ASOS have already established themselves as an online powerhouse for fashion. I certainly know I am constantly on the website, looking to see everything that is new in and it is one of the first places I look if I am looking for a certain item of clothing. I mean they basically have everything you could ever need! ASOS stock some massive brands but they maintain a variety of price ranges which is why it is so easy for everyone to use. Everyone knows that they are championing fashion but something most people might not be aware of is that they now have a massive beauty range.
ASOS have always had quite a few Beauty brands stocked on their website, with brands which can be more difficult to find like The Ordinary and First Aid Beauty, being made easy to find on ASOS. Recently ASOS must have come to an agreement with Estee Lauder Companies as a lot of their brands have started to appear on the website, it started with MAC and more recently Smashbox has made it's way to the website. To name a few: Bobbi Brown, Too Faced, Glamglow and Clinique have all made their way to ASOS over the past couple of months. This is a serious power move from ASOS as it means you can now pick up your clothes and beauty all at the same time. ASOS has basically become your online department store. Plus this is a massive advantage for students as you can get your 10% off makeup all year round whereas when I was a student, I had to ration my last drops of foundation until a discount happened. With the arrival of so many brands, it only made sense for ASOS to collaborate with one to create one of their ASOS beauty boxes and Clinique were the chosen brand. The ASOS x Clinique Beauty Box could possibly be in the running for one of my favourite limited edition products of the entire year.
I always wanted to buy a beauty box but I was unsure about the subscription aspect. I didn't like the idea of being committed to something I wasn't necessarily going to like every month. That is why I love the ASOS beauty boxes so much: you can't subscribe to them. They are launched at the beginning of each month and it is up to your whether you want to buy it or not. If July's launch taught me anything, it is that you do need to be quick to get your hands on the boxes. When I bought my first ASOS beauty box in June, I hadn't really seen that much hype about them but July's box seems to have sold out really quickly. With good reason, it gave you the perfect opportunity to try a handful of products from Clinique.
ASOS x Clinique
Clinique is an Estee Lauder Companies brand and I consider them to be the skincare equivalent of MAC, they both have that middle of the road pricing. Clinique aren't a massively luxury brand like La Mer but they aren't cheap. Clinique do have a makeup range and the Chubby Stick is probably the product which really made people aware of their make up but I would say their skincare is more spoken about. Both the Dramatically Different Moistursing Gel and their 3-Step System are classic products which are a lot of people's entry into the brand. When I first started using skincare, I sort of skipped Clinique as it was when blogging first started to take off and people were slating the 3 Step System. When I saw that ASOS were doing a collaboration box with Clinique it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try a few of the classic products I had missed out on. The best part was that the box wasn't even that expensive, it was £15 for 5 products which seemed completely worth it in my eyes. You wouldn't get a single full size product for that price.
Within the box you receive 5 products and it comes in a cute little presentation box. For the most part, the products in this box are mini, there is only one full size. The full size product is the City Block Sheer SPF which is normally £19 so already you have made your money back. However I must admit the SPF held the least amount of interest for me, I was more excited about the other products. Once again, like last month's box, there is basically a Summer skincare routine tucked away in this box so I used it all in one go to see how I got on with it all. However there is one exception to this and it might not be the product you would expect.
Take the Day Off - Cleansing Balm
I'm sure the product you will assume I didn't try is the SPF purely because I might not have needed it depending on when I did the routine. Well I did my test run on a Sunday morning so I did need my SPF. In fact, the product I didn't use was the Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm. There is a very simple reason for this, I have tried it before. As this is a mini, it is the perfect size for travelling and I will be staying away for a wedding at the beginning of September so I actually need a cleanser to take with me. This one is perfect so I have tucked it away to keep it safe. I have previously written a whole blog post dedicated to this cleanser, Take the Day Off Balm.
