We took a quick look at the Clinique x Milly Spring 2011 collection palette last week. I focused more on the prints in that post 😉 But today its about the palette and its a very pretty neutral palette in my view. So those who like colour and bright shades might find this one rather… dull. However, if you like something a little more natural and wearable to conservative offices, or if you just like a fresh natural look, this palette might do the trick 🙂
The eye colours are quite a good mix of colours. Pink isn’t a colour I voluntarily put on my eyes, but for some reason, if you mix it in with the brown, its really pretty, and it isn’t very pink at all. At least you don’t end up with the rabbit eye look. The cream shimmer and bronze-brown are a little gritty to the touch, and I find the colours apply better with a brush. The dark brown makes a lovely liner and works very well in the crease area. I mix the two browns for the areas close to the lash line and the crease, and use the pink and cream for lid colour and highlight.
To complete the look is the limited edition Clinique Long Last Glosswear lipgloss in Milly Pink. Milly Pink as we learnt the last round is the signature pink of the Milly fashion collection. This was actually my first time trying the Clinique long last glosswear lipgloss so let’s see how they fare.
First, some swatches of the Pretty in Prints palette:-
The bottom row are the eyeshadows (Printed Pinks) swatched left to right and the swatch at the top is the blush (Precious Posy).You can see that the two dark shades swatch well but the pink and cream take some work to show up. A good or bad thing depending on your preferences 🙂
I have a comparison swatch of the Precious Posy blush with a few other brands below for a better idea 🙂 I really like the blush which applies a little light and sheer and balances out the eye makeup, if you do something stronger for the eye. If you go light on the eyes, I’d suggest a stronger hand with the cheeks.
The Milly Pink lipgloss however is a little light for my preferences.
On the back of my hand, its such a pretty pink. I mean, just look at it. Its a pink shot through with a little coral and there’s miniscule shimmer. The lipgloss applies a little thick but it is super shiny on the lips and importantly (for me) isn’t sticky despite the goopiness <- real word 😛 Its a really nice lipgloss…. if it would show up on me 🙁
I have pigmented lips so this lipgloss sort of disappears into my lips, offering just very lovely high shine without much colour.
I used the palette and the lipgloss in the picture above. I couldn’t get the lighting right so please excuse the rather ghostly tint to it 😛 What I found a little strange was that the eye colours apply a little cool while the blush is actually on the warm side. The lipgloss as you can see has crazy high shine that’s gorgeous, but the colour shows up just a light touch of pink without that pretty shimmer or coral tint.
Despite my criticism, I actually like this palette. Its not the most interesting, nor the most exciting of makeup palettes. Its by Clinique, and we don’t get many exciting colours from Clinique. But it works on many fronts. You can deepen the eye colours to get a pretty night look and the cheek colour is a very pretty one, even if you can’t quite tell from the above. Its a palette you can easily tote around for touch ups for day and night and its great for travel or business travel when you can’t get too daring with makeup (unless you can in which case, you’d go “Booorrinnggg!” 😉 )
Pros: Nice neutral shades for eyes and cheeks, Precious Posy blush should be sold separately :P, Lipgloss has very nice high shine and isn’t sticky
Cons: Cream highlight shade is a little gritty, Lipgloss is very sheer and doesn’t show up on me, Neutral palette may bore some
Oh and here are some comparison swatches for the Precious Posy blush in the Pretty in Prints palette compared to some other popular colours in the same family.
I picked out some blush colours I thought the blush resembled, and swatched them side by side. You can see that first of all, the blush isn’t as shimmery as many of the others I’ve chosen. Secondly, its quite different from the other colors! In the pan, I thought it close to Benefit Coralista blush, but after swatching I can say its nothing like Coralista. At best, its a smidge closer to Bella Bamba and its not a dupe for Nars Orgasm at all (a colour I hardly ever use anymore). Clinique should consider releasing Precious Posy as a stand alone one. I think it’d be a winner 🙂 Update: I stand corrected. Precious Posy is available as a stand alone blush. Get it if you aren’t swayed by the eye colours! 😀
Have you seen this collection? I like the freshness and simplicity even if its not the most exciting Spring 2011 collection out there. However, its probably one of the most wearable for most 🙂
Paris B
The Pretty in Prints palette retails at RM180 and the Long Last Glosswear Lipgloss in Milly Pink is RM63. The Clinique Pretty in Prints collection for Spring 2011 is limited edition and available at all Clinique counters.
have to agree that it is not the most exciting palette out there, but plus point is all the wearable colors are packed into one, so its yeayy for office colors. no need to bring the whole makeup bag with all single items to work.
Yup its portable and very practical. The colours can also be layered to be darker and that blush! Sigh… 😀
repost: blog address salah! hahah.
i love the clinique pinks for some odd reason. it looks great on you paris!
Teehee… deleted the duplicate 😉 And this is my first time using a Clinique palette so I’m really happy at how it turned out. Thanks! 😀
I love Clinique!!! ^.^ however the palette is a little, er, blah. Well, mostly becauee I have the Strawberry Fudge Duo.. >.<
You look great tho!!
Yup the colours are very similar to many other duos/palettes Clinique has come up with. Still, not having those, this is a great one! 😀
I love understated satiny makeup 🙂 I like that the browns are yellow-based to balance the peachy-pinkness. I have an Estee Lauder palette from eons again where the browns and pinks were just too red-blue (cool) for me to look just glowing … 🙁 I’d spring for this, but maybe shop around a bit first.
Ohhh I know what you mean! I have a problem with red based browns too. I always look like I’ve been punched in the eyes, and I stayed away from browns for a long long time. I think its only recently that brands are starting to be a bit more creative in their colours so we’re seeing more wearable browns which is a good thing 😀
Ooooh. Am shamelessly coveting the gloss now thanks to this post, Paris!
Hehe… I’m guessing pale pink glosses are your thing? 😉
Indeed they are. I’m one of those girls who likes subtle, cool pink looks – although recently I’ve realised that berry shades work well for me too! 🙂 The joys of experimentation.
Mmm… berry! I haven’t tried going berry on my eyes yet although I reckon it’d be a hit if I do something purply… the joys of experimentation indeed! 😀
Strange lipgloss on your beautiful lips 😛 Looks more pink than coral though 😛 Still very kissable lips! 😀
Yup! Its pinky but on my hand its got a coral tint. Its got super high shine though – like patent leather lips LOL! 😀 Thanks dearie!
Patent Leather lips?! LOL Reminds me of Barbie doll lips 😛 You~ 😀
Haha! Not quite barbie but vinyl hehe
I think the lipgloss looks pretty on you! I like the shade of pink on the lips and it made me want to get it right now!
Thank you 🙂 Its limited edition so gotta hurry!
I’m actually liking this palette a lot (based on reviews) and would probably get it for travelling – the colours are very easy to wear. I’ve surprised myself with how much I like soft pink on my eyelids. The dark brown also look dark and chocolate-y enough now to make my complexion seem “muddy” (that tends to happen when I wear browns on my eyes).
I’m learning to wear pink on the lids too and yes, the browns in this palette are very wearable. Like you, I tend to have a problem wearing browns on my lids. They always look dirty or like I got punched 😛 The dark brown is a dark chocolate and the shimmery one is a bronzed shade which I was surprised to be able to wear. I usually don’t do bronzes either. Do check it out to see if it might be a palette for you 😀
The palette has a very romantic feel to it if there’s ever such a thing, lol.
Hey! You’re right 🙂 it has a sweet romantic feel to it
Like the packaging and Milly prints but the colours themselves are blah. Will give this one a miss.
Ya it does look a little blah but the blush is worth checking out if they ever come out with it as a stand alone. Its pretty!
Hi ParisB, I saw you have Bella Bamba! Are u able to review this please!?
Thanks!
Hey KS! Yes I got Belle Bamba a while back. Have been planning to review it but it took me a while to get the hang of it and to decide what I thought of it. Will try to run something soon 🙂
huh… that’s really weird, Precious Posy is actually available by itself, i’ve seen it many times at the counter. i also swatched it with Orgasm and on me, they were almost dupes, except that Clinique’s had more refined, more subtle shimmer. i wonder if the Precious Posy in this palette is somehow different from the regular Precious Posy.
Thank you for the clarification Jooj! I checked it out and yep I’m mistaken 😛 I’ve corrected it in the post above. 🙂 Its a lovely blush and I prefer it over Orgasm any day 🙂