A Few of My Unfavourite Things

Since my posts thus-far have been fairly positive, I thought it time to redress the balance. Wouldn’t want you thinking I like every pot and potion I dip my little paw into…

Dermalogica Soothing Eye Make-up Remover

As I’m addicted to their Daily Microfoliant, and most of the products I’ve tried have been good, I didn’t expect to dislike this eye makeup remover quite as much as I do. With a strong preference for part-oil products such as Botanics, No7 or (ideally) Lancome (which I love but don’t often buy because I get through a bottle in about four hours), it’s already at a disadvantage. I can’t stand foaminess and when I wipe cotton wool soaked in this over my eyes it feels like I just stuck my head in a bubble bath. You’re meant to apply it to wet cotton wool and rinse off, but I’m in my bedroom, already half-asleep as I take off my eye makeup, not in the bathroom. I’m always tempted to get out of bed to rinse it off though, since it floods my eyes. It does the job of removing my makeup, but there's nothing soothing about the experience.

Vaseline Essential Moisture - Conditioning Body Lotion

The blurb on the bottle talks about skin being made up of 90% water, and how we lose a pint of water throughout the day. Well, water is what this lotion feels like when you put it on. Some moisturisers have that aqueous texture, as if they're mimicking your skin and sinking right in. This sinks right in, never to be seen again. It leaves no residue and my skin just feels… exactly the same as it did before I applied. I like my body lotions to leave a bit of a sheen, or at least for my skin to feel smooth after. This stuff must be absorbed into some dehydrated internal organ because it certainly doesn’t do anything on the outside of the body. Maybe it would provide adequate moisture in the summer, when skin’s not so dry and conditions aren’t so harsh… but I doubt it.

Aromatherapy Associates Enrich Body Scrub

This one, I’ll admit, is a case of my personal taste, rather than a dud product. When browsing the sale items in Space NK recently my spirits soared as I spotted something 'Aromatherapy Associates'; those connoisseurs of essential oil and all things gorgeously scented. They sunk again a second later when I realised it was the ‘Enrich’ range. I had been given the body scrub a while ago and, despite my best efforts to love it, I cannot stand the smell. This scrub contains pure coffee, frankincense and grapefruit, said to invigorate. I love coffee, and Cindy Crawford supposedly exfoliates with coffee grounds to prevent cellulite, but there’s no morning-latte whiff about this, and now my shower’s filled with brown bits. The texture’s fab - you can feel the quality - and the oils immediately hydrate skin and leave it lovely, but nothing makes up for that funky smell. I’m not surprised it was in the sale.