Etude House AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot acne treatment kit review, usage

In December, Lancome Dream Tone made such a mess of my face - which had just become acne-free after Lancome Visionnaire - that no treatment could stop the painful cysts - you must have seen some of the nightmarish photographs on my blog's Facebook page. That was when I turned to Korean skincare.
There were way too many acne treatment options and I decided to pick Etude House, the most famous of Korean brands. I had heard so much about the effectiveness of the Etude House AC Clinic range and I found the maximum number of raves for the Pink Powder Spot kit which seemed to put paid to major cystic acne. I must say that buying this kit was one of the best decisions I've made for my skin and I've just bought my second box of this wonder kit from W2Beauty.

Here is my review of the Etude House AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot acne treatment kit.

Packaging of Etude House AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot

The green plastic box contains two bottles - Pink Powder Spot and Pink Powder Water - and some Q-tips.

 

The core ingredients seem to be hinoki cypress and salicylic acid - this kit will not be suitable to those allergic to SA. There are also other ingredients, and I believe it is the combination that makes it work, as I have tried other SA formulations that didn't make a dent on my acne. I am usually allergic to sulphur and sulpha drugs but although this kit contains sulphur, I did not have any adverse reactions - probably because the quantity was infinitesimal.

How to use the AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot kit

The Pink Powder Spot bottle is to be used at night. This is basically some kind of pink powder suspended in clear water. It must NOT be shaken, but the powders suspension must remain at the bottom, separate from the water.

What you do is, dip the tapered end of the Q-tip into the powder. You get a thick, gooey pale pink paste, as you can see below.

Apply the pink paste right on the cystic acne - nowhere else. It dries in a few minutes. And, overnight, the cystic acne is flattened and dried, with no pus or pain remaining. No exaggeration there. You have the post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which takes time to go away, but the painful pus-filled phase of the breakout is over. Even so, hyperpigmentation which usually goes away in six weeks has faded for me in just under a month.

I found the Pink Powder Water to be unnecessary. It is runnier, thinner and white-translucent. You use this in the daytime, shaken, not stirred. Pardon me. You need to shake this bottle thoroughly until the solution is milky-white, dip the other end of the Q-tip, and apply it on the cystic acne. I think this is so that you can wear makeup over it, as this is a whiter, easier to blend formulation and not thick and gooey, as you can see from the swatches below. I used only the Powder Spot thingy after the first time, and it worked just fine by itself.

Below are swatches of both - Powder Water to the left, and Powder Spot to the right. 

I am pretty much acne-free right now (Touch wood. Eeeeek!) so I can't really show you pictures of how it works on breakouts. You can see on-acne results on this blog, which enabled me to buy it!

I was worried the pink paste would burn my skin or something, but it didn't affect the skin, except that it was a bit drying, so if you are using it, go in for a decent, non-comedogenic moisturiser. You also need to go in for sunblock.

As I applied the Pink Powder Spot only right above the cystic acne, it didn't do much to actually prevent new breakouts. But after following my dermatologist's advice and deep-cleansing my pores every day with the Foreo Luna or any face brush I can lay my hands on, and by applying benzoyl peroxide 2.5% all over the face as part of my acne care regimen, about which I've told you before here, I have brought my acne under control. That said, if you want a zit flattened overnight, go straight for the Pink Powder Spot.

Bottom Line

The beauty of the Etude House AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot kit is that it dries out your cystic acne overnight so you can apply a bit of concealer or foundation and look decent the following day. I have stocked up on a box as my face hates the summer and gets a couple of breakouts in the heat. You can buy this kit from W2Beauty for $16-ish and tracked shipping worldwide is just $2. Plus, Alice gives you a tonne of samples - and Korean candy! - and you can use the code 2758605 for a $5 discount if it is your first order.

Disclaimer: Paid for with my own money, I don't benefit from praising it. Review solicited by neither brand nor website. Etude House has no idea I exist.

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