Clinique Make-up Consultation
I took my friend Kerry to Debenhams in Brighton, where I had made an appointment with the Clinique consultant. We had agreed that Kerry would have a new make-up look applied while I watched.
The Clinique consultant was very welcoming, but I think Kerry felt a shiver of apprehension. Kerry is very much a minimal make-up woman, and the Clinique woman was wearing the full “make-up professional” face. She asked Kerry what sort of look she wanted and listened in some detail.
As the make-up application progressed, our admiration for this particular Clinique consultant grew. She really had listened to Kerry, and she was very good at her job.
Kerry had expressed a preference for a mineral powder make-up. The consultant chose a shade that appeared too dark for Kerry’s skin, and I suggested a shade lighter. The lighter shade was slightly rose tinted; Kerry and I both thought that it would be just right. The consultant applied both colours to Kerry’s face. The darker tone blended in perfectly, while the rose-tinted powder gave her skin a grey tinge. Kerry described the look as “fresh from being dug up”.
That experience taught us the wisdom of getting professional advice when choosing make-up colours. We probably see ourselves in an idealised view, where the trained eye simply sees a particular skin colour.
Kerry is blessed with pale blue, deep-set eyes; she had explained that she does like eye shadow. The Clinique assistant began by applying a very liberal amount of concealer. She used about 3 times the amount I would apply, but by the time she was finished it was invisible.
She used a range of brown tones to bring out the blue in Kerry’s eyes, including a very smudgy eye liner. She darkened the tone of Kerry’s eyebrows. All the colours used were darker than Kerry would have chosen, and she said later that she was surprised that they were so flattering. We thought the overall effect was subtle; we could see that Kerry was wearing eye make-up, but it didn’t look like she was trying too hard.
The Clinique assistant chose a berry tinted lip colour to finish off
the look. Kerry usually favours brown-toned lipsticks, but the muted pink colour was balanced by the brown eye make-up.
We both thought that the experience demonstrated the value of taking the time for a make-up review with a trained adviser. The Clinique consultant introduced us to new colours and products and showed up how to apply them to best effect.
These are the products that Kerry specially liked:
Superbalanced powder makeup SPF 15 (£27.00)
Colour surge eye shadow quad in choco-latter (£22.50)
Vitamin C Lip Smoothie (£13.50)
Quickliner for eyes intense £13.00
Kerry was so impressed with the Clinique make-up brushes that she purchased a powder foundation brush. I always use ‘proper’ make-up brushes and can attest to their value in making it easier to achieve a good finish.
In addition, Kerry joined the Debenhams Beauty Club, an in-house loyalty scheme.
Foundation Makeup and Sun Care
Pat writes:
Take a look at the contents of your makeup bag, paying particular attention to foundation makeup or tinted moisturiser. Does the product you are using offer sun protection?
Many makeup products now contain sufficient Sun Protection Factor (SPF) that they can be used as part of your sun care regime.
This summer I am using a lovely tinted moisturizer by Laura Mercia that is spf20. In my opinion, this is sufficient for walking outdoors or spending time in the garden. It would probably not provide enough cover for a day at the beach, but is fine for my daily life.
Here is a list of the foundation makeup or tinted moisturisers that I have tested over the past year, and their SPF:
Makeup Brand | Product Name and Price | Sun Protection Factor |
Avon | Ideal Shade Natural Liquid Foundation £10.00 | SPF 10 |
Benefit | Some Kind-a Gorgeous £21.50 | None |
Body Shop | Vitamin E Tinted Moisturiser £9.00 | None |
Boots No. 7 | No.7 Protect & Perfect Foundation £15.00 | None |
Clinique | Superbalanced Makeup £20.00 | None |
Estee Lauder | Lucidity Light-Diffusing Makeup £25.00 | SPF 8 |
Suqqu | Base Makeup Foundation | SPF 17 |
All of the makeup brands listed sell more than one foundation or tinted moisturiser, and there will be other products that do contain SPF – this is simply a list of the products that I tested. I have put up this list to illustrate the necessity of reading the label – you cannot rely on your favourite makeup foundation to provide any sun care.
All of the products that I tested had some nice features, and if one of these is indeed your favourite, you could try wearing it over a moisturiser with adequate SPF.
