I’ve been a fan of Clinique for years! I love their moisturisers, their Chubby Sticks and have their Sonic Purifying Cleansing Brush. I recently tried some of their Pep-Start bits in the summer and I really liked them so when I saw this set as the Star Buy at Boots I had to have it, it was £30 which when you consider the moisturiser on its own is worth £24, was a bit of a bargain.
Skincare wise this set is bursting with it, most of which was new to me and some bit that I haven’t even got around to trying yet. But the things I have tried I love! I’ve tried the other Pep-Start Moisturiser and I have to say I did like it, but I much prefer this Pep-Start HydroBlur Moisturiser. It leaves my skin feeling super smooth and soft, and while it says it’s the perfect base to apply makeup onto, I’ve found this blurs the slight imperfections enough that I don’t feel the need for makeup. It minimises my pores, reduces some of my redness and gives a great hit of moisture. I love to pair this with the Pep-Start Eye Cream, I find that it isn’t too thick that it doesn’t sink in, but it’s thick enough that it feels like it’s doing something. While it doesn’t magically make the bags under my eyes disappear, it does make the area look brighter and I have noticed with extended use the area doesn’t look quite so dark anymore.
The Pep-Start 2-in-1 Exfoliating Cleanser is another item I love, it’s a fine exfoliant that doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin. It buffs my skin just enough that it gets rid of all the dead skin, making my skin super soft while not making my skin tingle or red like other scrubs have done before. The last skincare item I’ve tried is the Take The Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids, lashes & Lips, which I’m a bit torn about. While it did wonders at taking off my eyeliner and mascara with little to no work, it did make my eyes sting. Now I do suffer with really sensitive eyes and prefer using my Simple Miceller water, but I can’t fault that it does a really good job. The other products included that I haven’t tried yet are the Moisture Surge Hydrating Supercharged Concentrate and the Take The Day Off Cleanser Balm, both of which I’m excited to try, especially the hydrating concentrate because I do suffer from super dry skin.
I hadn’t really delved into Clinique makeup apart from their Chubby Stick Lip Balms before, which I still really like, so I was excited to try some of their core products and let me tell you I pretty much loved everything. My best find? The Pretty Easy Liquid Eyelining Pen. I do not do well with eyeliner, whether its liquid, gel or pencil, no matter how long lasting it promises to be, I find it always either smudges or transfers to the top of my eyelid. But this stuff is magic. I obviously didn’t have massively high hopes the first time I used it but my god am I converted. It goes on so easily, the nib is just thin enough that one stroke across your eyelid gives you a really nice subtle look, but it can be built up for something a bit more heavier if you want. I wore it to work, and it didn’t budge all day, the real test of the day being when I forgot I was wearing makeup and rubbed my eyes (which happens far more that I would care to admit) and it still looked pretty much like I’d just applied it. If you have problems with eyeliner or are just looking for a new one in general I would definitely recommend this one. Keeping with the eye theme, I also really liked the High Impact Mascara, now I’m not really fussy with mascara as longs as it’s not clumpy, separates my eyelashes and doesn’t flake and this one doesn’t move, flake, clump or anything, I was equally impressed with this.
The Pep-Start Perfecting Balm in Guava Tint was another winner. I love a lip balm that gives you a hint of colour because most of the time I cannot be bothered with lipstick. I constantly worry about it smudging or getting on my teeth and I spend the day scared to eat and drink. So I’m definitely more of a lip balm girl and this was perfect. It was super soft and hydrating on my lips, which my very dry, chapped, winter lips loved. The colour is also super pretty, it’s just enough of a colour that you can tell you’re wearing something but it isn’t super bold. Win win. The only item I wasn’t 100% convinced about was the Pop Lip Colour + Primer in Love Pop, I wanted to like this, I really did. The colour is literally my favourite lip colour and when I applied it, it went on beautifully but there was glitter in it. Glitter is a big no no for me, I think it can look great on other people, but not on me. Had this not had glitter in then this would have been a sure fire win, but alas, it will probably be something I put in a drawer and forget about but refuse to get rid of because of how pretty the colour is.
So there you have it, my thoughts on the Clinique Christmas Essentials gift set. I think it would be the perfect gift to give someone who loves Clinique or skincare and makeup in general. Unfortunately it is no longer a star gift, so it’s back up to full price, but I still think it’s worth the price tag, you can buy it here.
[…] I’m going to get a bit of a weird one out of the way first. Cuticure Antibacterial Gel. I’ve always been the type of girl who if I have anti-bac, I’d throw it in my bag and maybe remember to use, but now, I always have a bottle on me and I’m forever using it. I’ve a big bottle of the original one on my desk, a small travel Floral & Fruity one in my bag, as well as a small bottle of the original one in the pocket of my work jacket. It dries super quick, doesn’t leave your hands feeling tacky and smells really nice for an anti-bac. I tried out a fair few different moisturiser last year, I can tell you this because of all the half-finished tubs I have sitting around my room. My favourite all over moisturiser was E-45 Cream. I started using this when I got an abscess on my face and the doctor recommended it to stop my face drying out and I really like it. It does exactly what it says on the tin, it’s thick, sinks in super fast, has no fragrance and can be used pretty much anywhere you find dry skin. They have recently brought it out in a spray bottle, which I thought would be fab because I can be quite lazy, but I didn’t find it was as thick as the cream, so I gave up with it after a while. One the subject of moisturisers, I tried the Clinique Pep-Start HydroBlur Moisturizer as well as the Clinique Pep-Start Eye Cream and I have to say they are by far my favourite duo, I’m itching to get a full size of the eye cream because it’s as close to a miracle as I’ve found so far. If you want to know more about my thoughts, I did a post about them which you can find here. […]