Clinique Moisture Surge Intense – Review

Clinique Moisture Surge Intense (Boxed) Back in early February, I did a long-overdue review for Clinique Moisture Surge. As you may or may not recall, that product ended up receiving a C for somewhat underwhelming performance given its high price. By the time that jar was empty, Clinique had released the Intense formulation of this product and It too was one of my little sister’s birthday gifts to me (How many are there? Even i’ve lost track!) Anyway. I’ve been using it for a over two months – so time for this to get reviewed as well!’ General Information: Clinique categorizes its products into four skin types: Skin Type 1 is Very Dry to Dry 2 is Dry Combination 3 is Combination Oily and 4 is Oily. Under that spectrum I generally tend to fall between 1 and 2. While the original Moisture Surge formula is meant for “all” skin types, Moisture Surge intense is supposed to be for types 1 and 2. This indicates that Clinique believes, as the title also suggests, that this is a better product for parched skin. Like the original moisture surge, MSI is an oil free moisturizer that is meant to “fortify and repair skin’s moisture barrier to keep moisture in and environmental irritants out.” Unlike the original formula, MSI is a cream-gel as opposed to gel-only formula. It is sold for $36.00USD and contains 1.7oz of product. I’m a little over halfway done with this jar and i’ve had it for 2 1/2 months – I use about a dime amount in the mornings and nights. Packaging: Moisture Surge Intense (Jar) The jar looks more or less the same, but is of a slightly sturdier brushed glass. Because this is a cream-gel, it doesn’t get as gunky around the mouth and twist portion but there is still the occasional buildup. Product: Again, this is a cream-gel. You can tell there’s a gel base when you’ve spread out the dollop of it, but honestly? It doesn’t FEEL like a gel on my skin – it feels like a very heavy cream. Moisture Surge Intense (Open Jar) Dollop Spread Out Application: I use this product as sparingly as possible, because it does leave a bit of a residue (discussed below.) It’s meant to be applied after your skincare regimen and before makeup. I tend to have to blot after using this. Wear: One of my biggest peeves about the original Moisture Surge was that it left a tacky, sticky residue on my face. This still does, with the added blah of leaving quite a greasy feeling on my skin as well. It doesn’t matter how much I use, how dry my skin is or how long I give it to absorb. If you do wear makeup over it, I suggest you DO give it a minute or two to dry down because it will affect wear by creating a tragically slippery base on your skin. Results: Despite the greasy feeling this leaves behind on my skin and the blotting it requires afterwards – this does not moisturize my skin. I’ve tried it for rough patches and flakies as well with no results. This product just seems to sit on top of my skin and hang out there until it’s melted off. It does not help fine lines or tightness, as the original did for me, and generally didn’t do much for my dry skin. Summary: I was pretty disappointed in this product, but I wanted to give it a fair amount of time to work. Will I be finishing this up? Probably – if only due to the cost. But it has not ended my search for the perfect moisturizer. I can’t imagine skin drier than mine, so I honestly can’t recommend this product to anyone -as it’s way too heavy for my skin and I can only imagine it creating a small oil spill on anything oilier. Value: 3/5 Expensive! Packaging: 4/5 Sturdy … if a bit bulky. Application: 1/10 It takes a very long time to dry and absorb into the skin. It’s easy to overuse this product as well. Wear: 0/10 This leaves a sticky, greasy residue and I cannot recommend it for wear under makeup. Results: 3/10 It temporarily alleviates tightness and will do in a pinch for dryness. But it offers no long term (and by long term I mean past-an-hour) results. Overall: 27.5% (F) This is the lowest score given to a product on SB and if you know what a harsh grader I am, that’s saying something. Just goes to show. Newer isn’t always better! Horribly disappointed, <3 EA