Clinique

Unsung Makeup Heroes: The Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tints

March 30th, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

clinique chubby stick shadow tint for eyes — The Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tints ($17 each)

The long-running Unsung Heroes series here on Makeup and Beauty Blog features some of our all-time favorite permanent collection products.

My cat… He’s kind of a chubby cat, but he prefers that we call him “husky” or “big-boned.” He is the boss, so I gotta do what I gotta do, but I won’t be calling the Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tints for Eyes the “Big-Boned Stick Shadow Tints,” because that would be weird. 🙂

I freaking lurve these things! They’ve been part of the Clinique permanent line for a while, and I love ’em so much that I’ve amassed a small army. I use them all the time.

True to form, these are tints, and they’re sheerer than a lot of the shadow sticks out there, like the MAC Pro Longwears and the Bobbi Brown and Laura Mercier sticks. They deposit a good amount of color, but they quickly sheer down when you blend them out.

I know that some people aren’t going to be into that, but if you’re a 10-minute-makeup gal (or dude) who just wants a little somethin’-somethin’, but you’re not about to spend hella years blending in your outer V, these are great for that. They’re fantastic for easy, colorful eye looks.

There’s a mess of neutrals in the line that I wear all the time, like Bountiful Beige, Ample Amber, Lots O’ Latte (which is a gorgeous, GORGEOUS taupe) and warm brown Fuller Fudge, which I just wore the other day. And we’ll throw Curvaceous Coal in with the neutrals, too, since it’s a shimmery gray.

If you love BBNs (browns, beige and nudes) like I do, these are excellent everyday colors.

clinique chubby stick shadow tint for eyes swatches 1 — Swatches from the top in 01 Bountiful Beige, 04 Ample Amber, 03 Lots O’ Latte, 03 Fuller Fudge and 08 Curvaceous Cora

There are also some wonderful other colors. Among the greens, I like Mighty Moss and Whopping Willow. In the blues, there’s Big Blue and Massive Midnight. And oh! — the purples and pinks? You gotta give ’em a try.

All of the shades are pigmented, but they aren’t so pigmented that they take forever and a day to blend. They always seem to look elegant, refined and natural.

Well…as natural as a green or blue eyeshadow ever looks.

clinique chubby stick shadow tint for eyes swatches 2 — From the top: 05 Whopping Willow, 06 Mighty Moss, 10 Big Blue, 12 Massive Midnight, 09 Lavish Lilac, 11 Portly Plum and 07 Pink & Pretty

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The Clinique Crayola Chubby Sticks for a Comfy, Pretty Pout

January 10th, 2017 by Karen 20 Comments

clinique crayloa chubby stick — Two of eight new Clinique Crayola Chubby Sticks, $17 each and available now

What are the odds of Connor Claire getting into mommy’s makeup someday and thinking that these Clinique Crayola Chubby Sticks are, in fact, drawing implements like actual crayons?

I place the odds at about 96.543%, give or take, LOL! Mark my words, I’ll be Instagramming some crazy-@ss wall art.

Seriously, though, how cute are these? They’re basically your standard-issue Clinique Chubby Sticks for Lips — same mega moisturizing, non-sticky formula and sheer color — but in super special Crayola clothing.

clinique crayloa chubby stick swatches — Clinique Crayola Chubby Sticks in Pink Sherbert (top) and Mango Tango (bottom)

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New & Noteworthy: Clinique Uplighting Illuminating Powder, Pop Oil and High Impact Custom Black Kajal Liners

December 12th, 2016 by Karen 10 Comments

clinique fall 2016 — New & noteworthy makeup from Clinique

In the pursuit of creative well fill-edness, also known as “trying to keep my creative well filled,” I’m trying to form some mentally healthy new habits and rediscover old ones that have helped me in the past, like wearing makeup on the weekends.

You guys…on one hand, it’s liberating to just run out of the house without a stitch of makeup on, but on the other hand…sometimes when I’m out and about and catch get a glimpse of myself in a window somewhere, I’ll think, WTF?! Who the hell is that person? She looks EXHAUSTED. 🙂

Shoot, back in the day, I’d put on concealer just to go get my mail! THAT’s how dedicated I was to le face paint, but I’ve gotten way chiller about leaving the house without makeup over the past year, especially on weekends.

I’ve been getting back into it again lately, though, because I swear…a little bit of shimmer here and a touch of color there, and I see the whole world differently.

It definitely changes the way I feel about myself.

Anywho, I wore some makeup last weekend, and it felt really freakin’ good. I used some things that came out from Clinique in the fall and are in the permanent collection now, and they were just lovely!

Clinique Uplighting Illuminating Powder, $27

clinique up lighting powder — All three shades of Clinique Uplighting Illuminating Powder ($27 each)

SO GOOD for casual weekend makeup! These sheer pressed powders have a subtle tint and pearl. You can wear them as an all-over setting powder or use them them to highlight specific areas, and they’re basically like highlighting powders for non-highlighting girls/guys.

