Prescribed Dermalogica Skincare Routine [review]

In September, I had a face mapping skin analysis carried out at the Dermalogica stand at Westfield Stratford. The assistant told me that my skin was dehydrated, and that only my t-zone (mostly my nose) was oily. She recommended a few products for me to use, however I didn't want to purchase full size items and then realise that they either did not get on with my skin, or that I hated using them (for whatever reason). I decided to go for the LE Top Performer collection which contained 4 miniature/travel sized products, 3 of which were recommended to me (these were the cleansing gel, daily microfoliant and skin smoothing cream). The fourth product was an eye cream (MultiVitamin Power Firm) which I haven't actually used. The assistant also recommended the mattifying moisturiser, which I didn't purchase, but she did give me a few sample sachets so I could try the product out (this was specifically for applying on my oily nose).

So far, I have actually been pretty good with cleansing and micro-foliating (if that's a word) most mornings (I'm not perfect, otherwise it would be every morning) and also cleansing most evenings too. I used the skin smoothing cream as a daily moisturiser in place of my usual Olay one and have been sticking to the routine for the most part (apart from on Eid and the mendhi/wedding days, where I had to replace the Dermalogica cleanser for the Liz Earle C&P to remove all my makeup effectively). I haven't used the mattifying moisturiser at all as my nose has become less oily (probably because it is colder now), and I don't like the hassle of having to use a separate moisturiser for my nose.

At the beginning I didn't really see any changes. In fact I gained a few spots (although that might be due to the weather change and the fact that I have not been drinking enough water). After using this routine for a good few weeks here are my thoughts. I have mixed result as I'm not a big fan of foaming cleansers and personally I think cream/balm cleansers work a lot better for me. The moisturiser was great as it was a lot thicker than my usual Olay one (which I will stop using) but I won't be purchasing the Dermalogica skin smoothing moisturiser as it doesn't contain SPF. I've never actually looked at SPF in my skincare and cosmetics before, however I am becoming more conscious of this and have been looking into purchasing a moisturiser with a decent amount of SPF for the winter (and obviously one with a higher SPF factor for the summer). I will be purchasing the daily microfoliant, once mine has finished, as it's gentle enough for everyday use (as suggested in the name) and quite fun to use. It's just working out how much you actually need to use that is the tricky part at the beginning!

I would definitely recommend going for a face mapping analysis and finding out if you should be changing anything in your skincare routine (and it's free). You aren't obliged to purchase any products after the analysis, but any purchases do usually include a fair few sample sachets of products to try.

Has anyone else tried Dermalogica products? What did you think of them?