Clean & Clear Morning Burst Hydrating Facial Cleanser & Gel Moisturizer

Well, they can’t all be winners. In my last post, I praised Clean & Clear’s Oil Absorbing Sheets, a Clean & Clear Klout perks pack. But while that item is fantastic, the other two items in my pack, Morning Burst Hydrating Facial Cleanser and a Morning Burst Hydrating Gel Moisturizer, aren’t so impressive.
product that I received for free as part of a

Neither are bad products, they didn’t cause breakouts or irritations or anything like that, but they also didn’t work particularly well.

Let’s start with the cleanser. According to C&C, this water-based cleanser uses “BUSTING BEADS technology and a blend of cucumber and green mango extracts to clean deep while refreshing skin with an added touch of moisture.” Personally I found that the “beads” did nothing. I couldn’t feel them and based on what I saw after two week’s worth of use, the beads, and any other ingredients, didn’t do much to cleanse or moisturize.

And what did I see after a couple weeks' worth of use? Lots of clogged pores. C&C claims that this product doesn’t clog pores but if it doesn’t, it then really sucks at breaking down and cleaning out dirt.

Because this product did a half-assed job at cleaning, I had to manually extract dirt from my face as well as use anti-acne products, two things that lead to some dry patches. Neither the “hydrating” cleanser nor moisturizer did much to prevent, or fix, these dry spots.

Like the cleanser, the moisturizer is also water-based and made with cucumber and mango extracts. C&C describes it as “… ultra lightweight, non-greasy…” and boasts that it leaves skin “…feeling clean and refreshed without clogging pores.” Again, I’m not sold on the whole doesn’t-clog-pores claim but I do agree that this product is extremely lightweight and clean feeling. This really is one of those rare moisturizers that immediately feels silky and cool and then, in under a minute, like nothing.

Actually, both of these products felt great on my skin, and sure, did leave it feeling “refreshed.” They also both smelled wonderful, particularly the moisturizer. So while I didn’t find the “hydrating” part of the product names to be true, the “morning burst” part certainly is.

As far as I can tell, neither of these products are available in Canadian stores yet though they are on sale in the US for around $7-$8. While that’s a pretty low price, it’s still too much for something that doesn’t really work.

Will I buy these products: Nope.

Should you buy these products: I recommend passing on the cleanser but the moisturizer might be of interest to you if you have normal skin and hate the feeling of moisturizer on your face.