Clinique Superbalanced Makeup Foundation Review

I used this product several times only, in scorching heat, three days in a row. I can usually decide whether I like a product after one use only, the verdict depending on how it reacts on my skin and the longevity of the finish. It's because 99% of the time I use the exact same products (moisturizer and primer) so I know that, except for drastic weather conditions, it is going to be the same story every time I am going to use it. This is valid for foundations only. 

I got my hands on several samples of the Clinique Superbalanced foundation so I decided to (finally) use it; I haven't purchased the product so it wasn't a waste for me. The samples were more than enough for my five uses, which I find quite nice (usually samples contain a few drops of product that aren't sufficient for my entire face). So I guess if you're trying to decide on this product, getting a sample or two would be the best alternative since you can really see how it works when you use a little bit only, when you build up several layers, etc.

The sample was in Ivory VF-N. Don't really know what the abbreviations stand for since I am not into Clinique foundations. It must be some symbol for 'neutral' or their shades' gradation, though on the website they have one Ivory only and several others that suggest lighter/darker variation of the shade- Alabaster, Light, Fair, Petal, etc. 

The consistency of the foundation is that of a liquid, but not extremely runny. I'd say it belongs to the generic category of fluid foundations, with no 'special' qualities such as gel-like appearance, a mousse-like texture or anything creamier than your liquid foundation. 

I applied it on the back of my palm first, then used my Isadora large domed kabuki brush (natural bristles). This is one of the best brushes I have ever encountered, far better than  anything MAC, Sephora Platinum or any other foundation brush I have ever tried. 

The shade is light but it definitely suits my skintone. It's my face's natural color with only one problem- when on the back of my hand, it looked exactly like my natural skin, with mellow cream undertones, while once applied on the face it got rather pink undertones. Nothing strong, nothing visible, but I personally saw it. It didn't transfer into the pictures which was a relief, however I still think it's visible. Oh well. 

Foundation only. Facing natural light.

Facing natural light. Bourjois Rose d'Or Baked Blush on the cheeks only.

It does look natural in pictures, especially in natural light.

The first impression was 'wow'. It has great coverage and doesn't feel oily on the skin, yet allows for multiple layers (on the chin and under the eyes in my case). It has a bit of 'glow' on the pore areas- the inner cheeks, chin and forehead- which tends to fade off as soon as the foundation has dried out. It doesn't look oily at all.

However, and this isn't visible in the picture, it doesn't look natural on my skin. The shade just 'took over' my entire face and didn't let the skin 'breathe'. I felt like this foundation is a mellower Estee Lauder Double Wear minus the 'paint-like' aspect and endurance. It looked as if I had already set it with powder, and on the forehead it wasn't doing a great job with the pores and expression lines (the photos I took don't include the forehead, unfortunately).

It gets really dry, very quickly, and I could literally feel my skin pulling, especially around the mouth and the temples. I have combination skin and an oily forehead, therefore I didn't think this would be a problem; after setting it with a bit of powder (Chanel Poudre Universelle pressed powder) it really got extremely dry; however, it wasn't such a problem for my forehead since I had to take a long walk and the temperature was really high, the foundation + powder helping a great deal in this department. However, it did feel dry...even after a long day in the sun.

I am always going for the dewey yet not-oily aspect of the foundation, even after setting it with powder (forehead, nose and chin); it doesn't really happen with most products since it's difficult to achieve that finish with a liquid/cream foundation. So in this department, I might have to say my demands were a bit over the top.

However, I do think this foundation might be great for oily-very oily complexions because it absorbs the sebum of the skin, pretty much like Vichy Normablend. The only difference is the texture- thick and unnatural.

Therefore, I will not purchase this foundation because I feel like I am getting the same results with my Vichy one, minus the mask effect and a less rosy toned shade.

How I Clean My False Lashes

I know almost nobody does this, most girls have tens (or even hundreds!) of falsies in their kits/vanities, but I'm sorta on a budget. And I also hate wasting anything if it's still good to use, so why not?

What follows is my personal manner of dealing with the process of making sure you can reuse your false lashes- cleaning them. Most videos on YouTube and blog posts do other things, namely the infamous 'alcohol cleansing method' or what I call 'maceration'- leaving the falsies in some container with water and alcohol. I never did this, my 'recipe' is simpler, faster and really cool (because it's mine!). So here's what I do. For the record, I only use Duo Lash Adhesive in Black. 

