Amazing Drug Store Cleanser: Biore Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser, Allure Beauty Award Winner!

So I gotta admit, I am a skin care snob. I'm not a make-up snob, but I do turn my nose up at products that may be in a certain price bracket of low monetary value (shame on me). But I have gone through the ringer with skin care products, brand after brand after brand, to find the right regime for my skin. This exhausting and frustrating task has caused me to get rid of all of my preconceived notions and my "ya get what you pay for mentality" and choose the road less traveled. The drug store.
The only product I've tried from Biore has been those pore-strips that have been a mainstay on store shelves since I was in high school. And I think of Biore as just that, a skin care line for high school girls with their fresh faces on those commercials smiling as they splash their poreless faces with water. What could Biore do for me? Well, it turns out, it can produce a really great cleanser for my dry yet very sensitive and sometimes break-out prone skin. I often shy away from cleansers formulated with acne fighting products because of the fact that my skin is on the dry side and certain ingredients strip my skin and/or cause redness. But I thought I'd give the Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser a shot when I saw the Allure Beauty Award Winner seal on the packaging. Such a label-whore.

What it Is:

Biore Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser is a cleanser for acne-prone skin that unclogs pores, removes dirty and make-up, and feels so cool and refreshing on the skin. Salicylic Acid (2%) is what makes this cleanser a workhorse, but soothing ingredients such as lavender are added to keep the cleanser from feeling too harsh and medicinal. This product has consistently made the "Best of Beauty" in Allure Magazine 2008 and 2009.

Why I Really Love This Stuff:

It is SO refreshing. When they say "Ice Cleanser", they mean it. Instantly when the water and the cleanser meet, it produces this crisp, cool, tingling sensation that gives you the idea (or illusion? who cares) that the cleanser is really doing something. 

Doesn't dry out my dry skin. If your skin feels really tight and crying for your moisturizer after you've washed off your cleanser and dried your face, then the cleanser is too drying for you. I thought for sure this is what would happen after using the Biore cleanser but it didn't! Don't get me wrong, I still need a fairly heavy moisturizer but I do have some down time in between cleansing and moisturizing.


It works! It has made a difference with keeping break-outs at bay! It could just be a coincidence but after using this 2x per day for 2 weeks now, I haven't woken up with any unwanted bumps or clogged pores. 

Other Useful Information:

 The price runs around $6.99 depending on where you buy it from.

If your skin is really sensitive to acne-fighting ingredients, you may want to start out using the cleanser only once per day, maybe every other day and work your way up if tolerated. My skin is dry and I can use it 2x per day without feeling like my skin is being robbed of moisture. I have no redness or irritation. 

This cleanser definitely makes MY own personal Best of Beauty for 2011, and that is a list that happens to be WAY more exclusive and noteworthy than silly little Allure Magazine. Just kidding, Allure (Call Me!)