I enjoy doing “girl” things with my daughters and mommy bloggers. And summer is really the best time to bond with them as there are no pressures of work or school.
So it was indeed an opportune time when Clinique put together a blogger event very close to Mother’s Day and invited my 2 girls as well as some of my mommy blogger friends.
When we got to the 5th floor of Rustan’s, I had no inkling whatsoever of what was in store. May Samson just hinted that it was going to be a very nice experience so, having enjoyed my last experience with them during my skin typing session with Noemi, I thought it would be similar. I wanted my girls skin-typed because they have a history of skin asthma and as a Clinique user while a student in the States, I knew that Clinique products were safe for them to use daily.
The first signs that this was no ordinary skin care event met us. The Clinique area was festive in green. Very cool to the eyes! I could not wait to take pictures…and take a bite of the varied hors d’ouevres they also had laid out for us.
The girls went through their skin typing activity with the Clinique consultants available. I was their official photographer since I already had my skin typed. And guess what! We all turned out to be Type 2 (combination skin) so the 3-step Skin Care products we would eventually buy can be shared! Like mother, like daughters.
While waiting for my girls to finish their skin typing, Malou Gagarin (who had previously done my skin typing) explained the foundation line of Clinique. Wow, they indeed came prepared with the different shades of foundation in large, plastic bottles for testing.There were also tiny green sample containers so we could take home foundation samples best suited for our skin tone.
Malou suggested I use foundation the color of my neck so that I just had to apply the foundation on my face in order to match the neck color. Yes, I used to apply foundation on my neck and try to even it out all over my face, neck & shoulders. Her suggestion saved me time and use of foundation. Now why did I not think of that before!!!
The best was yet to come, though.
In one corner of the area was a closed-off area, which I found to my delight, was an instant spa experience. All of us were treated to special pampering. We took turns on the bed as the consultants first took our makeup off, then went through a facial and arm massage using Clinique’s newly launched products from their Turnaround line: the Turnaround Body Smoothing Cream and the Turnaround Instant Facial Masque.
I was curious about the Turnaround body smoothing cream since I still had a sample of an older product of Clinique’s (the Body Sloughing Cream) which I would use sparingly to rub on my knees and elbows while taking a bath. That older product continues to serve me well till now so I was happy to find out they were now offering it locally via this new Turnaround cream. The difference between my old sample and this one? The new body smoothing cream was cool to the touch. The grains I felt as the cream was rubbed on to my arms assured me that it was exfoliating and smoothening my arms at the same time. This product is great on shoulders, arms, elbows, and knees that need extra attention.
Facials are something I am extra careful of in salons because I watch the kind of products put on my sensitive skin. But I had no hesitation trying the Turnaround Instant Facial Masque, as Clinique is known for its hypoallergenic and non-acnegenic ingredients. No regrets. The facial mask tightened my skin and after they had removed it, my face felt so squeaky clean and soft.
Watch out for these products as they will be available this coming July 2009 in all Clinique counters.
Here’s a big shoutout to Clinique (thanks to May, Malou and the other consultants that day) for making this event not just a wonderful skin care one but something I was able to do with my girls. After all, fashion and makeup are common bonding conversation pieces with them and it allowed me to be both a MOTHER and a FRIEND to them that day.
Our day did not end there. We headed down to Clinique’s product counter to check out their Mother’s Day promo where I ended up treating myself to one of the available promo packages.
Clinique launched other product lines as well this May:
1. Derma White – six (6) products that help the skin become more resistant to UV rays, environmental and other external irritants while preventing future darkening.
2. Sun – a definite summer must-have line of products to protect the skin against the harmful rays of the sun that also includes a Self-Tan product for a sunless tan look.
3. Comfort on Call – a new product that helps the skin protect itself against external environmental irritants. Available by June 2009.