As a student, I am forced to make choices on what to spend my money on. No matter how much I dream of owning a pair of Jimmy Choos, I know it ain’t gonna happen. I have to BUDGET (the very word sends shivers down my back). My budget (this budget is just in my head – I’m not organised enough to actually write it down) is grouped into 6 main categories: going out, food, transport, clothes, music, and beauty products. Now I’m quite happy to save every penny I can with most of these categories. I don’t mind a night out in my local club if I can’t afford to go into town, I’ll happily eat a 43p Gregg’s sausage roll for my lunch, I have no problems using my mum’s petrol or searching down the back of the sofa for my train fares, I don’t mind borrowing clothes from my friends, and I download all my CDs rather than buy them. But the one
area you’ll never catch me being cheap in is beauty products.
I need my over-priced, over-hyped, branded makeup, hair products, moisturisers, lotions and potions. I could never bring myself to use a Superdrug own brand foundation (if they even have their own brand makeup) or Collection 2000 mascara (no offence to anyone who does). Ever since I was about 15 I have been searching for the perfect foundation. And so my search one day took me to the Clinique counter in Frasers, wondering what the hell the difference is between all the different foundations.
The lady was really nice (are they on commission?) and explained everything to me. She suggested the Superbalanced makeup, and wouldn’t let me buy anything until she’d tested the colour on my face. I found this very helpful as I know I’m wearing the right shade for my skin tone. The staff at any Clinique counter I’ve been to have all been nice, knowledgeable, and eager to help but beware – they always seem to talk me into buying extra things that I had no intention of buying. There’s a really wide range of shades available so there’s something for every skin tone. Eventually she settled on a shade for me – 02 Fair. It cost £17.50 which is a bit pricey compared to some other brands but I do say, if you want quality you have to pay for it.
The bottle comes inside a small greenish coloured box but, never one for keeping the boxes, I’m unable to describe this to you in any greater detail than that. The actual bottle itself is made of kind of thick frosted glass so you can see the product inside, and has a silver screw-on top. On the front is the classy Clinique logo and the product name. On the back is some useful information, it says that it is allergy tested, 100% fragrance free, and is also oil-free. It is a 30ml bottle.
You’ll find that the bottle is filled right up to the top with foundation, which is good! The actual product itself is (surprisingly) a light brown/skin colour, but this will obviously vary depending on the shade you’ve chosen. It pours out onto my hand very easily and I’ve found that it’s not too thick or too runny. It’s perfect! I use this by tipping the bottle up and pouring a small amount onto my hand, then dotting it over my face with my finger and rubbing it in (being careful not to leave a line around my chin – I HATE makeup lines!). The makeup blends in very easily and isn’t visible on my skin afterwards. Well, of course it’s visible, but it just looks like my natural skin, not foundation (if you know what I mean?). It isn’t too greasy either, as other makeup can be.
I think this product is great because I have some quite dry skin on my nose and usually foundations make the problem worse and just highlight it, but I haven’t had this problem with Clinique. It leaves my skin with a very even coverage, looking completely flawless. I’ve also had no problems with the makeup rubbing off during the day, even if I touch my face a lot. Although the bottle is relatively small, you’ll find that a little goes a long way, depending on whether you go for the ‘natural’ look, using just a little makeup, or the ‘slapper’ look, smearing half an inch of makeup on your face (or was that just girls at my school?). By the way, I’d recommend the natural look.
You should always remove your makeup at night, and I find this product has came off very easily no matter what I've used to remove it.
The only problem I’ve encountered with this product is with the glass bottle design. When the bottle is full it’s fine but when you’ve used a lot of it, it can sometimes be difficult to get the makeup out of the bottle. Sometimes you think you’ve got a lot left but really you don’t.
Needless to say, I love this product. It’s the only foundation I’ve used since I first tried it. So I’m happy to report – my quest for the perfect foundation is over! I now have a flawless complexion, and what more could I want?
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Does not interfere with natural moisture balance, good coverage, glowing skin Disadvantages: Hard to match colour, may require setting with powder
Advantages: Good range of colours, even coverage Disadvantages: Doesn't stand up to extreme heat very well, variation in viscosity of product, bottle has no pump
May 20th, 2003
very helpful by (100%):
