Clinique Clarifying Lotion Type 2: Review

The Clinique 3-step program is pretty well known to most skincare/beauty addicts, but I was ignorant about its existence until recently, so for anyone like me, here's a short bit.  Clinique classifies skin types into 4 types (I think) based on some simple questions and some looking-at-skin-through-huge-glass tests.  Based on the results, Clinique recommends a 3-step program of cleansing, toningexfoliating, and moisturizing.

The Clinique skin testing puts my skin type at a type 3 - Combination-oily.  I was given a sample kit of the type 3 products which included the Clarifying Lotion 3.   Clinique consultants will inform you a million times that this is not a "toner."  These are "clarifying lotions" which are "exfoliators," and they remove the dead skin and dirt that lie on the skin surface and give you cleaner healthier skin.

I found the strong strong strong nail polish remover smell of the Clinique type 3 clarifying lotion quite unbearable.  It works amazingly well, though, at clearing up any oilies, so I would recommend it to anyone who has really oily skin.  I found it a bit drying for my skin, and I never went back to Clinique for a long time.  Recently, I decided to pick up the Clinique Clarifying Lotion type 2, and I am much happier with this one.

• This one too has a strong smell - maybe a bit less than the type 3.
• Has a minty refreshing feel to it - which I am actually errr beginning to like.  It leaves a cooling effect on the face for a bit of time and it feels good.
• This has a HUGE alcohol content to it.  In my opinion, this is precisely the reason why it removed oiliness from the face - just strips off the oil

Clinique Clarifying Lotion - Type 2 - Ingredients

Ingredients:  Water, alcohol denat., witch hazel, glycerin, menthol, sodium bicarbonate, ext. violet 2.  And right after I spend a good hour searching for ingredients list online, I find this label stuck at the bottom of the bottle!

Clinique Clarifying Lotion Type 2 - How to use 

Take some product on a cotton round and wipe face with this.  Avoid the area around your eyes.

Now, I just cannot bring myself to say its good to use alcohol-based products....but errr...I am using it, it works great at keeping the oilies away, and errr..what is worse I will still continue to use this, I think.  I am finding this quite useful.  A few months back I was totally against alcohol-based toners, but I am beginning to realize that for me at least, my skin care is going to be a lot about compromising and adjusting and using a combination of products depending on what my fickle-minded skin decides it wants to be.  For now, I am using this on most days of the week and use the Shiseido softener on other days or in the night.  This combination is working good for me right now, so that's how I will be continuing.

If you are a little or a lot fed up with oily skin and the occasional acne turning up uninvited, give this a try.  You just might like it too :)

Normal-skin people and the lucky humans with no acne, I would not really recommend an alcohol-based toner, but you could use this maybe maybe maybe once a week to give you squeaky clean skin.


Anybody with sensitive skins - try it at the store before buying or ask for a sample bottle if available.  I did not have any problem with it, but skin reactions vary from person to person.

Cost:  200 mL - Rs. 1200 and 400 mL - Rs. 2025

Clinique 3-step program - here