My Skincare Hunt & First Impressions of Clinique 3 Step System

I realise that while I've written about some skincare products, I haven't really been clear about where I stand in my "skincare hunt" for a perfect routine :) I've sorted it all out in my head, so I thought I'd put it down on paper (screen) - it's a bit rambly but I hope you enjoy!

To start off, I have combination/normal skin - I get oily in the t-zone in the warmer months, and normal on my cheeks. Since I've gotten rid of my teenage acne last year, it's been a bit difficult assessing whether something is good, because I'm now after the luxury of perfect skin as opposed to just getting rid of things that shouldn't be there - if that makes sense?

I have a few bits and bobs of my skincare that I can say, "Yes, I love these products and I will rebuy them" but I'm still on the lookout for that perfect combination of products for a perfect routine. Anyway, here's the present standings:

* Face Wash

- Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser

- The Body Shop Seaweed Face Wash

* Toner

- MUJI Light Toning Water (works well with Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser)

- The Body Shop Seaweed Toner (only works well with the face wash)

* Moisturizer

- Day: Liz Earle Skin Repair for Combo/Oily Skin

- Night: Boots Botanics Night Shift Cream

As you can see, a bit complicated, and a lot of ties! So the other day while I was roaming around the cosmetics section, I stumbled by Clinique which I heard lots about from Steph, and the kind lady at the counter explained a lot about how the system works, and gave me a 3-day sample kit to try.. (needless to say it's lasted me about 4 days already)..

Left: Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3 (toner)

Centre: Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel

Right: Clinique Facial Soap for Oily Skin

Used together, this set has ticked all of the boxes. Firstly, the soap leaves my face squeaky clean, and my face always appears brighter or maybe even whiter than it started off with. I'm guessing this is what the lady meant when she said it lifts the dead skin cells, to prepare for the next step.

The clarifying lotion, which is like a toner, then exfoliates and removes the dead skin cells. I genuinely feel this works, but god the smell is horrendous! I feel like I'm putting nail polish remover on my face, it's unbearable to smell and the lady told me strictly that I can't use it near my eyes or mouth - I wouldn't want to! That being said, at the end I feel refreshed and I feel it does its job.

The moisturizer feels like somewhere between a typical gel and a silica skin primer - it has that smoothing-over effect, but it's also quite wet. I think it does a decent job of sinking into my skin, but I also feel like I've felt others do a better job. That being said, the thing I like about this is that when I wake up, I'm not half as oily as I am when I use other moisturizers, and I have no qualms about using this for both day and night - which in the long run may save some dosh!

All in all, the bits of bumpiness and redness on my face has been seriously reducing - sounds perfect, right? But I'm still not 100% sure what I should be looking for, as I don't have any blatant problems anymore! Should I be aiming to have 'normal' skin as opposed to combination? Should I aim to have baby skin? Idk! (any help appreciated :P)

So my plan is on the 26th of August, to head over to the counter again and take full advantage of a campaign where for a few extra hundred yen (lol) added to the cost of a full-sized Clarifying Lotion, you get loads of 1 month sized products, like the face wash, the moisturizer and other things. AMAZING. I'm not sure if this offer is only in Japan though..

After that I hope to figure out if the full Clinique's 3 Step System would really work for me, or if I need to cut and paste from the previous list mentioned above. I personally don't really want to give up the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish nor her moisturizer, nor the MUJI Toner (it's paraben, alcohol, fragrance free!) - but I've got to admit, they're all running for their money with these 3 Clinique bad boys in town :)

Does anyone have 2 skincare routines, is that even possible? :P

Have you found your perfect skincare routine?

What do you look for when deciding whether a product stays in your routine? :)

<3yu

Review: Liz Earle Skin Tonic & Moisturizer

A couple of months ago, I absolutely raved about the Liz Earle's infamous Hot Cloth Cleanser, and since then I decided to purchase another bottle. The PR team were very kind and sent me some Instant Boost Skin Tonic and Skin Repair Moisturizer for Normal/Combination skin to complete my routine - thanks very much! :)

I also happened to have gotten the Skin Repair Moisturizer for Combination/Oily skin off a blog sale, so I had a shot at that as well ;) (I sadly don't have pics of it though, as I took these pics ages ago and gave the Combo/Oily away to my boyfriend to try - see his review of the Liz Earle's Men's Hot Cloth Cleanser here!).

