Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion

When I was a poor university student, I used Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion all of the time however, it wasn’t completely by choice.  My mother, a big fan of Clinique’s three-step cleaning system, would regularly give me her gift-with-purchases, and these gifts almost always included a sample tube of Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. And since I had no money, and since the lotion sort of worked, I used it. But once I got a job and could afford to buy my own beauty products, I switched to something else. While this product never irritated my skin, I just felt like it wasn’t delivering the moisture that my skin needed.

Since then, there have been a few times were I gave this product another shot (yes, I was given more free samples) but every time the results were the same: This lotion just didn’t do it for my skin.

Despite those experiences, earlier this month I gave it yet another chance though this time things were different because this time, the lotion’s formula is different. Earlier this summer, Clinique re-launched Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion with a slightly altered formula. According to Clinique, this new version now contains “an ingenious new strengthening complex” that will deliver “all-day hydration.” As part of its promo for this revamped product, Clinique included deluxe-sized samples in Topbox’s August container and that’s how I ended up with a sample.

Clinique is adamant that while this formula is different, it’s not too different. It says that this product has the same “deep, silky texture” as the old one and that it still penetrates the skin quickly. I completely agree that neither of these two areas has changed. This is still a quick absorbing lotion and the texture, which I never found to be “deep” or “silky,” feels the exact same as the old one.

Too bad about that last point because the texture is one of the reasons why I was never crazy about this product. While this product costs $32 a bottle, it feels like a much cheaper product, as it’s neither impressively light nor luxuriously rich.

I’m also not crazy about the “glow” (in Clinique’s words) that this lotion leaves on your face. To me, that “glow” just looks like sweat.

But while this product left my skin glowing, it didn’t leave it moisturized. Now, I did create a big of a challenge for this product because while I was using it, I manually exacted several blackheads, a process that does strip some of skin’s natural oils. This meant that the skin on my nose was extra-dry. But surely this “moisture drink,” which Clinique says is designed for “very dry skins” would be able to deal with this situation, right?

Nope. Despite using this product twice-a-day, I was left with dry patches.  Thankfully, once I combined the Clinique lotion with Kaia’s 24 Hr Booster Serum, I was able to make the dry patches disappear.

Will I buy this product: No. Despite what Clinique says, I found that this lotion just doesn’t deliver the moisture that my skin needs.

Should you buy this product: If you’re a fan of this product’s original formula, you’ll likely also enjoy this new version; it doesn’t feel or act that different than the original. But, if like me, the original version never did anything for your skin, you’ll likely find that the revamped version isn’t much of an improvement.