Clinique Fresh Pressed Cleanser

The other week I was invited to the Clinique counter at Boots in Cardiff for a preview of the new Fresh Pressed Cleanser that Clinique have brought out. I was really interested to see what this cleanser would be like. 

Clinique describe this product as a simple, two step system that contains powerful Vitamin C. Before I had the cleanser used on me I was told all about the product, how to use it and what it does. After getting my makeup removed, it was time to put the cleanser on my face.

The cleanser comes in sachets in powder format. It's an ultra fine powder that activates with water. The first step is to mix it with water to create the cleanser. Clinique say that it instantly purifies, brightens and retexturizes. It can be used every morning as it is nice and gentle. You can apply this to your face with hands and cleanse that way, but you can also use the Clinique Cleansing Brush. This is one of those deep clean brushes similar to Clarisonic. I've never used one of these before, but really enjoyed the feel of it on my skin.

After cleansing, the second step is to use the booster. To use you just press the button on the booster to activate the Vitamin C. You mix two drops of this with your moisturizer in the morning and evening. The sachets and booster work together but are separate products.

The woman on counter who showed me the product was really nice and friendly and took me through it all step by step. At first the product did seem a bit complicated to use but after being shown how to use it, it looked fairly simple. This is definitely a different sort of cleanser to what I normally use. The only thing similar to it that I have used is the Lush cleansers where you have to mix with water to create a paste. 

The cleanser can be bought in a few different ways. For people buying it for the first time, Clinique has a 7 day system with Pure Vitamin C for £25.00. You get 7 single use sachets and a 7 day vial of the booster. You can also buy the sachets separately. A month's supply of sachets is £24.00 while a set of four boosters is £58.00.

I didn't really think much of the cleanser. I think it can get expensive having to constantly buy sachets and the booster. I've tried cleansers from other premium brands and found that they work out a lot cheaper as you don't have to keep buying it every month. A cleanser will last me over a month. I just don't like having the fuss of having to keep getting a month's supply and then bother with a booster.

I just didn't like having to mix the powder with water either. I've tried other cleansers where you have to mix them with water, so having to mix it isn't really new. 

I was talking to my friend yesterday who has also tried this product. She wasn't that fussed on it either, even said that the powder looked like cocaine. 

While some people may like this cleanser and find it works for them, I personally didn't like it. I'd like to thank the staff at Clinique for letting my try this product. 

Clinique Crayola Chubby Sticks

Lately I saw the most amazing thing to happen in makeup this year. Actual Crayola crayons you can use on your lips. That's right, you can now buy Crayola lip crayons. When I first saw it, I was immediately fascinated. I never once imagined a brand like Clinque would bring out actual lip crayons.

They are basically Clinique's Chubby Sticks themed to Crayola crayons. They come in a range of different colors too. Chubby Sticks can be quite sheer so I went for Chubby Stick Intense which gives a much stronger color to the lips. The two colors I got were Brick Red and Red Violet.

With any two colors I also got a free makeup bag to put them in.

The two colors I got are great because they really stand out. The color built up really nice too and kept my lips feeling nice and hydrated. My lips do get dry so the chubby sticks are great as they feel conditioning too. Chubby Sticks are not really a lipstick but a moisturizing lip color balm. 

You can apply the color sheer or really build it up. These are the intense version of the Chubby Sticks so they do have a lot more pigment in them than the regular Chubby Sticks. They did need a bit of reapplying later on in the day.

I just love the design of them, they look just like Crayola crayons too. I know many brands offer lip crayons, but these ones actually are crayons. 

Clinique Bloggers Event Cardiff

I recently got invited to a bloggers event hosted by Clinique. The event was earlier on today and was in Boots, Cardiff. I really love going to blogger events as you get to meet some fantastic people as well as checking out some awesome products. Clinique is one of those brands where I have tried one or two products but haven't really looked at the entire range. This event was a great opportunity to try a lot of new stuff.

The event was held off the shop floor in a room that was fantastically decorated for this event. Once we were all checked in we were all shown to a room that had quite a lot of products to try as well as loads of brushes and applicators. I just love these beauty events where you get to sit down and experiment with all the colors. It really does let you get a feel for the range.

After a quick introduction about Clinique we were told about all of the products and the best way to use them. Apart from a big range of makeup, Clinique is well known for it's range of skincare, suited to all different skin types.

I once tried Clinique's 3 step skincare programme a few years back. My skin really didn't take to it and the clarifying lotion I was recommended was completely the wrong one for my skin type and even hurt to use. It stung so bad it felt like acid and I had to wash it off. Fortunately I decided to give Clinique another try and this event was a perfect opportunity to see the full range on offer. I was told that 3 step isn't for everyone (I happen to be one of those people) and that there was a more suitable range for my skin type that is much gentler and without alcohol. 

The skin products I tried on my skin earlier on did feel much better than the ones I had tried a few years back and I will be going back to the Clinique counter for a skin consultation.

After skincare it was time to check out the makeup. Clinique offer a full range of foundation along with a good range of color. Even for people like me who love something a little less ordinary there was plenty of colors for me to choose from.

Using all of the products on offer I was able to create a makeup look for myself. I was really impressed with their Beyond Perfection Foundation And Concealer. It gave me full coverage and blended into the skin nicely. I also liked using their new Foundation Buff Brush which felt awesome to apply foundation with and gave my skin that nice glow.

Products I used

My look

At the event we were all given a fantastic goody bag with some smaller sized products as well as some samples. One of the products was the primer I had used earlier on. I loved the feel of it and i'm very happy there was one in the goody bag.

I really enjoyed the event and thought it was fantastic. It was a great introduction for me to Clinque and a great opportunity to try new products. Thanks Clinique.