SKINCARE | *Guest Post* Estee Lauder Clear Difference Oil Control/Mattifying Hydrating Gel Review

As a beauty blogger, I want to review EVERYTHING that comes my way, but sometimes products just aren’t for my skin type or colouring. Normally, I would have just given these products away, but this time around I sought help from a beauty loving girlfriend of mine whom I met in my computer science classes and also has a biology background like myself. I trusted that she would give you guys the same unbiased reviews as well as a bit of sass. Everyone, please welcome the lovely Jessie!

I've had... a difficult relationship with the class of moisturizers known as "hydrating gels". It's an enticing concept with the promise of all the quenching hydration, and none of the grease. Sadly for me, it only delivers on the latter. My skin was always left lackluster, and robbed of its bounce. In my skincare pantry, I keep the gels at the back, and only reach for them on those hot, humid, summer days when nothing else can get absorbed. So when I got to try the Estee Lauder Clear Difference Oil Control / Mattifying Hydrating Gel*($55.00 CDN), I was like, "Girl, you serious?" Simply put, I was expecting disappointment.

Estee Lauder Clear Difference Oil Control Hydrating Gel Review


I have normal/combination skin while being acne-prone on the oily areas (my temples and the center of the forehead). The EL hydrating gel has a texture that's more dense and rich than gels like the Biotherm Aquasource Nuit, but very similar to the Laneige Water Sleeping Pack. If you like to layer your product, it will likely take some massaging before this is absorbed into your skin, unless it's the first layer that you put on. Like others of its class, this gel gave a slight cooling sensation when applied and has a slight minty/eucalyptus/herbal scent. 

Estee Lauder Clear Difference Oil Control Hydrating Gel Review (2)

So, how did this hydrating gel perform? Marvellously. Seriously, I was really impressed. Compared to the other hydrating gels I have used, the difference is night and day. The first couple days did not bring about much difference, but I started to notice texture differences by mid-week. My skin had this wonderful bounce that reminded me of my glory days in my mid 20s and was silky smooth to the touch. Some of you might say, "Hold on, wouldn't it just be the mattifying effect of the gel?" I would have said "yes", if it wasn't for the fact that I did not use the product for 2 days, and my skin was still in tip-top shape. You know those little dimples you get on your skin as you age because there just isn't enough collagen like before? I even started to see improvements in those areas as well. Crazy, right?

In terms of the mattifying effect of the gel, I would say it performs better than most gel products I have used. It gives you a glowy finish that borderlines on dewy. One problem I see in this product’s mattifying prowess is that you can't use it as a stand-alone product during the day, due to the lack of SPF (duh).  By itself, the mattifying power is not significant, but still noticeable. Pair it with a SPF lotion on top and it pretty much defeats this product’s purpose as a skin mattifying product.

Final verdict: I love this stuff. For $55 CAD, it is a very economic buy in the world of luxury skin care. I have been searching for a good base moisturizer to compliment the rest of my routine and I think I have just struck gold. 

Well there you have it! I knew this product would be amazing, but my skin wasn’t quite right for it so thank you to Jessie for sharing her experience with it! You will be hearing more from Jessie in the future so stay tuned!

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