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When social media influencer Alix Earle announced she was releasing a skincare line called Reale Actives on March 31, I sent two messages. The first to my friend: “So that’s what she was teasing.” The second to the Women’s Health beauty team: “I volunteer to try!!!”
As someone who has struggled with acne since my middle school years, celebrity skincare lines never really appealed to me. When you have troubled skin, you learn pretty quickly that you have to stick to tried-and-true brands that keep their ingredients simple and—most importantly—effective.
For me, that meant avoiding products containing fragrances since they can worsen breakouts and trigger irritation. Even fun, bright packaging (as opposed to a more clinical, science-backed vibe) is enough to scare me away from a brand. As a result, I haven’t strayed much from dermatologist-recommended options, like CeraVe, La Roche Posay, and Youth to the People, for years.
But Alix is an acne girlie just like me. We’ve both done multiple rounds of Accutane—an oral medication derived from vitamin A—which is one of the most intense meds you can take to treat serious breakouts. Ironically, that fact is partly why the line has stirred a bit of online controversy: Alix’s skin looks crystal clear on the brand’s website, and who’s to say whether that’s thanks to medications she’s used or her own products.
But I figure if anyone can understand how to put together an acne-focused skincare line, it should be someone like her. Someone who is supposedly intimately familiar with what it’s like to scour the aisles of Sephora, Ulta, or CVS in search of something that won’t set your skin off—and might even make it look better. So when my Reale Actives arrived in the mail, I excitedly unboxed it and put it to the test for two weeks.
Here are my unfiltered thoughts.
What to Know About Reale Actives
Reale Actives, which Earle created with the help of Kiran Mian, MD, a dermatologist specializing in acne, currently offers four products: a cleansing balm, a gel cleanser, a mandelic acid serum, and a moisturizer.
After washing my face with the line over the past couple weeks, my skin felt soft and looked dewy. The products also felt very light on my skin, meaning it helped me feel clean but not like I’m drowning in goop after using them. Plus, all the products are non-comedogenic (meaning they won’t clog your pores) and fragrance-free, which are two musts if you struggle with acne. So my journey with the products was looking quite promising at first!
Unfortunately, within a week of using the line, my skin began to break out. I had a small pimple threatening to pop on my forehead that went away before fully making an appearance around day four. Then, by day seven, I had two serious ones appear on my chin. Since my last round Accutane ended over a year ago, I’ve had a good stretch of breakout-free skin—so the pimples were an unwelcome surprise. But I hunkered down with a spot treatment and two nights of a hydrocolloid bandage and I got myself back to clear skin.
Despite the pimples, I haven’t been scared off Reale Actives entirely. I think it does some things well and might have something to offer you, too. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of my thoughts on each product in the line.
Get Bare Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm
Emerging as a fan-favorite is the $29 Get Bare Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm. The packaging is super satisfying and sanitary (always a plus for the acne-prone), but the product itself also flaunts an impressive list of active ingredients. To name a few, it includes squalane, a non-comedogenic moisturizer that protects the skin from stressors like UV exposure; vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that supports skin barrier health and balances oil production; and a “sebum dissolving oil complex,” that also balances the skin’s oil levels, according to the brand’s website. It also utilizes green tea and centella asiatica extracts—both ingredients that can help soothe redness.
Beyond the product’s formula, I also appreciate that the balm isn’t as thick as some of the others I tried, which could partly be due to the ribbon-like way it’s dispensed as you twist the top of the jar. On top of being acne-prone, I have super sensitive eyes. Cleansing balms tend to irritate them, but this one didn’t cause me any trouble. Honestly, it’s a really underrated win!
Perhaps most importantly: This cleansing balm does its job well. Generally speaking, cleansing balms are great at removing makeup and sunscreen, explains Heather Rogers, MD, a dermatologist in Seattle, but they can also contribute to clogged pores if not washed off completely. Thanks to this product’s light formulation, I sidestepped any clogging and only had to use use a small amount of the balm to easily wipe away the day’s makeup. Plus, I never felt like there was a big layer of residue that I had to scrub off after using it. As a result, this is a product that I intend to use until the jar is empty.
Shop the Get Bare Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm
Pore Power Exfoliating LHA + BHA Cleanser
In case you’re unfamiliar with the most common causes of acne, chief among them is clogged pores due to a buildup of dirt and oil. Very few ingredients clear out pores as well as salicylic acid, an exfoliating beta hydroxy acid (BHA) that dissolves the oil and debris in the skin. The Pore Power Exfoliating LHA + BHA cleanser, $28, includes over half a dozen active ingredients, most notably a gentler version of salicylic acid called caprylol salicylic acid (LHA). It also includes willow bark extract, which contains natural compounds derived from salicylic acid to help further exfoliate; as well as glycerin, an effective hydrator that soothes and protects the skin from irritants.
This product grew on me the more I used it, especially once I started using two or three pumps and really lathering it on my face to get it fully foamy.
But I’ll be real: I initially felt like this product wasn’t working as hard to clean my skin as some of my other favorites, such as the Avène Cleanance Cleansing Gel or the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser.
