, but it didn't do a huge amount for breakouts or anything. Overall, like a lot of the other products I've mentioned, it's not a bad product, but because it didn't blow me away, I wouldn't rush out to repurchase it.
Recommend - MAYBE

Yes To Tomatoes Daily Balancing Moisturiser For Combination Skin 50ml - £11.99
I was slightly concerned in purchasing this, that it would smell like tomatoes and who wants to rub tomatoes into their face... however, it doesn't, so panic averted! However, it does have a slight smell of cinnamon to me, which is super bizarre but isn't overly unpleasant. This is a nice thick moisturiser and again, the bottle has a pump so it is easy to get a controlled amount out. It does feel like it hydrates my skin, but considering it says it is oil balancing and specifically for combination skin, it doesn't do that. I find with this that my skin is very oily by the end of the day, even without make up on. It would probably be a really nice moisturiser for people with dry skin, so I don't know why they haven't marketed it as that! For that reason, I wouldn't repurchase this product.
Recommend - NO 

Let me know what new skincare products you've tried recently in the comments below!

Sarah (aka. Pale Princess) x


*this blog post is not sponsored and the above reviews are based on my honest opinions and findings for my skin, what works for me, might not work for you and vise versa*