Clinique: Pricy but Productive (Clinique in general)

Member Name: michaird

Product:	Clinique in general
Date:	29/03/02 (301 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Does exactly what it says on the tin, Large sizes last a long time

Disadvantages: A bit pricey

I've always had problem skin, very oily; prone to spots, highly sensitive and very allergic. All my life I've stuck to a very simple routine of Imperial Leather and Nivea cold cream simply because it was the only stuff that didn't bring me out in a dirty great big rash. I put up with the little blackheads on the tip of my nose and those tiny little white spots on the chin and gave up trying to wear make-up regularly.

Well, it came to a point I'd had enough. A friend with, lovely, lovely skin recommended Clinique to me and I decided I'd dig deep into my fluff filled pockets and get myself some of this so called magic.

You can buy Clinique in a number of places, department stores such as John Lewis', House of Fraiser and Debenhams. It is also available in Larger boots stores. The staff wear white lab coats which make them appear very knowledgeable but they also have that weird pancake make-up thing going on that really makes me distrust their advice on how to look after my skin. With this in mind I decided to check out the boots website wellbeing.com.
There's no direct link on the site so I typed in Clinique in the search box and told it to look in 'shop and info' this resulted in 100 Clinique product and the Clinique boutique home page which is where I went.

On the Home page you get the option of:
Product Directory
Which products are right for you?
Clinique at a glance
Whast new?
For men only
Tips library.

I chose which products are right for me, this took me to three further options:
Skin typing,
Foundation Finder,
Hairtyping.

I chose skin typing, this took me to a short questionnaire asking.

Eye colour
(Blue, Green grey or golden, Hazel, Brown or Black)

Natural Hair Colour
(Blond, Red, Light Brown, Dark brown or black)

Skin colour without sun protection
(Always burns, Burns then Tans, Tans, Tans easily
)

Skin colour without suntan
(Very fair, Moderately fair, medium, Dark or olive)

Pore size
(Invisible, Small, Medium, Large)

Tendency to break out
(Never, Rarely, occasionally, Frequently)

Oiliness Vs Dryness
(Dry or Quite dry, oily in areas, Oily, Very oily)

Surface facial lines
(Many, Several, few, Very few)

You can choose results for women or men.

When you've answered all these you are given a skin condition and a skin strength, which combined make you skin type. The type is explained and basic advice on choosing make-up is given.

On the basis on this was recommended three product which fit into the 3 step system

Step 1

Cleanse: using Clinique soap.
Mine was oily skin formula soap:
100g £8.50
150g £11.00

The soap comes in its own soap dish, which is more a soap case really. It has a slightly medicinal smell to it and works up to a nice lather. It didn't over dry my skin and left me with that really clean feeling you only ever get with soap.

Step 2

Exfoliate: Using clarifying lotion 4
200ml £13.50
400ml £21.00

This comes in a good sturdy bottle and mine was fragrance free. I found it quite astringent, but I'm used to it now. Looking at the cotton wool after use you can really see it doing the job (its all a bit gross to me honest)

Step 3

Moisturise: Using dramatically different lotion.
50ml £14.00
125ml £19.60

Comes in a small plastic bottle it's a pleasing pale yellow colour. A little goes a very long way, which is just as well given the price. It left my skin nice and supple without any greasiness.

And so I've been using this for a couple of weeks now. I was a little alarmed after the first few days as all the little spots, which had been hiding under my skin, broke out and I looked very, very pink. This lasted a few days and ha
ve now all gone. For the most part my skin is now close to something it hasn't been since I was about 12, clear. I have also found that my skin is grease free for most of the day when I go without make-up.

I've hardly made a dent in the soap or the clarifying lotion and expect them to last a good few months yet. About a quarter of the moisturiser (I bought the small one) has gone so I will have to restock in around six weeks.

Cliniques range includes:
Make up
Special skin care products (anti ageing, anti blemish etc)
Body care
Hair care
Products for men
Sun care and fragrances.
Prices range from around £8 (shampoo and conditioner) to £42.50 (Happy perfume spray)

I haven't used these so I can't honestly give an opinion or recommendation but I would recommend taking a look at least.

Summary: