Last week I went to the Clinique contour at Farmers (my local department store) and got to have a full consultation with a lovely lady called Morgan (check out her blog!) who is part of the #NZBloggers community, and was a lovely consultation-sit! I have always wanted to try out Clinique, but as it's a little bit out of my price range I wanted to know exactly what I was going in for before purchasing; so talking to someone who is a beauty guru and understands the struggles of a budget, my little meeting went great!

I went in wanting to learn about my skin, to get my hands on a primer as well as having a whee nosey at what else Clinique has to offer me. I managed to check the first task by completing this questionnaire of sorts to find out what sort of formulas and coverage my skin should have. 

Q1: blemishes

I only get blemishes now once a month when my hormones go haywire (I have also been on The Pill for a few years and have started to take great care with my skin, I might write a blog post about this!) so covering blemishes wasn't a major concern for me but should still be taken into consideration.

Q2: ageing

I'm only 21, so my skin ageing is not a concern for me. Morgan told me that it is best to prevent rather than treat ageing and told me that I need to be careful of my skin and not let it get burnt; especially with summer coming up!

Q3: discolouration

I have a heap of freckles, but unlike a lot of people I have spoken to who have freckles, I love them! I used to not have an opinion on them, but with the whole "natural skin" movement going on, there are more freckles coming into popular culture and mainstream media, so I've started to love mine too! 

I have quite dark circles under my eyes with the lack of sleep I've been having, but I have started using the Lush Enchanted Eye Cream and has been helping me a bit, as well as actually getting sleep now that university is over for the year!

Q4: texture/appearance

I wasn't actually sure what this meant because on the board there was a question about oiliness/dryness and this was obviously about something different. Turns out it's pretty much what does your skin do when you have gotten out of the shower or washed your face, and my answer was that it gets really tight and if I don't moisturise it will break and flake off. Lovely.

Q5: pores

Luckily for me I don't have any large pores, so this was not a concern.

Q6: redness

Again, I am fortunate to not have any redness on my skin.

Q7: sensitivity

As I have been trying to get "out there" in the beauty world and try new things when I can, I have unfortunately reacted badly to quite a few products, making me come out in an oh-so attractive rash. Morgan said that it would be some of the chemicals within the formula of the products I have tried, and not the products themselves. This is a mild concern for me, but as Clinique is fragrance free and is almost completely allergy free, I should be completely fine with their products.

Q8: skin type

My skin is a bit of a combination between oily on my T-zone and flaky on my chin and around my nose. As mentioned before in the texture question, my skin will get dry and flakey if I don't moisturise it, and only gets oily if I'm sweaty (mmm, lovely), so I'm sitting at the dry-combination spectrum.

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In conclusion I basically need to have products with light coverage, SPF and nasty-chemical free. Simple!

After the questionnaire Morgan showed me a bunch of products that she recommends me, and I settled on grabbing a couple of samples before I committed on purchasing the whole product itself. I got a overnight mask, a primer/protector and a foundation. 

(Sidenote: I am obsessed with these little jars and when I finish what's inside them I might use them to carry a small amount of product when I go away)

Moisture Surge Overnight Mask

As I am typing this right now I have put some of this Moisture Surge Mask onto my nose and chin as they have been playing up and going very dry in the past few days. Morgan told me that she has some customers who wear it like a facemask and wash it off, and others who just leave it on to set overnight. I feel like as it's designed to be an Overnight Mask, I may as well use it overnight, as I will wash my face when I shower in the morning. (update: it's the morning after and my nose is not flakey but my chin still is a bit)

City Block Face Protector SPF25

The moisturiser I use during summer (Neutrogena Oil Free Moisture) has an SPF of 15 in it, which I find is almost enough but Morgan said that with Summer coming up I should really find something with stronger SPF in it to use as well. This City Block Face Protector doubles as a primer and a very light foundation as it has colouration in the formula so if I am going out and want something on but not have a full face of makeup this would be perfect.

I have gone out a few times with this underneath a foundation and by itself and so far I haven't gotten burnt, so it's doing well! I am noticing a difference with it keeping my foundation on, however I don't see much of a difference with it on by itself vs without anything on regarding colouration.

Stay Matte Oil-Free Makeup (2 Alabaster, sheer, natural)

I actually went to a small, sneaky consultation at another Clinique counter a few weeks before this and got a sample of their Stay Matte Foundation. I have been using this most days for about a month now and it is fantastic. Because I don't put a heap of foundation on, this sample that was meant to last 10 uses has lasted me a lot longer!

I very much like this foundation, and have worn it with the Face Protector and the Revlon Colourstay Pressed Powder a few times and it lasts quite a long time. I have used it a lot without the other two products and it did come off really easily as it didn't stick to my face, so I will keep using them with it and hope it works out!

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I am really enjoying these products so far, but I am going to have to finish the little samples I got before I decide to buy the products themselves as they are quite a commitment for me as I am a struggling student. I plan on doing a Favourites post shortly, so I will include these in that if I deem them worthy of getting the products!

Hope you enjoyed this little post, I really recommend you go see a beautician (is that the term??) at your local beauty counter to get a full run down on the products and what's good for you, as me recommending you a product can only do so much! And thanks again to Morgan for your time!

- Louise