A little while ago, I told you about the new Clinique foundation that was launched recently and is available at counters now. Its called Clinique Even Better Makeup with SPF15 PA+++ and combines makeup and skincare in one product, in that it not only acts as a foundation (which it is) but also helps treats your skin tone and spots.
How intriguing, right? I’ve got the low down on what this is all about in my earlier preview post, so this is just what I think of this foundation. This is actually my first time properly using a Clinique liquid foundation. I previously sampled some of the SuperFit and SuperBalance foundation but hated them. I mentioned that they felt heavy on my skin that is used to the lightweight texture of liquid foundation that I prefer.
Happily, for everyone who likes the same texture I do, the Even Better Makeup is light on the skin, yet has medium coverage and the colour tint is a bit yellow, which is quite good for evening out redness in skin. Proof in the pictures 🙂
First off, I must say that the bottle is quite small. It is 30ml but it is such a compact little thing that I found it hard to believe that it was indeed 30ml, but it is. The dispenser is a nozzle which is quite useful, because the texture is liquid and runny. The nozzle in a plastic bottle makes it easy to control just how much you need without wastage. Also, the lack of a pump means the foundation doesn’t get trapped in the pump towards the end. I don’t know about you but I don’t think I’ve ever finished up a liquid foundation yet so this isn’t quite something that troubles me haha! 😀
Clinique Even Better Makeup (1) 64 Cream Beige (2) Fresh Beige (3) Fresh Beige blended out
My shade is Fresh Beige, which when applied on skin blends almost right in, in terms of colour. Coverage is quite impressive as I have noted, and a little product goes a long way. I must also note that I did a quick search online but the colours we get here are the Asian versions and I cannot find similar names in the versions sold in the US so I’m not sure how they compare or if they are the same in texture etc.
The texture of this one is runny but has “stretch” so one dollop as you see here can cover about half your face when blended. It can also be layered where you need more coverage, so I sometimes skip concealer on lazy days. A touch of powder will usually offer a fuller coverage.
And here’s an unretouched before-after picture to show you how it performs.
You can perhaps see that redness is mostly covered with just 1 layer (the huge angry spots on my chin are testament to this) and the skin tone looks a bit more even. Pigmentation is there but I need industrial strength concealer to hide all that so I sometimes don’t even bother.
I have combination skin tending to the dry and I find this one very comfortable. It does not oxidise and neither does it look cakey nor turn my skin oily. To be honest, I don’t know if the skin correcting benefits infused in this foundation are working because I don’t use this one everyday, but if it does, then yay! If it doesn’t, at least its still a pretty decent liquid foundation.
All in all, I must say I’m quite impressed with this little thing. Its compactly packaged, it evens out my skintone, tones down redness and if it is to be believed, helps to act on uneven skintone and pigmentation like a skincare would so its like wearing a skincare as makeup. Sounds good to me!
In a nutshell
Clinique Even Better Makeup liquid foundation is a light textured liquid foundation with light to medium coverage of the skin. It evens out skin tone and tones down redness and is also supposed to treat uneven skin tone and correct dark spots, which I think would be beneficial if one were to use this one foundation for the long term, and not just sporadically as I do. I like how the colour Fresh Beige leaves my skin looking brighter and fresh looking and I find the texture comfortable and not heavy. This one gets the thumbs up from me!
Pros: Light texture isn’t heavy on the skin yet offers medium coverage if you need it, Covers up redness well and evens out skintone so skin looks brighter, Packaging is compact and easy to dispense
Cons: Some may consider it pricey although I think its average considering its performance, Some have complained that it isn’t suitable for oily skin as it feels oily
A previous commentator mentioned that this foundation wasn’t suitable for oily skin so that will be something you will have to decide yourself if you want to try it. I’d suggest seeing if you can get some samples at the counter to try before you take the plunge. I personally thought it might be suitable for most skintypes as the texture isn’t heavy or oily and it blends very easily. But if you prefer something with high coverage then you will not like this one either because it will take a bit of work to achieve a high coverage. I like my foundations light, sheer and at most, medium coverage so I’m fine with this one.
If you’d like to match your foundation to the ones I use, here’s the comparison swatch based on some other liquid foundations I use that are colour matched to my skin. Never mind the slight differences in tone, they all blend into my skin 🙂
(1) Shiseido Perfect Refining Foundation I00 Very Light Ivory (2) Clinique Even Better Fresh Beige (3) Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum #51 Light Vanilla (4) Diorskin Forever 010
Texture wise, I’d say the Clinique one is lighter than both Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum and Diorskin Forever and is close to the Shiseido Perfect Refining Foundation. However both the latter, although looking light in texture offer good “stretch” in their formulation so a very little goes a very long way. In fact, looking at how similar their packaging is and the similarity in the texture I wonder if they aren’t twins born in the same factory 😛
Have you sampled the Clinique Even Better Makeup SPF15 yet? I think its been out at the counters for about a month or so now. If you have tried it, do you like its texture? Have you tried other Clinique foundations before this? I have, as I have mentioned and disliked them. I have also noticed that the ones I disliked are now discontinued. Guess I’m not alone 😛 Oh and have you tried that that fascinating looking grinding powder thing from Clinique? Been meaning to and never did so would love to know if anyone likes it 😀
Paris B
Clinique Even Better Makeup SPF15 PA++ Price: RM115/30ml Availability: Clinique counters nationwide
Just wondering, how do you think it compares to Diorskin? Which one do you like better?
Hmm tough one Jarucha… If you mean Diorskin Forever, then I prefer the Clinique Even Better because I found Diorskin Forever drying with prolonged use (Combi-dry skin). I don’t get that problem with Clinique. In terms of colour, I find that Diorskin runs a bit pink while the Clinique one is more neutral leaning towards a bit of better control of redness. I guess it will depend on which you prefer. Try to get a sample, or if not, try them out at the counters and see which you prefer 🙂
This looks very promising indeed!!! Generally I like Clinique’s foundations. Am currently loving the Superbalanced, which matches me to a T and is not too heavy.
Hmm I think if you find Superbalanced not too heavy, you’d find this one super light! 😀
Any idea how this would fare on oily-combination skin? I was dithering between this and the Shiseido Perfect Refining Foundation after your rave review (after I use up my extensive stock of foundations, that is). And is it my screen or does the Clinique Even Better Swatch (no. 2 in your pic) look slightly greyish tinged?
Oh you enabler!
Hi I have combi-oily skin myself and I am loving the Shiseido Sun Protection Liquid Foundation..I am not sure if you need the SPF 43 but it is definitely very water resistant as it says on the bottle. I wore it for 8 hours and then had to do some very sweat inducing chores and about 80 percent of it still stayed! Even when I wiped off my sweat, it does not transfer..I also have tried many other foundations but to date, I would say this is the most water and sweat resistant.. As for the Refining foundation, it would be more for dry skin as informed by the SA at the counters.. Just my 2 cents 🙂
I don’t now how combi-oily skin will fare but I think Sharon and Dom have given a very good idea on how it performs on them since they have combi-oily skin 🙂 It might be your screen being a bit funny but in reality, the Clinique Even Better is a yellow toned neutral while the Shiseido Perfect Refining actually looks a bit pinker when compared side by side. I never realised it till now! 🙂 I suggest you either try to snag some samples for trial of texture and suitabliity of the skin and see if the colour suits your skin too 🙂
Well, I have the fascinating looking grinding powder thing from Clinique 😉 I find that it works better for me than the EA Mineral powder which many people rave about cos it is too pink toned for me.. I tend to lean towards beige or neutral tones..As for the Clinique Even Better Liquid Foundation.. I reckon I might get it if its very blendable cos I like my foundations with higher coverage but not cake up or make me look like I am wearing a mask..So I reckon if I want blendability, I would be better off getting something liquid-y and use 1 1/2 pumps instead 🙂
Hmmm now I’m curious about that grinding powder 😛 I wonder if it’ll be too drying though. I do find the Even Better foundation to be really nice. One drop stretches very far and its definitely not cakey nor too matte 🙂 I’m just like you too. I dislike heavy thick foundation textures. Its what put me liquid foundation in the first place so I’m very pleased with the brands coming out with lighter textured foundations but with good coverage 😀
Hmm, granted that I have combi-oily skin, the grinding powder stays about 4-5 hours on me..I am guessing it should stay longer on you.. as for drying.. I totally doubt it..well I guess u can swatch at Clinique counters but the powder is really fine and goes on smooth.. you can use it as a light to medium coverage foundation or as a loose powder to set your liquid foundations.. 🙂 or u can try out the EA one and then compare the two too!
