Clinique Moisture Surge Gel

I wanted to review the...

Clinique Moisture Surge Extra Thirsty Skin Relief Gel

because I've used it for awhile now...and its almost out lol, so it seemed about time.


Packaging:

Comes in a plastic jar with metallic lid.





Ingredients for those who read labels like I do :)

Was surprised to notice it contains some dimethicone, as the gel texture feels nothing like the usual silicone containing products. Its probably present in only a small quantity since it is further down the list.






Label claims:

100% Fragrance free, allergy tested, oil-free gel, boosts moisture...etc etc.




Like it said on the jar, its a nice lightweight gel without any fragrance. I like to store it in the fridge because it feels refreshing to apply it cold. You can use it as either a moisturizer or apply a thick layer and leave on as a moisturizing mask.


Does it work?

The product is exactly what I would want in a moisturizer...lightweight and refreshing. It also absorbs quickly into the skin as the label claims. But....unfortunately, it just doesn't moisturize enough! I don't know why, but after I've applied it, my skin will start feeling dry again after a few minutes. Even if I reapply more, the dry, somewhat tight feeling stays :(

As a result, I've been going through a lot of the product. I used over 3/4 of the jar in 2 months already:

2 months ago




Right now




That for me is too fast. Usually with Lancome's Aqua Fusion, I go through 1/2 in the same amount of time. and it doesn't leave that annoying tight feeling on my skin either.

I have sorta combination skin, with occasional dry patches on my cheeks, so I think this gel would work well for people with oily, normal, or regular combination skin. However if you have dry patches or dry skin, don't go for this product. Despite the "extra thirsty" in the product name, it isn't helping "extra thirsty" skin like mine.

Also, this product does not contain sunscreen. You'll have to use a separate sunscreen under this if you are wearing it out during the day. I tried using my Shiseido Ultra Protection lotion under this, but that didn't work well. The sunscreen has a mattifying effect, and this cream does not moisturize well enough on its own anyway, so combining the two just made my skin dry and flaky :(



Overall:

You'll like this if you:
- have oily or normal/combo type skin
- are looking for a lightweight moisturizer
- already have a separate sunscreen to go with this

You won't like this if you:
- have dry skin or combo skin with dry patches
- want the convenience of sunscreen + moisturizer in 1 product


***

P.S. I've been watching the Olympics for the past few days, and wow Michael Phelps is amazing. I used to be a mega Thorpe fan but since he retired, guess its just Phelps left to watch now. Can't believe how he's 4 for 4 with all world records. I wish Thorpe was still competing...there's nothing more fun to watch than a good rivalry :P

Besides swimming, I love watching gymnastics and diving too. I wish they wouldn't have these events all at similar times. Even though the stations try to cover both by cutting back and forth, they're not able to show every athlete that way :( Perhaps I should've gotten TSN...

NY Trip: Cosmetics haul!

I got a lot of stuff...but considering each item costs an extra $10 or more in Canada I saved quite a bit. And I was lucky MAC's F&F discount was running that same weekend too :)

Skincare:

Clinique Moisture Surge Extra Thirsty Skin Relief gel-cream

Aveda:
Intensive Hydrating Mask
Tourmaline Radiance Fluid
Night Nutrients serum

Makeup:

Sephora:
Blinc Kiss Me mascara (backup)
Bourjois Yes to Volume No to Clumps mascara in Bleu
Free sample of Cargo Medium Bronzer

MAC Store (Family & Friends discount too, yay!)
Technakohl in Greyprint
Steamy eyeshadow
Blue Flame eyeshadow
Old Gold pigment
Fuschia pigment

Cosmetics Company Outlet:

MAC Brassy Fluidline
MAC Emote blush (I already have this but I use it almost every time so a backup was in order)
MAC Cosmic eyeshadow (from Moonbathe collection last year)

The CCO had some Bobbi Brown shimmerbricks too - I really wish I had gotten this pink one I saw but my bf was with me and I didn't want to get too much then.

And actually....I ended up exchanging the two pigments last week - I really didn't like Old Gold on me and Fuschia was too similar to Pink Pearl for my liking. Getting Old Gold was a mistake - I had a sample of Gold Mode that I really liked and for some reason I thought the sample jar was labelled Old Gold. Only when I got home and compared the two I realised they were quite different :S I'm really lucky though that the manager at the MAC Store near me was understanding and allowed me to exchange the pigments even though I bought them at US pricing.

