Nope.

I caved in and bought this after an SA at Sephora gave me the hard-sell. Even though I knew in my heart of hearts that is was a gimmick, I really wanted to believe in the 'time-release' aspect.

After a few days of use, my sensitive, acne prone skin had had enough. I started getting the ole' cystic acne on my chin and back to Sephora it went.

Other things I don't like about this cleanser: it doesn't foam. That's fine for sensitive/dry types but for people with oily or acne prone skin, I truly believe you need a foaming action to really get all the dirt out of the pores- I don't care how many chemical exfoliating ingredients it has.

Problem #2: It's kind of menthol-y and sting the skin. Some people think this is a sign of 'deep cleaning' but I think it' unnecessary and painful.

I'm very surprised that I like this so much. I normally have to use a foaming cleanser, but based on reviews I'd read on the web and the fact I wanted to try a salicylic cleanser I thought I'd try this.

I thought it was very expensive at £21ish. However, I've used this x2 a day in Asia (where my face usually breaks out) with the Effaclar Duo and my skin has slowly slowly improved. I currently have no new break outs and the marks from older acne are fading. I've learnt by now to hold my breath a little while longer before making it HG, but I thought it was time to put up a review. I'd say I've got approx. 3-4 weeks left in the bottle which means I'll get approx 2 months use from a single purchase. Whilst this isn't great, I will re purchase if my skin continues to remain clear.

I apply it to a wet face and leave it sitting on the skin from between 30 secs to 5 mins (depending on my skin and what time I've got etc) and then follow with the Duo. I use other products to remove ss/make up and use this on cleanish skin.

It has a slight menthol/tingly thing going on and doesn't foam (usually two factors I'd avoid in a face wash). I'm happy with it for now. I'm in Asia for a few more months, so the real test will be to see how my skin manages on a different cleanser, once this one runs out. I'll update at some point.