Review: Etude House AC Clinic Intense Products

Ah acne. If only I can find a great product that settles both the acne breakouts and acne scarring, but no I have to keep searching and use combinations of products because no single product is that miraculous. Mario Badescu is a great brand for those with troubled skin (you can get them on Luxola!) but Mario Badescu products can be pricey. The ones that I was most interested in was the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, but I really cannot justify US$17 (or S$33 on Luxola) for 29ml of product. Hence, I was on the prowl for a great dupe. 

I triumphed in my desperate search for a dupe and yay it's the Etude House AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot. If you compare the ingredients contained in both products, you will notice that most are the same. So, I decided to get the cheaper alternative! 

Of course while browsing Qoo10, I couldn't resist getting other products from the AC Clinic Intense line; they have A LOT of products that supposedly do A LOT of amazing things. In the end I bought two different sets:

• AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot (15ml) + AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Water (15ml) set for S$10.90
• AC Clinic Intense Red Spot Balm (20ml) + AC Clinic Daily Acne Foam Cleanser (30ml) set for S$13.90

I bought the sets from a Qoo10 seller that sadly has declared OOS on all his Etude House AC Clinic Intense products. But hey, we are talking about Qoo10 here - one down, MORE TO GO. Obviously there are many others selling the same products. It's your decision to trust which store the most!

Personally, I like this store: http://list.qoo10.sg/item/ETUDE-HOUSE-ETUDE-HOUSE-AC-CLINIC-DAILY-SERIES/407034907  (great description for products and wowza variety of products! Also not very expensive!)

I'm sorry to the physical Etude House stores in Singapore, I simply cannot bring myself to pay the inflated prices for the products. Qoo10 sells Etude House products (and many other S.Korean brands) at a MUCH cheaper rate. Thank you Qoo10!!

The seller was very nice and included one face mask and one eye mask! 

This is the AC Clinic Intense Red Spot Balm (20ml) + AC Clinic Daily Acne Foam Cleanser (30ml) set.

And this is the AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot (15ml) + AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Water (15ml) set.

Yes, they even included cotton buds that have a special pointed tip on one end. Very thoughtful, Etude House. But haha, normal cotton buds will work just as fine.

Packaging: Green, hygienic-looking, expensive-looking and the products seem like they are prescribed to you from a well-known dermatologist. I love the packaging and the products match well with my The Body Shop Tea Tree products (LOLOL). Now my bed side table looks very ... clinical. It's like screaming to the entire world that hey! This girl has acne problems and she's doing something about it okay! Yes, definitely fulfills my sad desire for positivity. :D

OK, first things first. You may have noticed that the AC Clinic Daily Acne Foam Cleanser is not included in the photo below. That's because of two reasons:

1. I completely forgot to take a photo of it.
2. Fortunately I forgot, because the product is not suitable for my skin at all. 

The Acne Foam Cleanser has a really strong formulation from a cleanser. I have very oily skin so I'm supposed to be able to withstand the strongest of strong cleansers right? WRONG. Even with my oily skin, the cleanser completely stripped my skin off its moisture. After washing my face with the cleanser, I had this extremely tight sensation and it was not pleasant. Furthermore, the skin on the tip of my nose started to peel?? WTF?? I stopped using it immediately. 

Also, you may have noticed that I didn't have photos of how the AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Water looks like. Well, that's just because I forgot lah. :S 

The Etude House AC Clinic Intense Red Spot Balm is specially formulated for acne scars. It keeps the troublesome spots away and works on the existing acne scars. It also has a whitening effect, which definitely will be great for those really nasty red acne scars.

It has no paraben, no talc, no mineral oil, no tar colouring, no synthetic fragrances, and it's non-comedogenic. All in all, a really well-crafted product suitable for acne-prone skin.

How to use: Using the spatula provided, scoop a little out and apply it on acne-ridden areas after moisturiser and BEFORE any spot-specific medication/product.

I will use this on problem areas after my TBS Tea Tree Night Moisturiser and then apply Mario Badescu Buffering Lotion + Etude House AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot on top. I don't use this twice a day, I think that will be overkill. So, I just use it at night before bedtime!

Consistency and texture: It has a soft-mousse like texture. It doesn't feel greasy at all and I especially like how it applies lightly even though it looks like a thick cream. Moreover, this product gets absorbed to the skin really quickly.

Fragrance: I think I am weird. I love the smell of this product and it's not a pleasant smell at all. It has a very herbal-medicinal-foresty type of fragrance and I LOVE IT. It's definitely not a smell that everyone will love.

Etude House AC Clinic Intense Red Spot Balm after blending out. 

Does it work? To be honest, I'm not very sure yet. I haven't been using this product diligently and I always stop after a few days, forget about it and then get it back into my skincare routine again. However, this didn't break me out at all and getting rid of acne scars is a slow and steady process. I'll definitely make sure I use this every night!

Next is the product that started this Etude House haul - The Etude House AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot.

I was really excited about this product and yes I can safely say that this product works!

How to use: DO NOT SHAKE THE CONTAINER. Make sure you can see the two separate layers of medicated water and pink powder. Dip the cotton bud in and stick in to the bottom of the product. Remove the cotton bud and apply it on problem areas.

This creates two layers on your cotton bud - the moisture layer and the pink powder layer (which contains sulfur). I will not recommend using this all over the face because it can be too drying. Control your urges and just apply it on existing spots and pimples.

Consistency and texture: Just like any normal cream product, with perhaps a little more powdery texture.

Application: This will definitely leave a pinkish stain on your face (due to the pink sulfur powder), hence apply this at night before bed time. If you are alright with the stain then you can of course apply this twice a day! Word of caution though - this will make your liquid foundation look VERY dry. And it's damn obvious because only the applied areas will look extremely dry. Yes I tried before. :S

Does it work? This works wonderfully. The thing I hate about pimples is how painful they can be before they "ripen". This product accelerates this process and brings a pimple to a head very very quickly. Then after a second application (on the second night), the product accelerates the drying process and the pimple is dried out by the third day.Before this, I would have to wait days before a pimple "ripened" and that process was so bloody painful. Now I only have one-two days of pain! Definitely an improvement!

I also like how this gives a protective layer to the pimple. And you can actually feel the product working!

Anyway, this product can be applied on open pimple wounds, but it will sting like crazy so please be prepared for that. I always do that to myself - apply this on open pimples that just burst and I'll almost always tear up. THEN THE NEXT MORNING, the pimples will be dry and they are not so inflamed anymore. So yes, it's worth the pain lah.

The Etude House AC Clinic Pink Powder Water (the one I forgot to take close-up photos of), is a similar product but in a less strong formulation. This product requires a good shaking before application.I don't think it works very well and even though it doesn't break me out, it practically does nothing. So well, one paragraph for it is enough.

Recommended products: Etude House AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot (DEFINITELY) and the Etude House AC Clinic Intense Red Spot Balm.

Will I buy it/them again? Currently I'm running out of Pink Powder Spot, so I'm panicking and yes I'm going to send it my order soon!

This is such a long post. My back is hurting. Argh. Have a great Thursday guys! Hope this post has been useful! :D