Simply put, the Take the Day Off balm gets the job done. It takes off all your makeup quickly and easily. Compared to something like the Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm, the Clinique balm is rather solid. It is actually quite hard to get the balm out but luckily a little goes a long way. This will even work to take mascara off, it does struggle a bit but it gives it a good go. I really enjoy this balm and I would be happy to take it away with me. If you have this ASOS set and your not sold on the balm for your face but you don't want to waste the product, I've read that this also works as a brush cleanser. Personally I haven't tried it but it might be something to consider.
Instead of using the Take the Day Off balm, I did actually used the Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm as part of this Sunday morning routine. It is probably the closest product in my collection but I wouldn't really say that the two products are that comparable but that is a topic for a blog post in the making.
City Block Purifying - Charcoal Clay Mask + Scrub
I was a bit hesitant to use this product as I was worried about what a mask/scrub combination would do to my skin but after Alessandra Steinherr gave her seal of approval to the product I decided it had to be worth a go. I've always been cautious when it comes to facial scrubs as they can do more harm than good. Plus I had no idea how a scrub would play into a mask, nor how abrasive it was going to be but to get the answers I was going to have to try it.
This is a classic charcoal mask and when you first apply it to your face, you don't really feel the scrub particles. I used a brush to apply a thin layer and as you move the mask over your skin, you can feel the scrub particles but it barely even feels like it is doing anything. The mask itself looks a bit like cement when you apply it to your face which is ironic as this mask is supposed to help your skin recover from the environment rather than making you look like it.
At first I expected there to be some form of scent but then I remember that it was a Clinique product so it is unscented, like all of there products. It was a real 'Duuuuhhhh' moment! As this dries, it dries quite tight and you can see all of the crap being drawn out of your skin. I left it on for about 5 minutes and then washed it off. As I washed it off, that was when I felt the scrub action working. I used a muslin cloth to remove the mask and as I made circular motions, I could feel the scrub. You can hardly see the scrub particles but you can certainly feel them. It didn't feel harsh on my skin but it does provide a thorough scrub.
I have to say the scrub particles are not the easiest to remove and it clearly is not a sugar scrub as the particles do not dissolve away. I had to work at it to get rid of the product. After I eventually got rid of all of the scrub particles, my skin did feel really smooth and not tight after using this mask. Most importantly it didn't leave my skin feeling dry but that could be because of the products I used after this mask. This is quite a nice product, I most certainly would not use this regularly, I think the scrub is too harsh for that but when my skin needs some TLC, this will be the mask I will use. I wouldn't rush out to buy it but I would certainly have it in my collection for when I need a deep clean.
Dramatically Different Hydrating Jelly
Getting to try the Hydrating Jelly was actually rather exciting and was one of the reasons I was desperate to get my hands on the box. This is an extension to their Dramatically Different Moisturiser which is a very well known product. I think DDM has been around for something like 15 years and this is the first time they have extended the range beyond just changing the formula. This Hydrating Jelly is supposed to help your skin barrier protect your skin from pollution and the daily stresses your skin faces, which is a lot! This has been all over my social media for the past week so it is nice to be able to try a new product for once.
I wasn't really sure how to use this product so I decided it would work best as an alternative to a serum. I have no idea if that is a correct way of using the product but that's how I did it. Considering this is a jelly texture, it is rather running. The texture I would compare this to is, when you were at school or a kids party and you had those jelly pots, they would either be in your bag until lunchtime or sat on a table in the sun, you would take the lid off and it would have melted and essentially it ended up being a pot of runny jelly, that texture is what this Hydrating Jelly feels like. I don't really know what I was expecting but it wasn't this. I think I thought it was going to slightly thicker.
Even though this has the texture of a jelly that has been left out in the sun, this is a genius product for Summer, it has that cooling effect a gel formula has. When you apply it, it gives you that one minute of feeling refreshed and cooled before the heat suffocates you again. At first this felt quick tacky on my skin but as I left it to sink in, the sticky feeling wore off and I have to say this really did sink in quickly. My skin felt quenched after using this and I quickly noticed a difference in the way my skin looked. I have to say I can see why there has been so much hype around this product, it is a lovely feeling product which does the work to hydrate your skin. This is a perfect Summer product!
Moisture Surge
I can't even express how long it has been since I have wanted to try this moisturiser. I believe it was Louise Pentland, or Sprinkle of Glitter as she was known at the time, who used to talk about this product all the time and ever since then I have always wanted to try it. After seeing this product for so long I did have quite high expectations of it, I wanted my skin to look absolutely incredible. Once again it seemed like a good product for summer as it is more of a gel/creme texture rather than being a thick, heavy cream which takes an age to sink in.
I have to say at first I was worried as this is quite a thin texture, I had no idea how this was going to work wonders on my skin but it did. A little goes a long way with this product and it leaves your skin feeling silky smooth. It sinks in really quickly which is a bonus because you will not look like a giant grease ball once you've used it, instead it leaves a soft shine making you look healthy. I can imagine this would be a great product for travelling. You could apply a ton of this to your face and leave it to sink in, really simple, with very little mess. This is a lovely product which doesn't feel heavy on the skin but it most certainly hydrates your skin. I would definitely buy a tub of this for the Summer.
My skin looked quite matte after using these three products together. Usually I get a bit of a shine from using a lot of hydrating products but not this time. I don’t know if that is a good or bad thing. My skin felt smooth and looked good after I had used these three products so that is good enough for me. I did use the SPF on this particular day as I went for a run later on in the evening which meant my skin was going to be exposed to the sun. I will use an SPF everyday but I didn't use as much as I normally would purely because I didn't need a massive amount of protection at that time of day. As I said my skin looked quite matte after the first 3 products but the SPF certainly gave me a glow, a little bit too much of a glow if you ask me!
City Block SPF 25
I have been using the Kiehl's UV Light SPF 50 for years and I have always been really happy with it so I wasn't really that interested in trying a new SPF. However I have been using the City Block SPF as an alternative on cloudier days. Personally I do not think SPF 25 is enough for my skin, I am a very pale girl with red hair so the sun is NOT my friend. If I leave my skin exposed I will look like a tomato in 1 hour. Everyone should wear SPF during the Summer and the SPF in your skincare/makeup is not enough! SPF ratings on products are based on you using 1g of product which realistically is not the amount of product you are using on your face, you use a fraction of this and therefore you are not getting a good level of sun protection. You do need to use a specific SPF to fully protect yourself. I always recommend the Kiehl's one and I stand by that recommendation but if you don't want to go full out with factor 50, this Clinique one is actually a really nice product. I have used a Clinique SPF before and it was really greasy and broke me out but I don't seem to be having the same problems with this SPF. I have tested this out for a couple of weeks now and my skin seems to be doing fine. I would recommend double cleansing though just to make sure that you are removing all of the SPF.
This is a very thick product and it is a rather unusual SPF as it does have a bit of colour when you put it on your hand but as you apply it to your face, it sheers out and doesn't leave any colour. You do not get any white marks left on your face but it does give a slightly greasy look. If you want to wear just the SPF, this could be a problem as it is that wet look that sunscreen gives you but if you are wearing makeup over the top, you are able to mattify it so you don't look like you've got the sweat of running a marathon on your face. I don't mind this, I wouldn't say it has taken the place of the Kiehl's SPF but it is a good alternative if you don't want to spend over £30 on sun protection. I did not burn whilst I was using this SPF but I didn't use it when I knew I was going to be in Sun for a while, I would always use the Kiehl's one for that. I use the Clinique one if I know I'm only going to be out for an hour or a short period of time.
I have to say I was so pleased to get my hands on this box as it has given me the perfect opportunity to try some hyped Clinique products and none of them disappointed. Even though you cannot buy this box anymore, the individual products are part of Cliniques standard range and I don't think you would be disappointed by any of them. I think the ASOS beauty boxes would make an easy gift for any beauty lover. You get a selection of products, which you don't have to pick out, it is a reasonable price and it is already boxed up. What more could you ask for? I can't wait to see what ASOS are going to launch in this month's box. If it is something I am interested in, then you will definitley see it on my blog.
Related posts:
|
|
|
|
|
0 Yorumlar