Clinique

Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara and a Good Morning Routine Just Might Make for a Great Frickin’ Day

April 1st, 2014 by Karen 22 Comments

This post is first and foremost a review of Clinique’s High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara ($19.50)…

…but before we get to that, I just need to say, DUDE. Seriously, if you are not a morning person, I get it. I totally get it. Weekday mornings?! Ugh, mine are almost always rough — rough like that sketchy off-brand toilet paper El Hub always buys, even though I’ve told him about a billion times that “Charmin Ultra Soft is the only way to go.” (Note to self: stop asking that man to buy toilet paper.)

When my alarm sounds, I open my eyes and start mentally ticking off the things I want to do that day (good grief, why is that list always so hella long?!). Oftentimes, even before I get out of bed, a sense of panic has set in…

But ya know, gotta get up. Gotta get going. Can’t hide under the covers, as tempting as that sounds sometimes.

You know how it is. Some mornings you’re faced with a choice — a choice between indulging your inner grumpy goat and letting her wreak havoc, or doing everything in your power to have a GREAT FRICKIN’ DAY!

I usually shoot for the latter (not always successfully, mind you), and most of the time when things work out fairly well, I seem to have followed a morning routine very similar to this one:

I get out of bed right when the alarm goes off, versus hitting the snooze button and falling back to sleep. If I hit the snooze, even if it’s just for 10 more minutes, I may get up feeling groggy.
I have my first cup of coffee and quickly get a little food in my tum
I get my booty in motion by either walking or running on the treadmill for at least 20 minutes, during which time I’ll listen to some upbeat music and/or mull over what I want to accomplish that day.
I primp and do whatever I can to feel cute — taking a shower, fixing my hair, applying makeup (this morning I filled in my brows, applied under-eye concealer, some High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara on my upper and lower lashes, and lipgloss) and picking an outfit that isn’t likely to be 1) mistaken for workout wear or 2) ratty pajamas.

More often than not, when I follow this routine, I have a pretty good day.

How about you? What’s your “good day” morning routine like? 🙂

Now, on to Clinique’s High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara…

Clinique’s High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara has actually been on counters for a while, but I only just recently gave it a try. With its oversized brush, it’s designed for dramatic lashes with extreme thickness and volume, and safe for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers. It’s also available in two shades — 01 Extreme Black, which is the color I’ve been wearing, and 02 Black — both available now at Clinique counters and clinique.com.

So, my natural lashes? Well, let’s just that they don’t stop traffic. They probably wouldn’t even stop a slow-moving Radio Flyer Red Wagon, LOL! They’re mediocre at best — not too long, thick, full, nor curly. Just…there.

Mascara is an everyday must for me, and the more extreme, the better. So, yeah, I was all over this stuff as soon as I read the name on the tube — Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara.

Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara Brush — Long, oversized brush with small, stubby bristles

What’s the lash look?

Two or three coats deliver thick, glossy fringe, without any clumps or crispiness, but I’d be hesitant to call the look, “extreme.” More like “lush, but not dramatic. Like something I’d wear if I wanted a natural look, but FYI: my idea of natural lashes is what a drag queen would wear on her day off. 🙂

Also, it doesn’t lift a lash curl as much as I usually like, but since it isn’t billed as a lash-curling mascara, that’s no big whoop.

Staying power and removal?

As long as I don’t rub my eyes or futz with them, I get about 8-10 hours without a smudge or flake.

That’s good.

Removal’s also easy. I don’t even have to use a separate eye makeup remover. My regular, and always dependable, Neutrogena Gentle Cleanser and warm water does the trick.
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The Clinique Cheek Pop Blushes: Making Cheeks Pop With Vibrant, Easy-To-Build Color One Layer at a Time

March 31st, 2014 by Karen 23 Comments

SUNDAY NIGHT, 6:06 P.M., MY LIVING ROOM COUCH — I’m gobbling Peanut M&Ms by the handful and gulping Riesling. It’s all I can do to cope.

(If you joined me on Twitter last night, then you know why.)

It’s nothing makeup-related, and certainly nothing related to blush. In fact, the couple layers of Clinique’s Cheek Pop Blush in Ginger Pop ($21) I applied early in the day are helping to calm my rattled nerves. Ten hours after applying, the satiny coral color is still going strong, sans streaks, and with only minimal fading.

The problem: more zombies.

*** SPOILER ALERT (SORT OF) ***

Not even 10 minutes into The Walking Dead Season 4 finale, and I’m wondering if I have enough chocolate to make it through the hour. I contemplate sending El Hub out to get more.

Beads of sweat glisten on my forehead. I unzip my Zella hoodie to cool down but promptly zip it back up. I might need to use it as a security blanket.

A band of brutal marauders descend on Rick, Carl and Michonne, and the story takes a dark, dark turn…

I pop some more M&Ms and gulp the wine realizing that this can’t end well. I hug myself tightly and rock back and forth. “Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no!”

The head marauder has Rick in a headlock while the others surround them. I think, I don’t know if I’ll be able to watch the show anymore if something (else) terrible happens.

OMG, DID THAT REALLY JUST HAPPEN?!?

I’m screaming through a mouthful of half-chewed bits of M&Ms for what seems like an eternity, but is really just 10-15 seconds.

When the show cuts to commercial, I grab my asthma inhaler, just in case.