Once I got those initial pimples I mentioned under control, I decided this cleanser is both gentle and soothing. In my experience, it managed to leave my face feeling soft, smooth and exfoliated after just one wash, without making my skin feel tight afterwards like you might feel after using a cleanser that’s too stripping and drying.
However, despite its gentleness, the cleanser is still exfoliating your skin, Dr. Rogers points out. That’s a great thing for tackling clogged pores, she says, but keep in mind that it could be too aggressive for sensitive, acne-prone skin when combined with other exfoliating products in the Reale Actives line. Not a dealbreaker—just something to note so you don’t overload your complexion.
Shop the Pore Power Exfoliating LHA + BHA Cleanser
Go Deep 8 Percent Mandelic Acid Serum Concentrate
Much like the exfoliating cleanser in this line, the Go Deep 8 Percent Mandelic Acid Serum Concentrate, $39, also contains well over half a dozen active ingredients, among them squalane, centalla asiatica extract, and glutathione, an antioxidant that helps fend off signs of aging and support skin elasticity, Women’s Health previously reported. It also includes synactin AC, an ingredient meant to treat acne-prone skin by regulating oil production, according to the brand’s website, as well as arginine, an amino acid that helps support skin hydration and barrier health.
Despite the laundry list of actives in this serum, the star ingredient is without a doubt mandelic acid, a mild alpha-hydroxy acid derived from bitter almonds that helps slough off dead skin cells. Trying this product was my first foray into using mandelic acid, and despite its honorable reputation in the skincare world, the ingredient might have been too much, too soon for my skin.
To be fair, Reale Actives recommends you use this product at night and start by applying it only two to three times a week before gradually building up to nightly use. Instead, I used it four or five times per week—and I’m thinking that may have potentially contributed to my breakouts. After all, over-exfoliating the skin can compromise the skin barrier and make irritation, inflammation, and acne more likely.
Despite my overuse, the serum could also be responsible for the glowy look I got after using each product in the line, but I can’t say with confidence that it was this product in particular that improved the appearance of my complexion. It’s also possible that mandelic acid needs a little more than two weeks to really prove it’s worth: After all, skincare products in general typically need six to eight weeks of use to get the clearest picture of how well they work.
Nevertheless, for the above reasons, I’m not sure I’d stick with keeping mandelic acid in my routine. When it comes to my skin, I always prefer a “less is more” approach, and I think this product may just be too much for my skin without providing a noticeable payoff. And I don’t feel like I’m missing out on too much, either: While mandelic acid can help address concerns such as acne and dark spots, Dr. Rogers says, it isn’t a “powerhouse” ingredient like glycolic acid, retinoids, or bakuchiol.
Shop the Go Deep 8 Percent Mandelic Acid Serum Concentrate
Dew More Barrier-Boosting Moisturizer
When I think of a barrier cream, I tend to think of thick, heavy formulas. The Dew More Barrier-Boosting Moisturizer, $36, isn’t like that. Instead, it functions more as a lightweight moisturizer that makes it great for everyday use. Despite it’s airy feel, it still contains ingredients known to infuse the skin with long-lasting moisture. It contains the power-packed classics, like glycerin and hyaluronic acid, but it also includes ceramides, shea butter, ectoin, an ingredient that protects the skin from environmental stress and helps bind water to the skin, among others. And in Dr. Rogers’s opinion, that’s a “solid” formula.
Because the moisturizer is so light, I found myself needing to use about three pumps of it to feel adequately hydrated. But the product does the job and definitely isn’t irritating. I personally couldn’t get away with using this moisturizer during the winter, but I’ll use it until it’s empty this spring and into the summer. After applying, it leaves my skin feeling light and moisturized, and it sits nicely under my makeup.
And, for those who have watched thereviewvideos and are wondering: Yes, my pump worked.
Shop the Dew More Barrier-Boosting Moisturizer
So, is Reale Actives worth it?
Overall, I like the lineup. But if I’m being 100 percent honest, it lacks a certain oomph required to turn me into a true believer and repeat user. At this point in my acne journey—as in, after my second round of Accutane—the formulas in these products worked just fine for me. And after two weeks of using the full line, I do think the products made my complexion look more dewy right after using. But beyond that, the products didn’t improve the appearance of my skin in major, life-changing ways.
So if you ask me, the most skippable product in the line is the serum, while the cleansing balm gives you the biggest bang for your buck. Thinking back to my days of more serious acne, though, I’m not sure I’d add Reale Actives to my tried-and-trues list.
Olivia Luppino is an associate editor at Women’s Health and a RRCA-certified run coach. She spends most of her time interviewing expert sources about the latest fitness trends, nutrition tips, and practical advice for living a healthier life. Olivia previously wrote for New York Magazine’s The Cut, PS (formerly POPSUGAR), and Salon, where she also did on-camera interviews with celebrity guests. She ran the New York City Marathon in 2025 and is training to run it again in 2026.
Katie Mogg is the beauty editorial assistant at Women’s Health. Since starting college at Northeastern University in 2020, her bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NBC News and The Boston Globe. She strives to help readers lead happier and healthier lives through science-backed stories that explain how to care for hair, skin and nails. When she’s not working, Katie enjoys live music, strolling through Central Park, planning her next beach getaway, and sharing hotpot with friends.
