Trying A Full Face Of Clinique Products

 I used to love going to my local Debenhams store and trying out products from the Clinique concession stand there, but for obvious reasons I haven't been able to in a long time. So I decided to order some products from Clinique's website and tried to get as much of a full face as possible - I did forget to order a mascara and a blush but these were the products I was most excited to try.

Starting with complexion, we have the Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer (£29.00 for 30ml) and I got mine in the shade WN -1 Flax. I have had a few bottles of this before in other shades, and it was a staple in my routine for years and so I was looking forward to trying it again in a shade that suits my skin tone at the moment. The Foundation comes in a glass bottle with a large doe-foot sponge applicator and so it is super quick and easy to apply onto the skin. As the name might suggest, with it being a Concealer too, this is a full coverage foundation and yet it doesn't feel heavy on the skin. I love how smooth this makes my complexion look and the coverage it gives me - it makes my skin look like skin, but at the same time hiding all of my redness and imperfections and I have remembered why I loved it so much. There are over 30 shades to choose from, ranging from fair to dark, along with different warm, cool and neutral tones and Flax suits my fair to light skin perfectly.

To set the foundation in place, I used the Clinique Blended Face Powder and Brush (£27.00 for 35g) in the shade 20 Invisible Blend. As mentioned in the name, this powder does come with a brush, and a very good quality one at that - it is also retractable and so is great for travelling with. This is a lightweight, finely milled loose powder that sets and perfects makeup to give an ultra-smoothing finish to the skin, keeping oil at bay, yet mattifying and still providing the complexion with a pretty, radiant finish. I have combination skin, and so I found this worked really well for me, as it mattified my T-Zone, but didn't cling to dry patches on my skin, and the overall finish was beautifully natural yet radiant and it keeps my makeup in place throughout the day. There are five different colour options to choose from, which you don't often get with more transparent loose powders, so I think that is wonderful and I opted for the second lightest shade which works well for me.

To warm the complexion up, I used the Clinique True Bronze Pressed Powder Bronzer in the shade 02 Sunkissed (£25.00 for 9.6g). This comes in a rose gold compact, with a mirror on the inside of the lid in case you want to apply more on the go. There is a darker shade available, but I found 02 Sunkissed perfect for my fair to light skin, however if you are very fair, I think this would be a little too dark for you, even though it is the lightest shade. Formula wise, this is a very lightweight powder that feels very finely milled and blends seamlessly into the skin. I went in light handed at first, which gave me more than enough colour for my skin tone, but tried to build it up just to see how it would fare, and I felt it built easily if you are wanting to up the colour pay-off in the warmer months. Overall, a very lovely, easy to use powder bronzer.

For the brows, I tried out the Clinique Superfine Liner for Brows (£16.50 for 0.06g) in the shade 02 Soft Brown. There are three other shades to choose from, but I felt this would work best with my skin tone and hair colour, which it did. The Superfine Liner for Brows is definitely has one of the finest nibs I have come across - around 2mm, and it is therefore so easy to achieve very natural, individual brow strokes like real brow hairs. The formula glides onto the skin easily, and it is slightly waxy, which means that it stays in place once applied - I didn't find at all throughout the day that it had budges or smudged, which I find super important with a brow pencil. If you prefer a larger nib, you can use the pencil flat, or use the side to create even finer brow hairs.

For the eyes, Clinique don't really have any eyeshadow palettes, about from some small quads, but nothing out of the ordinary and so the first eyeshadow option I chose is the Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tint for Eyes (£18.50 for 3g). I chose mine in the shade 09 Lavish Lilac, but there were ten other shades to choose from. Clinique are infamous for their chubby sticks, and you can get so many different product options in them. This retractable eyeshadow crayon is in a beautiful lilac mauve shade and can be applied straight onto the eyelids, so if you like makeup in a hurry, then you will love this! The formula is soft and creamy and pretty budge-proof, too. I found that even when I blended the shadow out, it kept its pigmentation well, and adds a very pretty shimmery finish to the eyes.

Another product Clinique are infamous for are their Lid and Cheek Pops and so I ordered the Clinique Lid Pop (£16.00 for 2g) in the shade 08 Petal Pop. There are seven other shades to choose from, but this colour-shifting petal pink is BEAUTIFUL! It has a golden undertone to it and a shimmer too, and I discovered it looked so pretty paired with the Lavish Lilac Chubby Stick. The Lid Pop shadows come in single clear pots, and the product itself is moulded into a flower, so not only do they look stunning on the eyes, they are delightful to look at too. I definitely want to pick some more of these up, as the formula is creamy and pigmented and applies wonderfully to the eyelids. If you aren't a makeup pro, and let's face it, not many of us are, you will find these really easy to use as you get great colour payoff right off the bat.

For the lips, I again chose two products and the first is the Clinique Even Better Pop Lip Colour Foundation (£18.00 for 3.9g) in the shade 04 Subtle. There are a whopping 28 neutral shades in this collection, ranging from colours that will suit fair skin tones to dark skin tones. I love this idea! Who doesn't want to find the perfect nude lipstick for their skin tone? The lipstick comes in matte packaging to match the colour of the lipstick, which I always appreciate as then you can easily find what you are looking for in your makeup bag. The formula is creamy and lightweight and therefore very comfortable and hydrating to wear. Finish wise, I would say it is slightly matte, as it doesn't have any shimmer in it, but not mattifying in the sense it looks flat and dry on the lips.

For a gloss option, I chose the Clinique Pop Splash Lip Gloss (£18.00 for 4.5ml), which come in lots of beautiful shades! However, I opted for 02 Caramel Pop as this is a gorgeous light nude shade which I thought would match my skin tone really well. I fell in love with this formula after just swatching it! It adds a lovely amount of colour to the lips, as well as being super hydrating and not at all sticky or thick in any way, shape or form. The Pop Splash Lip Gloss is so lightweight and comfortable to wear, nourishing my lips and adding so much pretty shine to them, helping them to look fuller and plumper. I definitely want to pick some more of these up as there are some charming shades for Spring and Summer.

You can find these products and more online at Clinique here.

All the Loves,
Kathryn xxx