I know that Clinique’s High Impact Mascara is a highly talked about mascara in general, I received this tube at a not so recent event thrown by Clinique for bloggers where we learnt that High Impact was actually their best selling mascara! I was definitely keen to see how this would fare, mascara and eyeliner are the two pieces of makeup I try my best to always wear to work

Generally speaking this is a great mascara, I like the length of the wand and the thickness of the brush, very easy to use. The application whilst great, isn’t something I’d consider a HG. I need about two coats to get the usual fullness I aim for, which honestly is probably a little thicker and clumpier than the average person.

All in all, it’s definitely an above average mascara. I don’t however think it’s an overly unique one. This would really suit people with already healthy lush lashes wanting just to amp them up a bit more. These retail for $38AU / $15US online or at David Jones & Myer.

A little while ago Clinique held an intimate evening event for Melbourne Beauty bloggers to have a drink or two, and learn about some up coming products for 2012. It was really nice to see the girls, catch up and finally get to know the faces behind Clinique They even had a makeup demonstration with Clinique’s IT Girl (Melanie) for 2011. Was a wonderfully relaxing evening~

I thought I’d share a couple of photos with you all

Makeup used in the demonstration.

Skincare and Champagne, the evening in a nut shell!

Alexis and Miranda giving their presentation

Makeup demonstration, I just wish the lightening was better so I could take clearer photos!

New Black Honey palette Can’t wait to try this baby out (because you know, I clearly need more neutral palettes).

Thanks to Clinique for a lovely evening, looking forward to the new product launches soon

About a month ago I was on a true foundation kick, I was wearing it everyday and was searching high and low for the perfect one. The timing worked out well as Clinique were kind enough to send me their newest foundation, Repairwear Laser Focus All Smooth Makeup SPF 15 in Shade 01.

As you can see by the photo below, I’d consider this to be a medium to full coverage foundation as it is able to cover ALL my freckles. Usually when I wear this I try to sheer it out a little more by buffing it into my skin. It has a slight chemical-like smell, a little similar to Revlon Coverstay, but once on the skin the smell disappears.

It does a good job at lasting all day at work for me, it tends to fade a little by around the 5-6pm mark (I put on my foundation at around 7am) so that’s not too bad. You can certainly feel it on the skin, but I wouldn’t say it’s terribly heavy. According to Clinique it actually also has skin care benefits, but I haven’t used it long enough to see if it has improved my skin.

I will say that why oh why didn’t Clinique add a pump? Dispensing this can be so difficult, I usually always get too much and end up wasting the product It’s not very good for when you’re in a rush, definitely more when you have time to put on your makeup.

All in all, the formula is very good, and I would honestly use it a lot more if it were easier to dispense. I really think it makes my skin look smooth and not at all shiny. Leaves a sliiightly dewy finish (but even then hardly noticeable). The SPF 15 is a great bonus too!

Re-package it with a pump, and I’d say this would be an amazing foundation for all!

So this month’s empties is a bit of a mixed bag, not everything is actually empty, but I have good reasons for getting rid of them!

These little eye shadow pots are technically empty because I depotted them into a larger palette to save space I got them at a 2 for 1 deal at The Face Shop just before they closed for renovations and were trying to get rid of as much stock as possible The eye shadows themselves are quite lovely, I’ll be sure to do a big post about them soon enough. So this is kind of a “cheat” empties XD

These are the true empties:

Johnson’s Cleansing Wipe 3 in 1 Sensitive Skin
Currently one of my favourite cleansing wipes, I think I’ve gone through about 4-5 packs of these, I use it every time to clean up a Book of Fables because I find it to be the most efficient way to get rid of ALL my makeup (though I usually need to finish off with a toner if I’m not jumping straight into the shower after). Love these and I always buy them in bulk when they are on special.

Clinique’s Super Defense SPF 25 Moisturiser Sample
You guys know, I’ve been through countless tubs of this stuff now. In fact the last tub made my May Empties where I pretty much summed up my opinion of it. I’ve got one more tub to get through still completely sealed in my stash. I’m currently working my way through Cetaphil’s Facial Moisturiser with SPF 30, so when I finish that off (if I do, I’m not really liking it -_-;) then I might come back to this or try something new.

Clinqiue Super Rescue Antioxidant Night Moisturiser Sample
Another classic favourite of mine whose full sized version made its way into my July Empties, like the above day version, I also have another unopened tube of this in my stash. I’m currently trying to polish off the last of my Body Shop Vitamin E Night Cream, after which I might either opt to try something different to give my skin a bigger break from Clinique. As I said, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with these two products, I more want to see if there are any products out there that could do something new and amazing for my skin

Maybelline Lash Stiletto Ultimate Length Mascara
A lengthening mascara that performed pretty average for me. I didn’t end up using this a great deal, only because whilst it did lengthen my lashes, it didn’t do it by a whole lot. It’s a lovely mascara, but I wasn’t left feeling overly impressed by it.
Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara
Really loved this mascara, and I’m not sure why I never got around to reviewing this for you guys O_o I used it quite extensively for a solid 1-2 months till I honestly ran out, which is rare for me regarding any products (let alone makeup)! The formula is lovely, the “pulsing” feature is kind of pointless.

e.l.f Eyelid Primer
I was very tempted to cut this tube open to see how much primer was actually left as I’m sure there was at least a 1/3 of the tube stuck to the sides, but given I have a mountain of other primers to work my way through I decided to let it be and move on. Really loved this primer, and at $1US you really can’t go wrong!

