I don't usually post about Clinique but this Tiny Temptation set (6500yen) looks like a superb value for mini collectors as it contains 20 shades of their popular Chubby Sticks. The set includes:
Chubby Stick Moisturising Lip Color Balm #1 Richer Raisin, #2 Whole Lotta Honey, #3 Fuller Fig, #4 Mega Melon, #5 Chunky Cherry, #6 Whoppin Watermelon, #7 Super Strawberry, #8 Graped Up, #13 Mighty Mimosa, #15 Pudgy Peony, #16 Voluptuous Violet and #17 Plumped Up Pink (LE shade).
Chubby Stick Intense Moisturising Lip Color Balm #1 Curviest Caramel, #3 Mightiest Maraschino, #5 Plushest Punch, #6 Roomiest Rose, #7 Broadest Berry, #8 Grandest Grape, #9 Roundest Raspberry and #16 Plumped Up Poppy (LE shade).
There is a smaller Sweet Kisses set (3000yen) with 5 shades (#14 Curvy Candy, #15 Pudgy Peony, #1 Curviest Caramel, #3 Mightiest Maraschino and #9 Roundest Raspberry. Naturally, the Tiny Temptation set offers much greater value. It doesn't look like these sets will be available in the US as the Clinique USA website doesn't list it in its Holiday 2016 collection page, so they could be designed for the Japanese or Asian market.
Clinique enters the cushion compact craze with its upcoming Super City Block BB Cushion Compact 50 SPF50 PA++++ (5500yen for 12g; 4500yen for refill). This will be available in just two shades, #61 Light and #62 Medium. Out on 22 April in Japan.
During my trip to London, the Boots at Leicester Square was clearing out its Pixi stock at 50% off. I picked up the Lid Last Shadow Pen Duo for just £6. This limited edition set was released just a couple of months ago as part of the holiday collection.
It includes Shell Sheen, a champagne glow highlighter, and Brun Beam, a cool brown liner and definer. They are described as being waterproof, budgeproof and line smoothing thanks to the inclusion of soothing Vitamin E. Made in Germany, they are free of preservatives, fragrance, parabens, triclosan, sulfates and pthalates and have a shelf-life of 36 months.
I found both shades to have a creamy texture that does not drag on the lids. They are also easy to blend out with a fingertip. Shell Sheen is quite subtle and does not leave a frosty sheen. It's less glowy than Pixi's Endless Silky Eye Pen in Oyster Glow, which remains my favourite. Brun Beam is a muddy olive brown, not the most exciting of shades but one that can be easily worn for the day. These are truly budgeproof. I tried wiping off the swatches with tissue and completely failed. These did not smear at all but they do come off easily with my L'Oreal eye makeup remover.
For this look, I applied Shell Sheen over the browbone area and along the lower lashline and inner corners. I used Brun Beam along the upper lashline and blended Unhinged and Muse from the Urban Decay Vice palette in the centre of the lid.
On the lips, I'm wearing Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey from the Taste of Honey lip quad released for the holidays. It's a veritable classic that looks scarily dark in the tube, but on the lips, it gives a flattering hint of color. My lips have been feeling very dry but this went on like a balm without any patchiness.
Also included in the set are Luscious Honey, Shy Honey and Flirty Honey. This is made in Belgium.
Other products used for this look: Addiction Tinted Moisturiser No. 1 and Eyeliner Pencil 101 Sleepless Nights, Becca Ultimate Mascara, Lunasol Under Eyes Base, K-Palette Lasting 2Way Eyebrow 02 and the peachy brown blush from the RMK Christmas 2012 palette.
The face pics were taken with my new Nikon D3200, which I finally invested in after months of deliberating. It's much better than my Canon PowerShot SX210 for taking portrait shots, but I haven't figured out how to get it to take better shots of product and swatch close-ups. While researching, I found Live Snap Love to be an excellent resource for DSLR beginners.
The Boxing Day sales are off to a roaring start here in London. I hadn't planned to shop much on this trip but still, it was difficult to resist picking up a few bargains.
At Fenwick's, I snagged the last Clinique Taste of Honey coffret (£20; originally £30) of four Almost Lipsticks in Black Honey, Luscious Honey, Shy Honey and Flirty Honey, as well as the final bottle of Shu Uemura UV Under Base Mousse Tsuya from the Karl Lagerfeld collection (£16; originally £29).
The Laura Mercier Petite Baked Eye Color Trio in Golden Metallics was marked down to £10, half of its original price.
At Space.NK, I picked up the Stila Seeing Stars Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeliner Set for £12.50, also 50% off the original price. That works out to just £2.50 per eyeliner.
At House of Fraser, I picked up a couple of Biba tops.
Plus a Ted Baker bag at 30% off.
Stocked up on my favourite Cranberry range at the Body Shop. The shower gel was dirt cheap at just £2 while the hand soap was £2.50.
The coup de grace was finding the Lush Wonderful Christmas Time gift box at Victoria station for 50% off. In the UK, Lush holds a sale only once a year that starts on Boxing Day with their holiday collection and gifts all at half price. Their gift boxes usually sell out incredibly fast so I was ecstatic to discover this. Another Lush store that I visited in Reading on Boxing Day had completely sold out of the gift sets.
