Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Clinique 3 Step System || Review

After hearing nothing but greatness about it, I finally caved and bought the Clinique 3 Step Cleansing System. My mom used to work at Clinique when we was younger, and she used the 3 Step for years and years. Quite recently, my cousin bought it to try it out. So far, I think she likes it. (Of course, after I publish this post I suspect I'll get a text from her saying that she tossed the Clinique wash because it was making her breakout. Go figure.)

I've had some weird skin stuff in the past, so I was reluctant to try something new on my face. You know that Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser thing everyone raves about? The one that has won tons of beauty awards for being just generally awesome overall? The one that is probably the highest rated cleanser ever? Yeah, that one. I dealed out good $25 on the kit in hopes it would make my skin just as awesome as the reviews.

Ohhhhhhh far from it.

I must have been allergic to something in it because I had the worst breakout that I've had in years. Not fun. 

Since then, I've also found out that my random yucky breakouts were caused by a bacterial infection. (Yeah, I didn't know that could happen on faces, either.) And let me tell YOU -- that was an absolute JOY to fix. McKenna's tummy + antibiotics = :( tummy. Very, very :( tummy.

My skin is pretty much normal now. It's really not oily, nor is it really dry. It fits somewhere in between, although it tends to be a little bit on the sensitive side. I'm lucky in terms of that. I do get the occasional stress or hormonal breakout, but other than that, I've been one happy camper as far as my skin goes.

So, since my skin was feeling pretty happy again, I decided to change up my skin care routine. I'm nearing adulthood (yikes), and I know my skin is changing from its teenagery self. Funny how skin changes with time just like we do. (So deep.) I currently use the Bioré Charcoal Cleanser and some AcneFree wash that has Benzoyl Peroxide in it (best for bacterial breakouts). I bought the Clinique system because I was worried that all that salicylic acid/benzoyl peroxide stuff was unnecessary for my skin at the moment and I wanted to get something that was a little bit more gentle and a little bit more geared towards my skin type.

Voila! This happened.


Let me break it down for you. The Clinique 3 Step comes with a wash, a toner, and a lotion. Here's what I think of each of them so far:

1. The Cleanser


Very, very gentle. Like,  I-was-worried-that-it-wasn't-going-to-take-off-my-makeup kind of gentle. In fairness, I did have a good amount on yesterday. (The lady at the Clinique stand kindly did my whole face up with makeup after she tested the cleanser on my skin.) I used it again this morning and it worked so much better. It's for dry combination skin, which is awesome, because my face dries out from most cleansers! The toner did take off the bit of foundation still on my face after I rinsed off the cleanser, so never fear! 

2. The Toner


This is what makes my face feel clean. I like that it's still gentle. I used to use SeaBreeze astringent/toner and it really dried out my face if I used it too often. This is great because it takes off any stubborn makeup that the cleanser didn't get. It leaves my skin with that same feeling you get after you brush your teeth; minty, almost. I don't know how else to explain it! It's my favorite step of the whole process. 

3. The Moisturizer


The dramatically different moisturizing lotion (or DDML in Clinique talk) really does just that. For me, it's actually almost too moisturizing. My skin isn't really dry... but it isn't oily either? It's tricky when products are meant for either oily or dry skin. It's very light, but it's so moisturizing that it almost doesn't absorb all the way into my skin. It's a really nice base for makeup, but I'm not sure I like the almost greasy feeling I have on my face when I wake up in the mornings. If you have very dry skin, I can see how this would be perfect for you! Best part: even after I wash my face (before I put on moisturizer), it's still super, duper smooth. Like a baby's bottom. On your face. (That just got weird. Sorry.)

It has taken me almost a week to write this post. I'd write a paragraph or so and then get distracted with something else. (That's life, kids.) After a week of using this, no breakout! yayayayayyayayay *happy dance* *party music* *fireworks* *people explode out of giant cakes*

My skin has never looked better.

Have you tried the Clinique 3 Step system?






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