Review: Clinique 3 Step Program

A couple of months ago I was in need of a new face cleanser so I decided to give Clinique a try. I’ve used their foundations before and really liked them, except they run a bit too dark for my pale skin. The lady recommended their 3 Step program which includes a cleanser, clarifying lotion (basically a toner) and a moisturiser. I have dry, very sensitive skin which is prone to redness, so I went with the Extra Mild Cleansing Soap, the Mild Clarifying Lotion and the Dramatically Different Hydrating Gel, which is actually recommended for oily/combination skin types, but the lotion version felt a little heavier than I thought I wanted.

   

The hydrating gel is my favourite of the three, but I’ll work through the review in order of the cleansing process. I do like the cleansing soap, but it’s nothing that has wowed me. I like that it has cucumber in it, which is a good redness calmer, but that’s about it. It does keep my redness at bay, but I honestly don’t notice any other benefits from it. I also don’t like the smell of it. I’m happy that it’s not fragranced, but the smell is slightly chemical, which is unpleasant. At least the smell doesn’t hang around, like the fragrance of the Chanel cleanser I tried about two weeks ago (review to come). The cleanser is definitely gentle, despite the concerning label of being a soap, unfortunately I feel generally blasé about it past its gentility.

Now onto the clarifying lotion. While I do like the toner, I’m still not convinced that my skin benefits from the use of it. Like with the cleanser, despite it being gentle, I haven’t noticed a massive change in my skin, except that it doesn’t activate my redness, which is always a plus. The only added benefit to note is the extra moisture it adds when prepping my face for the day. Apart from that I don’t have any other positive or negative thoughts on it.

Okay, time for the one product that did impress me somewhat, the hydrating gel. I really liked the gel. It’s smooth, moisturising and very light. Makeup sits beautifully underneath the gel, and it doesn’t feel like a mask on the face. The only problem I found with it is that doesn’t seem to be enough moisture for me at night. This isn’t the fault of the gel though, after all it is designed for combo/oily skin.

All in all the 3 Step program didn’t really live up to my hopes and expectations. I was left feeling a little underwhelmed, and if you factor in the fact that the items seem to run out quite quickly it adds up to the products being a little bit disappointing. I only bought them about 2 months ago, and I’m already nearly finished them, and this is including the break I took from them to try out some samples of other cleansers.

Oh and one other thing I forgot about was that I did notice that I was getting a few more blackheads on my nose by using this than I’ve ever noticed before. I’ve never really had blackheads, except for the occasional ones during the summer months, when my skin is really hot all the time. They aren’t massive blackheads, and it wasn’t something that was super concerning to me, but I guess it is worth mentioning, because it’s obviously being caused by the skincare.