There are some things which the skincare business knows about you and knows you will do, when considering purchasing a skincare product.
Mostly, of course, they are rubbish and here is why:
You will always smell a product. Even if it is fragrance free (where you will smell it to make sure it is fragrance free - and you will check the "fragrance free" aroma) You will want your product to smell nice when or before you buy and you want the product to continue to smell nice as you use it - right to the end.
You will believe that the more your cleanser foams, the better it is. This is of course, rubbish. You don't really need very much foam at all to get a good cleansing action. Manufacturers make sure you have a nice dense and creamy foam for your take home products and that you have a large bubble foam, when you visit the salon. Trust me, the level and type of foam is irrelevant.
You will believe that the thicker (or more "viscous") a product is, so the more hydrating it must be. Nope. The greater viscosity or thickness of the product (and this includes hair products) is achieved simply by adding high melting point, waxy, emulsifiers. Or, to put it another way, you believe that adding some more high grade candle wax dripping will make a product better for your skin. Don't be fooled.
A "leave on" product must be better... Right? Not really. The larger size containers of wash-off type products cost more to produce and (usually) contain more of the ingredients that do the work. "leave on" products usually come in smaller containers and invariably contain more water. So "leave on" products are cheaper to produce and you don't mind paying more, because you believe that a "leave on" product MUST be better.
You will always think changing brands will help you. This is mainly because you will always over expect. Manufacturers have to tread a fine line between over-promising and not giving you enough of a reason to change. You have some power here, because if a product does over-promises then chances are not only you will revert back to your original brand, there is a good chance you will tell your friends. Not to mention use social media, of course.
The message is the same. Check the ingredients tree before you buy and look past (some of) the common misconceptions mentioned above.