The ABCs of BB and CC Creams

Are you confused with the recent influx of double-alpha base makeup this year?
It was BB creams making waves last year that gave way to even more offerings this year and just as you’ve only gotten your head around the new product, the beauty market moves onto the CC cream craze.

Before we go into the actual products, let’s do a recap first.

• BB Cream fondly known as beauty balms or blemish balms has a primary function as a makeup base that provides flawless natural coverage with skincare benefits. 
• It’s generally multi-purpose acting as a all-in-one primer, concealer and medium coverage foundation product to provide a natural and flaw finish to skin
• BB creams generally have a gel-like texture and have a dry to touch finish. 
• On top of being a moisturiser, it has additional skincare benefits depending on variety (whitening, healing, anti-ageing)
• It has UV protection often means you don't need a separate sun block. 

Then what is a CC cream?
Being the new cream of the crop, a CC cream is a colour correcting cream and similar to a BB cream being primarily a makeup product but packed with additional skincare benefits like vitamin C and E that focuses on improving skin clarity and tone. CC creams normally contain colour pigment that specially correct redness, pigmentation and broken capillaries as well as higher concentration of skincare

Today I’ll look at a few a bunch of BB creams and one of the CC cream released this year. Let’s start with the latest BB cream offerings.

Clarins Skin Perfecting BB Cream - RRP A$50 45ml 
Texture:  light weight cream with floral scent very easy to blend
Finish: semi matte finish and contains optical pigment to created radiant (not shiny) skin.
Coverage: medium buildable coverage that is long lasting
Benefits: broad spectrum SPF 25 mineral sunscreen so don’t need a separate sunscreen when used alone. and contains kiwi extract for anti-oxidants, katafray and hyaluronic acid to restore the skin’s moisture level and improve its softness.
Colour matching: available in 3 shades (light, medium, warm) I tried the medium one which was slightly too dark and I notice that it is more suited for those with red/beige undertones than those with yellow undertone – great to achieve a tanned look in summer for me. I'll be going for the light shade next time.
Best for: anyone looking for a multi tasking base that is moisturising and those with oily skin.
Clarins is available in Clarins counters in Myer, David Jones and online at Adore beauty. 

Face of Australia BB Cream (6 in 1) - RRP A$8.95 50ml
Texture: creamy with a light citrus scent blends without too much effort.
This is more of a tinted moisturiser in texture than what I’m accustomed to in BB, work quite or it will dry up and become gritty during blending. It is also prone to balling up when layered with other skincare or makeup powders.
Finish: natural finish with a healthy glow on skin
Coverage: quite sheer, providing a healthy tint to skin to even out light imperfection and sallowness to enhance your natural complexion.
Benefits: very hydrating, helping to soothe fine lines and protect skin from irritations with aloe vera, vitamin C, green tea and chamomile extract.
Colour matching: available in 2 shades (light/medium, medium/dark) - the light/medium one I tried matches well with beige/neutral skin undertones.
Best for: those with dry skin or those with fine lines as it very hydrating and will fill those lines without settling and those with relatively good skin as it doesn’t provide adequate coverage on its own. You may need more UV protection as it only contain UV filters not enough to achieve an SPF rating.
Face of Australia is available in Priceline, Big W, Kmart and online at Fashion Addict. 

Natio Pure Mineral Skin Perfecting BB Cream SPF15 - RRP A$14.95 50g
Texture: light gel lotion. Takes some time to blend in but worth the effort lightly aromatherapy scented with lavender and ylang ylang.
Finish: provides a natural dry-touch finish with a light glow.
Coverage: light to buildable medium coverage.
Benefits: one of the more lasting hydrating BB creams in this selection with vitamin E, jojoba oil and shea butter. Really effective with soothing redness or blemish marks
Colour matching: available in 3 shades (fair, medium, tan) – I used the fair one and although lighter than my skin colour, it matches quite well once blended in, especially when warmed up with some bronzer on top.
Best for: looking for a light hydrating base that addresses conditions like redness and rosacea.
Natio is available in Myer, David Jones, leading pharmacies and online. 

Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector for sensitive skin - RRP A$13.95 50ml
Texture: is a fluid cream that is quite creamy and takes some time to blend and absorb into skin. This is a fragrance free offering to avoid irritating sensitive skin. Unfortunately, this BB cream easily balls up when mixed with other skincare (layered underneath) or foundation (for extra coverage).
Finish: a soft dewy finish with a light glow.
Coverage: quite sheer and is a bit streaky so might need other products over it to provide adequate coverage.
Benefits: with SPF 15, it does a decent job of reducing redness in skin and allows skin to breathe with its light sheer coverage. On oily skin types, it can look greasy within a few hours.
Colour matching: available in 2 shades, light and medium. Both are beige undertone so are more suited to those with pink/cool undertones.
Best for: those looking for good hydration and covering redness on good skin days.
Garnier is available in supermarkets, Priceline, Big W, Kmart and leading pharmacies. 

