Cons
- Drying
- Caused breakouts
Pros
- Reduces blackheads
- Affordable
In-depth Review
The starter kit from Clinique was perfect for me to try out their skincare line designed for acne prone skin. This kit is affordable and comes with 3 travel-sized products: cleansing foam, clarifying lotion, and clearing moisturizer. If I remember correctly, the lotion and moisturizer contain benzoyl peroxide while the cleanser contains salicylic acid.
My skin is combination oily in the cooler months and oily during the warmer ones. I bought and used the products in this kit during the winter. I had pretty bad acne at the time (combination of stress, not enough sleep, and hormones) however the use of this kit made my face much worse. My breakouts were more frequent and intense and my skin had become very dry. I tried using these products less frequently such as using the lotion every other day and the moisturizer only during the day however no combination of these products ultimately worked to better my skin.
I went so far as to try these products individually to see if there was a specific one that was reacting badly with my skin. Through my efforts, I found that the cleanser would occasionally break me out but it was the lotion that was causing the majority of my problems. The moisturizer didn’t do very much and it especially didn’t moisturize very well. I would very often have to apply another moisturizer on my face or would combine MAC fix+ with the lotion to avoid dry patches.
The entire kit lasted me 3 months and I was breaking out the entire time (I really wanted these products to work for my skin). I can’t remember why but I bought a full sized bottle of the cleansing foam again and used that for a couple of months. On it’s own, I didn’t break out nearly as much however it still wasn’t a better cleanser than the one I had been previously using (Aveeno Skin Clarifying Cleanser). I stopped using it a month after and it’s been untouched ever since.
As bad as my experience with Clinique’s Acne Solutions Starter Kit has been, these products (I can’t remember which one) did clean out my pores well and reduced my blackheads significantly. So in exchange for daily breakouts my pores were a little cleaner. Also, the cleanser did do a decent job of keeping my oil controlled throughout the day as I did mention that the acne line is very drying.
I will definitely not be repurchasing this kit or any product from Clinique’s acne line in the foreseeable future. Remember that the rating that I give this kit is based on how the products worked for my skin and not how they perform in general. Of course there are favourable reviews out there on these products or I wouldn’t have bought them in the first place. Hopefully, by providing some details on my skin, that will help you determine whether or not this kit is worth trying out.