I did some comparisons of Brassy Fluidline vs Indianwood Paint pot that I already have.

Indianwood on top, Brassy on bottom

They do look very similar, though Brassy is more gold while Indianwood is more bronzy.

Also was curious to see how Cosmic eyeshadow compares with stuff I already have:

Top: Woodwinked eyeshadow
Middle: Cosmic eyeshadow
Bottom: Otherworldly blush (also from Moonbathe)

They are different side by side, Cosmic does have a more gold tone than but I could probably have skipped it since it looks so similar to Otherworldly.

Clinique Black Honey lipstick review

Alienman was curious to see how Clinique Black Honey lipstick looked like when applied so I took some comparison pics. Also figured I might as well do a mini review of it too :)



Swatch:

Top swatch is with several coats, bottom swatch is with just a couple coats. As you can see the color can be built up with more coats.



Bare lips:



About 2 coats of Clinique Black Honey:



And a few more extra coats: the intensity doesn't show too well in this pic :( I know it looks almost the same as the previous pic but trust me, it can show up quite red on me.




It really is more like a lipstain in terms of the feel of the product. However these pictures don't do it justice. In real life, when I apply several coats of it, it looks like I'm wearing red lipstick. So far I've just been using it lightly to give a slight stain, and I like how it looks like a natural 'just bitten' look. It doesn't look like I have lipstick on at all, but more like my lips are flushed or something.

I've heard that the colour does vary from person to person, and that makes sense because its part of Clinique's line of "Almost Lipsticks", so the colour is sheer enough that your natural lipcolour will show through, but is enhanced by the reddish stain.

In general, thumbs up from me for this product. However I have a feeling I've seen a drugstore product that does the same thing, so that might be something to check out first. I think it was a Revlon liquid cheekstain thing I saw a couple months back. I haven't seen it around lately though, so maybe it was a limited edition product. (I find it very strange by the way that drugstore brands do limited edition products....I guess they're following what MAC does best ...)

An unexpected haul...

Guess what I bought today! (not makeup...well not all of it)


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Guitar Hero III : Legends of Rock Bundle!



Well technically it wasn't for me, I got it for my bf as he was having a super crummy day. Some hacker stole his account for an online game that he's been playing for the past 5 years....meaning all the time he spent building up his character, buying equipment, and gaining exp points, all went to nothing :(

He tried calling up the company that runs the game but they wouldn't help him. He can't even get them to verify his identity just because his credit card info doesn't match the one currently on file. Of course it doesn't match, because the hacker obviously changed the info right away after getting in! They won't even freeze the account to open an inquiry into it :( Basically the company told him he'd have to have a court order or something to do anything about it.

Thinking about it, his character basically had enough experience, equipment etc, etc that the account could've been sold for like $1000....

Five years gone to waste ... so i feel pretty bad for him too :(

So Guitar Hero is all we've been doing the whole night....nevermind that we both have to get up for work early tomorrow ...

Anyways we went to the mall originally because last night, I suddenly had an urge to get Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey, which was sold out in Sephora and Sears. That really depressed me and I wanted to get MAC Tango lipstick and 6th Sin to make up for it lol ..... but they were sold out of those both at the counter, AND at the freestanding store! :*(

In the end though, I managed to find the Clinique lipstick at The Bay. At first I asked the lady behind the counter for the lipgloss version because the gloss looked more pigmented, but they were out of it too! So lipstick it was. I'm glad actually, because the lipstick colour is already surprisingly quite dark even on my pigmented lips. From the reviews on MUA I would've thought it would just show as a touch of colour on me.

The lipstick packaging is suprisingly not that great for what I'd expect from Clinique. Even though its in a sleek silver tube, when you hold it, it feels like cheap aluminium because its so light :( In comparison to other brands in the same price range, I'd much prefer MAC packaging for design and durability. Especially the Mattene range, those lipstick cases kick Clinique's ass!

But anyway... pictures.

and

Looks almost black doesn't it? But it makes more sense once you see it in real life...its not a super pigmented looking lipstick, it looks like a waxy lipcolour / almost lipbalm-y.