Clinique Even Better Make-up SPF 15

Clinique Even Better Make-up SPF 15

At a glance and thinking back to the price tag the tube is small (approximately 2.5-3 inches tall and 2 inches wide with about 0.5 - 1 inch thick) and labelled at £22. This really did seem a little TOO expensive even for Clinique really as I highly doubted that it would last me for a month although the dermatologist advised that I could actually use the foundation as a concealor as well which justifies the price a little better. I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go anyway.

Looking at the tube it's not big in size and the lid has the silver mirroring effect like most other Clinique products with white writing over a beige coloured tube. The tube is firm and solid so that it's not easily squeezed (in case it gets squashed it's less likely to pop) and it comes in a small box which is a light beige in colour with a kind of floral print. The back of the tube says "Shake well before using. WARNING: for external use only. Discontinue use if irritation occurs. Keep out of reach of children. If swallowed, get medical help right away." and at the bottom is the address of the main laboratory and it states the product was made in Belguim and that the tube contains 30mls.

On the Clinique website the product specifications are;
Skin Types: All Skin Types
Formula: Liquid
Coverage: Moderate to Full
Benefits: Anti-aging, Covers or treats uneven skin tone, Mineral enriched, Long wearing
Concern: Uneven Skin Tone

Other colours you can get in this foundation are;

• Linen
• Cream Rose
• Alabaster
• Fair
• Ivory
• Cream Chamois
• Neutral
• Honey
• Vanilla
• Beige
• Sand
• Porcellein Beige
• Gold
• Ginger
• Clove
• Sienna
• Buff
• Latte
• Amber
• Tawnied Beige
• Toffee
• Butterscotch
• Cashew
• Pecan
• Spice
• Espresso
  As you can tell there are a load of different skin tones to choose from and I think that this is amazing because most other brands you give or take and sometimes the colour isn't exactly what you want but you have to get what closest matches your skin tone. The reason I like the big variety is because I usually have to settle with something that is generally too dark for my skin and because there's one or two shades that are relatively close to my skin tone I can get a much closer match to get that more natural look because it never looks good when you get a false match and end up looking orange!

I do actually also like that the product has SPF 15 which I haven't known any other foundations that I've used to have that protection from the sun and being that I'm actually quite a pale person (We're talking whiter than white) then I need something to help protect my skin as I burn quite easily and the last thing anybody wants is to look red and burnt plus - it can be uncomfortable, flakey and painful.

Overall I would say that the look is professional there's a bit more detail and to be able to use a foundation as a concealor as well is actually quite good as concealor isn't always that cheap and sometimes I prefer to only wear concealor. The only thing I can fault is that the tube doesn't look like it's going to last a very long time so £22 still seems a little steap when I've been used to spending around the £7 mark for a foundation that has lasted me for a month.

Where can I buy this and how much?

You can buy this foundation from the clinique website or clinique counters in Boots stores where this specific foundation is priced at £22 although there are other foundations which are differently priced. These are;

• Even Better Make-up SPF 15 £15
• NEW Age Defense BB Cream SPF 30 £25
• NEW Repairwear Laser Focus All-Smooth Makeup SPF 15 £27
• Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 £21
• Redness Solutions Makeup SPF 15
• Superbalanced Make-up £21.50
• Anti-Blemish Solutions Liquid Makeup £22
• Perfectly Real Make-up £21.50
• Super Moisture Make-up £21.50
• Almost Powder Makeup SPF 15 £22
• Superbalanced Powder Make-Up £27.50
• Repairwear Anti-Ageing Makeup SPF 15 £23.50
• Continuous Coverage £21.50

You can also buy this foundation online on eBay but it's still varying around the £15 mark and might be more beneficial to get it from the Clinique website and get some freebies or get this from boots when there are promotional offers on.

Clinique

So who are Clinique exactly?

Clinique was originally founded in 1968 by a single dermatologist who began with an assumption that hygeine and cleanliness was the beginning to treating all skin conditions e.g. dry, oily, normal or breakout skin. Since then Clinique has been self motivated to customise their products to individual types of skin to suit an individual persons needs.
Clinique thus created a three step skin care system which consists of cleansing, exfoliating and moisturizing the skin. If you go into Boots and get a free skin care consultation they can point out for you what skin care products are best for your skin type and how to use them effectively to get the best results. Of course with the various different skin care providers they all have anti-aging and eye creams which were introduced in 1999.

Why did I buy this product?

I tend to change the foundation I use mostly because I either want a foundation that is closer to my skin colour or one that is cheaper and usually I can't find one that's exactly my colour anyway. At the time I knew there was a promotional offer for the bonus time and I'd received a coupon for a free lipstick with a free consultation so I thought that I may as well so I went along and had the consultation and bought an eyeshadow and then asked about the foundation as there seemed to be a fair few and there were two good matches #3 which is Ivory and #1 which is Alabastor and I went for Alabastor the first time to give me a bit more of a glow during the cold days and then the second time I purchased this I went for Ivory to properly match my skin colour although there wasn't a massive difference between the two other than the fact that with Alabastor I had to wear the foundation all over my face otherwise you could see the colour and then Ivory I could use this as a concealor as it blended in nicely with my skin tone. Obviously I'll be buying Ivory again in the future.

Using the Foundation

I came to use my foundation and shook the tube as instructed and then applied this to a make-up sponge and patted my skin to get an even application. The Ivory colour blended in really well onto my skin and gave me an almost flawless look and the only reason I say almost flawless is because I had a spot from an overly greasy kebab a couple of days before. A few days after when I was using the foundation again and in a rush to get to work I decided to just use the foundation as a concealor and patted the foundation on uneven tones on my face and the disappearing kebab spot. I was still actually nicely surprised that it covered it quite well and I still had the same kind of finish and as it's a matte finish it doesn't make your skin look too shiny although I would say that if you have oily/greasy skin and it can get shiny that if you're going to use matte then you'll need to apply all over otherwise you'll have patchy dry and greasy areas and it'll be much more visible.