The opalescent finish is very low-key, very natural-looking, and you might not even see it at first, but it’s there adding a little something-something.

There are three shades, and the one I like is 02 Golden Glow. It makes my skin look dewy…but not sweaty dewy.

These $27 Uplighting Illuminating Powders are a lot like the $46 Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders, so if you like those, these are a more affordable alternative. Keep in mind, though, that these only come in three shades, whereas the Hourglass Ambients come in six shades and are much, much finer.

Still, I think these are perfect weekend powders for running errands or grabbing coffee, and for that $27 you get a big 0.33-oz. pan.

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The Day in Beauty Vol. 24: The Best Black Liquid Liner and a Makeup Tip for Late Nights

July 27th, 2016 by Karen 40 Comments

essie pre show jitters swatch — Essie Gel Couture in Pre-Show Jitters ($11.50)

I Love the ’90s…

That was the name of the concert I went to last Saturday night — I Love the ’90s — with my friend Marisol, and it was the first time I stayed out late since…

Shoot, I can’t even remember, but it’s been a looong time. I’ve been serving hard time in baby jail for almost five months now, and even before Connor arrived, back when I was still pregnant, I wasn’t going out a lot because I was ginormous, always tired and constantly uncomfortable.

Anywho, like I was saying, I hadn’t been out since forever, and when we were driving back home in the middle of the night from Jackson, California, which is a small town — I’m sorry, Jacksonites — out in the middle of nowhere, I suddenly got the feeling that I was wearing 20 layers of makeup on my face.

I wasn’t wearing a ton, though. Just, like, NARS tinted moisturizer, some powder, a little bit of cat eye makeup, so nothing too cray, but after being out and about in the summer sun for a few hours and perspiring at the concert, that drive home was rough.

I couldn’t wait to get home and wash my face, and Marisol said the same thing.

Has that ever happened to you? — where you get the sudden urge to wash your face in the car on a long drive home in the middle of the night? I mean, Marisol and I can’t be the only two people.

Oh! — I just thought of a genius (if I do say so myself) idea for the next time I’m out and about in the wee hours (whenever that may be). I’ll bring along a pack of makeup wipes to keep in the car! 🙂

That way I can remove my makeup, wipe down my face, and let my skin breathe. Then when I get home, I can just fall right into bed, ah…

By the way, these new Clinique Take the Day Off Micellar Cleansing Towelettes are SO BOMB.

Clinique Take the Day Off Micellar Cleansing Towelettes for Face & Eyes ($14 for 50 wipes) — Clinique Take the Day Off Micellar Cleansing Towelettes for Face & Eyes ($14 for a pack of 50 wipes)

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Dear Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation: It’s Not Me, It’s You.

May 26th, 2016 by Nicole Fraser-Herron 32 Comments

Dear Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation,

I really wanted to love you. I really tried to make it work, but today I realized I have to let you go.

When we first entered each other’s lives, I had stars in my eyes. I’d heard what everyone had to say about you, and they were nothing but great things. So I grabbed my favorite buffing brush as of late and got to work.

Oh, my god. I couldn’t believe it — you were so easy to blend, to build, and your finish was so even and just… perfect. I’ve never seen myself with so few freckles, but then again, I don’t generally go for fuller coverage foundations like you.

_MG_3162_web — Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer ($27)

As I went on with the rest of my makeup, I kept remarking at how amazing my base looked. It seemed like we were quite a match, but there’s something you should know… I don’t really fall easily, or ever at all. I can’t help but anticipate disaster.

_MG_3102_web — “This photograph is my proof. There was that afternoon, when things were still good between us.” – Duane Michals

While we seemed to be compatible on so many levels, you were a few shades too dark for me from the get-go. Love can require some sacrifice, and I understood that.

So we went out into the world together, and I was feeling like a total boss.

Eventually, the dream started to fade and reality began to set in. A few hours after we left, I looked in the mirror, and you separated across my skin the way oil beads up around water. It didn’t help that you weren’t quite my shade, which just exacerbated the visibility of our impending separation.

_MG_3155_web — Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer in 5 Breeze compared to Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation in Y205 Alabaster

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#FOTD Starring the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette and My New Fave Clinique Lippie

May 20th, 2016 by Jen Clark 28 Comments

Daytime Glam FOTD naked 3 — Today’s daytime glam look!

You guys are all my friends here, right?

That’s what I thought, so I can vent a little bit? I know you guys will listen to me.

Well, there’s only so much my poor husband can handle. As a mom and, honestly, I know that’s partly a cop-out excuse, an introvert, I don’t get out of the house as often as I’d like.

When I do finally peel off the sweatpants that have been plastered to my body since the day before and put on an outfit that doesn’t make me look like a hobo, I want to do something nice with my makeup too. That’s when I usually go for something in the “daytime glam” category, which is what I did today.

