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.
Skincare Routine.
I don’t by any mean profess to really know that much about skincare, everything I’ve learnt has come from YouTubers and Bloggers. Also, I’m lazy, so I can rarely be bothered to spend anything longer than a few minutes doing anything skincare related. But recently I’ve had some terrible breakouts and my skin has been a lot tighter and drier than usual so I thought I should probably try and do something to fix it! So I’ve been trying to really think of what I’ve been putting on my skin and trying to make sure I have a bit more of a solid routine.
Something that is a stupidly simply step that I just was too lazy to ever include in whatever little routine I had was using a Micellar water. I usually use this as a really quick way to get rid of any dirt on my face and give my skin a hit of hydration. I’ve tried a fair few but my favourite is by far the Simple Micellar Cleansing Water, it’s really gentle on my skin and has a lovely fresh scent to it. Sometimes when I’m feeling super lazy I’ll find myself reaching for the Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes. I definitely don’t feel like my skin feels as clean as it could after using these, but when I’ve had a ridiculously busy day this is the best I can do. I do try not to use them too much though because I find that using face wipes can sometimes dry my face out a little bit. Something that I’ve loved for the last few years and have made a staple in my skincare routine is the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. I find this soothes my skin, stops it getting dry and gets rid of any redness I may have. I’ve also found that it’s helped keep my breakouts at bay, at least for now. The best thing is that it literally takes all of five minutes, so even on days where I’d rather just get into bed, I know this is something that will take hardly any time and will leave my skin feeling nourished, clean and soft.
If I am having a bit of a bad breakout phase, I tend to reach for the Clinique Liquid Facial Soap. I’ll use it when I first get into the shower because I feel it gives a deep clean and by doing it in the shower before I wash my hair means that I can easily add this step in as and when I feel like I need it. The only thing that I would say about this is that I’m not particularly fond of the smell, theres just something about it that I don’t like and I find that sometimes the smell lingers. When I’m finished with this tube, I’m going to invest in the actual soap bar and see if I like that any better. Another step that I add into my routine if I’m having a bit of a breakout is my Witch Blemish Skin. I found its great for if I have a really angry spot that decides to pop up, I prefer to use this in the evening because it does tend to really dry my skin out, so I’ll use it in the evening and by the time I wake up it wont look quite so red and angry, theres even been some instances where I’ve caught it early enough that the spot disappears entirely. Witchcraft (that was bad, but I couldn’t resist).
I’ve tried hundreds of moisturisers, it’s a huge downfall of mine that as soon as I see a new moisturiser hit the shelves I feel the need to get my hands on it. The issue that I find is that I never feel like they keep my skin moisturised for long enough or that it just doesn’t do anything for my skin. However, when I suffered from an abscess on the side of my face I had to stop putting any products on my skin that might cause it to flare up and I was recommended E45 Cream as a moisturiser. I haven’t stopped using it since. It’s quite a thick heavy duty cream but it really sinks into the skin and doesn’t leave my skin feeling tight or tingling like some of the ones I’d tried before. There’s no real smell to it which I quite like because it means I don’t end up smelling the product for the whole day, something I find happens with certain products. I’ve definitely been converted to the E45 brand!
Something I could never get my head around was a day time as well as a night time cream, not only because I was too lazy but because I was never really sure what I was looking for. But I recently started using the Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate for Night in the evenings after I use the E45 cream and I really think it’s starting to make a difference. My skin is no longer dry, red patches are gone and when I wake up in the morning my skin looks brighter and plumper. This oil doesn’t have the best of smells but it could certainly be worse, I do like the fact there is a hint of lavender which is definitely calming before falling asleep. I’ve also never been one to do face masks, I’ve never really seen the appeal of them but after hearing everybody rave about the Garnier Skinactive Moisture Bomb Tissue Mask I just had to try it. It leaves my skin feeling soft and looking a bit brighter as well as giving it a big hit of moisture which is definitely needed, especially during the colder months, but to be honest I can see me using this year round and the fact it’s only £1 is amazing.
So there you have it my incredibly basic skincare routine. I have to say, since I’ve taken the time to care for skin I have noticed a huge change and I wish I’d done it sooner. I’m sure there are plenty of other things that I’ll end up adding and taking out of the routine, but as it stands, I like that this is a relatively quick and simple routine that I don’t struggle to follow. Let me know down below what your holy grail skincare products are!