Today on the blog, I’m excited to share the first part of a two part collaboration with Clinique! (update: you can find part 2 of this collab here!) I’m going to chat a little bit about my new favorite lipsticks (The Clinique Lip Pop.. thus, the vague movie reference in the title… name that movie… tell me in the comments if you get it!) and share my experience testing out Clinque’s new (complimentary!) “You-Time” consultations and counter services. (Which, you absolutely need to try ASAP!)
A couple of weeks ago, I popped by the Clinique counter at the Aventura Mall Macy’s and met with Issette. Before getting started, we first sat down and went through Clinique’s diagnostic questions to diagnose my skin type (I’m Clinique Type 2!) and address my skincare goals and concerns.
My Skincare Concerns
A pretty hideous bout of adult onset acne in my early 20s left me with discoloration and scarring that is basically the reason I am addicted to full coverage foundations. I now get ONE pimple a month on my chin. (BTW- chin breakouts are hormonal and happen frequently in your 30s. I also have to tweeze and wax my chin now, but that’s a different story! UGH, #hormones.)
My other skincare concerns are mainly preventative aging and a borderline obsession with glowy skin. I’m pretty fortunate to have good genes; even at 30 I have no wrinkles or lines and I was even mistaken for a college student when I was moving my sis into her dorm at FSU two weeks ago! (YAY, right?!)
Before the consultation, Clinique has compiled a little mini quiz to help determine your skin type to easily prescribe you a skin care regimen.
Going over my skincare concerns and this face chart with Issette before getting started.
“You-Time” Services
After diagnosing my skin type and addressing my concerns, we dove right in to the “You-Time” services. These new services are individually tailored to each customer’s needs. Whether you want to drop in for a little glam-on-the-go pampering, or want to learn how to do a daytime smokey eye, you can choose to “Teach” or “Treat.” (I obvi chose “teach” because I’m obsessed with beauty and how to do things!)
Often when you pop by a beauty counter, they just do your makeup or whatever service you’re there for and then send you on your way. At Clinique, they really take the time to teach you how to do things and walk you through the skincare regimen they’re prescribing to make sure you have no questions. Every step of the way, I watched with a hand mirror while Issette would demonstrate the proper technique on half of my face and would then walk me through the process as I emulated the technique on the other side.
“Daily Detox” & “Power Up Skin”- Daily Skin Regimen & Prep
The first two services I tried were “Daily Detox” and “Power Up Skin”, a daily regimen to combat all of the skin issues I combat on a daily basis. I’m actually going to cover these two services more in-depth in my next post, plus share my thoughts on how well it has worked for me, so stay tuned! Issette walked me through what my daily routine should be and wrote up a prescription for how and in what order to use the products. This service also prepped my skin for the makeup services
“Flawless Fast” – Foundation, Concealer & Blush
Next, we went through the “Flawless Fast” service, which basically gives you a fast, flawless face. (Foundation, powder, blush and go!) Issette first swatched the Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer on my cheek (she told me that you should always match your face instead of your neck because you may have spots of discoloration on your face to account for.) We decided that the winner for my skintone was 04- Creamwhip. The Beyond Perfecting foundation is a very lightweight full coverage foundation that is still buildable, so you can skip the concealer. Because the foundation is made up of polymers instead of wax, the texture is very lightweight.
After the swatching, Issette swiped some product like war paint on my face and instructed me to blend in the foundation with my fingers. She did half of my face and then held up the mirror and prounced it to be my turn. “People are so aggressive on their faces,” Issette confided as she watched me blend in the foundation under my eyes. “Use your ring finger to blend, since it’s the weakest finger you use the least amount of pressure, especially under your eyes.” Using the angled applicator tip to spot conceal a little pimple I had with a thicker coat of the hybrid foundation/concealer, I was impressed by how light the foundation was in comparison to the coverage it offered. After a light layer of the Blended Face Powder in shade Transparency 3 to set, she pointed out that the powder slightly changes the finish of the foundation. Last step of the “Flawless Fast” service? A quick swipe of Clinique’s classic Soft Pressed Powder blush in New Clover. Overall, a very natural, yet full coverage beauty look. (And it honestly took, like, two minutes!)