But first, the venting. I spent a lot of time on my makeup and hair today, and I even threw on a dress. Lookin’ hot, I was ready for a day out of the house, but my son had other plans. He’s two and a half right now, and I know it has got to be hard to be two. He’s got an amazing vocabulary, but when he’s upset or overwhelmed, he sometimes has a hard time getting his feelings out in a way that doesn’t involve screaming or crying.

We hit the town, but he was not having it. At the first store we went to he had a total meltdown, for reasons unbeknownst to me. I’m talking a screaming-thrashing-snot-flying-everywhere kind of meltdown.

Needless to say, with both of us in tears feeling so sorry for ourselves, we headed home… Just like that, our day out of the house was over.

I can’t even fathom how hard it would be to have two kids, but for those of you who don’t know, I’m having a baby girl in September! 🙂 Moms, please tell me it gets better and that having two isn’t hard at all. Lie to me if you must!

Now for the fun part of this post — the makeup! I recently did a little collaboration with Anna and Adia on how we rock pink eyeshadow, and I went with a really bright look. They did really pretty, more wearable looks, so I was feeling inspired to use some similar colors.

I decided to break out my Naked 3 Palette because it’s full of those gorgeous rosy/mauve tones I was looking to use.

I’ll tell you quickly how I got this look. I started by using ‘Limit’ (a light mauve-y rose) in the crease, then deepened it up a bit using ‘Nooner’ (mid toned mauve-y rose).

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Try Clinique’s Chubby In The Nude Foundation Sticks for Blendable, Bountiful, Beautiful Coverage

May 5th, 2016 by Marcella Yakalis 7 Comments

Wearing Clinique Chubby In The Nude in Voluptuous Vanilla ($24) — Wearing Clinique Chubby In The Nude in Voluptuous Vanilla ($24 each, available in 10 shades)

Hey everyone!

So, if there’s one thing I’ve mentioned before, it’s how much I like convenient products. If there’s anything complicated involved, I won’t be interested in using or doing it for long.

This has probably been a driving force behind why I keep my makeup routine so simple.

“Simple” and “convenient” are two perfect words to describe Clinique’s Chubby In The Nude Foundation Sticks ($24 each, available in 10 shades), with their cream-to-powder finish and buildable sheer-to-medium coverage (they’re part of the amazing Chubby stick line).

They’re even easier to blend when you use a sponge or a damp brush, which I realized this past weekend while visiting my boyfriend’s parents. I didn’t bring the right brush with me, so I had to use my fingers.

The Clinique website recommends applying them like this:

Draw several strokes of foundation across the forehead, cheeks, chin and down the bridge of nose.

For sheerer coverage, fingertip-blend to a seamless finish.

For moderate coverage, use Clinique’s Buff Brush to buff foundation into skin using light, circular motions.

Applying with my fingers was a little frustrating, mostly because of how sensitive my skin is. I mean, the Chubby stick slogan is the #ChubbyDoodle, which stands for all the different ways you can draw your foundation on for different coverage, and I like the concept, but rubbing the foundation into my skin with my fingers was…less fun.

clinique-chubby-in-the-nude-foundation-stick-side — Forgive my red nose; I’m sick yet again.

Here I’m wearing Voluptuous Vanilla, which falls into the “moderately fair” category. Incidentally, I also like the suggestive names (like Curviest Clove and Abundant Alabaster) and the particular way Clinique grouped these from very fair to deep.

clinique foundation stick, chubby in the nude, — Clinique Chubby In The Nude Foundation Stick in Voluptuous Vanilla and Bountiful Beige

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My Foundation Routine (A Collaboration With Adia)

April 18th, 2016 by Marcella Yakalis 3 Comments

My go to: Clinique Stay Matte Oil Free Makeup in Linen ($24 for 1 oz.)

Hey, everyone! Today I’m collaborating with the lovely Adia to show you how I wear my foundation (she’ll be sharing her post later tonight), and also try out a new brush I haven’t gotten a chance to work with yet, the Heavenly Luxe Complexion Master, No. 16, from It Cosmetics ($58).

Now, I don’t often wear foundation (I typically go for a lighter coverage BB cream), but when I do want heavier coverage, these are the products I like to use.

First, I start with a moisturized and primed face, and for primer, I go for e.l.f. Poreless Face Primer. It’s a good dupe for Smashbox in my opinion, although the formula seems to have changed recently, because the smell isn’t quite as pleasant as it once was…

Heavenly Luxe Complexion Master No. 16 brush ($58)

This brush has a lot of plusses, but on my first run through with it doing my normal routine, I noticed that I was really dry and cakey.

Then I remembered something Adia recommends sometimes, which is to wet the brush. So, while doing my look for this post, I made sure to spray some rosewater on the brush before buffing it into my makeup.

I could have used setting spray, but the scent and the whole effect of using rosewater are just so much more appealing to me.

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