I have used Clearasil products on and off since I was a teenager - when I was younger my face wash always seemed to be in the Clearasil range and 10+ years ago my skin was great most of the time with barely any spots - and I believe this range is partially to thank for this.

... As the years got on, I drank alcohol, become a smoker, ate lots of rubbish that I wasn't supposed to and entered into my twenties... Bye Bye perfect skin! My face began to suffer as I started to turn into an old lady and my trusted Clearasil face wash was no longer enough to keep spots and other impurities at bay... Rather than stick to the Clearasil range I tend to shop around looking for offers on face washes and spot treatments...

As previously mentioned I never really had bad skin as a teenager and if I did get the occasional spot they would be quite mild and dissapear after a couple of days... So I never had to invest in such spot treatments like the one I will be reviewing for you today... After a particually bad spot outbreak on my cheek and my nose I spotted this Clearasil spot treatment on sale in Tesco about 6 months ago - I paid around £2.50 for this 25ml tube which I thought was great as the normal RRP is around £5-£7! I assumed I would be buying a great product to help my outbreak due to the tiny size of the tube and the normal price - the best things come in small packages!

**********

The tube comes packaged in a cardboard protective box - decorated in the Clearasil brand colours of blue, purple and red... I did throw the box out after purchase as to me it didn't serve a purpose... I think its sold like that in store as its such a tiny tube and it maybe makes it less likely for a shoplifter to walk out with them... The tube where the cream is held is made out of plastic and is white in colour - protecting the cream from accidents is a partially transparent screw top lid, which can be screwed very securely away from little hands. The tube is designed to stand up with the lid situated at the bottom.

I remembered the adverts that you see about the Rapid Action Treatment Cream - and years ago watching, it looked like an absolute god-send that a cream would simply clear up your spots in 4 hours... However when you read the packaging it states that it simply helps reduce spot size and appearance within 4 hours... So not exactly a miracle worker at making them dissapear completely but if it makes the spots look better then this is the next best thing!

The product works is by using the new Acceladerm formula which basically clears out your pores, deep down from the inside out... The formula is apparently in this cream which makes the product so great (and expensive with its promises).

The way you use this product is just to do your skin care routine as normal and apply a thin layer on to the spot and allow time to dry. You then need to repeat this morning and evening to see visably clearer skin. This information is situated on the back and to me, its false advertisment because you get the impression from the statements on the front of the tube that you get a spot, slap some of this on the spot and it improves itself in just four hours. The back seems to say you need to repeat this daily to get results... Hmm... Not exactly great if you are having a spot emergency and you need it cleared up ASAP!

The cream itself can be easily squeezed out of a thin nozzle under the screw lid - it is white in colour and looks quite thick in consistancy until you rub it on to the affected area - the white in colour dissapears and it then just makes your skin a little damp... However it does dry quickly in its defense...

Another thing I detest about this cream is the smell - its very medical / antibacterial smelling, a little bit like a hospital smell... however this leads you to the impression that if it smells antibacterial then it probably is just that, and that you think the product will be effective...

**********

My Verdict

I can't say I am impressed at all with this product - I will tell you first hand it definetely does not clear a spot completely in four hours like when you first assume after reading the front of the tube or watch the advert... As for reducing redness and spot size over four hours? A complete lie - just as the small print on the back confirms you should be using this morning and evening to actually get any results - when I did this and timed how long it would take to see a difference on my latest spot - IT TOOK 4 LONG DAYS!

I am sickened that Clearasil claim this as a miracle cream when it is far from it! I am glad I paid such a low price for it but I still feel like I have been completely ripped off. When I think about this Clearasil Rapid treatment I realise there are very little similarities between this and Savlon cream (which I also use to treat spots) - the difference between them is Savlon does not take four days to make a difference - and you can pick Savlon up from your local supermarket or pharmacy for a mere £2 for a tube and you actually get more product. So why pay up to 7x the price for something that doesn't work as well?

I would not recommend this to anyone due to the fact it doesn't work on my skin very well and when it does you need to use it religiously without fail for a couple of days... and the price is the biggest downfall for me...

**********

Normal RRP in Tesco is £6.90 and at the time of writing this review Clearasil products were on a buy 3 for 2 offer.