Skin Care(For Acne) Review: Clearasil Ultra Blemish+Marks Range

Hey Lovelies,
It's been a little while since I posted a blog post. I have missed you all and thank you for stopping by and supporting me; it really makes me happy. I have been on a short leave from work so I decided to  rest and have some me time. Also, I recently moved houses to a new place which is really nice and I have an amazing flatmate. I can't believe how blessed I am and I am grateful to God. I have truck loads(Hahha) of blog posts all in drafts here on blogger so get ready for a marathon of posts beginning from this one. I have also taken some new photos for my photography series which would be up soon..

Now to this post, I have been on the quest for perfect and healthy skin. Generally, healthy skin actually starts from inside which means you need to eat healthy meals, drink a lot of water and cut out the crap and junk food e.g. fries, chocs, pies, etc.(of course you can eat them as a treat but just as a treat) and also take care of the skin from the outside with some products. To be honest, taking care of the skin from the outside seems a little easier than eating healthy. I am guilty of that. Once upon a time, I had quite a healthy eating regimen and ate very very little crap. A few weeks back, I noticed I have been slipping off this regimen. I haven't been eating as healthy as normal and I can see the negative effects which shows instantly on my skin. You see, my skin is really sensitive and it has been that way since I was a little kid. In fact, I remember being taken by my parents to see a dermatologist when I was younger because my skin was so sensitive and I had so many skin reactions. 

My parents took utmost care of my skin but I had a large amount of youthful/childlike exuberance which meant I was unaware of my sensitive skin and continued playing rough with my brother and neighbours(all boys). I was jumping fences, playing football, running which resulted to some minor injuries which I exacerbated by scratching them intensely to the utmost shock of my parents.. Hahahha I was a little rascal!!! 

I digress!! That was just a little intro to my skin. Over my teen and adult years, I have had and still have acne every now and then. They leave really terrible dark scars on my face and being light skinned does not help at all. The bizarre thing is most of these dark blemishes are just on one side of my face. In recent times, I have only broken out when Mother nature pays a visit but those acne dark scars and blemishes have refused to budge which is why I am on this quest for healthy and blemish free skin. My first aim is to clear my blemishes in a normal way which means I am not looking for a quick fix but a skin care routine/regimen that would let my skin breathe and heal in the most natural way.

The first product I have tried in the past one month is the Clearasil Ultra Blemish+Marks Skin Care Range. I am not sure when this range was launched but I think it has been around for a little while. According to Clearasil, the Ultra Range has been created with  dermatologist-inspired science which is designed to work on the skin from the start of the blemish. It contains a unique ingredient complex with Vitamin B3 known to fight the appearance of marks and to enhance the skin renewal process.  A lot of people associate Clearasil with Teenagers because it is popular for Teenage Acne but I think it is suitable for anyone suffering from Acne :-). I saw from a couple of reviews that the Clearasil Ultra range does work so I decided to give it a try. I bought 3 products from this range because Boots was offering a 3 for 2 deal so I decided to give it a shot. They include:

• Clearasil Ultra Blemish+Marks Scrub
• Clearasil Ultra Blemish+Marks Treatment Cream
• Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Pads.

Packaging:
I think the packaging is pretty basic for all three products. They come in bright coloured tubes which release the products in a uniform way to prevent waste. There is really nothing too fantastic about the packaging but I think it is fair and would give your bathroom cabinet a different colour. 

                                          Clearasil Ultra Blemish +Marks Scrub
This scrub is definitely my favourite from the whole lot. It contains micro beads which are suspended in a gel-like form to keep the formulation together. The micro beads aid in exfoliating the skin to remove dirt that may be embedded in the skin and also help to remove dead skin and encourage regeneration. It does not feel harsh at all on the skin and you do feel like your skin has got a nice squeaky clean.

 It has a light blue colour with a slight smell( Not a bad one) which I think is fine. I use this with my Face brush from Body Shop which I think, together, make a great team. My skin feels really soft after use and I feel a little dry afterwards which is remedied with some toner and moisturiser. I usually wet my face a little before scrubbing this with my brush in little circular motion. I don't apply a lot of pressure because the micro beads do the work.

