product review: Chanel Mat Lumiere Foundation

Hello all!

Foundation and box

It is time for another product review, and this week I am looking at make up. Particularly Chanel’s mat lumiere foundation.

On the box it claims to be “long lasting, luminous matte fluid make up” promising “a perfect complexion for 12 hours”

My colour? 30, Cendre

I received a free sample sachet in Glamour magazine, and I liked the way it felt and applied to the face. So I decided to pop along to the Chanel counter after work and find out some more.

It costs £30 which is a little more than I normally pay for foundation (I usually spend £20-£25) however so far I do think that it is worth it.

According to the small booklet that comes with the foundation you should apply it with your fingers for a natural finish, or with the Chanel foundation brush for a more sophisticated finish. Well I do not have the Chanel foundation brush, but certainly the smoothness you get with a foundation brush is very nice.

When applying with my fingers however I am not so sure, I do find that I end up using more than normal and whilst the look is indeed very natural I prefer the look I get with a sponge or brush.

The finish is very nice, matte without being dull, but not shiny, nor is it obvious that you have foundation on which is something I personally love in my make up. The coverage is a medium coverage, so sometimes I do find that I have to add a touch more to problem areas, or use a concealer to aid in the hiding of blemishes.

It is long lasting, I still look human at the end of a 9-6 shift at work, no matter how stressful the day! And it contains SPF 15, so you are getting some protection from the sun (not that we get any in Scotland!) whilst wearing it….although I would recommend using a sunscreen too if you are somewhere that requires it: yes a tan can be slimming, but sun damage is also very ageing.

I like this foundation, and think that I would definitely buy it again, once this one has run out.

Chanel Mat Lumiere: a nice thumbs up from me!

Cx

product review: Clinique 3 Step Skin Care…

Step 1: facial wash, Step 2: toner, Step 3: moisturize

Ok so my first product review is centred around the Clinique skin care range.

I bought this back in January, when a very kind friend gave me a gift card for a well-known department store. Instead of spending it all on a pair of shoes (believe me I wanted to!) I decided to be sensible and invest the money in some decent skin care.

Up until this point my skin routine was cleansing wipes and a facial scrub, which was not doing me any favours whatsoever!

Before I even begin to review the products let me tell you a bit about how I ended up with these particular ones.

My Nan, one of the most stylish people I know, recommended them as she absolutely adores Clinique. As part of my birthday present last year she bought me some absolutely darling lip-glosses that I cannot live without! So I tend to listen to her when it comes to these things.

I took myself along to the counter in the brightly lit cosmetics hall, and I underwent a skin analysis…sounds pretty scary, but was very straightforward and to the point…at one point the girl conducting the analysis did stick some sellotape on me, as part of the process which was about as weird as it got!

The conclusion was that I was type 2 “dry combination” and had problems with the occasional (hmm) breakout. However she reckoned that the breakout was more to do with the imbalances in my skin type then any real problem such as acne, or lifestyle related.

So I came away with a facial soap, a clarifying lotion and some moisturizer, which when purchasing for the first time do set you back a cool £63, making it a definite investment.

5 months on, however I am addicted. I have just re purchased the facial soap, £13 on its own, and I still have plenty of the moisturizer and clarifying lotion left. In my opinion that is £63 well spent, before I have even begun on the benefits I have seen.

You use it morning and night, same routine lasting 3 minutes each time.

Step 1: The facial soap. 1 pump from the bottle is plenty, gently foam it up in your hands and apply to a wet face, and gently rub. The soap washes away all of the make up, dirt and grime from your face, and it leaves it feeling fresh and clean. It is also very gentle on my skin.

Step 2: The clarifying lotion. looks like a toner, works like an exfoliator. pop some onto a cotton wool pad and wipe over your face. This looks and feels like a toner, but what it is actually doing is gently exfoliating, removing all the dull dead flakes of skin, bringing the fresh clean ones to the surface. You do not need much, and it works fantastically.

Step 3: The moisturizer. on the bottle it is named “dramatically different moisturizer” and so far it has proved to have been. Like steps 1 and 2 you only a small amount because steps 1 and 2 have readied your skin to accept moisture so this soaks right in and begins to work its magic right away. I use 2 pumps in the morning and 1 pump at night and it has cleared up the occasional dry patches that seem to crop up, without soaking my T-zone (where my skin is most oily) and clogging that up, which is a blessing, because it is the first moisturizer that I have found to do that.

The overall results? According to the little booklet that comes with the products it states that you will see results from day 1: “expect your skin to look fresher, feel smoother.”

In reality I did begin to see results very quickly, I would not say from day one, but after about 3 days of following the routine morning and night my skin did look revived, and this is certainly true in the last 5 months of use.

I have only had a breakout once, or twice in the last 5 months, I am using less make up because what I am using is going on so smoothly. I can feel a difference in the smoothness and softness of my skin, and on the rare days that I do miss a use (normally when I have been out and about in the various bars of Glasgow, naughty me!) I can feel a difference in my skin.

Like I said, £63 is a lot of money to pay out in one go for 3 items, but I would certainly recommend this regime to anyone, it has worked wonders on my skin…I do think it looks healthier, clearer, fresher and younger, and since using it I have left my flat without make up on, something I would NEVER do before now!

The Clinique 3-Step Skin Care System gets a massive thumbs up from me!!

*if you are interested in trying it for yourself, go and visit your nearest Clinique counter and ask about it. They do not bite!

Much love,

Cx