Clinque Moisture Surge CC Cream - RRP A$45 40ml
Texture: an unscented light gel fluid, it takes some effort to blend.
Finish: provides a natural dry-touch finish with healthy glow.
Coverage: medium finish but on my oily skin, it doesn’t last. About four hours later, my face seems to just eat up the product and I look like I’ve not used any product other than a sheer tinted moisturiser. Setting the product with powder stretches its lasting powder by a couple more hours.
Benefits: with SPF30, this CC cream contains lavender tinted micro beads to help correct sallowness  that instantly brightens up skin and full of hydrating ingredients that includes hyaluronic acid, aloe and trehalose to keep skin supple all day long.
Colour matching: available in 4 shades (very light, light, light/medium, medium/deep). I’m using light and it matches well with my skin tone
Best for: dryer skin types who are wants a light radiant glow.
Clinique is on counters in Myer, David Jones and online. 

I love Natio and Clarins BB creams for meeting all the criteria of a multi-purpose makeup/skincare product, Clinique is nice but seems to not last on oily skin and I suspect those with dryer skin would see more longevity when using it whilst Garnier and FOA were too sheer for my liking but is great for the no make up look for anyone with good skin that just need evening out of skin tones.

Overall thoughts 
Whilst I haven’t tried too many CC creams yet (next on my list is the L'oreal Nude Magique CC cream), I can’t say I see enough differences between CC and BB creams to think that they should be categorised separately. The current CC creams just seems to provide that little bit more coverage than the offerings of BB creams available (excluding the Asian BB creams which gives great medium coverage)  and contains optical pigments to improve the appearance of skintone.

What do you think of BB and CC creams? Have you tried one you like?

Blemish Busters: How to Regain Clear Complexion

Don’t you hate it when for no particular reason (that you can pin point anyway), your skin starts to act up and you start breaking out.  And it just always seems to happen at the worst of time - whenever you want to look your best without any angry red spots calling unwanted attention, giving rise to anxiety and frustration.

Unfortunately, I recently had (and am still having) this very problem with a break out on my chin and around the jaw line. I normally don’t get pimples in this area and couldn't pinpoint it to a particular reason be it related to stress, bad diet, or hormonal (as those generally triggers a break out on my cheeks). Needless to say, it's annoying and frustrating to suffer a break out.

Break out scars :(

So out came all the acne blemish treatments and skincare regime in my attempt to regain my clear chin again. Following the guideline of Treat, Heal and Prevent,  here’s a breakdown on how to say good bye to break outs, keep them in check and hello to clear complexion!

Blemish Busters

Treat

If it’s an angry outbreak, then treatment products can either stop the offending pimple from developing if caught early or if it's beyond that point, speed up its cycle so it can go away and heal quicker.

Try Neutrogena Rapid Clear 2-1 Fight and Fade spot gel (15ml $16.99) to reduce the duration of the break out and also help to fade any scars and marks.  I only use this gel at night because when used during the day with foundation over the treatment, you pretty much will have the product balling up and causing a mess to your makeup up

Another treatment I like is Clearasil Ultra Vanishing Acne Treatment Cream Extra Strength (20g A$14.49) containing 5% benzoyl peroxide to kill bacteria as well as dry out the pimples, quickly banishing spots. Those with sensitive skin types might find it too strong as it can irritate skin or cause stinging sensation so bear that in mind and try the normal strength product or use every other day only.

Dermalogica Spot correcting treatment (10ml  $35) is my preferred day time spot treatment as it doesn't ball up and has got a natural beige tint to help conceal any redness and dark marks. It also contains 5% sulphur and zinc oxide as active ingredients to help fight  and clear those pesky break outs.

Heal

When treating active pimples and acne, you need moisturising and soothing skincare as acne treatment products can by drying on skin. You want to look out for products that moisturise, help fade scars and speed up the recovery of healing skin.

Since treatment gel and creams often leave skin dry and tight, it’s important to use a hydrating moisturiser like the newly reformulated Clinique Dramatically different moisturiser Plus (50ml A$29 or 125ml A$49) containing sunflower seed, cucumber and barley extract to improve the skin barrier function and urea, hyaluronic acid, glycerine to increase moisturisation levels during the day. I like that it's non irritating so even sensitised skin will feel immediately comfortable with this great moisturiser that also gives soft silky skin.

To fight and fade off marks and scars, I've found Estee Lauder CyberWhite HD Advanced Spot Correcting Essence (20ml A$140) to be invaluable in reducing the appearance of scar marks on my chin. In fact, anything to do with pigmentation, whether from break outs or sun exposure, it has to capacity to correct and repair fresh dark marks over the course of 6 weeks. My marks from break outs are lighter and fading away by the day. I also notice that it gives my skin a translucent glow as it gently accelerates skin cell turn-over to improve skin clarity. Win-win!

