Review | Clinique Smart Custom – Repair Serum

This is the new serum on the block. I’ve been waiting for a while for this after being told Clinique Turnaround Concentrate Radiance Renewer serum (my favourite) was discontinued last year. I was told that the Clinique Even Better was the replacement for the turnaround serum but I wasn’t too convinced despite buying a bottle to try. I have been scourging around different stores to get hold of the last of Clinique’s Turnaround Serum but this has come to an end.

I’m never quite sure as to why good products get discontinued, I am an avid fan of Clinique’s Turnaround Serum and a lot of others are too. However, when they do get rid of something old and loved they’ve got to bring out something that’s better right?

First, being a sceptic, I was reluctant to try the Smart Serum however this is a one size fits all serum, it does everything! My main concerns was really to maintain radiance of the skin, prevent dark spots and aging. This just does that and more.

So basically, the serum’s patented formula is able to determine what is actually required for your skin and it provides a custom repair. It’s totally miraculous.

Initially after application, the skin feels silky smooth. It actually provides a very good base for make up application. After using it for about 3-4 weeks I noticed brighter skin. I use the Clinique Smart Custom Repair Serum twice a day, morning and night followed by application of a day or night moisturiser.

Price Factor: 3/5

I purchased a 50ml bottle at Duty Free for about $140 dollars which would mean it’s about $160 when you purchase it from the shops. It is a little bit on the expensive side, about 40 dollars up from my previous serum but I think the results does do it justice.

In a nutshell:

If you’re wondering where you’re going with your current serum or if you’re after something different and something that works, I’d definitely give Clinique’s Smart Custom- Repair Serum a go, you won’t be disappointed. I’d happily say this has replaced my number one.

Clinique Smart Custom – Repair Serum

 

 

Review | The Chanel Experience

Apologies for the lack of posts in the last few weeks. I have been super bogged down with numerous things. Don’t get me wrong there are great things happening down the pipeline that’s yet to be revealed to everyone.

Lucky I managed to squeeze in a Chanel pampering session to just relax and switch off my brain for about an hour.

I am always in line for these Chanel facials. I love their products , use them daily and these facials and make overs allow you to try products that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to try.

The process:

I was greeted by the bubbly and professional beauty therapist. We went through my previous purchases and the products I use daily, my main concerns and the types of products I would be interested in today. I believe the initial consultation is so important for any treatments because they really need to find out what you want so they can tailor the products and techniques used to your concerns. Even though it wasn’t my first time getting Chanel products or their facials, based on looking at my products that I bought a year ago wouldn’t give an accurate indication of what I would want today.

My main concern as a 23 year old woman would be first signs of aging. I am thankful that I have been blessed with good skin and have been taught from young to look after it.              I believe that prevention is key to healthy, glowing skin and preventing aging.

The facial started off with a light cleanse with their Lait Comfort which is a cleansing milk. Followed by application of the Lotion Doceur toner. This left my skin feeling soft and fresh.

She applied the Grommage Microperle Eclat which is their exfoliating scrub. The one thing that I probably don’t do enough of is exfoliating. I somehow don’t seem to remember to fit in these intermittent things such as exfoliation and masques. You are suppose to exfoliate about twice weekly even if your skin isn’t oily. Exfoliation helps to get rid of all the dead skin cells that accumulate on the surface which allows better penetration of the products. The grommage is a beautiful product, it consists of crushed pearls as the exfoliating agent. It’s gel cream texture allows smooth application. I will be doing a more thorough review on this product a little later on.

She then followed on with a masque and a massage. The masque that was used was the Hydramax + Active Masque with the main purpose of hydrating the skin. While the masque was settling into the skin , the therapist did an exquisite hand massage. I have had many facials in the past, most therapists take a break and come back in 10 minutes when the masque is setting so I think taking the opportunity to do a hand massage just gives that extra touch.

After the cleansing the masque off, she reapplied the Lotion Doceur and used the Ultra Correction Line Repair Concentrate. I was looking to purchase a serum that had more age prevention properties. I personally didn’t think this is the right serum for me because it does have powerful anti-wrinkle and plumping properties more suited to mature skin and I’m at more the preventing wrinkle stage. I believe Chanel like many other skin care brands lack a complete First Signs of Aging line. It is understandable, there is a small market for these products, your target market would the 20s- 25s who have ample of brands to choose from and to create such products for a small group may not provide great return.

