Beauty Obsessed

Being a beauty connoisseur, you’re often confronted with the problem of buying and using products that maybe you don’t really need.  There are plenty of reasons for this – too much knowledge (I need to be using retinol, antioxidants, peptides, glycolic acid, ceramides…); overexposure to reviews on ah-ma-zing products (who cares if this bronzer makes me look like Snooki, it’s supposed to be awesome!); and general beautyaholic tendencies (gimme-gimme-gimme!).  We’ve all done it at some point, for whatever reason.  Recently, I received a deluxe sample of Clinique’s Repairwear Laser Focus serum during a training school – a product designed to seriously reduce the appearance of lines, wrinkles, and sun damage.  Last year, I had received a full size of this product, but gave it to my mother like the good daughter I am.  However, when I received this sample size, I figured it was too small to give away, and I happened to be low on treatment products as well, so I thought – what the hey, I’ll use ‘er up.It can be tempting for me to use skincare products that are targeted towards minimizing the look of aging, because hey – I’m gonna be 30 next year and I want to preserve my line-free skin for as long as I can.  But in reality, these products are really designed for those who already have visible signs of aging, and can sometimes be too harsh or detrimental to skin thats not quite there yet.  However, knowing Clinique as I do, it’s special brand of gentleness to the skin made me feel comfortable to use this product without issue. Unsurprizingly, two weeks later and I’ve had no reactions whatsoever. What I DO have, however, is AMAZINGLY SOFT SKIN!!  Wow!  I was merely using this product because I had it on hand, maybe wasteful in a sense, but am I ever glad I did!  My skin hasn’t looked so good in a long while.  It feel supple, smooth and nourished, and is more evenly toned.  While it doesn’t moisturize, it’s helped smooth out the dry, irritated patches of eczema on my forehead – also without causing irritation in the least.

Of course, what I don’t notice is decreased signs of aging, so this review is dreadfully incomplete.  It’s like those Biotherm ads where they show the ‘effectiveness’ of their anti-aging/repair products on girls who are barely 18.  I feel somewhat like a cheat, but I still wanted to review the product because it IS still very effective to some degree.  How it works on wrinkles, I can’t say (yet).  But I feel confident in saying that it’s worth a shot at the very least – it’s other redeeming qualities make it nearly worth the $53CDN alone. …Nearly.  I’m not sure I’d buy this for myself, as I’d likely pick up something more appropriate for my age/skin type (like a antioxidant serum to prevent aging, not treat it), but if another free bottle comes my way, you can be sure I’ll be hoarding it this time (sorry, Mom!)

Are there any skin care products you’ve had that really weren’t for you, but you used them anyway?  Are you enticed by free products and feel like you ‘should’ use them because they were free?