Saturday Skincare: Ramadan 2018 Skincare - Clinique Moisture Surge

Ramadan is once again here and this year I was ever so kindly sent the most thoughtful PR package I've probably ever received from none other than Clinique.
If you guys remember my "Thirsty Skin" blog post last year in Ramadan, you'd remember me writing about a host of ideas for dehydrated skin, which is very common for those of us fasting as we are of course not eating or drinking water for up to 18 hours+ here in the UK.
This year, Clinique sent out care packages of their Moisture Surge skincare range to a couple Muslim bloggers and I was pretty touched, as even to this day, many brands and non-Muslims in general still don't know that we don't drink water in daylight hours!
Most brands have at least one product or skincare ranges for dry/dehydrated skin (as you probably saw in my blog post last year), but the fact Clinique were so thoughtful about sending their hydrating range this year to Muslim bloggers, it really spurred me on to write this post and of course explain the MS range which I was familiar with but didn't realise included this many products.
It's only been about a week and a half of trying these but read on to check out the Moisture Surge products sent and what I think so far!

BACKGROUND INFO

I must admit in recent years my relationship with Clinique has been non existent as there are soo many brands out there and I've been trying to test out as many products as I can to review; but this package brought back so many memories of my teenage-hood where I religiously used their 3-step skincare thanks to my mum (mentioned in my GRWM with Aysha Begum here), and many bonus-times I'd taken advantage of where I first discovered Moisture Surge.
My mum has always emphasised the importance of skincare and I remember her saying she'd tried Clarins and various other brands but Clinique worked best for her.  Thankfully she took me to Debenhams and put me in a good 3-step skincare routine at the age of 13 (yes my friends were still using Nivea or at best Garnier), but it worked for me and I swear my skin was probably at it's best in those years compared to now! So Clinique are actually my first love when it comes to skincare and it feels like I'm rekindling a forgotten but fond relationship with this blog post 😅
MOISTURE SURGE The Moisture Surge products from Clinique are aimed at those with dehydrated/thirsty skin who want something oil free. Most of the products generally have some form of Aloe water in them which is a natural hydrator, but also has many other skin benefits. I actually own an Aloe Vera plant for my sons eczema but also use it when I have an allergic reaction and want to avoid using any products that may aggravate it, sun/wax burns or as a mask even! It's also known to be good for helping with scars or acne, so it's pretty much a wonder ingredient. The full range (here) includes various moisturising skin care products and two "colour" products (a CC Cream and tinted moisturiser). I was sent the new 72-hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator, Hydrating Supercharged Concentrate, Overnight Mask, Face Spray Thirsty Skin Relief and a Pep-Start Pout Restoring Night Mask.

72-hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator

First and most importantly, we have to talk about the 72-hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator, which has replaced the "Extended Thirst Relief" from back in mine and my mum's bonus-time buying days. I used to have pretty dry skin, so I quite liked the old formula back then (which claimed to keep skin hydrated for 24 hours I think), but I did prefer the Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion as it felt more creamy/comforting.
This new formula is a gel-cream and is lightweight, now with Hyaluronic Acid,  Activated Aloe Water and Caffeine. The theory is that the skin's Trans Epidermal Electrical Potential (TEEP) is a vital ionic “pump” that becomes damaged over time, so loses the ability to rehydrate itself. The Activated Aloe Water + Caffeine stimulates the water pump and creates it's own water source to keep rehydrating along with Hyaluronic and Humectants attracting and locking in moisture. Interestingly, Dimethicone is listed as the second ingredient (here) which is pretty high up and also an ingredient that locks in water as well as helping spread a product easily, as found in most primers.
I'd say it's good for pretty much all skin types, particularly dry/combination skins, but I do find it slightly sticky and it seems from reviews online that really dry skin types drink this up better. 
This new formula claims that it will give your skin the power to rehydrate itself for 72 hours - even after washing your face. Now this last bit I have to say had me sold as many of us Muslims have to wash our faces several times in the day (before we pray) and truth be told, London/UK water is so hard it always leaves me feeling tight.
I've tested this "after washing your face" statement (washed my face x3 times, no makeup on) and I have to say I have no tight feeling after; if anything the stickiness goes and my skin is just left feeling nice and soft, but this may not be the case for extremely dry skin types of course.

The cons I have about this product is that I'm sure it's a bit more sticky than the original moisture surge thirst relief and takes longer to absorb than I remember, the jar packaging is a tad bit unhygienic and lastly, it can ball up (pill) if used too heavily or with a dissimilar foundation that's more water based.

Aside from these cons, I like that it can be used in various ways: 

• a quick 5 min mask that can be tissued off or left on overnight, 
• for cuticles, hair, knees, elbows etc, 
• under or on top of makeup

I also like that as with most Clinique products its allergy tested and fragrance free as well this product particularly being oil-free and non-acnegenic.

