Exfoliating Hydrating Cream-Gel | Avène Cleanance K Review

It feels like I haven't done a beauty review in ages, so I thought I'd share with you another one of my favourite products from my boots haul, Avène Cleanance K Exfoliating Hydrating Cream-Gel. I'm putting my hand up and admitting to the blogging world that I didn't moisturise. My skin was always quite oily and I just assumed this would be okay, but as I started experimenting with different face washes, I noticed certain areas of my face drying up, so I knew I had to do something about this. Even though I wanted to fix the dryness of my skin after washing, I wanted something suited for oily skin as I think that's the defining problem.

After searching around, I came across Avène, and on their website you can fill in an online skin diagnosis where you answer a few questions about your skin type, and the lovely people at Avène will send you trial sized samples to test! This was where the Cleanance K Cream-Gel was recommended to me. After reading so many amazing reviews online, I literally couldn't wait for my samples to be sent, so I brought the full size. What made me want to try this product so much was that it cleanses deep into the pores eliminating and reducing spots, blackheads and blemishes, and as I have some problematic skin areas around my chin, I really wanted something to help clean this up. The ingredients include glycolic acid, which is a natural exfoliant and has a peeling effect on the skin.

In the directions of use, it does say to use the cream once a day; I chose to use mine at night, unless I felt overly oily that morning. It also mentioned that a "light tingling may be experienced while using Cleanance K", which if you've read any of my other reviews, I was very excited about (I like to feel "pain" so I know a product is working). I don't know whether it's because I had such high hopes for this product, or because it's so amazing, but I could see and feel a change after the first use. The blemishes on my chin became less red and they didn't feel so bumpy, it basically felts like the cream-gel has gone straight down into my pores reducing all the redness. I'm not saying it removed them completely, but it has made a huge difference. You do feel quite an intense tingling feeling, the skin looked sort of red too, but this only happened for the first few weeks; maybe that was when it was really getting to work.

It hasn't got a pungent smell, it's more of a medicated smell than anything fruity, but it is barely noticeable. When you put the cream on your skin, it instantly feels matted. There is no sticky layer or nothing feels heavy on your skin. The cream also includes oil-absorbing microcapsules which keeps the skin staying matte all day, and has such a great hold to make-up, there is no need to worry about your oily skin reappearing hours after. When I feel a breakout coming on, I do concentrate the cream around that area and leave it on top of my skin overnight. It doesn't completely stop the breakout, but it reduces the inflammation and it stops it from increasing. I have been using this product for about 2 months now, and even on some days when I forget to use the cream-gel, my spots and blemishes still remain reduced. This is literally a miracle to my skin.

VERDICT:

I have never been so happy with a product, it lives up to everything it says on the box. It's priced at around £11 for a 40ml bottle. You don't really need to use too much of the product, but sometimes I only use it on areas of my skin I find most oily like around my nose. As I am so pleased with this product, I have splashed out on the Cleanance Gel Soaplesss Cleanser too. I always feel when using products from the same range, you get a better outcome as they both work well along side each other, so I will let you know what happens. I would recommend the cream-gel to anyone who has oily skin, or who has blemish-prone skin. All the products in the range are for sensitive skin so you have no excuse not to try. Don't forget you can fill out their skin diagnosis and receive a trial size sample pack. I will definitely be repurchasing this product, and will be trying out the other products in the Avène range.

Let me know in the comments below if you have used any of the Avène range and what you thought of them. I will be reviewing the other products from my haul so make sure you're following (links below and top right) so you don't miss out.