Prevent

Good skin starts with daily washing and facial washes can go a long way to helping keep skin clear. Here are some of my cabinet staples during periods of break outs.

Products that contain salicylic acid like Neutrogena Oil Eliminating Foaming Cleanser (150ml A$13.99) are not very effective in removing dirt, oil and dead skin , they reduce the chance of blocked pores. I love how this cleanser leaves skin with a velvety texture after washing, is non-drying and not too harsh. Afterwards, I noticed that it also helps to provide a couple of hours of shine control so I don't oil up as much.

For scrubs, the recently released fruity smelling Clearasil Daily Clear Vitamins & Extracts Scrub (150ml A$10.99) has avocado and pomergranate extracts to sooth and nousish skin whilst the salicylic acid and micro-bead scrub is effective with manually removing dead skin cell and grease build up whilst leaving skin feeling smooth and gently cleaned.

For a little something extra, the Neutrogena 2 in 1 Cleanser Mask (150ml $13.99) is handy as you can use it  two ways- as a normal daily cleanser or as a face mask. Every other day, or when I have a new break out, I would apply a thin layer over it as a mask , wait 5 minutes and then wash off to absorb excess oil and help soften skin and sooth the pimple. The clay-based mask cleanser is also great for reducing pesky blackheads as well as it also contains salicylic acid to dissolve and dislodge dead skin cells.

After 6 weeks, I'm still not out of the woods with my break outs. I do however, find that the pimples take only a few days to heal rather than the full week. Now if only I can stop new ones from forming, I'll be on my way to clear skin again. I've also increase my intake of fresh seasonal fruit (strawberries are in season right now) and drinking plenty of water helps flush out the toxin and clear the break outs quicker. I think I'll need to add an exercise regime as the final process to help to rid toxins out of the body quicker as well.

If you are suffering a break out, give these products a try and I hope they work as well for you as they have for me.

This review features products provided for consideration but I've previously purchased and will continue to buy the above acne treatment products to help me get rid of my break outs. 

Smart Sampling with Clinique - Get 4 weeks worth of serum free!

Want a free full-size equivalent bottle of Clinique skincare product?
Of course you do and with Clinique's smart sampling you can from next week.

Clinique has set up a smart sampling initiative to give you 4 week's worth of their Repairwear Laser Focus serum. Here's how it works.

1. Visit any Clinique counter in Myer from Sunday 31st March to Sunday 14th April for a skin consult and you will receive a 15ml bottle of their hugely popular Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle and UV Damage Corrector serum.  This is equivalent to a 2-week supply for morning and night use. 
2. Come back for a follow-up consult 2 weeks later with your empty bottle and you'll receive another 15ml, 2-week supply bottle, bringing it to 4 weeks worth of product all up - all for free - that's equivalent to the A$72 full-size 30ml bottle!

Plus, during your consult, you will receive tip cards and and advice, targeted to your specific needs.

So why not head to a Clinique counter at Myer soon to see the results of this serum yourself - you don't have anything to lose, except for the potential of a few fine lines, dehydrated and uneven skin.

Better yet, spread the words and tell your, mum, sister and girfriends (or skin-savy males friends) so they can experience this skin improvement themselves - all for free thanks to Clinique Smart Sampling.

How to: Keep Skin in tip-top Shape During Winter

The extreme winter weather currently experienced by many parts of the Australia can be very harsh – your health starts to falter with the gripping flu, your energy sapped with the weather and you just feel like hibernating till Spring comes around. Worse yet, your skin suffers from a lack of vitamin D, dry and scaly skin and chapped lips.

And hydration is key to combat these conditions in these cold and chilly season so make sure to drink up on water and for your skin, keep them hydrated these products. They will be a saviour for the remainder of this winter.

Khiel’s Rosa Arctica Youth Regeneration Cream - 50ml 

A rich moisturiser that creates a thin veil of protection on the skin to lock in the moisture – it has a faint chocolate scent thanks to the cocoa butter and contain plant based squalene (olive source) to moisturise, vitamin E for anti-oxidising properties and the extract of rosa arctica the resurrection flower Haberlea Rhodopensis to help increase cell vitality for skin renewal. I had a small sample that I used for a week and it helped to keep my skin bouncy, moist and looking fresh. I personally love this in extra the mornings before the applying the SPF for its smooth matte texture or on top of a treatment serum at night.

RRP A$84 online or at Kiehl's counters at selected department stores

Clinique Turnaround Overnight Radiance Moisturise - 50ml 

For skin that need an extra helping hand, this is the one of the champion of night creams – slap this non-greasy but easily absorbed moisturising treatment all over the face before going to bed and this to help increase cell turnover and brighten dull winter skin. While is a great hydrating moisturiser, it’s name to fame is the time release salicylic acid that gently exfoliates to re-texturises skin, help fade blemish marks and smooth unevenness so your skin feel brand new in the morning again. With a week of use, you get velvetly soft skin with a healthy radiance that keeps your looking fresh. It seriously is that good that I’d say it’s made its way into my HG list of treatment products! 

