After a while of using the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, I finally realised that one of the main ingredients in it is calamine. I was already using Calamine Lotion on my skin so I decided that I would give that a go on my face, where I would usually use the drying lotion and see if it worked the same.

At first I thought it would work a lot better because there isn't as many ingredients added to the calamine in calamine lotion as there is in drying lotion. But once I started using it I became a little more skeptical to whether it would actually work at all. It's more of a liquid and was hard to apply to the direct area where it was needed and you couldn't build up a thick layer to really dry out the spots but I still continued using it to see how I got on.

It did seem to bring a lot of my spots out, particularly as I suffered more from under skin spots which just wouldn't come out no matter what I did, but I suppose they have to really come out onto the surface before they can get better. Once they were out, it really dried them up and basically did a pretty similar job to the drying lotion.

Once I had been using it for almost a month, it did become clear that it worked for clearing up spots but unfortunately it seemed to be bringing as many out of my skin as it was getting rid of so it was difficult to see much of a difference. In the end, before I went to bed I was using calamine lotion all over my face to dry up any existing spots and bring out the others, and the drying lotion directly on the tougher spots. I would leave this on overnight and wash it off in the morning.

I would also use the calamine lotion on my skin before applying makeup and it sort of acted like a barrier between my skin and the makeup so it wasn't clogging up my pores as much or irritating any spots I did have. Although I don't know if this is scientifically correct or whether that was really what was helping but it worked for me.

So if you're considering getting the Drying Lotion and already have some Calamine Lotion at home, I would definitely recommend trying it out first and seeing how it works for you. If it does, it's a great alternative for a fraction of the price. It also works wonders for soothing skin condition or insect bites, particularly if they are very itchy.

It has made me realise that some products have so many more uses than some of us are aware of, so if you know of any more, feel free to let me know!

Beth x