Think happy thoughts, I tell myself. Puppies. Kittens. Flowers…

Flowers! — like the ones on these pans of Clinique Cheek Pop Blushes. 🙂

I close my eyes and concentrate on the Cheek Pops, which look exactly like the daisies I’m growing on my deck. My pulse slows as I focus on the easy-to-apply creamy powders.

I feel…better, even as the show resumes after the commercial break. I’m glad that we live in a world free of zombies (for now), where we can contemplate things like blush on our couches, because I’m pretty sure I’d be picked off early in zombie-land. I think I’m too gentle for that world. Too soft.

Then I think, hey, at least I’ll have a fabulous blush on my cheeks when it happens, and everything’s better when you’re wearing a great blush…

The Clinique Cheek Pop Blushes: 10,000-Foot View

What’s the marketing mumbo-jumbo?

Clinique claims that these silky powder blushes, which are part of a new line, look natural and virtually powder-less on cheeks. The four shades stay true on the skin, and should cover options for most every skin tone. While vibrant in their pans, they apply sheer, but can be built up in layers to reach your desired level of intensity.

And the final verdict?

You know the MAC In Extra Dimension Blushes that MAC, for some insane reason, only releases in limited edition collections? They’re MAC’s line of unfathomably smooth cream-powder-liquid hybrids that apply flawlessly and last a cray-cray long time (8-10 hours without having to touch up)?

Well, I’ve long wished that MAC would make them permanent, and in a way I guess my wish came true because now there’s something similar at Clinique!

We are talking about some seriously bomb-@ss blushes, yo.

Based on their similarities, I wouldn’t be surprised if Clinique and MAC shared secret formulas (they do have the same parent company, so who knows?).

Looking, feeling and behaving like clones, the Cheek Pops could easily pass for In Extra Dimension dupes, with the same satiny finish and silky, easy-to-blend formula — not to mention a pretty kick-@ss wear time (I get from 10-12 hours).

Fantastic for effortless, natural-looking cheeks — and they’re versatile, too. I can easily build them up in layers when I want to wear something intense and brighter.

So what do you think?

I love ’em! Highly recommended.

Clinique Cheek Pop in Ginger Pop — Ginger Pop, a coral

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Quick Look at the New Clinique Cheek Pop Blushes

March 26th, 2014 by Karen 17 Comments

How cute are these pans?! I sense that if I show them to my Gerbera daisies, the flowers will feel a twinge of jealousy. 🙂

These are three of the four new Clinique Cheek Pop blushes ($21 each), which are new for spring. They’re supposed to leave skin with natural-looking color but without the powdery texture that some blushes leave behind.

Can’t wait to get ’em on my cheeks.

They’re available now at Clinique counters and online at clinique.com.

Clinique Welcomes Spring With a Customizable Gift With Purchase Blooming With Cheer and Choice Pieces

March 22nd, 2013 by Karen 17 Comments

Clinique Gift With Purchase Spring 2013 — Head to Macy’s between March 25 and April 14 and snag a sweet, springy 9-piece gift with purchase from Clinique

There I stood at my bathroom counter this morning, coaxing the last few precious drops out of my bottle of Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion (a mild miracle-working exfoliator that keeps my zits in check), and marveling at a phenomenon I call, “the mustache effect.”

The mustache effect describes the mysterious appearance of upper lip hair during a particular phase of life known as, “the wonder years.”

LOL! But seriously, I actually have no idea when my ‘stach grew in. One morning it was just there, like a hungry caterpillar straight chillin’ above my lips.

For the life of me, I can’t figure out how I missed something so obvious, with all of the hours I logged as a teenage girl in front of the mirror trying to defy gravity with my bangs. I mean, literally, it was right under my nose!

Now, when something seemingly appears or disappears without warning, like the contents of my bottle of Clinique Clarifying Lotion (I didn’t even know it was running low), I say, “Ah! The mustache effect.”

I do have a point with this, and here it is: don’t become a victim of the mustache effect. Visit a Clinique counter (or wherever else you need to go) before it’s too late.

Check your bottles! And if any of them are running low, restock.

For what it’s worth, Clinique counters at Macy’s are doing a pretty sweet nine-piece gift with purchase deal from March 25 through April 14, free with any purchase of $25 or more in Clinique products at Macy’s.

Clinique Gift With Purchase Spring 2013 all — The nine-piece gift with purchase includes two bags, two brushes, a palette, a lipstick, a small High Impact Mascara in Black, a travel-sized tube of Dramatically Different Moisturizer Lotion (also works as a makeup remover in a pinch) and Clinique’s 7-Day Scrub Cream

“But Karen!” I think I can hear you saying, “If I get one more tube of Bamboo Pink Lipstick, I’m gonna have to kick someone with my Chuck Taylor high-tops.”

Don’t bust a move just yet, ninja girl, because Clinique lets you customize this set. You can pick your own palette and lipstick.

Prefer pink? Pick the pink pairings palette, which comes with a Pink Slate Eye Shadow Duo, Soft-Pressed Powder Blusher in New Clover and a True Bronze Pressed Powder in Sunkissed.

Or if you’re partial to purple, grab the violet pairings palette instead, which features the Twilight Mauve Eye Shadow Duo, Soft-Pressed Powder Blusher in Pink Blush and the True Bronze Pressed Powder Bronzer in Sunkissed.