“In a Wink” – Eyeshadow, Liner & Mascara
Next, we moved on to the “In a Wink” service. Depending on what you’re interested in, your Clinique rep can either touch up the eye make up you already have and take it to the next level, or start from scratch. (The choice is yours!) We decided to enhance what I already had going and applied a highlight shade all over the eyelid up to the browbone (the All About Shadow Single in Daybreak) and then Issette taught me how to create a subtle, daytime smokey eye using the All About Shadow Single in Graphite for a contour color. I typically try to stay away from black/gray shadows because they don’t flatter my skintone, but I really liked the subtle look that the Graphite shade created! Issette showed me how to contour the lid by creating a small V ON the lid. (I usually blend out the shadow to the corners, which is a lot heavier and probably why I’m never happy with it!) I loved what she did and was so excited that I finally figured out how to do a subtle daytime smokey eye!
Next, she traced over my eyeliner with the Quickliner for Eyes Intense in Intense Black. We finished the eye look with something a little bit daring, but oh-so-subtle… the Chubby Lash mascara in Massive Midnight! You would think that a blue mascara would be scary, but really, it was subtle and brought out my eyes! You couldn’t even tell it was blue unless you were looking really closely. It was fab! Love.
“Pick Your Pout” – Lip Prep & Lipstick
For the final step in my mini makeover, we tried out “Pick Your Pout.” Issette suggested we do a cool ombre effect on the lip and I was totally into the idea! We first prepped my lips with All About Lips which helps minimize the appearance of fine lines and exfoliates cracked lips so that the lip looks firmer, smoother and color glides on smoothly. Next, we used two shades of the Lip Pop Colour + Primer.
I absolutely LOVE the Lip Pop lipsticks! You know me- I’m ALL about a bold, bright, colorful lip. Gimme a red or a hot pink any day! I’m obsessed with the shades Wow Pop and Poppy Pop. They’re so bold, bright and fun! (I also have my eye on the Berry Pop shade for a great Fall look!) The Lip Pop lipsticks come in 16 shades and have a demi-matte finish. They’re weightless and light, but the color is very pigmented and stays true/moisturizes lips for 8 hours! (New go-to, definitely!)
For the ombre lip we did, we chose to line with the Cherry Pop shade and then filled in the center of the lip with Sweet Pop. The effect was really subtle and pretty, and the ombre effect gave my lips a sense of fullness and did a sort of plumping effect. (This look is fun and totally easy to make even more dramatic by choosing different shades!)
My complete look! The final product is subtle, pretty, and natural… perfect for everyday!
After my makeover! Shop My Look:
Thank you so much, Issette and Clinique!!
Final Thoughts & Full Product List
Overall, I had a great time at my skincare consultation at the Clinique counter! I left feeling confident in the skincare plan we had set and excited to try out some amazing products; some that had long been on my radar and some that were new to me! Don’t forget to keep your eye on the blog for an upcoming post detailing my full skincare regimen featuring Clinique. In the meantime, here’s the full list of all the products we used:
Skincare:
- 3 Step:
- Sonic System Purifying Cleansing Brush
- Smart Serum
- Smart Serum Eye
- Superdefense- Day
- Super Rescue – Night
- All About Lips
Makeup:
- Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer in 04 Creamwhip
- Blended Face Powder in Transparency 03
- Soft Pressed Powder Blusher in New Clover
- Quickliner for Eyes Intense in Intense Black
- All About Shadow Eyeshadow Single in Daybreak (All over lid)
- All About Shadow Eyeshadow Single in Graphite (Contour color in crease)
- Chubby Lash Mascara in Massive Midnight
- Lip Pop in Cherry Pop (Lips)
- Lip Pop in Sweet Pop (Center of lips)
I’d love to hear your thoughts on Clinique; if you’ve tried any of these products, if you’ve checked out any of the “You-Time” services! Let me know in the comments.
This post is brought to you by Clinique. All views and opinion expressed are, as always, my own. Thank you so much for supporting the brands that support A Sparkle Factor!
