Clinique 16 Shades Of Beige Collection Xmas 2013

 The Polish $14, from left to right:
Room Service: an off white
Peek a Boo, I See You, Nude Peach
Birthday Suit, Neutral Beige
Tickle me, Neutral Yellow beige
Pyjama Party, Neutral pinky beige
Do not disturb, Reddish beige
Chocolate on my pillow, pearlized warm brown
Nighty Night, deep cocoa

Neutral Territory 2 Palette $40 , From light to dark: Sugar Cane, light shade of diamonds and pearls duo, light shade of neutral territory duo, light shade of day into date duo, brown shade of polar blue quad, hazy, black honey, dark brown shade of morning java quad.

I was so excited when i heard Clinique was coming out with a collection! I remember their "Black Honey" Collection in 2012 was one of my favourites!! I wish they did more to be honest, its exciting to see limited edition products and its a good excuse for me to buy it as its limited!!
This one comes with 8 limited edition nail varnish colours and an 8 pan eye shadow palette.
Now Clinique's Nail varnish is really cool...its designed for sensitive skin. Their dermatologist realized sensitive people where getting watery irritated eyes, sometime even dermatitis! So they had the challenge of creating a nail varnish for sensitive skin. This formula is ophthalmologist tested, non-acneagenic and goes through Clinique's vigorous allergy testing! Very cool.
Now this isn't a collection i would go and pick up all the colours. I think the idea is to find the right shade of beige for your skin tone. For me, pyjama party looks nice, with more pink tones. Chocolate on my pillow is gorgeous too, with beige flecks of shimmer running through...gorge! I did not buy any polishes from this set, but i have a few of their other colours from their summer collection. The formula is great! Very opaque and i get a good week out of them before chipping which is great for me! So i definitely recommend the formula!
The palette was what i was most excited for! Its like Clinique's on the Naked palette band wagon!!
Its a very neutral, easy palette. The black honey shade is my favourite....a rich warm reddish brown, so gorgeous in the crease!! I have worn this everyday since i brought it! For $40 i think its amazing! Clinique recently reformulated their eyeshadows and i think they'd a fabulous improvement! Rich, buttery and silky! If you haven't tried them yet, this is a great palette to test them, you'll get lots of use out of it!
The first couple of colours do blend together very similar, but they make a nice easy lid colour with a bit of shimmer.
The packaging is a sleek mirror compact, very simple, very Clinique! Its just frustrating all the finger prints visible all over it all the time...very much like YSL's gold mirror packaging.

So me for, its a big hit! I have noticed the palette is selling out fast across Calgary so hurry down to check it out!
What do you think? Should Clinique bring out more collections?
Anyone else tried this collection?

Love Talia x

Cleansing Balms Review

Lets talk about Cleansing Balms. I used to be all over the eye make up remover on the cotton pad. Now i'm all about "take it all off in one product!" I don't have time to faff around holding a cotton pad on my eye waiting for it loosen up all my stubborn mascara. I feel a cleansing balm or oil is much more gentle and does not damage my eye lashes in any way either. It removes any stubborn mascara or full coverage foundation easy peasy. 

Now, i do like cleansing oils as well. I'm in the process of testing a few out so keep a look out for that post in the next few weeks when i'm finished! 

However, i do like the thick consistency of a balm. Its much easier to control as its solid, not runny like an oil slipping all over your fingers and dripping off your face! When you warm these balms up between your fingers it melts and feels incredible, glides over the skin and loosens up all that make up. Before you know it your face is completely black with mascara smeared everywhere! A quick rinse off and your squeaky clean. Now the biggest complaint i've heard with balms is from people who don't wash it off properly. They say it leaves a greasy residue. Well of course it does...you haven't washed it off! 

The two most recent i have tried are from Clinique and Giorgio Armani.

First off: Giorgio Armani Delicate Cleansing Balm 125ml $55

This was the first cleansing balm i was introduced too! I went for a facial at the Giorgio Armani counter at Holt Renfrew, and the facialist used this to remove my make up and i just loved how effectively it removed everything and how clean it made me feel! Quick side note....If you like to buy high end skin care like i do, always ask when the counter will be having facials... the actual facial is free,you just have to buy product which you would buy anyway! Its my favourite way to try new things too :) Lots of my products where discovered during a facial... and it feels great!! 

So when you first apply, its an oil texture to dissolve all the make up, then when you add water it turns into a milky cleanser consistency to clean everything off! 

Armani claims this will leave your skin noticeably softer and radiant. I definitely agree with the softer part, my skin felt smooth and soft. However, i didn't really notice a difference in radiance. 