My husband has been buying this for me the past couple of years. So glad we decided not to purchase this earlier before Christmas!
Nestled amidst a sea of packaging peanuts are 24 of the limited edition holiday products. It's a generous bounty that can last me well until next Christmas, judging by past experience.
Santa's Sack Bubble Bar.
Sandy Santa Sugar Scrub.
Rocket Reusable Bubble Bar
This winter in London has been one of interminable rain but nevertheless, it's been wonderful being able to spend time with my family in one of my favourite cities and re-charge for the new year. Hope you've had a lovely Christmas as well!
Whenever I visit the UK, I usually return with an armful of magazines, thanks to the amazing freebies bundled with UK magazines. They often also include sample sachets of the latest foundations or skincare products (but sadly, these are not included in the issues sold outside of the UK). While Japanese magazines offer branded freebies as well, these are usually accessories like pouches and bags or stationery, instead of the full size beauty products with a retail value a few times the price of the magazine.
Cosmopolitan was giving out two Clinique deluxe sample products with each issue. I picked the 7 Day Scrub Cream (30ml) and Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss 10 Grapefruit (7ml), which is a clear baby pink.
I love the Superbalm Moisturizing Glosses as they leave the lips feeling very soft and comfortably hydrated. I already have this in Black Honey, which I adore.
Elle was giving away this Soap & Glory Thick & Fast Mascara which normally retails at £10. The magazine was less than £4. The reviews on Beauty Bite and Princess Livia make it look pretty good.
The April issue of Marie Claire (£3.70) came bundled with a full size Neal's Yard Rehydrating Rose Daily Moisture (45ml) worth £12. I haven't started using this yet but the rose scent smells quite lovely.
Made in the UK, it contains rosa centifolia extract, damask rose oil, hyaluronic acid and calendula extract. It is free of mineral oil, parabens, silicones, phthalates, artificial fragrances and colors.
These Leighton Denny polishes in Crushed Grape (left) and Vamp were freebies with the March issue of Red. The polishes, which usually retail at £11 each, were only bundled with issues sold in Marks & Spencer and WH Smith at railway stations. I found these at the WH Smith in Victoria station. (See swatches of Crushed Grape and another shade, Lilac, on Le petit jardin de Liloo.)
Glamour (£2) was giving out the new Percy & Reed haircare range with each issue. With the four products (all 100ml sizes) worth £43 combined, I ended up buying four copies to get the whole set, and gave away the extra magazines to my sister-in-law. These also came with sample sachets of Estee Lauder's new Invisible Fluid Makeup in shade 2WN1.
So far, I've tried only the Splendidly Silky Moisturising Shampoo and Conditioner. Both have a light sweet floral scent. Made in England, they leave my hair soft and tangle-free without feeling weighed down. The artwork is a quirky, eye-catching departure from the usual generic mass market brands.
The Finishing Polish is a styling cream (read a review on The Glossy Guide) while the Hydrating Mask is meant to be used as a 10-minute intensive hydrating treatment.
Clinique's Almost Spring collection re-introduces their popular Almost Lipstick plus a new Blushwear Cream Stick.
Although the bestselling Almost Lipstick in Black Honey has iconic status in the US, the Almost Lipstick range was not widely available in Asian markets previously. For this spring, Clinique has designed new sheer shades of Almost Lipstick with hues ranging from natural nudes to pretty pinks to deep violets and reds. These are designed to be fool-proof and offering just a fresh tint of glossy color.
In Singapore, Almost Lipstick will retail at S$33 starting in February (versus US$15 in the US; £16 in the UK; €20 in France). In Switzerland, they are CHF31.90 (about S$44).
While these are meant to be sheer, I found Tender Honey, Lovely Honey and Shy Honey apply primarily as a clear glossy sheen with barely any color at all to justify the price tag. You can see more swatches on Best Things in Beauty and Makeup Stash.
#41 Flirty Honey will not be available in Singapore.
In the US and Europe, the Almost Spring collection also includes four Blushwear Cream Sticks but as these were not mentioned in the press release for Singapore, I suspect they will not be available in Singapore. Also, the shades available in the US and UK are slightly different from other European countries. The US and UK received Glow Blush, Peachy Blush, Rosy Blush and Shy Blush, while some European countries like Switzerland received #7 Black Honey in place of Glow Blush. You can see more pics and swatches of the Cream Stick in Black Honey on Buntewollsocke Bloggt.
The Blushwear Cream Sticks retail at US$21 in the US, £20 in the UK and CHF46.90 in Switzerland. The price differences are just ridiculous as the US price is about S$27 while the Swiss price works out to about S$64! While the Cream Sticks have a nice creamy texture with good color payoff, the Swiss retail price is just too much of a blatant rip-off.
In celebration of Valentine's Day, Clinique will release a Kiss and Be Happy Set (S$58) in Singapore on 1 February. It includes Happy 30ml, Happy Body Cream 30ml, Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Color Balm in Chunky Cherry 1.2g and a cheery drawstring pouch.
