Manuka Doctor: Normalising Facial Oil and Why We Can't Get Along

This product really works. Really. My skin has been a normalised delight since using it, totally well behaved. But it smells so disagreeable and I really just can't get past that. 

This is the first facial oil I've used that actually gets fully absorbed into my skin by morning and that is a totally good thing. A lot of facial oils tend to sit atop of skin, like a barrier, not really feeding my face. Whereas the Manuka Doctor Normalising Facial Oil will be all soaked up by morning. 

Because of this, my skin has been a lot more balanced. They don't call it 'normalising' for nothing! I've been able to go completely bare skinned all day. Yup. You read right. While I do get a thin layer of film/grease/oil on my face, it's tolerable enough that I don't feel ashamed enough, not even to blot. 

So yes, it definitely works well enough. 

But, and this is a super big but, this is one disgusting smelling product. Ughhh. I honestly struggle to apply it. I dispense it form the little pipette and I have to force myself to put it onto my face. Holding my breath as I massage it into my skin and then breathing solely out of my mouth as I wish for sleep.

I never thought that the scent of a product would really mean that much to me; it feels like garnish, not substance. But when the scent is as overpowering as this, it becomes an integral part of the product. Just don't make it smell bad. Smell like nothing. Just don't smell bad, please.

It's an absolutely undefinable scent. Pungent, sour and very capable of holding on. What surprises me the most is that this actually contains parfum (fragrance). What on earth did it smell like before? 

While I love its effectiveness, I can't bring myself to continue using it. I find myself suffering, dreading it, in fact. But I will stress that it did work some normalising magic on me.

Manuka Doctor Normalising Facial Oil is available from Manuka Doctor online at £19.99 for 30ML.