My Skin's New Frien-emy

Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 Review -

You've probably heard this before from me or we might have even shared the same opinion about facial toners - not all of us need it. I like to consider that I have relatively good skin - it's not prone to break outs, it stays hydrated most of the time, and it does have a slight natural glow that I am quite pleased with. It isn't perfect but I was fairly satisfied with it.

Besides, all facial toners that I've tried before, both drugstore and high end brands didn't work for me. No matter how "gentle" they claimed them to be, they dry out my skin so much it felt like my face was going to burst into scars.

Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 Review

Change Of Heart
My mom gave me a Clinique Clarifying Lotion Number 2 (Thanks mom!). It's basically a toner specifically for women with dry combination skin type. It comes in a nice purple bottle and probably costs more than I would spend for a toner, I thought, so I gave it a try. The first few days weren't remarkable at all but the fact that it didn't feel like it was hurting or over exfoliating my skin kept me using it. It took around two weeks before I was baffled by the difference it made on my skin.
  
A Friend
My face felt cleaner, leaving it with a soft powder like texture after every application. The remarkable result however is that it made my skin brighter! My blackheads around my nose have also disappeared. Even my boyfriend noticed it, and we all know that a product is working if the clueless genius boyfriend says something about it. (he reads my blog too)

It was a result of the toner making my pores smaller and causing my entire face to appear smoother and clearer. It really does effectively removes dullness from your skin. It's quite addicting to use it for this very reason but I also keep in mind that it contains harsh ingredients so aside from using it twice a day like it says on the bottle I only use it at the most once a day. 

Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 Review

An Enemy
Aside from its alcohol scent and the occassional fumes that can sting your eyes, if you apply it like a newbie that I am and because it made my face brighter, it exposed some of my few little and used-to-be hardly noticable red bumps on my skin and dark circles around my eyes.

It also became a little harder for my skin to absorb moisturizer creams and my liquid foundation does not stick well to my face as good as it did before. I feel like it creates an invisible thin mask of dead skin that sits over my face. It is as gross at it sounds. Flakes of cream peel off on some areas of my face when I rub it! I somehow solved this problem by using my facial scrub more than I usually do.

Final Thoughts
I'm still a little bit in limbo as to if I really like this product or not. So far I have been using it regularly and I like how it makes my face smoother and remarkably brighter, especially since my skin was not really dull to begin with. But until the other side effects I've had are completely solved, this product will remain as my skins friend and enemy. I would however recommend you to get their free skin consultation and some samples of their toner specifically made for your skin type, because among all the toners that I've tried this is the only one that gave me noticeable good results. Well that is it for today ladies. Have a great day! :)

Do you use a facial toner? Hows your experience with it?

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Clinique Clarifying Lotion Number 2
Clinique Website
Available in Rustans Philippines
logo from their website