'It's giving you rosacea.' 3 cult brands that aren’t worth the hype, according to an expert.

If there's one thing we really love doing here at Mamamia, it's picking the minds of experts. Especially when it comes to trending beauty products that are surrounded by so much hype and glitter.

Because there's just so much out there. And it can be awful hard to know what's legit and what's total BS - particularly in the skincare world.

For this very reason, the lovely Kelly McCarren sat down with dermal clinician Jayde Taylor on this week's Spotlight episode of You Beauty.

Watch: Speaking of You Beauty, watch Leigh Campbell try the viral 'diamond lips' trend. Post continues below.

Better known as the woman behind Driven By Beauty, Kelly picked Jayde's magical beauty brain about the products she thinks aren't worth the hype. 

Controversial — but someone's gotta do it. Because as you'd probably know, there's truly nothing quite as disappointing as spending your money on something that doesn't cut it.

Listen: Wanna listen to the full episode instead? Check it out below.

Before we get into it, it's important to note that beauty is very much a 'you do you' kinda thing — and everyone's skin (and preferences) are different. So if these are some of your favourite brands and you love them, who cares! 

As long as you and your cute face are happy.

Now! Here's what a dermal clinician thinks of some of the trendiest products on social media.

1. Drunk Elephant.

@drivenbybeauty Driven by experience and the skins I’ve helped over the years. #drunkelephantskincare #acneskin #atopicdermatits #skincaretips #drunkelephantskincare #skincaretruths #acneproneskin #dryskincare #teenskin ♬ Billie Eilish - Bad Guy (Remix) - 林怿

"I had patients reaching out to me who were using Drunk Elephant, and their skin was going crazy," Taylor told Kelly.

"So I posted this Drunk Elephant TikTok video where I shared how (and why) these products are giving you rosacea and dermatitis — and that went viral." 

"But this is my number one rule: If your skin is happy, I'm happy. And that's all that matters to me. So if you do love Drunk Elephant, and your skin is happy, I'm happy."

2. Sunday Riley.

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A post shared by Sunday Riley (@sundayriley)

"They're incredibly pricey," said Taylor. "I just don't think you're getting your money's worth."

Eeeep!

"I think if you want to spend a little bit more, go into any skin clinic near you and actually get some actives or treatments that are going to make a large difference to your skin."

Again, if you use Sunday Riley (*puts her own hand up*) and it works for your skin (*leaves hand up*) — as always, you do you!

3. La Mer.

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A post shared by LA MER (@lamer)

"La Mer was invented by an astrophysicist. He burned himself doing experiments in his garage, and it took him 10 years to make that formula (how it took 10 years, I don't really know)."

"But the reason it's so expensive is that they're using the same ferment as he originally used. So they're taking that same ferment and making the next batch, and so on."

"So, it doesn't justify the price to me in my head. It's really just the equivalent to [the ingredient] centella, in my clinical opinion. Which is in Nivea Creme."

HUGE. Especially since that blue tin of Nivea cream is like $5, and the La Mer one is $600 for 60ml.

When it comes to some brands our dermal clinician does recommend, savey brands like L'Oréal and Olay are up there with some of Taylor's favourites.

We love to see it.

"I was absolutely blown away by L'Oréal's research and their development. And that's really important to me. I've been using their 1.5% Pure Hyaluronic Acid for maybe a year and a half," said Taylor.

"Another brand I really like and was absolutely blown away with was Olay. When you do a study. You need to really have a minimum of 50 participants to be taken seriously. They had 3,600. I was shocked."

"A lot of their ingredients are patented, so you can't get them anywhere else. So I think Olay is quite underrated."

On the spendier front, SkinCeuticals is another firm favourite.

"Their ingredients are patented, their formulas are patented. They were the first ever to develop the formula C E Ferulic. Plenty of doctors and plastic surgeons use it in their clinics for a reason. It works quite well."

So, there you have it!

Do you any of the above brands? What are your thoughts? Share them with us in the comment section below.

Feature image: Canva/TikTok@drivenbybeauty.