Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3 for oily skin
Salicylic Acid
Witch Hazel
Glycerin
Sodium Hyaluronate
Citric AcidAverage
- SuperiorOily Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- ExcellentSafety
Works for oily skin; other toners fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with oily skin: shine, enlarged pores, blackheads, and blemishes. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers moderate exfoliation for your oily skin due to salicylic acid and citric acid, which help smooth texture and provide effective keratolytic action and seboregulation. Glycerin and trehalose offer hydration, but the formula does not specifically target oily shine.
- Witch hazel provides general cleansing benefits suitable for oily skin, though it is not specialized for managing excess oil.
- The product is safe for your oily skin, as it contains no harsh ingredients and includes soothing components like glycerin and trehalose.
How to apply
- Use this exfoliating toner once a week at first, then increase frequency only if your skin feels fine.
- Apply the exfoliating toner after cleansing and before your moisturizer or SPF.
- Gently press a few drops of the exfoliating toner into your skin and let it dry.
- Apply the exfoliating toner on clean and dry skin for the best results.
- Avoid the eye area and always use sunscreen during the day.
People Say
★4.6Overall rating based on 4.5k+ reviewsBased on a very large amount of data, this exfoliating toner for combination-oily skin is frequently praised for its effectiveness in controlling excess oil, unclogging pores, and leaving the face feeling clean. Many users report smoother skin texture and improved absorption of subsequent products. However, the high alcohol content is a frequent point of contention; while some find it beneficial for acne and texture, others experience it as overly drying and stripping, especially on sensitive areas.
Highlights
Strong alcohol smell Mostly Mentioned
- “smells like straight rubbing alcohol”
- “scent is overpowering and chemical”
- “fumes sting my eyes”
- “smell is too harsh to handle”
Clears acne & pores Often Mentioned
- “cleared up my breakouts quickly”
- “removes remaining dirt and gunk”
- “pores look visibly smaller”
- “keeps blackheads at bay”
Controls oil & shine Often Mentioned
- “keeps my T-zone matte all day”
- “balances my oily skin perfectly”
- “stopped the midday grease slick”
- “controls oil without over-drying”
Preps for moisturizer Sometimes Noted
- “helps lotion absorb much better”
- “makes my moisturizer work harder”
- “perfect canvas for hydration”
- “skin drinks up cream after”
Smooths skin texture Sometimes Noted
- “gets rid of flaky dry patches”
- “makes my skin feel baby soft”
- “leaves face smooth and polished”
- “improves texture significantly”
Drying and stripping Sometimes Noted
- “left my cheeks red and tight”
- “too harsh for daily use”
- “stripped my moisture barrier”
- “caused dry flaky patches”
Poor bottle design Rarely Noted
- “wide mouth spills too much”
- “needs a pump or stopper”
- “wastes product when pouring”
- “hard to control amount dispensed”
Stings open skin Rarely Noted
- “burns if you have a pimple”
- “stings on any open wounds”
- “painful on popped zits”
- “irritates sensitive areas”
Sources: lovi.care, ulta.com, bluemercury.com, sephora.sg, walmart.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3 work for oily skin?
Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3 works moderately well for oily skin by helping smooth texture and providing gentle cleansing. However, it does not specifically target oily shine, and an exfoliating toner for this skin needs to offer exceptional suitability, effective formulation targeting oiliness, and comprehensive control over excess shine and uneven texture.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2021Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017
Which ingredients make this toner a good fit for oily skin?
Salicylic acid and citric acid help smooth texture and control oil, while glycerin and trehalose add moisture. However, an exfoliating toner for oily skin needs ingredients that specifically target oily shine, excess oil, and enlarged pores.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2021Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024
What does Salicylic Acid do for oily skin?
Salicylic acid helps oily skin by reducing excess oil and keeping pores clear. It may also improve overall skin hydration while managing breakouts.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025Experimental Dermatology, 2019
What does Witch Hazel do for oily skin?
Witch Hazel helps calm irritated skin and may reduce redness and swelling. It is unlikely to cause irritation and is generally well tolerated by sensitive skin types.
Where does this toner go in a skincare routine for oily skin?
This exfoliating toner goes in the evening routine after cleansing, and starts at once a week so your skin can adjust. Oily skin works best with products that provide salicylic acid or citric acid for smooth texture and oil control, paired with ingredients that specifically target oily shine.
Can I use this toner with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this toner with retinol, but apply the toner first and wait for it to dry completely before applying your retinol to avoid irritation. Oily skin often benefits from using a product that specifically targets excess shine and oil production alongside basic exfoliation.
How often should I use this toner?
Start using this toner once a week to see how your skin responds, and if you tolerate it well and see good results, you can carefully use it more often. An oily skin routine like this needs ingredients that specifically target oily shine to manage excess oil best.
Can this toner clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily skin?
This toner is unlikely to clog pores or cause breakouts for oily skin, as it contains salicylic acid which helps smooth texture and control oil. However, because it includes a high amount of alcohol and reviewers frequently note a strong smell and a drying feel, it may occasionally leave skin feeling stripped or irritated.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2021Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024
Is this toner fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no fragrance and contains drying alcohol (alcohol denat).
