A few weeks ago, I ran out of cleanser. As it turns out those opaque bottles, while great at ensuring ingredients stay effective, make it very hard to gauge just how much product you have left (cause the sputtering pump wasn't a clue, I guess?).

I’m sure somewhere in the beauty writer’s manifest there’s a rule about not running out of product, ever. But since I learnt a lesson about my skin and got a story out of it, it can’t be all bad, right?

So what does any beauty writer worth her retinol do when she’s in a cleanser-drought situation? She goes into her mother's bathroom to claim back some of the product she’s gifted her, of course.

Now my mother and I have very different skin. Obviously hers is slightly more mature (though only slightly, and I'm praying those good genes didn't skip a generation) and she has drier skin and prefers creamier cream or lotion cleansers. And that’s the type I’ve gifted to her. I, on the other hand, have normal to slightly combination skin and am best with a foaming, wash off cleanser. Or so I thought.

With no option other than a creamy cleanser, I retrieved one like the Indian giver I am and followed the instructions on the bottle. Side note: please tell me you read the instructions at least the first time you use a product - many of my friends don’t then wonder why a product doesn’t work for them. The company that makes said product puts instructions there for a reason...

I was massaging the product on to damp skin, cleaning with a wash cloth then a cold rinse. For reference, I borrowed Trilogy's cleansing cream, since I'm a huge trilogy fan in general. And my skin...was ecstatic. Non-irritated. All my makeup disappeared so easily. And my skin still felt clean, without the somehow-pore-clogging on my skin film I’ve come to expect and fear from creamy cleansers.

Don't get me wrong, I love my rinse off cleansers, especially in the shower and I'm not turning my back on them. But the moral of this story is that I've realised anew how important it is to break from type with your skincare, within reason. I mean, if you have massively dry skin a stripping oil free acne cleanser is not the one for you. But a gel-cream hybrid that foams might leave your skin refreshed, and feel better for summer for you, while you go back to a deeply cold-cream-esque type for winter.

Next time you run out of cleanser, or any product, entertain the idea of giving a different formula a chance. Or at least try one from someone else’s bathroom.

By Kate Montgomery