50ml RRP A$90 online or at Clinique counters in department stores.


Uriage Thermal Water for Sensitive Skin 

Sourced from the thermal spring capital of France in Uriage-les-Basin, the name-sake water spray has highest percentage of trace mineral in any thermal water spray on the market. This thermal water not only hydrates and refreshes but has therapeutic properties and in France, patients with skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis go in droves to the French Thermal Centre to soak and bath in its mineral rich water.

Uriage thermal water is so soothing on irritated skin, even the most sensitive skin type will benefit from its calming and healing effects and the fine mist is just perfect to set your makeup – what a multi tasker! 

RRP A$10.95 / A$26.95  for 50ml / 300ml. Available at selected Melbourne or Sydney Stocklists or contact the company to order online.


Now lets not forget the body during the winter months, even if you cover it up under layers of clothing

L'Occitane Shea Butter Ultra Rich Body Cream - 200ml

This lightly fresh scented whipped texture body cream with 25% shea butter is a dry and dehydrated skin sufferer’s dream come true as the emollient cream is readily absorb by the body without leaving a greasy residue and keeps skin moist all day long. Along with linseed, marshmallow extract and apricot oil, you get all day hydration and within 3 days, any scaly parts of skin is transformed into the soft smooth skin, without any dry patches in sight. 

RRP $59.95 at  L'Occitane counters in selected departments, L'Occitane concept stores or online.                                                                              

Soap and Glory: The Breakfast Scrub - 300ml 

Exfoliation is another key factor to banish dull dry skin so this Soap and Body salt body scrub is the perfect aide for the job. This is my favourite because it smells like crème caramel thanks to its sugar and cupuacu scrubs particles to polish and buff while the almond and milk extract softens and nourish skin. Best of all, there is no hint of film or residue on skin after washing off unlike other salt body scrubs I’ve used before (I’m looking at you Body Shop body scrubs!)

RRP A$18.95 at Kit Cosmetics counters and online.

Uriage Bariederm Soothing Repair Barrier Lip Balm - 15ml 

Chapped lips are a common occurrence in winter and there is no better way to sooth and repair it than with an intensive lip balm. Bariederm barrier lip balm is a paraffin based product that forms a film over lips to lock moisture in and cold air out and prevent further dryness whilst provide relief from any cracked lips or chapness. The best thing is that an application last through light eating and drinking so meaning that you don’t have to re-apply frequently to the appearance of flakies at bay.

RRP A$19.95. Available at selected Melbourne or Sydney Stocklists or contact the company to order directly with them online.  

Refresh PLUS Everyday Dry Eye Drops - 30x0.4ml applicators

And finally, if you suffer from dry eyes because you are a frequent flyer, have been staring at a computer screen for way too long like I have or have foreign matter get stuck into your eyes, you will welcome this refreshing eye drops to relieve irritated or dry eyes. The innovative packaging resolves the problem with normal eye drops bottles where they can become contaminated very quickly and need to be thrown out after 6 weeks. You’ll appreciate these Refresh PLUS eye drops which come in single applicator so that you always have a fresh and sterile dose of eye drops every time. 

RRP A$15.70 at selected pharmacies and optometrists.

How have you been keeping your skin hydrated this winter?

Products features in this post were provided for consideration.

Showdown: Diorshow Liner vs Clinique Quickliner Intense

I love my eyeliners but the pencil or soft kohl varieties just leaves a smudging mess on my hooded Asian lids within an hour or so. Worse, some of less smudge-proof ones even migrate from the outer corner of my eyes to my undereye area, truly giving me the panda-eye look.

That’s why for days where I want fail-safe smudge free eyes (read: workdays), I stick with the liquid variety (my holy grail is still the Kiss Me Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Eyeliner), but you can’t smudge liquid liners and achieve the smokey sultry look, so I still keep a few pencils handy for that purpose.

Two of my latest pencils are from Dior and Clinique. I’ve pitted them against each other in a smudge and budge test and I have to say, the results were surprising indeed.

Diorshow Liner Waterproof in Carbon 098

Being promoted as a waterproof, eyeliner I have high hopes. The packaging of the pencil is exceptional - in a metallic sliver pencil design, it oozes 100 points in class and elegance.

Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Intense in 01 Intense Black*

In the other corner we have Clinique Quickliner Intense which is a dual-ended liner. The pencil end is capped by a plastic lid and other end houses a sponge smudger capped by a clear lid.

Top - Bottom: Diorshow Liner, Clinique Quickliner Intense

Both are automatic pencils meaning that there is no messing around with pencil sharpeners as a twist or two of the pencil would give new kohl lead to line eyes.

The Clinique Quickliner Intense is only one directional twist though, so don’t over twist as you wont’ be able to twist the lead back down and will end up with too long of a lead that will break off when you apply pressure to draw on skin, wasting the product (yes, I learnt about that the hard way).

