I have never been one for New Year’s resolutions, but with a new year about to begin, I always like to start it off in a positive light and then hope that I can maintain that ‘light’ right through until the end of the year.
As the Christmas season would have it, I saw myself run out of pretty much everything. If it isn’t enough to have to spend a small fortune on little somethings for everyone else, then you also need lots of little somethings to keep your skin feeling hydrated, fabulous along with a little something extra to disguise the absolute beating it got throughout the festive season via excessive alcohol consumption, and the complete inability to refrain from eating chocolates, sweets, and basically anything else placed on the table in front of you… or on the other side of the room…
So the search began… a new skin care range to set me right for the year.
I had taken on a few bad habits as far as my skincare regime went… and I was determined to set it right by doing some research and then implementing a regime… like a ‘proper’ regime… something I had managed to avoid for years.
So the search was on…
My criteria was based on a few preferences…
- It didn’t cost me an arm and a leg and all of the body parts in between just to maintain my face.
- I like daily exfoliates… I like the feel, and a daily exfoliate where I can feel it sloughing away my skin… not one of those where it says it is an exfoliate and then feels like a fluffy soap… it is purely psychological I know, but hey… this is my positive ‘light’ we are talking about.
- I wanted the moisturiser to be gel style rather than cream style. I find the creams too heavy, and like the lightness of the gel style moisturisers.
- I wanted it to be from a company that focused on skin care rather than cosmetics. It is not important to me to smell like their perfume range or include pigments etc. I have my cosmetics and perfume sorted.
- I am allergic to all sorts of ridiculous things, especially in the cosmetics department, so something low allergenic would be helpful – it’s hard to appreciate the merits of younger more youthful looking skin when it is looking that way because it has made you break out so badly you look like a pimply teenager!
After a substantial amount of Googling; visiting forums and reading reviews, I had narrowed it down to three brands – Clinique, Lancome and Estée Lauder.
In the end I decided on Clinique for a number of reasons. It did match all of the above criteria, and its focus is on fragrance free low allergenic, but what won out in the end was actually customer service; the Clinique consultant was especially helpful. Who says customer service has died. Incidentally, Clinique is actually manufactured by Estée Lauder.
So my selection was as follows:
Cleanser: Clinique Liquid Facial Soap (oily skin formula)
Exfoliate: Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream
Toner: Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3
Moisturiser: Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion (gotta love the names)
And to disguise any ravages of a big night out and the possibility of developing any age telling lines under my eyes, which I had thus far avoided… I spoiled myself with the Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle and UV Damage Corrector aka plumping solution.
I might mention here that the consultant said I really didn’t need it as I didn’t have ANY lines around my eyes at all… this is possibly why I thought the customer service was in fact sooo good… and will add that it was the first time that a skin care consultant had ever said anything to me that vaguely sounded like a compliment!
Bonus was too, that my ‘spend’ had qualified for the free mini travel set and Repairwear set that consisted of and Uplifting Firming Cream and Intensive Eye Cream. I always like a little sweetener.
So armed with my new artillery, I made my way home to start implementing my new regime.
Of course on a psychological level, I felt my skin had improved after the very first application of all my new products, but the reality of this is unlikely. Having said that, a few weeks on, I really did start to see and feel a difference. My pores seemed to be less enlarged, my skin seemed to be smoother and less oily and my non-existent lines around my eyes were even less existent.
So, verdict? I am very happy. True to its low allergenic claim, I have had no reactions. It is easy to use; applicators administering exact portions, so no wastage through sudden ejaculations from bottles and tubes.
Better still, the Clinique website has some great promotions, especially in the lead up to Mother’s Day, so check it out…
Click here to view the Clinique website
The only drawback apparent to me, is I can no longer just fall into bed after a big night out… I have to do my 3 step routine first… and then I can fall into bed.
This post was written by Petra Frieser – Pebbles + Pomegranate Seeds