The balm has a delicate fragrance to it, as do all Armani's products. Its light and fresh, definitely a pleasant smell.

Now as i am often sensitive to fragrance, i wanted to see if i could find a fragrance free option:

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm 125 ml $34

This has a much more solid consistency, and melts with the warmth of your fingers. I don't know if its because of the more solid consistency i could control taking less, but i found this lasted me a lot longer!  

To be honest the results are very similar between the two. Both remove all my make up amazingly, leaving my skin super soft and squeaky clean! The main difference for me is the fragrance. As much as i don't mind the fragrance in the Armani balm, i always like to have fragrance free options. If i'm experiencing bad breakouts or sensitivity i like to keep everything fragrance free. Thats a big reason why Clinique is one of my favourite brands!!

So for that reason, and the price difference, the Clinique balm is my favourite and what i would repurchase first ( i'm already using my second!). I would repurchase the Armani as a luxury treat, but there are a few others i would like to try first. The Emma Hardy cleansing balm is on my list... I just don't know where to buy it in Calgary!! I may have to wait till i go back home to England to find it. 

Do you have any Balm recommendations for me? 

Love Talia x

L'Occitane D'Angelique range review

Now i tried 4 products from this range. Also, i like to do my reviews when i have used up the entire product...so i apologize in advance when some of my containers look a little grotty!! They've been well loved and i can give a more accurate review this way!

Now this is what L'Occitane says about Angelica:

Angelica is an exceptional plant that grows incredibly fast due to its hydration capabilities. L'OCCITANE has placed this amazing plant at the heart of a complete face care range to intensely rehydrate and revitalize the skin. Both angelica essential oil and angelica water have been used in our collection of face care products which help to restore the skin's natural beauty.

I went into the L'Occitane store with the concern of dehydration. Living in Calgary, it is incredibly dry!! Especially coming from the UK, with more rain and moisture we could wish for, it was a very big change! I've been here 4 years and i am still not used to the dryness...
So hearing about Angelicas hydration capability, this seemed the perfect option!
I absolutely love the smell of these products... they smell so fresh and herbal. It is quite a particular smell, i could see you either loving it or hating it! I loved it...i felt it added to that extra clean feeling.
I used the ultra matte fluid for daytime to keep me shine free, as despite being dehydrated i get very oily throughout the day, and the hydration cream for night time for some extra moisture while i sleep.
I loved the night time hydration cream.. my skin felt very soft and hydrated when i woke up in the morning. L'Occitane claims that 98% of women see immediately rehydrated skin. I would have to say i'm part of that 98%!
The ultra matte fluid however, i was not so impressed with. It did feel very nice to apply, lightweight, non greasy. However, i don't think it keeps my skin matte for long enough. I start to notice a shine come through within the hour. I have to say i prefer Clinique's Pore Refining Solutions Stay Matte Hydrator....That keeps my skin matte for most of the day!
It does have some wonderful ingredients :
Lemon essential oil to help purify the skin, Zinc to remove excess oil as well as Salicylic acid to help control the oil production and ward off any bacteria.
Maybe i'm just too oily for this!! It is recommended for a combination/oily skin type. Any feedback? Have you had better success than me?
The toner was one of my favourites i have tried! Its alcohol free and very refreshing. It contains Glycerin as the second ingredient after water, which is a humectant that helps bind water to the skin. I found it very hydrating and very pleasant to use. It didn't make my skin oily throughout the day, it felt refreshed and clean. With the added hydration i needed ( the water, not the oil) I actually found i was less oily as my skin wasn't over compensating anymore!
Last thing i tried was the exfoliating Gel. I did not keep the container for this as i cut it in half to scrape the last bits out! I think that tells you how much i loved this product...
I have quite sensitive skin, especially to scrubs, they have a tendency to make me bright pink like a tomato!! This is the only exfoliater i have found that removes all my dead skin, leaves my skin soft and radiant, and not red!! The texture is wonderful, very unique! I strongly recommend the next time you pass a L'Occitane store, asking if they have a sample, it really is wonderful. I can't find anything similar!! If you have any recommendations of scrubs that won't leave me bright red i am all ears!!

 Angelica Face Toner
Price: $25 200ml
Repurchase? Yes, definately!

Angelica Ultra Matte Fluid
Price: $40 50ml
Repurchase? No, prefer the Clinique equivalent

Angelica Hydration Cream
Price: $46 50ml
Repurchase? Yes

Angelica Exfoliating Gel
Price: $32 75ml
Repurchase? Yes, Definately!! Holy Grail product!!


What are your thoughts on this line? Does any of it make your Holy Grail list??

Love
Talia x