Clinique 'Anti-Blemish Solutions Liquid Makeup'

If you read my blog regularly, you’ll be aware of how often I bemoan my often oily, slightly blemished, dull skin.

I was one of those annoying teens who never had a spot or blemish and didn’t realise how lucky I was. Unfortunately, at the age of 20 when I suddenly got hips and a decent chest, I also got spots. I don’t know what happened – maybe it was payback for being smug between 13 – 19! Until about 26, they didn’t bother me too much. But then I had a few problems with my pill; since then my skin has gone haywire.

I think I’ve mentioned before about how it got so bad I ended up being seen by a dermatologist at the SK:N clinic for a round of chemical peels. Pricey, but they have done wonders, bringing my poor painful inflamed skin, back to mildly spotty.

I have good weeks and bad weeks, where my skin can swing from glowing in the morning to inflamed by tea time, but it has generally remained middling. Products such as Dr Perricone’s moisturiser that I’ve blogged about before generally keeps things to a minimum in terms of large blemishes, but I am still plagued by slightly dull, congested skin.

So, as I am always on the lookout for new things that might help, I’ve agreed to try the new Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions Liquid Makeup, to see if that can improve things. I took the ‘skin type’ test on the Clinique website and it diagnosed me as having type 2 combination skin, with my main priority as keeping oil under control.

The makeup works to get and maintain skin clear and lovely in these 4 ways...

Ease of Irritation: The presence of caffeine helps to reduce redness and soothes the skin

Control of Blemish Causing Agents: Hydroxydecanoic Acid is an ingredient that helps control the spread of blemishes

Exfoliation: Salicylic acid works as an exfoliant, working off those dead skin cell debris which can clog pores

Oil Control: Laminaria Sacharrina Extract is a sea algae which purifies and balances the skin, helping to regulate sebum production.

As the Anti-Blemish liquid makeup is all about natural, but good coverage whilst controlling oil, I’m game! I’m going to try the foundation over a couple of weeks to give it a chance to work its magic. In the meantime you can check out this tutorial or you can find out more here.

Dr Perricone Skin Clear Hydrator

So, this is a bit of a weird one for me! I recently received some samples from a PR for Dr Perricone MD Skincare; a jar of 'Skin Clear Hydrator' and a bottle of 'No Foundation Foundation'. Now firstly, as a regular consumer of Skin Clear Hydrator I was absolutely delighted to receive a jar as it retails at about £45 a pop meaning I have just freed up some space on my credit card to spend at Coco Beau...

Now back to the weird bit - I thought I was the only person who used Dr Perricone!! I'm starting to think I'm maybe the only person in Aberdeen as the rest of the 'blogosphere' appears to be awash with good and bad reviews of various MD products! I'm gutted... I thought I'd discovered a beauty secret!

(This is my own, slightly dusty jar!)

Anyway! I would like to note that I really genuinely love my Skin Clear Hydrator. I've been using it everyday for about a year. It all started when I was having a course of chemical peel treatments for a rather raging bout of acne at the Sk:n Clinic. In between treatments, I had to use a course of various topical lotions and potions, one of them being the SCH. As someone with oily skin, the search for a moisturiser that doesn't overload and clog my pores seemed eternal, however I can honestly say it hasn't even occured to me look elsewhere since using the SCH.

I've found a jar will last about 4 - 5 months. The above pic is the last wee bit of the jar I bought in September or October, so it does last for ages.

This is what it says...

"The oil-free hydrator helps to reduce surface debris while relieving dryness and increasing the skin's natural moisture. It encourages regeneration and renewal of skin's appearance to deliver a smooth and healthy looking surface. Provides anti-ageing benefits"

To be totally honest, I couldn't really care if it helped little old ladies across the street - the important thing is it doesn't turn my face into an oil slick after application and the best thing is my spots have never returned. My face always has a lovely baby smooth feeling after use and it sinks in quickly so you don't need to wait 5, 10 or 15 minutes before applying your makeup. Obviously I can't completely attribute my clear skin to Dr Perricone; it is just a moisturiser and there are many other things I do that no doubt help. But for me, SCH certainly counts as one of my ultimate wonder products.

Now I know those of you who have read other reviews of Dr P's products will be sitting there thinking 'is she not going to mention the smell?'... Yes, it has a funny smell but I like it. I think it smells like coffee and once it's sunk in to my skin, the smell goes away.

I obviously can't say if you'll experience the same results as I have and when I started using it, I was guided by a dermatologist as to which products would be best suited to my skin. You might want to consider popping into your local Sk:n Clinic and asking for their help regarding which MD products to use or you can check out the website for more details. If you do decide to give it a go let me know how you get on!

Look out for a future post on the 'No Foundation Foundation'. This is a totally new product to me and I can't wait to give it a go...

A xx