What the research says
Daily treatment with a facial serum containing multiple acids reduced post-inflammatory hyperchromia lesion grade and number by 29.4% at 56 days, and decreased skin oiliness by 30.7% at 7 days in Brazilian patients with acne vulgaris.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2021A single application of a moisturizing fluid containing hyaluronic acid 1%, glycerin 5%, and Centella asiatica stem cells extract significantly increased skin hydration by 29% and reduced transepidermal water loss at 24 hours compared to baseline and an untreated control site in twenty healthy women.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017Twice daily application of a multitargeted dermocosmetic cream provided comparable efficacy to benzoyl peroxide 5% gel in reducing inflammatory, non-inflammatory, and total lesions in 150 Caucasian subjects with mild-to-moderate acne over 56 days, while demonstrating superior skin tolerability.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Sodium trehalose sulfate decreased transepidermal water loss and increased stratum corneum water content in participants with low stratum corneum water content when applied for 4 weeks compared to placebo.
Skin Research and Technology, 2024Cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen achieved a higher cure rate (39%) than salicylic acid (24%) and a wait-and-see approach (16%) for cutaneous warts at 13 weeks in primary care patients.
CMAJ, 2010A moisturizer containing licochalcone A, 1,2-decanediol, L-carnitine, and salicylic acid significantly reduced noninflammatory, inflammatory, and total acne lesion counts compared to a vehicle control in Thai patients during a 12-week maintenance phase.
BioMed Research International, 2020Treatment with 2% supramolecular salicylic acid hydrogel resulted in a regression and markedly improvement rate of 51.01% compared to 43.10% for Adapaline gel in patients with mild to moderate facial acne vulgaris, showing no significant difference in efficacy.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024A Hamamelis virginiana leaf extract increased LOXL1 expression twofold, decreased elafin synthesis, restored functional elastic fibers, reduced nonfunctional elastin aggregates, decreased wrinkles, and improved skin firmness.
Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2018Hamamelis bark proanthocyanidins strongly increased the proliferation of cultured human keratinocytes and reduced transepidermal water loss and erythema formation in SLS-irritated skin, whereas the polysaccharide fraction had no effect.
Phytochemistry, 2001Witch hazel bark extract and hamamelitannin showed pronounced anti-inflammatory activity, supported keratinocyte migration in a wound healing assay, and inhibited Staphylococcus aureus growth, whereas their skin microbiota metabolite ellagic acid stimulated inflammatory mediator release.
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2025The emollient V0034CR significantly reduced TEWL compared to vehicle and vehicle plus glycerol, and significantly increased corneometry scores compared to vehicle and vehicle plus petrolatum in healthy volunteers with dry skin, demonstrating combined barrier function improvement from petrolatum and hydration improvement from glycerol.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Ten days of treatment with a cream containing 20% glycerin significantly increased skin hydration measured by corneometer values in 17 healthy volunteers compared to a placebo cream, but showed no influence on transepidermal water loss or skin sensitivity to an irritating surfactant.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2001Niacinamide/glycerin body moisturizers provided better rapid and prolonged improvement of cosmetic xerosis through functional improvement of stratum corneum barrier function compared to no treatment and conventional moisturizers in female subjects.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2012Topical application of 0.1% hyaluronic acid formulations of different molecular weights led to significant improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, with low-molecular-weight formulations also significantly reducing wrinkle depth in seventy-six female subjects compared to a vehicle control.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2011Topical application of hyaluronic acid in conjunction with free gingival graft significantly reduced donor site postoperative pain until day 7 compared to normal saline, with no significant differences in graft dimensions or patient satisfaction.
Clinical Oral Investigations, 2022Treatment with a hyaluronic acid-containing mouth rinse or topical gel led to significant lesion reduction, pain relief, and normalization of lesion color in adult patients with minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis, with the gel formulation showing an earlier healing onset at 3 days.
BMC Oral Health, 2019A novel composition containing salicylic acid, capryloyl salicylic acid, HEPES, glycolic acid, citric acid, and dioic acid showed similar tolerance and efficacy compared with clindamycin 1% and benzoyl peroxide 5% gel in subjects with acne vulgaris.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2013Topical 20% citric acid lotion increases viable epidermal thickness and dermal glycosaminoglycan content in sun-damaged skin compared to vehicle alone.
Dermatologic Surgery, 1997
Why other toners fit oily skin better
A botanical face cleanser with hops and willow bark extract continuously reduced skin sebum levels without reactive seborrhea after treatment in 21 healthy volunteers compared to a sodium laureth sulfate cleanser, with neither cleanser causing skin irritation.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2019A panthenol-enriched mask improved skin hydration, regulated sebum, and reduced redness and TEWL across dry sensitive, oily sensitive, and oily acne skin subgroups with excellent tolerance and no adverse reactions.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024
Ingredients
Water, Alcohol Denat, Salicylic Acid, Witch Hazel, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Trehalose, Sodium Hyaluronate, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium Edta, Bht, Phenoxyethanol, Benzophenone-4, Ext, Violet 2, Ci 15850, Ci 15510
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
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Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
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Victoria Derkova, MS
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