By the way, when you wear both moisturiser and makeup with SPF you do not get an increased degree of sun protection – but only whichever number is higher. I do not understand why that should be, but that is what I have read from more than one source.
Avon products can be purchased from company representatives or online.
Suqqu is available only at Selfridges. I did not make a note of the price when I tested the foundation, but it does cost significantly more than all the other products listed.
Benefit, Clinique and Estee Lauder are all available online from John Lewis or Boots.
Makeup Tip: Hot weather makes my nose and forehead shine. I am currently using a Molton Brown product called ‘instant matte shine control’ and it does work!
Suqqu Makeup
Suqqu is a range of cosmetics made by Kanebo cosmetics, a Japanese company. It is sold in Selfridges in the UK. As far as we know, that is the only outlet outside Japan or Thailand.
On the basis of a demonstration makeup, I think this brand deserves to be more widely known, especially for the foundation. The Suqqu foundation has a luxurious-feeling creamy texture, feels light on the skin and gives an extremely beautiful finish.
My Suqqu makeup was applied by a sales assistant in Birmingham Selfridges. She was wearing a name tag that said “Holly” but later told me her name was Lisa. (Someone with imagination could write a short story about that.)
Holly/Lisa began by applying a makeup base. This came from a small jar and was pale pink in colour. She explained that it would smooth any inconsistencies in my skin and could be worn on its own. I had explained that I usually only wear tinted moisturiser so perhaps thought of me as a ‘makeup averse’ customer. At the end of the consultation she gave me a sample jar of the makeup base; I have tried it under tinted and I think that the result is an improvement.
The foundation was also in a jar, and was somewhat thicker in texture than most liquid make up – but not as thick as a gel. Only a tiny amount was used to cover my face. It was applied with fingers, and then a wedge-shaped sponge was used to blend it in around my nose and ‘large pore’ area. The result looked very sophisticated without being too ‘made up’.
Holly/Lisa noticed my blonde eyebrows (one has to look closely to see that I really do have eyebrows) and produced an eyebrow liquid pen to colour them in. The Suqqu liquid pen is about the size of a small ballpoint pen, so that it fits easily into the hand. The colour is very subtle, which is good because I have found that most colours are far too dark for me. It looked so good that I purchased one; the price was £18.00.
She used a neutral eye shadow palette to emphasize my eyes, applying the darkest colour very close to my upper eyelashes instead of eyeliner. I liked the soft effect, but am not sure that I have sufficient brush finesse to replicate this look at home!
A peach-coloured blusher was applied, with an almost stern warning that peach was a much better shade for my colouring than pink. This is one of the reasons why I like makeup demonstrations – a source of new and different ideas as to what colours work best for one’s colouring. I tend to choose colours on the basis that I think they are pretty rather than their potential to make me look good.
The Suqqu blusher is described as ‘powdery’ but it is a creamy powder and did not look dusty on my face, as is the case with some powder blushers.
The Suqqu lipstick chosen by Holly/Lisa was somewhat paler
than my normal choice, but looked good. I was most impressed by the creamy consistency. It stayed on longer than most creamy lipsticks. It cost £24, which I thought rather expensive, but in view of its durability may buy one next time I am in Selfridges.
The rather unflattering photo shows me in the full Suqqu makeup as applied by Holly/Lisa. As usual with demonstrations, the eye makeup is far darker than I would apply!
As I purchased Suqqu items that added up to a certain price I 
was given a set of samples. This included the makeup base mentioned above, plus sample sizes of makeup fixer spray and pressed powder and a small sheaf of blotting paper. I have been using the blotting paper and am impressed that it really does absorb excess oil and leaves my face with a matte finish.
On the whole, I thought that the Suqqu makeup range cost more than many others that I have tried, but the quality was very good. I think that a jar of makeup foundation would last a long time, thereby giving reasonable value for money.
Boots No 7
I felt that I needed a minimal make-up collection for taking on my travels. As I wanted to spend money on my holiday, rather than make-up, I made my way to Boots, and the No 7 counter.
I discussed my needs with Charlotte, a most helpful sales
consultant. She recommended a fairly neutral eye shadow palate, and told me that the No7 eye shadow could be applied in layers. A lighter layer would produce a very subtle effect; adding a few more layers would give a more intense wash of colour.
Before applying eye shadow, she dusted the area under my eyes with a light layer of translucent powder. She explained that if any of the coloured eye shadow dropped onto my cheekbones, it would brush away when the powder was brushed off, rather than leaving a smudge below my eyes. I shall try to remember this trick for everyday use, as it could be a real time saver.
I chose a pink toned palette called ‘Pretty Posey’ from the No7 Stay Perfect range. It cost £9.50.
Charlotte added a layer of mascara to show the full effect of the eye make-up, but did not try to pressure me to buy anything that I did not want.
I asked about a lipstick to brighten up my face and she showed me a few variations of pinky-plum colours. I chose a colour called ‘Excite’ (who comes up with these names) in the Sheer Temptation formula. I note this it contains SPF 15, so will be extra good if I am out in the sunshine. The lipstick cost £9.50.
There was an offer of a collection of 8 mini-size No7 products all
packed in a cute make-up bag – mine if I spent £22 on No7 products. This seemed too good to miss, so I added a nail varnish in a colour called ‘Sugar Syrup’. This was £6.25, bringing my total bill to £25.25.
In my view, this was a bargain. The collection shown here is only available for a short while, but Boots seem to run special offers very frequently, so keep your eyes open.
All the products mentioned are available from Boots
Shu Uemura Eye Makeup
Pat writes:
I recently discovered the Shu Uemura boutique at 21 Dukes Lane, Brighton, where I bought an eye crayon and a little pot of shimmery eyeliner. The sales consultant asked if I would be interested in a complimentary eye makeover. Of course I agreed, but time pressure meant I had tocome back another day.
I was given an appointment card with a map showing the location of the boutique. On the train home I noticed the photo on the reverse side of the card (shown above). I wondered what I had got myself into: would I end up looking like Lady Gaga? On reflection I decided it couldn’t be too bad because at worst only my eye makeup would be extreme. My only other engagement for the day of the makeover was my philosophy club, and at least outrageous eye makeup would be a different topic of conversation. And as for people looking at me in the street – well in Brighton I would have to be Lady Gaga to get a second look.
The day of my eye makeover was bitterly cold and it was wonderful to have a good reason so sit down inside the warm boutique.
The consultant asked if I was going to a party, and I explained that I was interested in a different look for my eye makeup.
She decided that purple would be a good colour to bring out the blue of my eyes, saying that purple was the opposite colour to blue. Although I wasn’t too sure about the accuracy of this statement, the end effect was reasonably flattering.
She used a light purple crayon as eye liner, and then followed the upper line of that with a darker purple. This was followed with application of 3 eye shadows, each in a darker shade of purple. An application of mascara completed my eye makeover.
The consultant explained that she had worked from a pale to dark
shade to really emphasize my eyes. I thought the overall effect was a tiny bit more dramatic than my normal look, but not too startling.
Obviously I did not look like Lady Gaga and I confess to being a tiny bit disappointed.
I was given a card with the product numbers for the eye shadows used, and a note that the eyeliner was purple. No prices were given, but if each product used cost £10, the total cost of this eyemakeup look would be £60. My guess is that it would be more like £100 as I know that the pot of eyeliner costs £15, because I purchased one. (I am still pleased with it, several weeks later.)
The eye makeup all stayed on well, including the mascara.
At the end of the evening I used my regular Liz Earle cleanser and it all came off easily without excessive rubbing.
Quick Tips
- Before applying mascara, roll the brush gently on a tissue to remove excess mascara and those annoying lumps on the brush.
- When applying mascara look down into a mirror. You will then automatically sweep the brush upwards.
- When using concealer below the eye, dab it on gently to avoid dragging the delicate skin around the eye.
When travelling, you may wish to take a make-up compact that contains eye make up, blusher and a lipstick. This saves weight and space. Just top up with extras not included such as mascara. It's a good idea to try out your compact before departure to ensure you are happy with the contents.
Save free make up sample sachets, shampoos, conditioners etc. to save luggage weight and space when you travel.
A long-handled brush to blend eye shadow is also useful, but if you can only afford one, go for the eye-liner brush.
The pen is included in the photograph to give an idea of the size of the brushes.