I think the most important thing to note before I start this review, is that the second time around with the Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser, it did not work as well with my skin - and only thing that changed in my routine were these two products :( So apologies if this sounds more like an interrogation.. LOL but here goes the review :)

Instant Boost Skin Tonic

The Liz Earle Skin Tonic is Liz Earle's replacement of a typical toner - it's used the same way, but I believe it doesn't have the alcohol in it so it's more gentle for your skin. You get 200mL of this product for £11.75 - so it wont break your bank, despite it being outside the drugstore range and stuffed with a lot better ingredients :)

Firstly, I love the packaging - the bottle is sturdy, and the lid is very unique and kind of cute, as it's not your typical screw top, it's like a little spout that you push down on to open :)

That being said, the smell was much too strong and perfume-y for my liking to be putting on my face. I can't put my finger on what it smells like but I never quite got used to it after 2 or 3 months of using it. If you are sensitive to smells or are picky like I am, I'd definitely give it a sniff first!

And personally, I felt that my previous toner did a better job of removing the last traces of make up and dust on my skin that the Liz Earle Skin Tonic. I don't really remember being 'wow-ed' by the amount of crap that was left on my face.

So sadly, the Liz Earle Skin Tonic is a no repurchase for me - the price is ideal, but there are others in the market that I think works better for me that are also alcohol, scent and paraben free.

Skin Repair Moisturizer for Normal/Combination Skin

(and Combination/Oily Skin)

The Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturizers are a bit more expensive, at 50mL for £17.60. Although it seems like a bit much to be spending at once on a moisturizer, a little does go a long way :)

Again, I love the packaging - it's sturdy and very stylish. However, it does make things a bit less sanitary when you're sticking your fingers in a tub, but this doesn't put me off too much as I always have clean hands before applying face products.

The smell for me was a bit awkward - it isn't extremely refreshing like the Hot Cloth Cleanser but it's not offensive (for me) as the Skin Tonic - it was somewhere in the middle, but unlike the Skin Tonic I got used to it :)

As for the consistency, it was much too thick for me to be using as a day cream, so I used it as a night cream. I don't think I made the wrong decision in choosing the Normal/Combination type judging from my skin type, as I have a slightly oily t-zone and am normal everywhere else. On the website it says that it does provide a natural and healthy glow - for me it turned out more like a shine, and I don't feel it absorbs as quickly as some other moisturizers.

As a night cream, I thoroughly enjoyed it. As you can see it has a consistency of a balm and for this reason I felt like overnight it really did sink in and when I woke up in the mornings my skin did feel very supple, and my skin never woke up oily and gross (unless I'm in humid Japan - nothing will do the trick here!).

That being said, again, £17.60 is a lot to spend in one go especially when the routine on my first bottle of Liz Earle's Hot Cloth Cleanser had a drugstore night cream incorporated in it and worked fine. For this reason, I probably wont be repurchasing this either, atleast until I can afford to! However, I would love to try it out again in the winter when my skin is a bit drier - I have a feeling that the thickness will work better for me then :)

The Combination/Oily Skin Repair Moisturizer, however, was a completely different story. I adored it as a day cream, and will probably go as far to say that it is the best day moisturizer I've used and will go to purchase my own as soon as my current day cream is finished.

The reason why is because, obviously, it's a lot lighter, but the key difference I find between this and other moisturizers, is that it's not wet in the slightest. It's light in a way of 'air' as opposed to 'water' - if that makes any sense at all, it's more like 'whipped' (it's not whipped, I'm just trying to describe the lightness lol!) rather than 'watered down'. And for this reason you don't deal with any shiny-ness like you do with most moisturizers, and you get the balm-ey protection that really sinks into your skin and plumps it from within.

So yes - the Combination/Oily Skin Repair Moisturizer is a definite repurchase for me - yes it's the same £17.60 as the Normal/Combination Skin Repaire, but I don't mind paying a bit more if I know I can't find something similar for cheaper. This product, I feel, is quite unique to Liz Earle's range :)

Conclusions..

Now I'm not sure if my misunderstanding of my skin has caused this massive dispute between the Normal/Combo and Combo/Oily moisturizers - but I'm pretty sure my skin is normal/combo according to what I've learnt here on the web. Has anyone else had this before?

I'm not 100% sure what to suggest for people who are looking in to getting Liz Earle's moisturizers, so I'd definitely recommend emailing one of their customer services at ccare@lizearle.com because they are brilliant at explaining skin problems you may be having and suggesting products for you - they did such a good job explaining to me what I was doing wrong that I was getting so much millia!

Maybe the Skin Tonic held back the potential of my second bottle of the Hot Cloth Cleanser for my skin - but judging from other reviews, it may not be the case for everyone! However, I think the Combo/Oily moisturizer is one of a kind and I personally will be repurchasing in the future! :)

I know that was an incredibly long review - congrats if you got to the end, and hope you got some good out of it ;) If you want to try out any of these products, head over to Liz Earle's website :)

Have you tried any of Liz Earle's range before?

What do you suggest I try next? :)

<3yu