1. I never rip my false lashes off, like I saw everybody else doing. It takes your natural lashes off as well, pinches and pulls the skin and you're also damaging the falsies if you're using a high-quality adhesive, like Duo, which has strong endurance.

Instead, what I do is pat my face (especially the eye area; take some warm water in your fists and put them over your eyes, above your sink) with warm/hot water, depending on mood and weather. I soften the makeup this way, the mascara that is attached to my natural lashes and the false ones as well, binding them together, and i soften the adhesive. I just need one splash and they're ready to be peeled, not ripped off. It's the best manner of removing them as gently as possible.

2. I leave them aside while I remove my eye makeup in my usual routine. Don't start cleaning the lashes because the softened mascara and eyeshadow is already a mess and it gets into the eyes immediately. I just take off my makeup and make sure there's nothing left.

3. I just let warm water running, and keep the lashes under the tap for about 15-30 seconds, depending on the water temperature and the type of lashes (will get to this one in a minute). 

4. The adhesive softens very easily, and sometimes (I guess if combined with other products, or just depending on the water temperature, not sure) gets light gray, like a little discolored. It usually stays black. 

5. I can literally peel small strands of adhesive off the false eyelash margin; carefully, really gently, and I don't even have long nails. I am saying 'gently' because you might wanna pay extra attention if you're using lashes that are $50 a pop, like Shu Uemura, MAC or any other expensive brand. To be honest, I sometimes just rip the softened adhesive strands off the eyelash line and call it a day, it's so soft that I don't need to be 'careful'. Just saying. Oh and if adhesive has gotten into/among the base of the hairs, then I do have to be careful not to destroy the lash; I use the tweezers or pick every bit of softened adhesive really carefully. It has the consistency of chewing gum, minus the stickiness. Really easy.

6. I never leave my lashes soak in liquid, because it damages the hairs and softens their own adhesive.

7. I never rub them between my palms- what's the purpose? The mascara I had on (and I use very little or no mascara on false eyelashes...I think it looks better with my makeup style) has already melted and dissolved by itself; if I really really wanna make sure everything is gone, I can use the tiniest bit of Dove face soap suds, or some face cleanser, a bit of (baby) shampoo (gentle), whatever. Something really mild. 

8. I never apply alcohol. It is just useless- you're disinfecting something that will get filled with bacteria and germs as soon as it comes in contact with oxygen or another surface. What's the point? Plus, it dries out the hairs of your falsies if they're natural and completely effs up the adhesive. Boo. Never!

9. Now, time to put them back into shape- take the lash, 'shake' it a little to remove any water drops off your fingers/the lashes. Take the lash by the base line and hold it with your index and your thumb. With your other hand, take a soft towel. Gently come forward with the lash, not the other way around, and just touch the lash against the towel. You can also use makeup removing wipes, paper towels, etc, whatever you wish as long as the material doesn't leave residues/lint. 

Press them against the fabric you're using just to make sure you're getting the water 'residue' soaked out of the hairs; do not rub or push hard. 

Then keep the lash in the same position, just curl the hairs back to their previous shape with your other hand, then press the fabric against the 'new curl' until you see it holds. You can dry them naturally (what I usually do because they dry up really fast) or close to a heat source, it doesn't really matter as long as you're attentive. 

I'll put some pics to demonstrate, as soon as possible. 

Now, there is a difference between handling natural hair false lashes and falsey-false ones.

1. No hot water on the natural ones.

2. No hair pulling, scratching, anything in the family. It will ruin your lashes, especially if they're expensive. Use a pair of tweezers to remove what's remained between the hairs, at the base. 

3. You need to reshape them once they're no longer soaking wet, because the natural hair will change its curl after the bath. It will not look identical, however what I personally think is that the 'new' shape looks much more natural than the original version and the lashes do look as if they were yours once you reuse them. However, this depends on your preferences. The synthetic hair falsies remain the same no matter what, but they have a little problem- the hairs are glued with their own adhesive, so you need to be careful when you clean them as well. 

Then you can store them like I do (very frugally shown here http://mariesbeautyblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-clean-brusheshow-to-store-lashes.html), or place them back to their original cases. 

