Expensive doesn't always mean better.. (Clinique 3-Step Skin System)

Member Name: silver_hotpants

Product:	Clinique 3-Step Skin System
Date:	24/11/04 (2994 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pretty Packaging..

Disadvantages: Toner smells strongly of alcohol, Made my skin bad, Caused break-outs and flare-ups.

I was getting extremely fed-up with spending money on facial care products to keep my combination, dry and oily teenage skin spot and flake free, I was yet to find a facial system that worked. I suffer from slight eczema around my nose which flares up if I use any thing to aggravate it, so it’s difficult to find a product that keeps spots at bay but doesn’t burn my skin and make the area around my nose bright red. I saw the Clinique three step products advertised in a magazine and the advert is great, it really did make me seriously think about purchasing these products. So, for my eighteenth birthday I was asked by my mom what I wanted for this special occasion, I honestly couldn’t think of much, and I figured if the products work then what better present could a girl receive that beautiful model-like skin?
I went into Selfridges and headed for the cosmetics counter, one of the ladies asked me if I needed any help (as they do) and I told them that I was planning on getting the three step Clinique system, there are different types of the system which suit different skin types. The assistant asked me a few questions about my skin to determine which of the products would be best for me. You can also go onto the website to determine which skin type you are and which products you should use. www.clinique.co.uk

WHAT YOU GET
Step 1. Facial Soap
Step 2. Clarifying Lotion
Step 3. Dramatically Different Moisture Lotion
You should use all of the above products in the order of 1, 2, and 3 to gain the full benefits.
STEP 1- CLEANSE
THE SOAP
Directions for use: With tepid water, lather soap between palms. Massage lather over face and throat. Rinse off. Pat skin dry.
The soap is the first step of the three step system. There are 3 different bars available, Extra Mild; Mild and Oily. I used mild, (which is what the assistant recommended) really I should have chosen the extra mild soap as I have combination skin but it is very sensitive. The soap comes with a green plastic soap dish which is used to store the soap after every use. I think the soap is one of the things that put me off buying this three step system in the past as I thought that the products were a lot of money and I’d have expected something a bit more glamorous than soap for the cost. After using the soap for a few weeks it didn’t change my mind at all about is being extremely unglamorous! The dish goes all gooey after a while and I started to find hard lumps in the soap which I think were probably from the soap being exposed to water then left to dry out. I found that the soap left my skin with a taut feeling and dry patches of skin. It not help my eczema at all, the skin around my nose became red raw and stung. I think Clinique would be onto a better idea if they used a squeezy tube with some kind of facial wash, rather than a soap, but they defiantly get points for being different!
PRICE: around £12

STEP 2 - EXFOLIATE
THE CLARIFYING LOTION
The second step of the tree step system. Apply a small amount to a cotton wool pad and run across your skin to deflake and apparently let the moisturiser work better. The clarifying lotion comes in four strengths: Mild Clarifying Lotion for extra sensitive and dry skin; Clarifying Lotion 2 for dry to average skin; Clarifying Lotion 3 for oilier skin; Clarifying Lotion 4 for very oily skin. Clarifying Lotion 1 is a mild facial rinse that can be used anytime to refresh and soothe dry, delicate skin. I used number 2 which I think even though supposedly one of the lower strengths was quite harsh and made my skin sting when applied. I also think the lotion has an alcohol smell to it, defiantly not something that I want to be putting on my face. After two weeks of using it I had a red blotchy face where my skin had become sore and irritated from the soap and lotion combined, and I had broken out into spots all over my forehead and chin, I’m not talking small pimples here, I’m talking boil like spots that hurt when I moved my face. I can honestly say that I’ve never had spots as bad as the ones I experienced with this 3 step system. I think that the lotions should come in a bottle whereby you can control the amount of liquid that comes out, like perhaps a top with a smaller hole so that the lotion doesn’t come gushing out. The amount of lotion I wasted when it came gushing out at the speed of light was untrue. Not what you want to be doing when you’ve spent a lot of money on it!
PRICE: 200 ml £13.50 or 400 ml £21.00

STEP 3 - MOISTURISE
DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT MOISTURISING LOTION
This comes in a small bottle and is yellow in colour. It is fragrance free and supposedly every skin needs to ‘drink’ this moisturiser. I’m not a fan of this part of the system either; I find that the lotion is just too oily and watery. It just seemed to sit on my skin and not sink in, and didn’t leave a great base for makeup, especially powder, as it just clung to the lotion that hadn’t been absorbed into my skin. I could imagine that this goes a long way; I only used the products for a few weeks but still had a considerable amount of this moisturiser left.
PRICE 50ml £14, 125m £24.50

A good idea might be to go into a large store like Selfridges or Beatties and ask for some trial sizes of the three step system. They are quite useful in determining which of the types are best for you without spending lots of money and purchasing the whole set to find it doesn’t suit you, a mistake that believe me is a stupid one. I defiantly think that great care should be taken when deciding which of the products you should buy depending on your skin type. I’d say one of the main reasons this system didn’t work for me is possibly because I chose the wrong products for my skin type. I wouldn’t really take too much notice of what the assistants decide is the best for you as only you have the best judgement of what is best for your skin and what problems you have. It actually makes me sick to think about how money was wasted on these products, I even tipped the lotion down the sink, which is dreadful to think when it costs so much. I have since learnt that you can in fact in some stores take back the products if you don’t think they work for you and get a refund, obviously subject to their conditions. Perhaps some day I might try it again as I know this has worked for some people, and I can imagine I did just use the wrong type for my skin. However, I use dove soap 99p and E45 cream as my daily routine and my skin has never looked better, so perhaps the expensive options aren’t always the best!

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