Review: Dermalogica Clearing Mattifier

Wanted to share a staple in my daily skin care routine today: the Dermalogica Clearing Mattifier. I bought this a while back from a recommendation from my esthetician after she was clearing my breakouts during a facial. At that time, I was under a lot of stress at work and my skin broke out at its worst in my lifetime. She recommended the Dermalogica Clearing Mattifier insisting that it helps clear new breakouts within 24 hours. Well normally I wouldn't let anyone convince me like that without doing some more actual research on my own, but I was desperate so I gave in a purchase a tube at its original price at $45!

Dermalogica Clearing Mattifier (Stock Photo from Dermalogica.com)

Let's go through the facts:

Dermalogica Clearing Mattifier Facts

• Packaging - Comes in a squeeze tube with a long snout (?) so that it's perfectly hygenic
• Size -1.3 oz
• Price - $45!! Super pricey! Amazon sells it for slightly cheaper here.
• Specifications - Helps clear breakouts and shine control (hence the mattifier in the name)
• Directions - Apply in the morning on areas prone to breakout
• Ingredients - Key ingredient Salicylic Acid (2.0%) that's pretty much the same active ingredient in most drugstore acne treatments. Note contains silicone! So for those allergic, you should stay away.

Dermalogica Clearing Mattifier Review

• Scent - No scent at all, completely fragrance free.
• Essence - Feels exactly like silicone when applied. If you try to rub it a little longer, it starts to ball up almost like eraser residue.
• How I Use It - I only apply a small dot on any new breakout, acne or bump on my face, I don't really use it on a daily basis to mattify.
• Overall Experience - Now for the million dollar question, does it really help clear breakouts? ::drumroll:: Not so much. It works on new breakouts and bumps (the ones that just started peeking through the skin). Usually when I notice something, I dabbed on a bit of the mattifier and it disappears the next day. But on any existing acne and white heads, it doesn't really do much for them. I'd like to think it has some clarifying powers, but I don't think it's actually speeding up the process. As an acne treatment, it doesn't dry out the skin or leave any flaky residue. I prefer to wear it over my flaming red breakouts as a protective layer under concealer because it still contains Salicylic acid and it doesn't make matters worse AND since there really isn't any acne treatments that you can use under makeup. I can't really voucher for the oil control and how long it really lasts, I normally don't need to blot at the end of day.

I think it works really well as a mattifier though, especially to smooth out any fine lines since it contains silicone. See pictures below on how well fine lines disappear, excuse my liney (?) hands.

Before & After Dermalogica Clearing Mattifier (click to enlarge)

Not sure if the pictures came out as well as they should (click photo to enlarge) but after smoothing out the mattifier, you can notice that the back of my thumb loses its shine. The amount of product that I usually dab with on my acne are about the same.

Will I buy this product again? This mattifier might be a bit pricey at $45 a tube but I've used it for the last 2 years and I probably still have another 25% of the product left to go. So for the time I've been using it, it's not pricey at all. And being that it is the only acne treatment I've tried that actually works under makeup/concealer, I'm leaning towards repurchasing when I'm done.

I've also tried Dermalogica's Overnight Clearing Gel, but even though that is a great product, it flakes and dries on my face making it look like my skin is peeling (I guess that's why it's for nighttime ^_^ ).

Have any of you tried other acne treatments that work under makeup? Let me know if you have any recommendations! I'll love to try new products.