Pigment wise, both are deep black and very intense in colour which Dior's Carbon showing up to be true black on photos more than Clinique which seemed to give a blue tint. They are easy to smoke out but on actual application, the differences between them become apparent.

Left - Diorshow Liner; Right- Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Intense

The Differences
Clinique glides on skin like butter without any tug or pull and feels almost like applying a liquid liner making it very easy to draw closely along the lines of eyes or do any tight lining (lining along the waterline). Dior feels more waxy and takes several strokes and harder pressing for the product to warm up and get the same colour intensity and is not as pleasant to use on upper lids.

On the back of hand smudge test, Dior stands up against the test and passed with flying colours. In fact Clinique looked more smudged after rubbing it a few times on my fingers. I was impressed with Dior at this point.

Smudge test: Diorshow liner is more true black when drawn with pressure and stands up against rubbing better

Interestingly, on eyes, it was a totally different story. My oily lids seemed to wreck havoc with Dior. The pigment fallout appears quickly  too and because of its harder lead, I don’t draw as intense line as with Clinique.

Within an hour of wear, Dior was giving me panda eyes with more fall out and fading of intensity. For Clinique, there was abit of budge but it was not as widespread and the intensity was still very much intact. In fact, I could wear the almost till 4 hours without constantly checking for fall out and smudging. After that, there is a bit of fade and movement which I clean up with a cotton bud.

Tip: Dip the cotton bud in foundation or concealer first before using it to clean off product fall-out or smudges so you don’t wipe off your base makeup from your under eye area.

Diorshow Liner - 1 hour later with a fair amount of smudge, fading and fallout

Clinique Quickliner - 1 hour later: less fallout and minimal smudging

So from a real life test, Clinique wins hands downs in my book for those with hooded or oily eye lids. It is by far more intense and longer-lasting liner that is less affected by oil; the products don't migrate as much and it just stays put. I can see myself using Clinique Quickliner for daytime wear where I want more crisp lines with minimal fall-out and Diorshow for evenings where I’m going to do a lot of smudging work for the smokey look since I'm bound to get smudges already.

It just goes to shows, for eye makeup, the back-of-hand test is very deceptive if you have oily lids. Even high-end waterproof products fail on me and I really can't see myself buying another Diorshow Liner pencil when the Clinique Quickliner can be used for both day and night and is a lot cheaper too.

Have you bought any products that worked well when tested on your arm/hand but didn’t live up to expectation when put to real use? 

Diorshow Liner RRP A$50 at Dior counters in department stores and selected pharmacies.
Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Intense* RRP A$34 available in 6 shades at Clinque counters and online.
Product marked * was provided for consideration.

Clinique Runway Coral Long Last Lipstick

It may be terrible weather with the chilly air and dreary skies in the Australian eastern coast at the moment but that doesn’t mean your wardrobe or makeup have to suffer from the same winter gloom.

Brighten up your face with a pop of colour as if it's Summer time. As they say, if you don’t have it, fake it.

Look at it this way, at least you will look good in those Instagram photos that you and your friends snap regardless of weather or season!

And nothing brings pop better than a bright lip colour, be they bright berries, sizzling reds or bold corals – they will bring some cheer to you face.

One of the latest coral is from Clinique. Good on them for releasing such a great shade that is normally reserved for the Spring season (or I should say we're lucky to live in the southern hemisphere so we get the Spring range of our northern hemisphere cousins).

Clinique Runway Coral Long Last Lipstick 

• This is a nice and bright warm coral that universally flatter all skin tones. It is rich and creamy and goes onto lips smoothly. From a shade perspective, its a fairly good dupe for Tom Ford's True Coral, which is slightly more red whereas Runway Coral is a smidgen more pink tone(see swatch comparison below). However, Tom Ford is far more pigmented and creamier in texture when worn. 

• Runway Coral provides medium to full coverage with a sheen finish which helps to gives a full-lip look. 
• The other great thing is that it isn’t prone to feathering off the edge of lips when worn so there is no fear of colour bleeding onto skin and needing touch ups every 30 minutes. 
• As for lovegivity, it does well without food and drinks (unless it’s from a straw) but the colour will fade quite a fair bit with eating and drinking. 
• Because of the creaminess, it does show up dry lips so be sure to prep your lips with a lip scrub followed by a balm before slicking on this lippy. 

Daylight, no flash on NC30 Skin

Runway Coral is a limited edition and online exclusive that was created by Clinique Global Colour Artist, Jenna Menard and looks beautiful paired with peachy cheeks in this cold winter weather.

RRP A$36 at Clinique Online for a limited time. Get it before it runs offline.
This featured product was provided for consideration.

Skincare Series: Hydration Booster for Winter

Are you one to change skincare with the season? Skin being exposed to different environmental conditions need different protections and with the dry, cold weather in Melbourne, I like switching to slightly richer and more hydrating facial and body creams.