If I wasn’t a beauty blogger with a backlog of products to g through I would definitely repurchase You can read my original review here.

Vaseline Intensive Care Dry Skin
Great all-purpose moisturiser I always make sure I at least have a small tube of this somewhere, it’s a real staple in my collection. I took this with me to China early last year during winter when my skin started peeling from the severe cold weather, and the only thing that managed to keep my skin smooth and “normal” was this moisturiser. It absorbs really fast, so I did find myself needing to reapply a few times a day. We’re talking about seriously cold “my bottle of water is now a block of ice” weather though. And this range is really affordable.

Clinique Super City Block SPF 40

I think I only managed to use about 1/3 of this before I just had to throw it out. The product was very greasy, felt heavy on the skin and gave off a strange chemical smell. I truly tried to make myself use it as best I could, since I couldn’t stand it on my face I tried my arms and legs for when I go out and I just couldn’t hack it. It made me feel very uncomfortable and generally greasy, so unfortunately have had to throw it out. Too bad, I really loved the fact it was SPF 40

Wow, July is already over? We’re inching closer and closer to the end of the year! There are going to be some changes to the blog next month, just for one month! All shall be announced tomorrow But for today, let’s get on to the empties, and I’ve been through a lot this month!

Clinqiue Super Rescue Antioxidant Night Moisturiser
This is my 3rd tube of this now? I used to hate the smell for this, but have really gotten used to it~ I can’t say I notice huge changes in my skin, which is both good and not as good. I’m quite happy with my skin as it is and am just looking for product to maintain and maybe make it better? I love that it’s a tube!

Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream
This was okay, not the best out there, but Clinique keeps throwing these into their GWP and so I have another 2-3 to work my way through. It’s good enough for me to want to finish using it up, but not good enough for me to buy with my own money.

Palmer’s Daily Facial Lotion
You can read my review on this here~

Shiseido Pureness Foaming Cleanser
A huge favourite of mine, you can read my review on this here! Loves it, where’s my next bottle!?

Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner in Black
Grrr, I wanted to love this, but I found it wasn’t as pigmented as true liquid liners and it dried up way too fast for me You can read my review here.

Revlon CustomEyes Mascara
Meh, didn’t like this, gave so-so results and dried up too fast, pass! Read my review here.

Lancome Hypnose Drama
LOVE this, my favourite HG mascara, but oh so expensive I’ll be sure to pick many of these up next time I pass through duty free <3 :) Read my review here~

Pros:

• Very lightweight
• Scent-less
• Leaves skin feeling soft and moisturised

Cons:

• Tub packaging
• Doesn’t seem to reduce dark circles

Price: $58AU / $29US (15ml / 0.5oz)

Rating:

Where: Clinique, David Jones, Myer and selected pharmacies.

Clinique’s All About Eye Cream is one of my favourite eye creams, I’ve been through about 3 tubs of this stuff now. It claims to de-puff eye bags and reduce dark circles; I honestly never really believe this when using products. I don’t think any product can do that, (maybe momentarily they can reduce puffiness) just a healthy lifestyle, lots of water and sleep. (IMO!)

That aside, I really do love this eye cream for its lightweight formula, it doesn’t feel heavy at night. It feels very moisturising, gives me the impression it relaxes my skin, momentarily easing any fine lines and / or tightness in the skin.

I only use this moisturiser at night, and by morning my skin does usually feel softer. Not sure if that’s the sleep or moisturiser’s doing though. If this were in a tube packaging, it’d be perfect!

I really do love this moisturiser, it doesn’t give me any miracle cures, but it’s gentle enough to daily and most importantly it leaves my skin feeling great afterwards

Another month has passed, and time to share what products I’ve managed to get through this month! Just one this month, I’m close to finishing up for a couple others so we’ll see how June pans out

This is probably my 3rd tub of Clinique’s Super Defense SPF 25 Moisturiser, it’s not because I think it’s the best thing since sliced bread, but it is honestly the only moisturiser that has such high SPF that DOESN’T have some awful fragrance put into it I’m really not a fan of heavily scented products, especially if I need to use them everyday, which I do this (at least for days I intend to step outside).

It does make my skin feel a bit oily, and the tub packaging isn’t something I’m a huge fan of so if I can find something better I’d be happy to give it a whirl, till then I’ve already bought my 4th tub now