Makeup obsessed (with sensitive skin, no less)

When I was younger, I used to be very adventurous with makeup and wear a lot of crazy different colours, glitter, coloured mascara, that sort of thing. Unfortunately, I am allergic to a lot of products and constantly reacted to many of the items I would try.

As I became older and more conservative with my look, and had more money to spend on makeup items, I have been buying less drug store brands and more higher-end brands. I am lucky to have access several times per year to attend manufacturer sales for numerous brands such as L'Oreal and Estee Lauder.

I began using Clinique products just over a year ago, and started with eye shadow, liner and mascara. I do still enjoy playing with colour, and enjoy having a wide array of colours to choose from, but tend to stick to greys or browns for daytime.

For many years, I was a devoted user of Maybelline's "Great Lash" mascara. I found it worked well, didn't clump, and was long-lasting. I tried plenty of other varieties of drugstore brands, Covergirl, Revlon, Rimmel, but nothing worked as well for me as Maybelline. Now, I'd say I'm a convert. Clinque offers several mascaras, including a "Bottom Lash" mascara, which I like for a night out. (My lashes are too long to wear it during the day, I look like I'm wearing stage makeup.)

This one is my favourite, the High Impact mascara. I find the formula very easy to put on, doesn't clump and spreads nicely across the lash.

One of the things that I enjoy about the warehouse sales is the ability to purchase the "Gift With Purchase" sets from the previous seasons, which always include a cute makeup bag and miniature versions of products so I can try them out and see what I like.

This was one of the first sets I bought last year, which is the Clinique Bold Eyes To Go set.

The Under Eye mascara, shadow duo, cream shaper in black and High Impact mascara. I love all the items in here, the eyeliner is great, goes on easily, doesn't rub off. The shadows spread nicely on the eye. I'm not super crazy about the lighter colour, but I find when I put a third colour in, they blend nicely and create a nice subtle look for daytime. The little makeup case is very small, I often use it for my jewellery when I travel.

This set, the Party Favors set was one I bought a while back, and unfortunately I did have an allergic reaction to the pink shadow in the eyeshadow quad. I have had reactions in the past to other items with certain dyes in them, including Physician's Formula. I have written to Clinique to ask for ingredient list in the pink shadow so I can try to figure out what exactly I'm allergic to, so I can avoid it in the future!

This set included some items I hadn't tried before, including the nail polish, which worked wonderfully, and the  Quickliner For Eyes Intense in Black Honey. I absolutely LOVE this eyeliner, I use it almost every day. The lip crayon is very nice texture, I find the colour too rich for daytime, but I have worn it on a night out and got lots of compliments. I have only used the "All About Eyes" cream a few times, as I use another moisturizer (also from Clinique) but maybe I'll have to try it again.

For day to day for my face, I don't wear much makeup, other than a little concealer under my eyes and sometimes a light dusting of L'Oreal's mineral powder, which has SPF15 in it, so I'm not too sure what Clinique has in terms of foundations or anything of that nature. I have a little concealer stick from Almay (another hypoallergenic brand!) with some acne treatment in the other end called Almay Clear Complexion Blemish Healing Spot Concealer. I don't typically have many blemishes or issues related to acne, so I can't recommend products would be best for covering blemishes.

For cleansing, I use the 3-step system from Clinique, which I use for dry skin. (There are other products available for different skin types.)

 

These are the three steps, which are a cleanser, toner and moisturizer. I have been using this system since April, so I'm not sure if I will have to add an exfoliant at some point maybe once or twice a week in the winter, as my skin is much more dry in the winter. This system is easy to use, and I have had people ask me what I'm using. My skin is usually quite clear other than a few dry patches, so again, I'm not sure how the system would work on oily skin (there are four sets, very dry/dry, dry/combination, combination/oily and oily) or other types of skin issues.

Overall, I have been very happy with the products, and since there are often Gift With Purchase offers at The Bay and Sears, I like to wait until the GWP offers are available to replace the items I need. There is this website: Canadian Clinique Bonuses that will let you know when the GWP offers are available. There is one set to begin Oct. 16 at Sears, which includes:

• BONUS CHOICE Cosmetics Bag
• Repairwear Uplifting Firming Cream
• Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+
• BONUS CHOICE All About Shadow Trio in Violets or Pinks
• BONUS CHOICE Different Lipstick in Grape or Raspberry Glacé
• High Impact Mascara in Black
• Clinique Happy Perfume Spray


This is from The Bay's website, which explains a little about the products, and why all the products are created without fragrances that can irritate the skin.

 I can't wait to see what the Christmas bonuses are going to be this year. I am running a tad low on makeup remover, but holding out to buy more until next month when the Christmas ones come out.

Do you have skin allergies? Let me know what products you use that are safe for allergies, I'm always curious to try new items. I use shadows and makeup remover wipes from Almay, as well as shadows, liner, blush and bronzer from Physician's formula.