 If you don't have a face brush, you can use your hands and gently massage this in your face and leave it for about 2 minutes or so before rinsing. I did this consistently in the morning and night. My blemishes have reduced very very minimally.

 I feel most of the benefits lie more in preventing acne and spots as opposed to removing blemishes so I can safely say, for me,it has worked to prevent acne but not cleared up my blemishes. I still love it as a cleanser and scrub!

                                           Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action Pads
This is my next step after exfoliating with the Scrub above. I pat my face a little dry and then take out one of the pads which has some pores/crevices( I don't know what to call them) but they serve as cleansing pads which do a deep cleansing on your skin

This is my next step after exfoliating with the Scrub above. I gently pat my face dry and then whip out one of the pads which has some pores/crevices( I don't know what to call them) but they serve as cleansing pads which do a deep cleansing on your skin. If by any chance, there is some dirt lurking around after using the scrub, this will definitely get them out. They also act as a mild exfoliator because they are not particularly smooth on the face but not rough either; I would say just about right. 

According to Clearasil, they use the Acceladerm technology in these pads and some spot fighting ingredients (I guess it is a complex with the Vit B) to fight open up blocked pores to allow the skin breathe. The pads are infused with alcohol; in fact, you can get high from these. They are really strong and I don't particularly think it is a good thing for sensitive skin. Having said that, I have not experienced any bad reactions with this either. My face feels even cleaner but very very dry after using these pads which I guess comes from the alcohol which is very drying.

 Also, if you buy this pad, make sure you leave the foil at the top intact to keep the pads moist and active. I only half opened mine and I just take out one pad and close it right back. As with the scrub, this definitely helped prevent future breakouts because my skin felt cleaner and my pores appeared to have shrunk. I did not notice any significant difference in my blemishes.

                                     Clearasil Ultra Blemish +Marks Treatment Cream
I thought this was going to be most effective because it was a little bit pricey in a small tube and I imagined it must be powerful..hahahha. Anyways, this is an acne treatment cream as the name implies and it is a white smooth liquid cream. It glides on really nicely on the skin but it can feel very drying on the skin. After these steps, I usually apply my moisturiser to combat the dryness my skin feels. 

This treatment cream contains both Lactic acid and the unique active ingredient(I guess it's their secret ingredient because they never mention its name) with Vit B complex which fights the appearance of marks and enhances the skin renewal process. I would say it has worked to a very little degree. I know it does take a while for it to clear but I feel the difference is very minimal. Maybe it is just my skin but I guess it is what it is.

 It is not a bad cream at all, I think with prolonged use(which means more tubes), the effect may be noticeable or it may be noticeable on lighter blemishes/acne scars. I used this at night and in the morning with my moisturiser. I don't think it prevents acne but I think it focuses more on marks and blemishes.

                                                       Overall Verdict
I rate this range 7/10 because it actually prevents more acne from starting up and gives the skin a clean and fresh feel. I think it is a good skin care range but I don't think it is excellent. In terms of quality, it is great value for money. Of course, it did not work within 4 hours as stated on the packaging but it did prevent further acne from breaking out and it dried the acne that were already present on my face. I felt my skin was cleaner especially with the scrub and pads. If you have dry skin, this may be too drying for you and may result in some red patches. I have sensitive skin but this did not affect me in terms of excessive redness or patches or blotches. However, my skin always felt dry and tight which was why I moisturised regularly. I know a lot of oily/combination skin types out there may be afraid of using moisturisers but  it is very necessary because failure to do this means your skin may interpret momentary dryness as proper dryness and over produce more oil to compensate for the deficiency which would ultimately lead to more break out....So, always moisturise whether you have normal, oily, dry or combo skin.

I hope you enjoyed this post because I enjoyed writing it up and taking the pictures in Trafalgar Square. I went there for a meeting and took pictures during my break and it was such a lovely day and perfect for pictures... I am excited about my next blog post...so stay tuned and find out more...xx

*DISCLOSURE: I have no material relationship to any brand or person mentioned in this post. All Opinions are mine and the products were bought and paid for by me.