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I tried the Tarte Cosmetics Knockout collection and it’s changed my life

If you're looking for skincare products that are going to change the game, then look no further than the Tarte Cosmetics Knockout collection.

Alexandra Hourigan
Alexandra Hourigan
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I'm not even going to bother with a long-winded discussion about my skin and my lazy, lazy relationship with skincare. Recently, however, I've become a changed woman and I now love my skincare routine.

But to get straight to the point, I've discovered two products that skincare lovers just have to try. Introducing the new Tarte Knockout Daily Exfoliating Cleanser and the Tarte Knockout Tingling Treatment.

First things first, these products definitely don't come with drugstore prices and they sit towards the more expensive end of the price spectrum. The cleanser is $41 and the toner is $63, so all up, these products will set you back $104.

But, in my opinion, both are completely worth Every. Single. Penny.

The review

The Knockout Daily Exfoliating Cleanser

The Knockout Daily Exfoliating Cleanser contains AHAs and BHAs that exfoliate your skin and refine your pores, all while keeping your skin as smooth as a wee baby's bum.

If I had to choose one thing about this product that's my favourite, it would have to be the smell. The peppermint and eucalyptus ingredients make this cleanser smell better than probably anything I've ever smelt before. It's a fact. And it's heaven.

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The scent is easily the first thing that you notice about this product, but then you realise how smooth and hydrating it is on your skin. It lathers with a small amount of water, and even though it contains AHA and BHA acid complexes with lactic, glycolic and salicylic acid, it's super gentle on the skin.

The Knockout Tingling Treatment

The Knockout Tingling Treatment is not for the faint-hearted. But it's also the BEST.

You put it on your skin and boy oh boy do you feel the tingle. The first time I applied this product I had a bit of an "oh no" moment where I wasn't sure if it was supposed to feel as intense as it did. But here's the ridiculous part… I have come to love the feeling.

It can definitely nip at any open spots or pimples that you've been picking at during the day, but to be honest, I deserve the punishment for that.

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It's incredible to be able to feel the product really working and to see the results. This product is also pretty much as cheap as it gets for a salicylic and lactic acid toner that doesn't contain anything overly problematic.

The verdict

I've been using these two products for about a month and the results have been incredible. I have normal to combination skin and, as I said before, I've never been super into skincare. I've never really had (by definition) good skin, but I've also never had any major acne issues either, which is why I tended to be a bit lazy.

However, the work these two have done for my skin is just short of a damn miracle. The texture of my skin has improved tremendously.

If you have super sensitive skin or you don't like the smell of vinegar, then I would probably steer clear of the toner, but the cleaner is super gentle (and definitely doesn't smell like vinegar – but we've been over that).

So where can you buy it?

The good news is, both of these products are available to purchase in-store and online from Sephora and from the Tarte Cosmetics website. This makes it super easy to get your hands on both of these products.

You can also purchase these items in travel sizes, which has two benefits: you get to have cute travel-friendly sizes, and you can try out the products at a cheaper price to see if you like them before you commit to the full size.

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