Two beauty products to steer clear from!!!

I have sensitive skin that can easily detect when something isn't suitable for me. I've also become a "human no-no product detector", because more often than not when a product fails on my skin, it's quite noticeable within 24 hours of use. Also, when a product fails for me, it seems to fail for a few others. I've passed down certain beauty products - lotions, creams, masks, makeup, etc. - to anyone who wanted them WITH the warning of my results. Within a few days I often hear back from them stating that the product(s) let them down as well. 

Now, I have a strict regime down when it comes to my face and back. For many years I suffered with severe cystic acne on my jawline and "back-ne". The pimples on my jawline would run so deep, I wouldn't be able to chew anything tougher than an a banana without having an intense pain. My "back-ne" would be just as painful, especially when a bra strap, t-shirt strap, or purse strap would put any type of pressure on a spot. It would feel as if I was being relentlessly stabbed with a very thick needle.

I changed my diet, increased my water intake, started birth control pills to help balance out my hormones (breastfeeding for 3+ years and no period for that long, kinda threw me outta whack), and found specific products that would agree with my skin. I've also made it a habit to change specific habits in my life. For example, I change my sheets every single week, I wear a clean pajama shirt to bed every night (I can't wear the same one twice. Once it's worn, in the wash it goes. My body not only sheds dead skin cells, but sweats when I sleep. TMI, but it's to better inform you., I wash my hair THEN wash my body in the shower (shampoo and conditioner can agitate my skin if I don't wash it off), I shower as soon as I'm done working out, I don't use harsh scrubs, and I change my towels every 3 washes. It may seem a little insane to some of you and you may have better luck with leniency regarding your skin, but mine is EXTREMELY temperamental. Like a kid coming down from a sugar high, right before bedtime, and right after you've said no more video games. That's right, I've seen YouTube temper-tantrums. YIKES.

For my birthday I got my usual yearly gift from Sephora. Normally I avoid all face washes/masks/lotions from there, as I already have my regimen down and I'm afraid of what could happen. This time I decided to change things up a bit. I had the choice between a lipstick/mascara and a face mask/face wash. A friend of mine had told me how AMAZING the "Soy Face Cleanser" and "Rose Face Mask" by Fresh, were. (Her birthday was April 1st, mine was April 9th, so she got the same gift I did.) After much deliberation I opted to test the amazing-ness for this blog. I was told that this particular gift would be given out throughout the prior months (A Sephora associate told me, don't kill the messenger if it isn't true.) so I wanted to give an honest review for fellow Sephora gift receivers. 

This is where I'd like to mention that I truly do pride myself on being positive. I've been through difficult situations and I've grown to realize that negative attitudes only make the situation at hand worse. It makes EVERYTHING worse. But I pride myself even more on honesty, and this is a product I have to be completely honest about. The reason it took me a while to put up this review, is because I wanted to thoroughly test both products with an open mind. 

While I absolutely wanted to love it and I wanted to truly give it the benefit of the doubt, it failed. It failed me BIG time. The day I got both Fresh products I hadn't worn any makeup and I hadn't washed my face with anything. So I decided to go ahead and test my newest gift before bed. I proceeded to wash my face with the "Soy Face Cleanser". The smell wasn't necessarily thee most attractive smell in the world, but not everything that smells good IS good. I will say that it didn't dry out my face, it didn't make it red directly after washing it, it didn't sting, so I was optimistic. I rinsed it off, patted my face dry, and dozed off. In the morning I noticed immense pressure in certain spots and I knew right then and there what it meant. Pimples. 

My face was SOOO not happy with me. I could almost hear the cursing. I use Oxy face wash to wash my face and seeing as how I was going out with my son, I didn't feel comfortable going outside as the Benzoyl Peroxide can cause your skin to be ultra sensitive to sunlight. Yes of course I could've used sunblock, but my goal for this project was to test the product out without any additional things put on my face. We ended up going to Costco, a short walk for my son to practice riding his bike, lunch, and to pick up a book at Target. When my son and I got home, the pressure in my face had progressed tremendously. Remember, 24 hours my face lets me know how it feels. 

Before face wash...

After face wash...

I had washed my face around 8pm the previous night, but around 6pm I noticed 4 huge, red, ANGRY bumps on my face. Of course one had to be hear my nose/eye so that area was sensitive to my glasses. Everything else was almost just as painful. I could already see a head (again, TMI) and when I put my finger next to it and applied a little pressure, pop goes the weasel. I can't even begin to tell you how that tiny relief felt. I didn't want to poke or prod them anymore, so I let them be and only rinsed my face with water that night. The next morning the acne was back and I decided to proceed with my normal routine. The experiment was over. Well, part one was. 

Within a week my skin finally cleared up, so instead of calling it truce I decided to try out the face mask. Seeing how the wash went, I wasn't surprised what happened next. Yup, you guessed it. My face went right back to angry mode. My face has finally healed from that one and it's safe to say I'm out of products to test. Thank god. 

I know that not every product works the same on every skin and I know that this product can be a miracle worker for some. While these particular Fresh claimed to be for all skin types, I have come to terms with the reality that my skin is not in their category definition of "all". I'll live. Plus what I use is WAY cheaper. If it was up to me, I'd go back in time and tell myself to just get the lipstick/mascara. All well. Ce la vie!

To be perfectly clear, I do NOT hate Sephora. I don't blame Sephora. I don't blame the brand "Fresh". I don't blame anyone. Like I said before, my skin in finicky and doesn't appreciate everything that it comes into contact with. 

Have you guys tried these products? Did they work for you?