Review | Mario Badescu Cucumber Cleansing Lotion

The Mario Badescu Cucumber Cleansing Lotion (previously known as the Special Cucumber Lotion) is a toner for oily and acne prone skin. It is supposed to deep clean your skin to remove pore clogging residue. This toner also promises to get rid of any acne causing bacteria which sounds great for someone who often breaks out. What attracted me to this toner was the fact that it has cucumber which is known to have hydrating and anti-inflammatory properties. I've been testing out this toner for a few weeks now so I can let you know how it worked on my very oily and acne prone skin.

I've been using the Mario Badescu Cucumber Cleansing Lotion for a few weeks now and I can't say that I'm in love with this. My skin is now used to very gentle toners like the Yves Rocher Purifying Micellar Water 2 in 1 so it took a few days for it to adjust to something with a higher percentage of alcohol. Alcohol is the second ingredient listed in both the old and new formula. The alcohol smell is also very overpowering and does contribute to tightening up the skin a little.

As for the deep pore claims, I think it does do that pretty well. The Mario Badescu Cucumber Cleansing Lotion gets rid of any makeup residue that my cleanser just wasn't able to get. My skin does feel much cleaner after using the toner but it also feels tight and a bit dehydrated. I really dislike when toners make your skin feel tight because that's usually a sign that it is drying up your skin. I have noticed that my skin looks a lot shinier when I wake up which doesn't make me extremely happy. I have also broken out as usual despite it's claims of getting rid of bacteria that causes acne.

I honestly think this is just a case of a product not working on my skin because I don't think this is necessarily a bad product. The toner has plenty of great reviews online so it does work well for some, but it just didn't do much for my skin. I will continue to use it at night as part of my acne routine but I will just stick to a toner with a lower percentage of alcohol from now on. And in case you were wondering the only differences between my version and the newer version are the absence of sodium sulfate and a lower percentage of cucumber extract in the newer version.

The Mario Badescu Cucumber Cleansing Lotion retails for $15 and can be found at Ulta, Nordstrom, and MarioBadescu.com.

Have you tried the Mario Badescu Cucumber Cleansing Lotion? If so, what do you think of it? If you haven't tried it, what's your favorite toner? Let me know in the comments below.