How to clean the brushes/How to store the Lashes

So I just discovered the best product to clean foundation brushes/sponges or any kind of brush that you use for oily/thick products. It's a strong detergent meant for cleaning baby 'stuff'- toys, cutlery, strollers, and for disinfecting and cleaning surfaces of all kinds babies might come into contact with. It's really useful because it's so effective (I actually cleaned blueberry juice off white fabric with this baby) yet gentle. 

The product is Chicco Disinfectant and I have the Italian/European version. Perhaps it's found in different names/descriptions on markets outside the European Union. 

It comes in a large plastic bottle (700 ml, or 22.66 fl. oz) and it's a white liquid. Has an atomizer that you can turn to 'off' mode so you won't spill it or endanger the little ones if you leave it around the house.

It worked amazing on my foundation brush. I could never clean it properly, down to the base of the hairs, because foundations and primers always used to remain stuck among the hairs especially in the middle of the brush. Leftover makeup is quite gross and can breed a ton of germs if left uncleaned for a longer time; it also hardens, gets even more difficult to clean and affects the quality of the bristles and the adhesive. Boo.

I had to only spray this little miracle worker and the foundation residue just started pouring out of the bristles with no rubbing/touching of the brush whatsoever:

It gets dispersed in a bit of a foamy consistency when you spray it on; however it's runny, since it's liquid (duh) so careful not to stain your clothes:

The thing about this product is it's strength, as I said. It cleans everything, leaving the brushes squeaky clean yet soft at the same time.

Since it's designed for objects that come into contact with children, it has some ingredients that counterbalance the 'harshness' of the substances inside. Really great stuff. It also cleans makeup stains- I never mentioned this but I had a white t-shirt stained with Estee Lauder's Double Wear. Good luck trying to get that foundation off of anything, even after 90 degrees repetitive washes. Just spray this on the spot and wash your clothes as you normally do- it just works wonders. Very, very happy with it.

There are two 'disadvantages' with this product:

1. The scent- it smells very strongly of baby powder. It's the scent I always associate with babies and what I imagine fresh baby laundry to smell like. It's VERY strong, and it lingers a while after you've dried your stuff. If you use fabric softener then this wouldn't be a problem; however, if you don't like the scent, it will linger onto the surfaces/objects you've cleaned and it might bother you. I like it so that's not an issue for me.

2. It can make the color of darker brushes bleed- don't get me started on my Sephora #44 Platinum (BOO!). I always had problems with that brush and everything else makes the color bleed, even face soap. However, it was a real hemorrhage with this product. The color just wouldn't stop coming out, it stained towels and sinks/floors, even the top white bristles got blue so I had to wash them again to get the hue off...not cool. However, since the Sephora Platinum brushes ALL have this problem, I think it's not the product but the brush. My foundation brush didn't have this problem, so was the case with all my other brushes. If you're using something cheaper, it's almost certain the color will bleed. If you use MAC, test it on a couple of bristles first. You never know. 

However, it looks like it conditions the bristles as well, I didn't have to apply conditioner on them or anything else. 

If you don't have this brand, don't wanna buy it or just have something else you trust, I still think it's useful to get a generic baby disinfectant for your brushes, just to make sure you have cleaned and disinfected them thoroughly. Next time you give your brushes a bath remember to check in the middle of the bunch of bristles, as close to the base as possible- if you notice lighter areas, or residue leftover, that means your cleanser didn't do its job properly and maybe you should change brands or get this little baby instead. Highly useful to me. Not going to stop using it, ever. 

How I store my (used) false lashes:

Take a generic blush/powder, anything that has an extra compartment/that little plastic divider for the brush that comes with it, or the mirror:

Pull up the little 'wall', remove the brush (they're usually bad quality, weirdly shaped thus useless) and place your lashes on the pan. Gently press on the base of the lashes to make sure it will slightly attach to that bottom:

My blush (a no-name that I still like) came with a little mirror and a terrible brush I threw away on the spot. It's perfect for me because I always reuse my lashes and I never put them back in their bulky, uncomfortable to carry or prone to damage (cardboard!) boxes. This way I can always carry the lashes around, either for me or if I'm doing someone's makeup, and I can see all of them and choose accordingly. It really works and it's so easy and simple I slapped myself for not having thought about this earlier! The plastic packaging will also protect your lashes from humidity or other damage since it's a hard material, and you're also closing the lid and putting it in your bag/bag pocket. Crisis submerged! 

Next post- how I reuse my lashes and how I clean them (DO NOT clean them with alcohol! grr!)