Here are my favourites for this winter season:

L'Occitane Immortelle Precious Cream 50ml – RRP A$82

This cream sinks straight in, provides all day hydrating and works a treat as a rich yet non-greasy day cream over treatment serums (I even use it as a night cream sometimes because it’s rich enough) and suits all skin types particularly those with extremely dry skin. It smells of a bouquet of fresh field flowers and leaves a lovely silky finish on skin.

It contains the Immortelle essential oil (called the immortal flower because the petals doesn't lose colour even when it is dried or dies) to stimulate micro-circulation, increase collagen production and and has good anti-aging properties.

This facial cream is now in its 10th anniversary with a new improved formulation and continues to be one of L’Occitane’s best sellers that will give smoother, firmer skin.

Tip: remember to use on the neck and décolletage for silky soothe skin there too

Available at David Jones, selected Myer stores and L'Occitane online.

We all know by now our skin recharges overnight whilst we sleep so it’s worthwhile investing in products that give it a boosting hand. 

Clinique Turnaround overnight radiance moisturizer 50ml - RRP A$90

This multi-tasker does exactly that by gently exfoliating the skin and increasing cell-turnover (salicylic acid in a time release system and chestnut seed extract) to reveal clearer tone and complexion.

Emollient and rich but not greasy, Clinique Turnover Overnight Radiance Moisturizer works to give intense hydration and facial-like results while you sleep. Not only does it provide that extra hydration boost (hyaluronic acid, hydroxyethyl urea and trehalose) at night without the grease to make skin is brighter and more even in tone after a week’s use, and within a month, I’m seeing smooth velvetly skin that is all plumped up, clear and radiant.

Avaliable at Clinique counters in Myer and David Jones store and Clinique online.  I wasn't provided the product packaging so don't have the ingredients listing for this moisturiser.

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate 30ml - RRP A$59

On alternating nights I use this elixir of pure botanicals and essential oils (rosehip, evening primrose, jojoba and rosemary leaf oil). With a light lavender (from the essential oil) and faint squalene (plant-based from olives) scent, it is lightweight and readily absorbs into the skin to leave only a light sheen on the skin and fixes any dry patches, plumps up skin and helps to replenish lost lipids in skin.

Skin is soft, supple and hydrated after two uses and after a month of continued use, I notice faster he I use it in place of my night time moisturiser after applying treatment serums and within a week notice plump, supple and brighter skin.

Available at Kiehl's counters in selected Myer and David Jones stores and Kiehl's online.

Grown Rosa Damascena Acai & Pomegranate Intense Body Cream 120ml - RRP A$29

One of my favourite body moisturiser, it is intensely hydrating but non-tacky and leaves a silky dry finish on skin once absorbed. The cream forms a light shield on skin to help improve the skin's barrier function to increase skin hydration.

It also has a light pleasant orange vanilla scent and enriched with rose oil, pomegranate and acai extract to help improve skin firmness and replenish lost essential fatty acids back into skin. I love rubbing this cream into rough areas like elbows and knees as well as all over the arms and legs for immediately soft, smooth skin.

Available in selected Myer and pharmacies - check here for stocklist and Grown online.

So whether you live in freezing southern states or warmer northern regions, the winter months brings on dryer weather and your skin will need a hydration boost. Be sure to look at your current skincare regime to see what you can introduce to give it that extra level of moisture.


Products featured were provided for consideration.

Clinique Chubby Sticks

Do you love hydration of lip balms but wished for more colour payoff in them? If so, then I think I've found the perfect product that would do exactly that.

Clinique Chubby Sticks Lip Colour Balm

Woopin watermelon, Mega Melon, Super Strawberry, Whole Lotta Honey

Shaped like a crayon, what I love most about these sticks is that they don’t need to be sharpened at all when the stick gets blunt. All you need to do is twist the silver end of the pen and you’ve got a longer stick to use instantly. No mess, no fuss!

And with shea and mango butters, jojoba and olive oil, these seriously go on like a balm, is soothing and moisturise the lips for hours on end with not hint of stickiness, and give a beautiful sheen to lips.

As for the colours, they impart a sheer hint of tint to give lips a fuller and healthier look. Layering the product do intensify the colour and gives a deeper tint but my medium natural lip colour still shows through.

The range come in 8 shades and the current Chubby Colour & Shine set with 4 mini chubby stick which is part of the Christmas gift sets that I picked up last week at the Beauty Beats event contains the best selling shades set is perfect way the start the chubby stick collection with a silver makeup purse to keep them all safe.

These mini sticks are less than half size (1.2g vs 3g for the full size ones) but are a great way to get acquainted with the range for less than the price of 2 full-sized products.

And with Summer now in full swing these are the perfect lip product to take to the beach with you for softly tinted hydrated lips all day long.

Woppin' Watermelon is a pale cool pink and on my lips is the perfect milky nude pink. It is almost the perfect nude pink shade for me - if only there is slightly more colour payoff to cover my uneven tip tone.

