Second Glance: The Ones I Changed My Mind On

One of the many perks of being a beauty blogger is I get exposed to hundreds if not thousands of brands and products throughout the year. In my 3 years of blogging, I have lost count how many products and brands that have come onto my radar and I turned up my nose for numerous reasons.

Let's be frank, the beauty market is one of the toughest out there and these days we are spoilt for choices. It's pretty much you sneeze, you lose...in other words, it's hard to capture consumer interest unless the product or brand got it right.

Today I'm sharing a few products and brands that I had refused to explore in the past but have since changed my mind and dare I say, fell in love with. Sometimes I just need to pull my head out of my arse and give a second chance, who knows what else I am missing out there.

Zoella

It was a straight up no, just no fecking no with this brand for me. For the life of me, I can't relate to an overly bubbly, I am so OTT cute, let me touch my hair and tilt my head cutie patootie style (yes, I am aware I will be crucified by her fans). 

I thought I was too mature, old, dust-on-the-shelf kind of ancient for her products until I received a couple in the mail. My first reaction was groan and then shrivelled up and finally died like an old prune inside.

Shockingly, embarrassingly and as much as I hate to admit it, they were nowhere as bad as I thought they would be. Zoella Bath Latte* can be used as a moisturizing bubble bath or in the shower and I prefer using it in the shower. I use a little with a loofah and while it doesn't foam up as much as I like it to be, it leaves my skin feeling silky smooth. The fact that it smells like a cake batter is also another bonus.

Zoella Blissful Mistful* is something that I thought I didn't care for but after a month, I find myself reaching for it every time I take Little Tyke to school. The scent is soft, subtle with a hint of sweet vanilla and I like that it's not overpowering like my usual perfumes.

Will I repurchase both? Surprisingly I honestly think I will in the future.

Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray

Clinique and face sprays/facial mists are the two things that I never ever understood the hype nor need. I am attracted to Clinique as a brand as much as I am attracted to dog poop and I don't even have a dog. And I'm guilty of letting everyone know how much I don't understand the need for face sprays/facial mists.

And then out of the blue I decided to buy this face spray and I am officially hooked. I finally understand why Queen of Skincare, Caroline Hirons, my beloved Ruth Crilly and one of my favourite beauty bloggers, Siobhan (say hello here) rave about it. It's so soothing, moisturizing and basically a liquid moisturizer in a bottle.

Guess there's a possibility that I might be attracted to 'dog poop' after all....

pūr~lisse Gentle Soy Milk Cleanser and Makeup Remover

This is the product that made me feel like a crazy woman who mutters 'he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not...' over and over and over again. Some of you might remember how much I despised this cleanser when I took it with me to Malaysia (read here) but I remembered how much I loved it the first time I used it in winter so I revisited it again with a full size.

Yes, it was a massive gamble but I came out winning. I am currently using this as my morning cleanse and my skin is in love. It gently cleans my skin and leaves it feeling soft, supple and fresh and I'm happy that I gave this another go despite the disaster I had with it in Malaysia.

Lesson learned; fabulous in places where I am freezing my tits off but absolutely craptastic in humidity.

Real Technique Miracle Complexion Sponges*

I know you guys are probably sick to death of me talking about these sponges but I am so obsessed with them. I use both or either one every time I apply my makeup. 

All these years I ignored them because well, if Lisa Eldridge my idol never used sponges to apply her base products in her videos then why should I even bother? Yes, it's stupid for me to make assumptions without even trying but when I finally did try the Beauty Blender, I hated it with such  a passion that it completely put me off sponges. 

I am glad that these came through the mail and I had no choices but to give them a try and dang, I finally understood why many love using sponges to apply their base products. They leave my skin looking flawless but very natural and soft focus.

I do wish the mini sponge doesn't bounce off like a little mofo who is trying to run for his life away from me but hey, it's a small price to pay for how much of a difference it made in my makeup game.

So there you have it, a few brands and products that I am glad I gave a second chance. Let me know if there is any product listed here that you would like to see an in-depth review on and I promise I'll get to it soon!

Do you have brands or products that you changed your mind on? Please share!

*Products marked with * were received for free but my thoughts and opinions are 100% unbiased, honest and my own. There is no place for any sort of BS here. 

Bloglovin' | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram