Anybody use Clinique? I need help?

[MelissaSue]

Okay.. so last week, I decided I needed to invest in some good skin care products, and Clinique was having thier little bonus thing where you get the cute little free bag and little samples and stuff with any purchase..

I wanted to get the thier 3 step skin care system.. so the girl checks out my skin and stuff.. I haven''t really ever broken out a lot, and my skin isn''t usually TERRIBLY oily, but I have been using an oil-fighting acne wash thingy since high school, same one always.. so I guess its just always controlled it.. She said I had spots of very dry skin on my face, so she told me I was a normal-to dry skin type.. although I have never considered myself to have dry skin on my face.. so she gave me their EXTRA MILD soap.. I''ve been using it for a week, along with the clarifying lotion (2) and my face is SOOOOOOOOOOOO SHINY and oily.. and I even have some pimples in various places.. which I Just hardly ever get! Will they let me exchange it for somethign that will kill the oil a little more? This mornign I Just went back to using the clean and clear stuff just to get rid of the oil! I feel like the extra mild soap isn''t doing ANYTHING..

I also bought their concealers..and i LOVE those.. I just need to get rid of the greasies! And The stuff really isn''t that cheap!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

ANY decent department store will exchange or refund products by Clinique and all major cosmetic lines. You don't even have to pick another Clinique set. You can return for your cash back (and still keep you gift

).

If your previous product works well, why switch? If it's a matter of boredom and wanting to play around with a new product, I'd recommend going onto eBay and doing searches like "+clinique +samples" and biding and buying some trial sizes of items you can test out & play with. Even if the clinique products you purchased don't work, another clinique item may, so test out other items and ASK for samples at the Clinique counter while you're there. You can get samples for ANYTHING.

And, I NEVER use exclusively one line of face care products. I mix and match to find what works best in combination. You may want to try another soap and just use one or two of the Clinque items (or even use the clean and clear with a clinique lotion). Clearly the mild soap isn't working, so test out other brands - even cetaphil (which I use with my face and this works well WITH good lotions/creams - clinique mac ddf and ten or 20 others that I plaster on. lol!

 

[Angel7]

My friend is VERY oily and she swears by Clinique.
(She uses the purple clarifying lotion and the soap, don''t know which one)
I use the everyday lotion (yellow) and I love it cuz it just soaks up into my VERY dry skin.

They should take it back with NO problems.

Which concealer did you buy? I need a new one.

 

[MelissaSue]

angel - the concealers I got were
Soft concealer corrector in Light (its very orangey and thick to cover dark circles)
and
airbrush concealer in Fair, which is much closer to my skin tone to blend everything in.

I think I will try to return the soap tomorrow. I don''t like to be one of those people that returns things after thier used.. but I''m just really unhappy with the soap and i spent a lot of money on it.. The rest of the stuff is good though!

 

[MrsFrk]

If it ain''t broke...
Bar soap causes many people to break out.
I consider the 3 Step System to be crappy products for an outrageous price.
Tallow soap, alcohol toner, mineral oil based moisturizer.
Return it, and stick with what is working.

 

[moremoremore]

OMG Mrs. Frk!!! LOL. Mineral oil is the worst for clogging pores and making skin even greasier LOL...!!!! I''m glad it works for you in any event!

Don''t trust some girl working at a makup counter to diagnose your skin.

I''m either blessed with really good skin on my face or I''m doing right by it.
I find the more you use, the more issues you create.
I also think that over-stripping the skin of oils causes more oil.
I never use toner and never use anything fancy to wash it with.

Just plain ol soap and alpha hydroxy lotion and Almay Skin Stays Clean powder. It''s the best...I go back to it even though I get major discounts on expensive stuff...

And I agree- if it ain''t broke, don''t fix it. Stick with your old routine!

 

[abradabra]

Date: 8/24/2005 4:51:09 PM
Author: moremoremore

Just plain ol soap and alpha hydroxy lotion and Almay Skin Stays Clean powder. It's the best...I go back to it even though I get major discounts on expensive stuff...

Alpha-hydroxy--that's the trick! My skin tends to respond to beta-hydroxy exfoliants better, but that really is the key.

I took a social psych course in college where the prof (a man, of course) made fun of Clinique specifically, saying "Do you really think a $20 bar of soap is any different from regular soap?"

I'm a cheap soap, expensive moisturizer kind of girl. And expensive make-up too, I guess--but that's a whole different story. I'm always lusting after the expensive cleanser, but can't get myself to pull the trigger.

MS--definitely take it back. The sales girl totally misdiagnosed you and any department worth its salt will be understanding. They want you to be a continuing consumer (both the store and Clinique), so they'll want you to be happy with their product.

 

[Angel7]

What are some good alpha-hydrox products?

 

[abradabra]

For the body... Lancome''s Body Delisse Exfoliating Gel (or Loreal''s Body Expertise Exfotonic New Skin Revealing Exfoliator--same product but a lot less because it''s a drugstore brand)

For the face... Alpha Hyrdrox''s 10% AHA Facial Treatment (available at most drugstores) is the standard. Most of the AHA''s in the 8-10% range are good--but you have to be careful they don''t have too many fancy natural additives that can irritate your skin or have anything that tends to counter-act the exfoliation. Anything simple is good.

 

[moremoremore]

I LOVE LOOOOOVVVVEEEEEE plain old Alpha Hydrox brand (red box) "ENHANCED lotion". I don't even bother with the face specific one .... This is a big bottle and I use it all over! It's 10% glycolic. About $12 bucks. I also use something a lot stronger on my arms and legs and feet...It's 18% hehehehehehe but I'm a fruit cake.
Belle started using the 10%- I have to check with her to see how she is doing...

And abdabra- I agree 100000000% I'm the salicylic acid queen of price scope LOL... Keralyt 6% salicylic acid (that's high but I have rhino skin) and my Glycolic acid and I'm rockin and rollin!

And while we are on the subject, I bought this stuff for my elbows which drive me crazy..I have fair-medium skin but they are a little darker than the rest of me...not much but a little...and I used regular fade cream and it sucked..I bought this stuff and in 2 weeks, I'm thrilled! I have nice white elbows! So anyone with the same issue or slight dark scars, I highly rec'd it e/t I think a lot of other stuff on that site is total stupidity....but that 70% glycolic does look tempting OMG. JUST KIDDING!
http://www.platinumskincare.com/fading-gel-hydroquinone-kojic-acid.htm

 

[ame]

I use Mary Kay stuff. No breakouts and no greasies.

I use the Deep Cleanser and the Step 1 part of the microdermabrasion and occasionally moisturizer 2 or 3. I also use Differin.

 

[moremoremore]

Oh, and I figured I release this little secret too...if you can take the slight smell, it cures all.

http://www.sulphursoap.com
The 3% sal acid one is the best!

If I can handle the unrefined shea, I can handle any smell, right ame? LOL. I don't even really smell it anymore. That is by FAR, the BEST moisturizer on the planet. I'm astonished. I really owe ya one!

 

[glaucomflecken]

Date: 8/24/2005 5:24:33 PM
Author: ame
I use Mary Kay stuff. No breakouts and no greasies.


I use the Deep Cleanser and the Step 1 part of the microdermabrasion and occasionally moisturizer 2 or 3. I also use Differin.

I second that. I have oily skin and the clinique line did nothing for me. I probably have tried every skin care brand known to man. Right now I am using WellSkin because my derm recommended it but once I am done I am going back to Mary Kay. I have the worst oily skin ever, but Mary Kay''s old Formula 3 series seems to keep my skin its clearest, and the oil control lotion helps as much as it can for me. I posted a thread a while ago on oil control products and I have tried some of the products to compare and now that I have tried others I can see that MK still seems to keep it best under control (although nothing will ever make it nice! oh well)

In regards to the sulfur soap...my sister had bad acne as a teenager, and she used this soap called Sastid, it was I think sulfur and salicylic acid? Anyway, she would leave it on her face before rinsing for a while and her skin cleared up very very well.

 

[MrsFrk]

Date: 8/24/2005 4:51:09 PM
Author: moremoremore
OMG Mrs. Frk!!! LOL. Mineral oil is the worst for clogging pores and making skin even greasier LOL...!!!! I''m glad it works for you in any event!

Don''t trust some girl working at a makup counter to diagnose your skin.

I''m either blessed with really good skin on my face or I''m doing right by it.
I find the more you use, the more issues you create.
I also think that over-stripping the skin of oils causes more oil.
I never use toner and never use anything fancy to wash it with.

Just plain ol soap and alpha hydroxy lotion and Almay Skin Stays Clean powder. It''s the best...I go back to it even though I get major discounts on expensive stuff...

And I agree- if it ain''t broke, don''t fix it. Stick with your old routine!

MoreMoreMore, I don''t use mineral oil based stuff on my skin, I was commenting on the 3 step system.
The "Dramatically Different" lotion is a very basic mineral oil based product.

I use DHC cleansing oil to remove makeup, Johnson''s Baby Wash after, and Green Cream. European sunscreen every morning.

 

[snuflz]

Hello MelissaSue,

Just wanted to chime in here that the Clinique products didn''t work for me either. In fact, it made my acne condition worse. Echoing MichelleCarmen, most department stores will give you a refund.

 

[sasa]

I return a pressed powder I purchased from Clinique about two weeks ago. The sales person told me their product is good for sensitive skin, but my face was itchy all day the next day I used it. So I returned it, as long as you kept the receipt you should be fine.

Since we are on the subject of skin care. Can anyone recommand a good face moisturizer? I have wierd skin type. My skin is oily but dry at the same time. I guess my skin need something that''s hydrating..

 

[moremoremore]

ROTFL Mrs.Frk! That went way over my head LOL...I was like ''is she kidding me'' - really bad suggestions LOL
SORRY!

 

[ame]

Date: 8/24/2005 5:27:32 PM
Author: moremoremore
Oh, and I figured I release this little secret too...if you can take the slight smell, it cures all.

http://www.sulphursoap.com
The 3% sal acid one is the best!

If I can handle the unrefined shea, I can handle any smell, right ame? LOL. I don''t even really smell it anymore. That is by FAR, the BEST moisturizer on the planet. I''m astonished. I really owe ya one!

That stuff is funky. It''s awesome though so alittle funk smell is worht it. Makes a good eye cream if you can melt it down well enough and just dab it under the eyes. I use it when Im on my differin cycles and I start to molt.

PnP: I use a variety of Timewise, and 2 and 3 Basic Skin Care stuff. It has never caused me problems. The onyl MK I cannot use is the Step 2 of the Microdermabrasion stuff. Something about it makes me get little mini-zit things, rashlike whiteheads. They go away pretty quickly but still, ew.

I need to step up my eye cream. I use Timewise Age Fighting and some of the Instant Action (which they stupidly discontinued) and the Unrefined Shea Butter. I squint and don''t wear sunglases (they make me sweat more, and I sweat like man already) so Im wrinkly already not to mention the fact that Im not very soft on my eye skin. Tugging and stuff.

 

[Jennifer5973]

MelissaSue, as Michelle said, don''t waste your hard-earned money--return it. And don''t feel bad. Trust me--I worked for Lancome in grad school....no one cares if you return it....I''d have women with 1/64th of a jar of cream left come in with a 12-month old receipt saying "it made me break out"...I would say to mysefl, "Like, ''When...last YEAR?"

...anyway, we just returned it and damaged it out. No one cares.

Sometimes, it takes trial and error to find what works for you. For 20 years, my dermatologist has recommended Dove soap and purpose moisturizer--$1.99 and $7.99 respectively, with Persagel for occaisonal breakuts (J&J now makes that OTC). Give it a try.

PS I do like Clinique''s eye gel--light, no fragrance and nice moisturizer for delicate eye area.

PPS I have been a long-time devotee of Lancome''s Ablutia Fracheurcleanser--deep cleans w/o stripping (which can lead to more oil production).... I use both this and Dove (switch on and off accordng to mood)

 

[MelissaSue]

Hmm.. Well I didn''t keep the receipt..I am TERRIBLE about keeping receipts.. but I really am willing to just exchange it for another one of thier soaps.. I''m willing to give it a try.. I am BAD about taking care of my skin, and need to get into some sort of routine..
I believe you guys about the lotion though, they even tell you to only use it WHERE YOU NEED IT, which lead me to believe it could cause breakouts, and i had dry skin around my mouth.. so thats where i was using it.. guess where I got a giant pimple? Right under my mouth!

 

[MissAva]

I find that sometimes when I try something new my skin reacts very poorly. I have uber sensitive skin and everything makes me itch. But I like the level two of the three step program. I tend to skip the daily lotin and use one with an spf to it.
However use what works for you.
If you dont have the your receipts but you purchased it with a CC or DC then I think they can still refund your money.

 

[Blue824]

have you been using that dramatically different yellow lotion on your face? i used to use a lot of clinique, the oily skin series with the one bar for oily skin, the purple toner, but i didnt use the lotion...my dermatologist told me to never ever use that on my face when he found out they were trying to get me to use it. Said it was waay too heavy for young skin. Sometimes its good to ask for samples first, clinique counters should have mini bars of soaps for you to test, or at least they used to, so you could try before you buy first. if your other face wash worked well, I wouldnt mess with it. just because something is more expensive doesn''t make it better!

Bobo, my skin is sort of like that and I have to change moisturizers for the season or how I feel in the morning...
I have a combination of products I use, Neutrogena Ultra Sheer dry Touch sunblock is what I always use on my face. I also feel like it is a light moisturizer. Lately I''ve also been using Dermalogica Oil Control lotion over the sunblock or mixed into a light foundation. Helps keep me shine free for a little longer than usual. Over the winter sometimes I need more moisture and I use Hydra Controle Mat from Lancome which is a shine-control moisturizer. It is great...however just discontinued it! I bought an extra bottle but when that runs out I don''t know what I''m going to do. I''ll probably try their new Pure Focus lotion which looks the same as what I got except redone (I hope!) and if it is different on my skin, I''ve heard good things about the Sheseido Pureness line. If you go to a sephora they''ll stick a little bit of each moisturizer in a sample for you to try and then you can make up your mind. Its a good way to weed out the products you''d like to try and those to take a pass on.

 

[glaucomflecken]

bobo--

i really like the olay total effects moisturizer. i have skin thats oily but then gets super dry too, exacerbated by retin a use. I started using that and it helps keep my skin soft and has diminished the flakes.

 

[abradabra]

Date: 8/24/2005 11:47:10 PM
Author: MelissaSue
Hmm.. Well I didn''t keep the receipt..I am TERRIBLE about keeping receipts.. but I really am willing to just exchange it for another one of thier soaps.. I''m willing to give it a try.. I am BAD about taking care of my skin, and need to get into some sort of routine..
I believe you guys about the lotion though, they even tell you to only use it WHERE YOU NEED IT, which lead me to believe it could cause breakouts, and i had dry skin around my mouth.. so thats where i was using it.. guess where I got a giant pimple? Right under my mouth!

Did you happen to pay by credit card?

I worked in a department store about five years ago when I was in school and we could look up receipts for people returning items, as long as they paid by credit card.

It''s something a lot of people don''t think of, but it''s super helpful when you''re in a jam!

 

[fire&ice]

Even without the reciept, you should be able to at least exchange the soap. Most cometics lines products are sold conditionally.

I have to say I''ve been using the clinque 3 step before Estee Lauder launched the line. I''ve had little to no problems with my skin. I used the products for about 25 years w/ some alpha hydrox thrown in. I used the mild soap (I didn''t use the clarifying lotion every day). About 5 or so years ago, I started to wash my face in the morning with Dove soap. On the t-line (nose & chin) I use the clniique extra mild soap. At night, I use either Dove or the Clin. extra mild soap depending on my day. I use their "all about eyes" cream & on my face I use the Olay Regenerists. This seems to work the best for me - but I have older skin. I have used the Mary Kay products for about a year. It was a pain to keep up with ordering.

Use what seems to work the best for you and stick with it while assessing your aging skin. That said, my 22 year old niece didn''t have any sucess with the clinque products. Do not be shy to return something that caused your skin problems.

 

[MelissaSue]

I exchanged the soap for the mild soap... the girl told me that I should never have been giving the extra mild to begin with unless my skin was super super dry, which it never was.. so hopefully that will work better for me!
.They needed to look up my receipt via the credit card, but that was fine..

But then one of the women... you know how there are the women that just work for clinique and not the dept. stores themselves, and just go to the different stores? One of those.. she offered to do my eyes.. and oh my god.. she did them so terribly. I came home looking like corpse! But I bought a mascara and lipgloss thingy.. I''m bad...

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/25/2005 2:26:45 PM
Author: MelissaSue
I exchanged the soap for the mild soap... the girl told me that I should never have been giving the extra mild to begin with unless my skin was super super dry, which it never was.. so hopefully that will work better for me!
.They needed to look up my receipt via the credit card, but that was fine..

But then one of the women... you know how there are the women that just work for clinique and not the dept. stores themselves, and just go to the different stores? One of those.. she offered to do my eyes.. and oh my god.. she did them so terribly. I came home looking like corpse! But I bought a mascara and lipgloss thingy.. I''m bad...

Hey do you have Sephora in your region? You may want to try out this store because the sales girls aren''t biased to any one company and so they may provide you with better advice regarding your skin. I''ve had REALLY good luck with the products sold to me.

 

[flower12]

hi! I thought that your skin maybe oily skin but dehydration.
another words, skin produce oil a lot but Not enough water hold on.
so only oil left on the skin.
in this case, many people looks oily but dry skin
if you use lot of ( or strong profuct''s ) skin care for oily skin.( take off too much oil)
skin tend to produce more oli.
I would recommend you to use , mild cleanser and BHA for around T-zone
and
hydration toner (100% non oil ) and serum (100 % non oi, even not essential oil l )
if you got many pimple by the clinique product''s . you maight had reacted by the lotion''s ingredeant.
( esp oil ingrideant )
or some people think small pimple as acne or whitehead ( comed)
but it''s seborrheic dermatitis which looks like small pimple like comed.
in this case, people get comed like tiny pimple by reacted skin care.
seborrheic dermatitis'' skin is looks bit oily and dry both .
I hope it''s helps.

 

[teebee]

Date: 8/25/2005 2:26:45 PM
Author: MelissaSue

But then one of the women... you know how there are the women that just work for clinique and not the dept. stores themselves, and just go to the different stores? One of those.. she offered to do my eyes.. and oh my god.. she did them so terribly. I came home looking like corpse! But I bought a mascara and lipgloss thingy.. I''m bad...

Haha MS ~ the last time I let one of the representatives do my make up I had the same experience!! It was Lancome & we specifically talked about what types of colors I like for eye make up - having pretty fair skin & blue eyes, I tend to stick w/ muted shades of brown & ivory... She asked about pinks & purples/lavendars & I said absolutely not & that I feel like a clown if I''ve got a lot of color around my eyes. So she goes to town and does her thing... 20 minutes later she gives me a mirror... And I kid you not, this woman has painted my eyelids w/ the brightest shades of pink and purple eyeshadows that she could find... I was horrified - plus, I was just on a lunch break at work, had to go back to Express & wash my face in order to not frighten or startle any customers... Normally, I buy a product or 2 after someone does my makeup, but not after she did exactly what I asked her not to & she knew I had to go back to work...

 

[gatorgirl007]

I agree with Ame. Mary Kay products are great. The TimeWise 3in1 Cleanser is great for Norm-Oily, Microderm abrasion steps 1 and 2 and I use the Oil Free Hydrating gel during the day (i am a rep and it does not make me oily at work) and TimeWise Moist in evening. Also if you want a great foundation/concealer... I have been using Bare Essentials. It is light and absorbs oil so you do not look oily at the end of the day.

You can PM me abt MK if you are interested. Clinique makes me look like I can wax a floor and when my mom went to get foundation, made her look orange. When I went for refund, I asked when is an orange face natural looking? They said she was not orange when they tested the color on her skin, she may have used too much. UUUmmm.... I think there is a problem with the sales reps.