Well it has been 2 weeks since I started using the Clinique 3 step Skincare System and I am happy to report that my skin has been doing much better. I admitted in my previous post that I'd never had any real skincare routine (oh the shame) so this was to be my first. Better late than never as they say, so I have been religiously using my Clinique products twice a day. In fact I've become a little obsessed if truth be told! I have even found myself mentally scheduling it into my plans for the day even though washing my face morning and night really doesn't need much planning!
Read on after the jump to see how I've been getting on!
Ok so let me start with the products themselves. The Liquid Facial Soap Mild, £13 is the first product in my routine and it has been a real suprise. As a life-long scrub fanatic I never thought I could get that deep-down clean feeling with a liquid soap but this really has shaken up my whole belief system! The foam is so soft and gentle yet it leaves my skin feeling incredibly clean. It even effortlessly takes off my stubborn makeup which is always a bonus seeing as I am lazy beyond belief. The funny thing is I've been scrubbing my skin silly for so long, doing more damage than good, and yet my skin feels so much fresher using the Liquid Facial Soap. And unlike the scrubs it doesn't leave my skin feeling tight or dried out.
I've actually been using the Liquid Facial Soap with a small cleansing mitt to massage my face and the two work together a treat!
Next up I have been using a cotton pad and applying the Clarifying Lotion Type 2 for Dry Combination Skin, £14. I've liked this from day one and I actually look forward to putting it on! Sad, I know. But it provides the most refreshing feeling against my skin and on hot days when I've come home with sticky skin and stale makeup it's given me a much-needed cooling hit!
As you smooth the cotton pad over your skin you can actually feel it wiping away dead skin. Even when my face has been makeup free all day and completely clean I've still seen little bits of dirt on the pad. It really does exfoliate deep down and after you use it you can see an immediate difference -skin is a lot brighter. This may sound dramatic but it's literally like a snake shedding its skin! Ha.
Finally I've been moisturising with Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion for Very Dry to Dry Combination Skin, £15 which I initially thought was the wrong product for my skin. I loathe feeling greasy so tend to use very little amounts of moisturiser, if at all. But I have now come to the conclusion that because I am such a clean-face-freak, stripping my face of all moisture with my harsh exfoiators all my life, I don't actually know what healthy skin feels like! Weird as it sounds I wasn't comfortable with my skin being so moisturised in the first week but I persevered and I'm glad I did because my skin feels so much healthier. It's never really felt like this before! Instead of looking raw, like it's been traumatised, my skin looks supple, smoothe and soft. I am now realising a little shine is ok! Ironically though, in the last two days I've noticed my skin looks less shiny! This is probably because the moisture levels in my skin are being balanced out.
The routine itself doesn't take me long at all so even after a long day it doesn't feel like a huge effort to do the 3-steps.
So what about the blemishes? Well as you can see from this photo I have got the odd one and there is still some scarring but I am sure this will fade eventually. Admittedly I have had some breakouts (on my temples and chin, so stress related I presume) but they have come and gone really quickly. Usually it takes a good week for a spot to completely disappear from my skin but since using the Clinique products they've only stuck around for a few days and the best thing is they haven't scarred.
All those annoying small pimples that lie underneath my skin have all but gone though and I haven't seen a blackhead in a good few days! The biggest difference however is my pores. Or lack of pores! A few have disappeared and all the ones that remain look much smaller! Hurrah. My nose has always been home to a ridiculous amount of pores (one facialists kindly told me I had the most pores on a nose she'd ever seen -nice) but since using the 3 step system they are far less noticeable. I think if I gently squeezed them before or after the routine they would eventually bugger off completely!
I still have dark patches under my eyes and in the rims but this probably has something to do with my lifestyle -late nights, red wines and lack of water.
Overall though I think my skin already looks much brighter, smoother and healthier but my mission to achieve great skin continues...
I will post another update next week! Thank you for all your comments on the previous post it's always interesting to hear your thoughts.
If you are thinking of trying it out for the first time, then Clinique are giving away a free Treatment Kit when you buy any two products from their Skin Care range. Just fill in your details below.
