Review: Clinique 3-Step Skin Care

I've always had good skin, a little on the dry side, but no major problems. When I hit my 30s, though, I decided to get a little help. I've been using Clinique's 3-Step Skin Care for several years now, on and off. It's very effective, but I don't always feel the need for it. I do keep it on hand in case I get a zit on my forehead or I feel that my skin is getting rough from stress. I'll go back to using it for a few days, then I'll go without it again. I suspect, though, that when I reach my 40s I'll need to be more consistent about skin care.

Clinique's three steps include a cleanser, a toner, and a moisturizer. Clinique identifies four skin types: (1) very dry to dry, (2) dry combination, (3) combination oily, and (4) oily. The cleanser, toner, and moisturizer you use for each of your three steps depends on your skin type. I'm a type 2, or dry combination. This means my face is dry in the cheeks but comfortable to shiny in the T-zone (forehead and nose).

My 3-Step Skin Care consists of Clinique's Mild Liquid Facial Soap, Clarifying Lotion 2, and Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. The Facial Soap is available as a liquid and as a bar and comes in three formulations: Extra Mild for skin type 1, Mild for skin type 2, and Oily Skin Formula for skin types 3 and 4. I've tried both the liquid soap and the bar soap, and they're both very good, making my skin cleaner and smoother. While I'm generally a fan of bar soap, I prefer the Facial Soap in liquid form because it's more convenient to have it in a bottle with a pump.

The Clarifying Lotion is actually a toner. It's available in four formulations, one for each of the four skin types. The Clarifying Lotion has never failed me; it really does make the skin clearer.

The moisturizer already has a new formulation, called Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion +, but I haven't tried that yet because I haven't used up the lotion I bought last year. (That's the new formulation in the photo, though.) The lotion is for skin types 1 and 2. For skin types 3 and 4, Clinique recommends the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel.

Clinique's 3-Step Skin Care works really well for me. It's a great feeling, knowing that it's there whenever I need a beauty boost. I think it's odd, though, that Clinique recommends a basic moisturizer as part of the three-step regimen and then also recommends other Clinique moisturizers for specific needs. When I do have other Clinique moisturizers on hand, I usually skip the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion; my skin isn't so dry or wrinkled that I need to layer moisturizers.