I’ll probably take a look at it then, thanks! The idea of a light to medium foundation that is easy to tote around appeals to me 🙂
I just wanna ask if you already have those sun spots even when you’re young or they just came out because of aging? (no offense meant pls)
I read from vivawoman that Asian skin is more prone to hyperpigmentation.. 🙂
I have very fair skin and the problem with very fair skin is that I freckle easily. Gah! Also, I have learnt that Asian skin is more prone to hyperpigmentation hence the obsession with whitening products here in Asia I guess 🙂 I had freckles as a teen and they’ve just sort of stayed around till now although it might be age related to – who knows 😛
When I had very oily skin during that time of the month: To make this work, you gotta set it with a LOT of setting powder. I tested by setting the t-zone and leaving the cheeks. T-zone was OK, cheeks and jaw got tacky and sticky.
When I had combo-oily skin: Must set again with setting powder. Same test: cheeks and jaw didn’t get as tacky.
Normal-oily skin: Great stuff, no need to set too much.
Long story short: Yes, it can work for all skin types (since yours is mostly dry-combi skin, PB). Oilier skins just need to set it properly. I recommend BE’s Mineral Veil, though any setting powder should do.
Thanks for the detailed breakdown! Its great to know that it does work for all sorts of skin types. I do set with a light layer of powder too but more out of habit than anything 😀
Have you tried the clarins skin illusion? It’s my new HG!
Nope, haven’t tried that one yet (I wasn’t aware that we got them in to be honest. Clarins is so elusive about their makeup ranges here 🙁 ) But thanks for alerting me. I’ll take a look at them soon and see if I like them as much as you do 😉
I love to read foundation reviews, though I know they are one of the hardest to test out/write about. You’ve always done the best job though, Paris!
I have tried some Clinique foundations in the past and I didn’t like any of them (though it’s been so long I can’t even remember what I tried). My skin type is more like combination with oily T-zone though, so I’m not sure if this will work for me. Nevertheless, I’m happy to see them get the undertone right. For me that’s almost always the hardest part!
Aww thank you Sunny, you’re too kind 😀 I was never impressed by Clinique foundations before either. This is probably the first one I’m going “hmmm… I might even repurchase this if it finishes!”
oh my! Now I’m tempted to get this foundation but I’m oily-combination skin so I’ll take up on your advice to get a few samples first before buying it! Thanks for the great post Paris! =)
Thanks Biianca and yes, the best way to test a foundation is to get samples so even if you don’t get a colour match, you can at least check to see if they break you out. Good luck! 😀
The foundation looks lovely on you, Paris! Looks like it has a matte finish also? I love Superfit foundation and have been looking for its replacement. Tried Superbalanced and Perfectly Real but my skin just didn’t like it. I may visit Clinique counter again to request for a sample for this foundation. Thanks for the review 🙂
Thanks Kat and I wouldn’t say its matte per se, but it doesn’t make me shiny 🙂 I hope you like this too if you manage to get a sample – my skin didn’t like any of the other Clinique foundations either 😉
I am looking for a new foundation, maybe should give this a try. But then again getting a sample from their counter is a horrible experience, once they question me why I no longer buy their stuffs..which obviously means I found a better options..and getting sample to try is to see if their new stuff is a better choice.
Oh that’s a pity you had a bad experience with them 🙁 I could suggest you try one of the stand alone service counters – MidValley has one outside of Voir where they leave you pretty much to play around with the products to your hearts content and are, in my experience, more friendly too. There’s where I go to check out new Clinique stuff because they don’t bug you 🙂
Thanks Dom for the breakdown. If it takes that much effort (for combo-oily), I think I’ll just stay with my powder foundations and say no to liquids for now. Although it being a lightweight, doesn’t oxidized or cakeup foundation does make it a sweet little thing to own and use.
and paris, I don’t think I have ever seen you with such a zit around! Or was it your concealer working all it’s magic whenever we do meet up? 😉
LOL Well most of the time when we meet, I don’t have a zit problem. It comes and goes but this one was a stunner >.<
Ahhh…this was and continues to be on my to buy list! Sampled this last year on counter and absolutely loved it at first try! I’m waiting for at least one bottle of foundation that I currently have to finish first before stocking up on another…hehe…am running out of space for makeup!! 🙂
I think its great Nadia! Finishing up any makeup is proving impossible for me so I’ve given up on making that a restriction hehe… But I do finish up concealers 😀
I can\’t find the \”fresh beige\” shade anywhere as I\’m trying to purchase this foundation! What is the closest shade I can find in the US? (I think I have the same skin shade as you!)Thanks,Annabelle
That’s interesting that it’s not available in the US, but as I’ve not seen the shades there, I can’t quite say which would be closest. I might try Abalaster or Ivory, but as I’ve never seen them, it’ll be best to test at the counter.