She then finally applied the Beaute Initiale Energizing Multi-Protection Eye Gel and the Hydra Beauty Creme as the moisturiser. Chanel facials often consists of a series of techniques such as pinching and tapping the skin to assist the penetration of products and improve blood flow.

Following from the facial they did a complete make over. It was your choice whether or not you wanted just a natural everyday look or something for the evening.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience as it always is. Chanel never fails to exceed my expectations. The facial cost ($70) was redeemable on product purchase. I decided to buy the Grommage to break my bad non exfoliating habit.

For some of my other Chanel Reviews see below:

• Mousse Doceur (Cleanser) 
• Beaute Initiale Nano Lotion (Toner)
• Hydra Beauty Serum
• Hydra Beauty Creme (Moisturiser)

Review on the Grommage coming soon.

Michelle

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Review: Clinique Turnaround Concentrate Radiance Renewer Serum

This one is one of my latest add on to my skincare regime. After finishing off my Chanel Hydra Beauty Serum which was a really great serum in my opinion, I decided to opt for something slightly different as during peak summer my skin changes a little so at times I did get a few pimples here and there.

Let me start with this, I am NOT a huge fan of Clinique products as they are generally too harsh for my skin (especially the step 1-3 cleansing stuff, in my opinion they are rubbish) and I’m not a fan of fragrance free products (despite all the bad things we hear about fragranced skin care). However, from time to time they do release certain products that would catch my attention such as this one.

My friend at the Clinique counter noticed that I was interested in getting a new serum so she popped a few samples along with my tinted moisturiser purchase (my other one and only Clinique favourites which will be reviewed soon).

This serum has had a makeover recently, it use to be call ‘Clinique Turnaround Concentrate Visible Skin Renewer’ and the one that I am using is called ‘ Clinique Turnaround Radiance Renewer’. Very subtle changes to the name, I can’t openly give you my opinion on both of them as I have only tried one.

The main selling point of this serum is that it is suppose to turn your skin around from dull to luminous by optimizing the renewal of skin cells, get rid of the older cells on the surface and push the fresh ones up top. So in a nut shell, the serum is a chemical exfoliant which should turn your skin to somewhat like baby skin- softer, smoother texture, reduced redness/breakouts. 

Ingredients that help this serum to do its job include:

• Salicylic Acid: A chemical exfolliator which is present in a lot of acne skin products. This takes excess/outer layers of the skin off to allow the fresh cells to be exposed.
• Scutellaria baicalensis: Has anti-inflammatory/anti-oxidant effects.
• Lactobionic Acid: An antioxidant

Of course like every other beauty product, these fixes especially at cell level takes time, so definitely don’t expect magic to happen overnight. And a serum must be used day and night in order for results to be fully elucidated.However in saying that upon application of the serum, it does instantly create a smooth and soft touch to the skin which is great for the day especially if you do intend to apply on liquid foundation. It also reduces size of pores. This serum does act somewhat like a priming base to smoothen the skin which is a plus.

What I have definitely noticed is that I have had very little to no breakouts since using this serum (2 months) which is absolutely wonderful. I must admit I don’t have acne prone skin so for those of you that have acne prone skin please bare this in mind while reading this review.

The only real thing that bothers me is that it’s not fragranced which is OK I guess because they cater to those with sensitive skin. And the other thing is that with a blue opaque packaging with a pump top, I can never really finish the whole thing and I have no idea how much I’ve used – another problem I had with the Chanel serum, though there’s not much that can be done about that.

Price Factor: 5/5 in my opinion. I believe this product is pretty good in terms of value for money. I bought the larger size serum (~50mL) for about $110 NZD duty free (so would be around $130 NZD including GST) which is very cheap for a decent and ‘large’ sized serum (bare in mind I paid $130 for a 30mL Chanel Serum) this is definitely a bargain. The good thing about Clinique is that most of their products are on the cheaper end of the scale compared with other designer skincare such as Chanel, Dior, Estee Lauder etc..