I have some very annoying patches of pigmentation… Most of it appeared during my first pregnancy (not uncommon) and simply never went away (not as common… annoying). And this, despite not blatantly sunbathing or using sunbeds for years now, as well as slathering on a high SPF product all year round. Boo.
Anyway, I’ve tried lots of products that claim to shift pigmentation and have yet to discover one that actually can to any noticeable degree. Enter Clinique’s ‘Even Better’ franchise, a series of products designed to address hyper-pigmentation for all skin tones.
The range grew by three new products last month and I’ve been trying them all religiously.
First up, the new Even Better Concealer (£18). This is for coverage/concealment of pigmentation and age spots etc while you set about reducing or removing them. This little pot of creamy but ‘solid’ concealer (available in 12 shades) is long wearing (even water, sweat and humidity resistant) and contains Vitamin C for added ‘radiance’.
It’s a nice product. Easy to apply (a brush is best but I’ve been using my little finger to apply and blend), it offers a high level of coverage and would be good for small areas of pigmentation. I prefer to use it as an ‘all round’ concealer rather than to completely mask my pigmentation (which, to me, is too time consuming – while it is annoying, I can live with it). It is great under the eyes. Erase Paste by Benefit has been my choice of concealer for the past few years. I haven’t touched it since I’ve had this.
Next is the new Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Lotion SPF20 (£35). I’ve been using this white lotion every morning for almost a month now. On the plus side, its a nice lightweight and oil-free lotion that provides a bit of moisture with a reasonable SPF. On the negative side, I haven’t really noticed that much improvement yet in my facial pigmentation. However, my skin does look generally smoother and slightly more ‘glow-y’, so perhaps its playing a part in the improvement of my general skin tone.
Last newbie is the new Even Better Dark Sport Correcting Hand Cream SPF15 (£22.50). Containing Vitamin C and Liquorice extract, it promise to deliver moisture to dehydrated hands while brightening away spots and discoloration.
I’ve been applying this white creamy-lotion regularly every day and can actually report an improvement in the sun spots on my hands – hooray! My right hand was particularly bad, being the hand I have on the car steering wheel all the time, under the windscreen, exposed to the sun. Having previously been a field sales rep, this poor hand spent a lot of time getting exposed to the sun, and despite regular application of sunscreen, I noticed some horrible dark spots appearing over the past few years. This hand cream has definitely caused them to fade. I had a brown sun spot on my left lower arm as well (just before what you’d call the wrist). Regular application of this cream on that has caused this to fade so much I could say it has disappeared. Result! Highly recommended, tried and tested!
The entire Even better range (which also includes a Dark Sport corrector (£39), Skin Tone Correcting Moisturiser (£35) and makeup SPF15 (£22) is available online and at Clinique counters now.