Hey guys! So today, I thought I'd do a review of the Neutrogena 'Visibly Clear' range, as I've been using some of their products for quite a while now and have seen what effect they've had on my skin. I know many people are interested in sampling some of the products due to their reasonable prices, as a way of treating minor skin issues before investing in something more high end, so I hope this post is helpful to anyone out there who has been debating whether or not to invest....
Visibly Clear Grapefruit Facial Wash
I'd thought I'd begin with my favourite product from the range, the infamous Grapefruit facial wash. This product is quite controversial as it seems to have a very 'hit and miss' effect on most who try it. I'd heard that this product had broken many people out and had left them with worse skin than they'd had before trying it. However, a good facial wash is almost the cornerstone to my skin routine and I badly needed one that was catered to acne prone skin.
In terms of the physical matter of the product, the packaging is fine in my opinion, quite durable and coming with a pump, which is always an advantage (unfortunately, the pump on my present bottle of the product is quite jammy, so I'd recommend to try before you buy!). The wash itself has quite a pleasant scent and is light pink in colour. It comes as quite a runny, gel consistency, which foams up pretty well when applied with water and washes off just as easily.
I've been using this product for about 8 months now and am on to my third bottle. Needless to say, the product did not break me out and always
leaves my skin feeling clean and refreshed. This product is certainly gentle enough for use every morning and I even use it at night sometimes if my skin feels as though it needs a bit of a deeper wash. So much as preventing acne, the product did clear up the particular breakout I had when I first used it, which I was delighted with. However,
I don't believe the product works very well at preventing further break-outs, so I don't know if I could fully recommend it for that purpose.
On the whole, if you're looking for a nice, everyday cleanser that leaves skin feeling cleansed and refreshed, then this is a lovely product, even if not a 'Holy Grail' acne wash.
Visibly Clear Gentle Exfoliating Wash
The next product I'd like to discuss is the exfoliating wash, which I do also get on extremely well with. I hadn't heard much about this product before I purchased it, however, I was in dire need of a good scrub, so decided to pick this one up to work alongside my cleanser.
The packaging of this product, again, is durable and comes with a solid lid, which hasn't snapped on me yet (fingers crossed!). The product itself is a slightly thicker gel consistency, quite turquoise in colour and speckled with small exfoliating beads, which are the perfect size to gently scrub the face without feeling like sandpaper!
I've been using this product since last April and am quite impressed with it. According to instructions for use on the back of the bottle, the exfoliator is gentle enough for everyday use, however, if I use this product for even three or four days in a row, I do feel as though it is slightly too drying, so I have only been using it once or twice a week at the most. The scrub lathers up extremely well and leaves my skin feeling perfectly smooth and clean. So much for acne treatment, again, I can't say this product is amazing at clearing up acne, but I do still think its worth a shot if you're looking for a good and purse friendly exfoliator to use on acne prone skin.
Visibly Clear Spot Stress Control 3 in 1 Daily Cleanser
After giving the facial wash and scrub a good testing, I returned to the Neutrogena shelf at Boots in search of a nigh-time, liquid cleanser I could use to remove my make-up or a a final cleansing step before using my toner. I spotted this and thought it would be worth a try.
This product comes in a slightly flimsier plastic bottle with a less durable plastic lid. On first impressions of the product, I was overwhelmed by the nauseating stench of alcohol coming from the cleanser. I mean, this stuff stinks, and the prospect of actually putting it on your face at first seems daunting. The cleanser comes out as more of a toner consistency, completely liquid form and fully absorbent on a cotton pad.
Once again, the good people at Neutrogena recommend this product is gentle enough for everyday use, but, being honest, you would have to be crazy to use this everyday. Upon applying the product, the skin becomes quite tingly and almost stingy, which is not desirable! I only use this product, at the most, once a week, or when my skin is in complete freak out stage and needs a good deep cleanse. Although the skin does feel fully cool and cleansed after use, I couldn't condone using it any more than once a week, as, unfortunately, it simply comes across way too strong to be used any more than that. As with the other products, the skin benefits of this product are questionable, as I have yet to witness any miracle work on my face after using it. Combined with the fact that it smells like a bottle of Smirnoff and probably has the same effects on the skin as consuming a bottle of Smirnoff would,
I would not recommend this product. Sorry!
Visibly Clear Spot Stress Control Ultra Light Spot Treatment Moisturiser
Of course, the primary remaining product I hadn't tested from the range was a moisturiser and so, during a particularly desperate moment, I picked up the Spot Treatment Moisturiser, to use on my T-zone, where I suffer the most from break-outs. On the whole, I didn't have a good relationship with this product.
The moisturiser comes in a small, 40ml bottle, which is perfect for travelling or popping in the make-up bag. The product itself is more of a gel, with a clear, blue-ish colour running through it and feels very cooling on the skin. The moisturiser definitely has a similar scent to the daily cleanser, but is nowhere near as overwhelming, thankfully.
Being an oil free moisturiser, the product is absorbed pretty quickly into the skin and due to the gel-like texture, I imagine it would work quite well as a make-up base. I tried this product out during a time when my skin wasn't acting very well behaved and hoped it would work to dry out any problem areas I had. However, this product was just not compatible with my skin and simply
dried it out too much. In fact, it was absorbed so quickly that it didn't even feel as if I had moisturised my skin. Maybe this product just isn't suited to my needs and I may just have to relegate it to the summer skincare bag. But if you do, as the product suggests, have oily skin, I guess this moisturiser
would be worth a good shot.
Visibly Clear Rapid Clear Treatment
The final product from this range I picked up was the Rapid Clear Treatment, which is basically a spot treatment which is applied to targeted areas after cleansing, toning and moisturising. I picked this up as I though it would be a good product to combine with each of the other products I had been trying.
The product comes in similar packaging to the moisturiser, with the 15ml bottle small enough to be carried around. In terms of texture the treatment is a slightly thicker gel consistency, and has a cream, almost clear colour to it. The product has a distnguishable scent, with this one taking me back to my primary school days. Strangely enough, this product smells exactly like Pritt Stick, which, again, is not exactly what I'd like to put on my face.
The product applies well and is absorbed pretty well also. If you can ignore the stinging, that it. That's right,
this treatment stings like a mo'fo', so much so that I actually wanted to sprint to the bathroom and submerge my face under the cold tap. According to the packaging, the treatment "visibly clears spots in just 4 hours". Unfortunately, I don't see this product reducing spots in 4 weeks, never mind 4 hours. This treatment had absolutely no effect on my skin whatsoever and, unsurprisingly,
I would not recommend it.
So, there you have it, folks, the Visibly Clear range is certainly hit and miss. The Grapefruit Facial Wash and Exfoliating Wash are perfectly pleasing but do not appear to visibly clarify the skin. The 3-in-1 Daily Cleanser and Rapid Spot Treatment are a little too strong to actually give any skin benefits. Annnnd the jury's till out on the moisturiser. Boots always seem to have some kind of 3 for 2 offer on Neutrogena so, if you're curious, give the range a go. But don't expect miracles!
x