Whole Lotta Honey is a warm red based caramel tint that looks like my lip colour but a hell lotta better!

Mega Melon is a peachy shade with just the right hint of pink to look pretty on lips.

Super Strawberry is a berry tint that stains the lips just the right shade.

For comparison and swatching completeness purpose I’ve also include a swatch of Chunky Cherry, which I have a full size stick of and is a bright cherry stain and is very apt of its name.

Chunky Cherry and swatch

Other shades available are Fuller Fig, Richer Raisin and Graped-Up.

Chubby Stick Full size 3g A$35 | Limited Edition Chubby Colour and Shine Set A$59 are available at Myer and David Jones stores.

Clinique Almost Bronzer SPF 15

After applying foundation, skin can look flat with a single colour and lack dimension. That's why we needs skin enhancers and contouring products to add the contours back and give a more structured look.

With summer coming up, it's important to find a good bronzing product to add a bit of glow and sun-kissed colour into your face and I think I've found just the right product. 

Clinique Almost bronzer SPF 15 - 9g

This limited edition enhancer features a beige and light golden-bronze shade, both of which contains micro fine golden shimmer. Even better when it comes paired with an adorable green and yellow floral mini-makeup bag.

Neither muddy or orange looking, this imparts a subtle glow to my medium NC30 skin and when swept below the cheekbones and temples, gives a flush of colour like it's been kissed by the sun for a few hours. Light enough on my skin, the beige side is also a great highlighter for above the brow bones and above the apples of cheeks.

The compact flips up to reveal a brush underneath. Normally brushes included in compacts seem to be added in as an after-thought and range from unusable to passable. It's not the case here as this natural bristled brush is soft as silk but firm enough to grab powder beautifully and is something worthy of paying for on its own right.

Clinique Almost Bronzer is not a deep bronzer but one that gives a subtle golden radiance. I am smitten with it after using it for contouring and it now has a permanent home in my makeup bag.

RRP A$59 at Clinique counters or online now! Be quick as this limited edition gem won't be around forever!
This featured product was provided for consideration.

Rave: Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus All-smooth Makeup SPF 15

Following on my last foundation post, I'm on a roll and thought it only fitting to do another foundation post this week.

A fan of multi-purpose products, I find anything that makes saves me time in the morning or makes life easier added to the staples list of my (ever-growing) morning beauty routine. So when this latest 2-in-1 skincare makeup was launched into the market earlier this month, I knew it would be something that could easily simplify my life in the rushed mornings.

Clinique Repairwear laser focus all-smooth makeup SPF 15 - 30ml 

• This combines the patented ingredients and benefits of the hugely successful Clinique Repairwear laser focus de-wrinkle and UV damage corrector serum to correct, protect and prevent fine lines and wrinkle causing by UV damage. 
• This foundation goes on smoothly, gives medium buildable coverage and dries to a soft natural finish (similar to Bobbi Brown's long lasting natural finish foundation, but with more coverage). 
• Upon application, it immediately soften lines whilst evening out skintone and hiding imperfections (as you expect a foundation to do). But the key impressive thing for me with that is that it is very moisturising, and doesn't settle into fine lines or accentuate large pores and lines. It just basks my skin in moisture and keeps it hydrated all day long, which is particularly beneficial in air-conditioned offices. 
• Contains SPF 15 (the standard SPF formula for foundations in our market) and a cocktail of ingredients that you normally find in skincare to help reverse the signs of aging. 
• You will find skin protecting Murumuru seed butter, vitamin E to provides anti-oxidative protection while skin plumping palimitoyl oligopeptide and siegesbeckia orientalis extract fills in the lines and gives skin a smoother appearance, and whey proteins firms and refines the texture . Add in the SPF and you have an all rounder skincare product really. 
• Use with your anti-aging and damage corrector skincare, this will no doubt give an added boost to the reversal of skin imperfections and damage rather than just covering it up. Paired with the Repairwear Laser Focus serum (review of that coming soon), it makes for the perfect powerhouse couple in the fight for fine lights and bad skin texture. 

this gives a medium coverage natural dewy finish. Flash used

blended swatches on NC30 skin

I had the chance to try shade 3 which from the photos above, you can see is slightly too beige on my golden skintone and would suit those with more neutral/pink undertones. I did find that this foundation oxidises slightly to become darker by the end of the day but as the sample shade I had was not coloured matched to me, I'm not too sure if a matching colour would minimise the colour-changing effects of oxidation.

For foundation colour matching, it's best to get a colour consultation with the makeup advisor and check the results in natural sunlight, away from the bright warm store lights. If you are unsure of the formula or colour match provided (the advisors do make mistakes sometimes), ask for a small sample to use for a couple of days to make sure its the right product/shade for you.