Result

I noticed that the foundation lasted all day on every occassion that I applied the foundation and it gave me a fresh look and made my skin look near to flawless which is good for a little confidence boost. However nearing the eight hour mark it was starting to show up more obviously where little imperfections were but didn't graduate to a worst look and when I got home and removed the foundation I could tell that the foundation had still covered up very well. In regards to Clinique therefore saying that there is a moderate to full coverage I think that this is actually based on the amount of imperfections a person actually has as I found that it wasn't too bad on my skin and did a fairly good job but for those who suffer from acne or acne rosacea they might find that the coverage isn't as good but I do think that it is vastly based on the condition and the type of skin you have in the first place.

Does it come off easily?

When I did take the foundation off it did come off very easily and I made sure that it was all removed by washing my face afterwards as I normally would in any case. I wouldn't say that it's a difficult foundation to remove although you can't see where the foundation has been removed and where it hasn't so you need to wipe all over once and then do it a second time to get any areas that may have been missed and where I think it's a bit annoying the initial point in foundation is that it's not visible and I think the foundation is still good regardless of this.

How visible is it?

You can't really tell when you're wearing this foundation (granted that you've applied it correctly) I find that it applies easily and well for an even coverage and that you can't even really tell that I'm wearing any foundation unless I have a spot and that's the only time that you can see that foundation has been applied. Another case where this foundation would be visible is if you didn't get the correct colour match for your skin tone as the wrong shade can be scarily obvious at times and doesn't give off the best of looks.

Warnings and suitability

Clinique have only given warning on the back of the tube which states: "WARNING: for external use only. Discontinue use if irritation occurs. Keep out of reach of children. If swallowed, get medical help right away." I find that this is a fairly decent amount of warning and there's nothing more that I could think of to be honest so I'm going to say that this is good compared to the warning and suitability on the rest of the other products that Clinique provide although I will say that there probably could have been a little bit more.

My tips on;

Skin Care

*Your pillow is full of germs - think about it - you sleep for around six to eight hours on your pillow and how often do you change your pillow? It's not necessarily the case either so you may want to wash both the pillow and the case as you will actually get germs from your pillow which will clog up your pores and create spots.

*Another thing is your phone, have you ever been on the phone and then noticed a bit of make-up on the phone? If you have then imagine what else is on your phone besides make-up. You touch your phone with you fingers and whether you realise there are germs/dirt or not you will leave bits of dirt and then somebody rings and you put the phone to your ear and the dirt is then pressed onto your face. If you notice spots more so on one side of your face then this could be why. Wipe your phone over before you make a call to help reduce this.

*If you use make-up sponges don't be tempted to wash them to remove the make-up as there may still be germs - instead throw them in the bin. You can purchase a bag of make-up sponges from poundland which will last for around two weeks which isn't much to grumble at.

*Finally - be healthy and happy. If you eat seven takeaways a week and you drink loads of fizzy drinks not only will you be packing more pounds than the bank but it'll show in your skin, hair and nails. Nails will chip easily, hair will break easily and become greasier and so will your skin therefore promoting blemishes. Make sure you eat your veg and better still drink plenty of water. You'll feel happier too.

Make-up

*Foundation is easy enough to apply but the way that you apply it can sometimes look a bit obvious. Some of my friends prefer to use a foundation brush and where I like them I find that you can sometimes see strokes on your skin from the brush - imagine you're painting a wall you aren't going to use a brush you'll use a roller as the lines are not obvious - my opinion is use a cotton bud and pat or use a make-up sponge and pat onto the skin lightly as it'll give the same affect and look much more natural and you wont get the lines.

*If you want thicker eyelashes then you don't need to keep applying mascara - if you get an old eye shadow that you don't use and brush them over your eyelashes this will actually help to build up your eyelashes so when you do put the mascara on - it'll look much thicker instantly and wont be costly to you (or you could get eyelash extensions.

*If you make a mistake don't go and buy the garnier correction pen it's much cheaper to get a bit of tissue or the edge of a sponge and remove it gently with some of your make-up remover - it's effectively the same thing only it wont cost you around the £5 mark.

*When you apply eye shadow remember that when you sweep you're getting a thin colour so if you want it to be more obvious then pat the eyeshadow onto your eyelid gently and be careful not to pat too hard.

*If you want to make your eyes look a little brighter then apply a white eyeliner in the corners of your eyes - this will help to make them look a little whiter.

*If you want a thin line of eyeliner then find a good liquid eyeliner with a thin applicator and brush along the eyelashes - think of when you draw a straight line down the center of a book using one side to make that straight line, it's the same technique and can be done to make a thin or a thick line.

Value for money

Rimmel, Mac and Max Factor will last you around a month and cost between £5 and £7ish and unfortunately the Clinique foundation only lasts about six weeks which isn't even two months really and to be honest I was disapointed at this and this works out as being about £12 more for Clinique to last around six weeks less then what three tubes of Garnier or rimmel foundation would have been. To me I think that if you're going to buy this foundation then you need to really like the brand and you need to be buying it because it's one of the only brands that give you exactly what you want - otherwise if you have one that's perfect for you and cheaper then it's better to just stick to that.

Conclusion

Overall I'm going to rate this four out of five stars simply because I think it's well overpriced and there are foundations out there that can do the same job. I'm undecided as to whether I would recommend this to a friend as I would say that it is definitely a good foundation to use but for the price it's something that seriously needs to be considered before purchase. I will buy this again myself but only because it's the only foundation that has given me the best match for my skin colour although others have come close but have lacked in other areas.