Origins Spot Remover, €15.50

Would our tester use this again? Yes, because of its effectiveness. The clear sticky gel reduced the size of spot after only one application but the downside was that it has a strong antiseptic smell, it was sticky and gloopy to apply to the spot itself, which resulted in a dry patch around the spot (lovely…) and overall we reckon this is better for night time use.

Star rating: 3/5

Body Shop Tea Tree blemish stick, €6.80

High points about this product – it's the cheapest of the lot, we liked the precision wand and it has a nice clean tea tree smell. The low points – we didn't rate its effectiveness hugely. It cleared up spots a small bit. Good for tiny blemishes but doesn't really have the power to reduce the redness of a normal spot.

Star rating: 2/5

Garnier Pure Active Spot-On Roll-On, €10.45

Our tester really rated this product because the roll-on application made it super easy to use. There was a tiny bit of an alcohol smell but it didn't sting, it reduced redness and the spot disappeared completely after three days. He would definitely use it again.

Star rating: 5/5

Soap and Glory, Dr Spot Invisible Spot Fighting Gel € 9.99

This didn't just kill spots – it absolutely annihilated them and that would be the salicylic acid it contains. But it didn't really do much for the healing process and made the area very red. Also, although it's advertised as an 'invisible' gel, it still left a film on the skin that was apparent so the tester didn't feel confident wearing it during the day. Verdict: harsh.

Star rating: 1/5

La Roche-Posay Effaclar AI, €13.00

This white cream is good for day wear because it doesn't leave any film. Our tester was dubious about its spot-zapping properties because it felt too gentle, but found it certainly did a good job overnight in reducing inflammation. Overall thoughts: very effective on clusters of
spots but for big boilers, something more caustic might be required.

Star rating: 4/5