Clinique's repairwear laser focus makeup is what I like to call a genius foundation: it feels very comfortable on skin, gives adequate coverage with a great finish that lasts the whole day and with longer term use actually helps to improve the texture and appearance of your skin. This is by far my one of my foundations released this year in terms of finish and coverage and with 10 shades available for 2 different skin types (I: very dry or II: dry-combination), you should be able to find a shade that suits.

RRP A$68 | US$32.50 |£27.00 at Clinique counters across the country now.
This product was provided for consideration.

Review: Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector

Hyper-pigmentation has recently been an issue with me. I’m not sure whether it’s caused by hormonal imbalances, inadvertent sun exposure or some other external aggravators but I’m finding more tiny pigmentation marks appearing around the eye area this year. That is why I’m always on the lookout for products that promises to address pigmentation and even out skintone.

Having won Marie Claire's 2011 Prix De'Excellence International Award and garnering high praises everywhere else, I was very curious to try Clinique's re-formulated 'damage eraser'.

Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector - 30ml

• Contains patent pending CL-302 complex which combines 5 ingredients to address pigmentation: Dianella Ensifolia, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Blackout Yeast Extract which addresses pigmentation by gently brightening skin and glucosamine and Salicylic Acid to normalise skin pigmentation over production and to help soften skin and increase cell turnover.  Other star ingredients which also tackle pigmentations are Acetyl glucosamine and grapefruit extract, another skin brightener to deliver a powerful anti-pigmentation punch. 
• Is a light milky fluid with a pleasant scent, it absorbs easily and leaves no visible sheen or grease. You hardly realise it was there if not for skin being so much smoother and softer to the touch afterwards. 
• Performs well with fading scar marks – my blemish marks from hormonal outbreaks were gone in 1 week when they normally take 3 or 4 weeks to fade on its own. 
• Works equally well to prevent further darkening of freckles, sun spots or pigmentation. It really stops those marks on its tracks. 
• Lightens existing pigmentations - after 4 weeks of daily use, the newly formed pigmentations are lighter and barely visible and are invisible under light makeup. The older pigmentation spots are slightly lighter, but I haven’t notice a big difference to say WOW yet. Skintone is definitely brighter and more even throughout . 
• Treated early, this serum will definitely lighten and fade pigmentation spot and dark marks till they are barely visible. Whilst it won’t completely erase the older dark pigmentation marks, they do become lighter. 

In a nutshell:
This is now my go-to daily serum for hydration with the added surety that it's slowly helping to fade my existing pigmentation. I highly recommend this serum if you have pigmentation concerns and want to gently fade without irritations to skin that other more aggressive products may cause.

Ingredients:

Water, dimethicone, isododecane, cyclopentasiloxane, polysilicone-11, butylene glycol, ascorbyl glucoside, peg-10 dimethicone, curcuma longa (turmeric) root extract,oryza sativa (rice) bran extract, citrus grandis (grapefruit) peel extract, hordeum vulgare (barley) extract\extrait d'orge, triticum vulgare (wheat) germ extract, betula alba (birch) bark extract, cucumis sativus (cucumber) fruit extract, dimethoxytolyl propylresorcinol, scutellaria baicalensis root extract, morus bombycis (mulberry) root extract, trametes versicolor extract, saccharomyces lysate extract, yeast extract\faex\extrait de levure, peg-6, tromethamine, salicylic acid, polysorbate 20, cholesterol, isohexadecane, propylene glycol dicaprate, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seedcake, caffeine, tocopheryl acetate, acetyl glucosamine, simethicone, glycyrrhetinic acid, polysorbate 80, sodium hyaluronate, di-c12-18 alkyl dimonium chloride, sodium rna, squalane, sodium sulfite, sodium metabisulfite, caprylyl glycol, hexylene glycol, ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate/vp copolymer, acrylamide/sodium acryloyldimethyltaurate copolymer, disodium edta, phenoxyethanol, yellow 6 (ci 15985), yellow 5 (ci 19140)

RRP A$92 at Clinique counters now.
This product was provided for consideration.

Clinique 3 Step Challenge

Clinique has issued out a challenge to those of you who are seeking for a simple solution for clean skin.

From 6th July till 17th August, they are giving out samples of their iconic 3-step cleansing system so you can try it for yourself and fall in love with your cleaner, clearer skin.

You will receive a custom-fit (for your skin type) 30ml size of 

• Liquid Facial Soap cleanser 
• Clarifying Lotion exfoliator 
• Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion 

I was first was introduced to this 3-step cleansing system over a decade ago and I can tell you it is a god-send for anyone with oily skin. If you need intense hydration in this drying weather, you may need to supplement the 3 step with a serum or top up with a richer moisturiser.

So head to your nearest Clinique counters with this coupon now to treat your skin for 2 weeks.

Now, if that free sample isn't enough incentive for you, there are daily 3-step packs giveaways for the next 6 weeks and a chance to win a $1000 Westfield gift card and 2 years supply of the 3-step system via the Clinique facebook page or Iphone App so be sure to check that out cos you gotta be in it to win it!