It's £36 for 50ml which isn't cheap for the size, but if you're combination/oily skin, chances are you'll use way less of this as I find a little works better than using a lot as a daily hydrator (especially if used after another moisturiser).

Hydrating Supercharged Concentrate

This product is a water-gel formula compared to the gel-cream consistency of the 72-hour Hydrator and claims to boost the skin's moisture reservoir for 24 hours. There are visible bubble-looking things in this product, but they don't look like air bubbles, they look like they're filled with oil or something. This is what Clinique describe as their "Liquid-Sphere Technology" that combines water binding ingredients (hyaluronic acid) with encapsulated antioxidants (vitamins C and E). These antioxidant bubbles burst on application and blend into the skin, helping fight aging. Compared to the 72-Hour Hydrator I do feel like this one is slightly less sticky feeling, but still takes a while for my skin to "drink" it.  I do like that the pump packaging is more hygienic and travel friendly seeing as it's a moisture boost and marketed for travelling on skin-dehydrating airplane journeys; it's also a bit aesthetically pleasing with the bubbles! Again it is oil-free, fragrance free, allergy tested and non-acnegenic.
£36 for 48ml HERE, but again less is more for combination/oily skin types.

Overnight Mask

As the name suggests, this is an overnight mask and of course a hydrating one that is like a "net" that helps protect from night time moisture loss. The formula is creamy compared to the previous two products as it contains shea butter quite high up on the ingredients list (here). It's in between a cream and lotion in consistency as it's not super thick but heavier than the 72-hour Hydrator and the Concentrate.
It also contains mango and murumu seed butters, olive extract, pomegranate sterols and of course Aloe water, all of which help with replenishing lipids (fats) in the skin and also help with longterm moisture.
This is my personal favourite so far from the range as it feels the least stickiest and I generally still prefer to wear creamy feeling products for some reason, as I feel like they're more comforting and nourishing. This one feels like it plumps my skin nicely overnight and by morning it does feel like it's been absorbed rather than just sat on top of the skin.
Again a little goes a long way and you get a whopping 100ml for £31 which compared to the last two products is a bargain; I'd even go as far as saying you could use this before a matte foundation like Estee Lauder Double Wear, especially if your skin is particularly dry as this also has Dimethicone in it so it can work as a great primer.

Face Spray Thirsty Skin Relief

Another way to rehydrate your face, this oil free spray contains hydrating and soothing Aloe water and soothing Chamomile and I've actually found myself using this the most frequently out of the products sent, whether it be during the day for a spritz of hydration to my skin when I'm feeling thirsty whilst fasting (mouth closed of course - it doesn't taste nice anyway lol) or after my usual light baking under my eyes with setting powder.
I've actually been using it more than my usual "rehydrating" sprays (MAC Fix+ and Too Faced Hangover) and this is purely because of the way the nozzle sprays; it is so much more of a "mist" than any of the other products' nozzles - I love the Too Faced Hangover spray for the coconutty scent (and the new MAC Coconut scent too), but it feels like I'm being showered in the Hangover spray and the MAC nozzle can be a bit hit and miss sometimes and spritz out droplets/shoot like a mini water gun if not pushed down properly. Both of the others I'd say are similar in levels of "stickiness" as they all have Glycerin fairly high in their ingredients list, but I feel like I need a little of this especially after baking. I find it's less sticky than MAC Fix+ and a little more than Too Faced.
Overall this one has been a hit for me because of the actual "mist" and at £22.50 for 125ml it's actually the best value for money compared to the other two as it's 18p/1ml compared to 19p/1ml for MAC Fix+ and 23p/ml for Too Faced Hangover.

Pep-Start Pout Restoring Night Mask

Last but not least is this non Moisture Surge product but very relevant to Ramadan and dehyrdation in general - a lip mask. Of course when you're dehydrated (i.e. fasting), your lips are probably the first thing to show a sign and generally I avoid my usual fave lip balm in Ramadan (EOS) because it is mildly sweet flavoured. This Pep-Start lip mask is of course fragrance and flavour free, but does contain petrolatum as it's first ingredient so if you're not a fan of the waxy feeling of Vaseline then you may not like this, but Nadine Baggott recommended it in a recent video so I was intrigued to try it. It does however also contain shea butter and murumuru seed butter like the Moisture Surge Overnight Mask above, which are nourishing ingredients. It's £16 for 10ml which isn't cheap, but if you're into barrier type lip balms for overnight/longhaul flights then this is a good option to look into.
Personally I do prefer a less waxy feeling under lipstick or even overnight; so EOS I still wear during eating hours in Ramadan or the Homeoplasmine I mentioned in last years blog post.  If my lips are really chapped, nothing beats Lanolin based products for me especially after learning about this miracle after breastfeeding; and if it's safe enough for a newborn baby then it's safe enough for me!

GIVEAWAY

As I said at the beginning of this year, I plan to give back to my lovely supportive followers as much as poss and I had to ask about a giveaway for this of course, especially after seeing the reaction many of you had on my Instagram to this package!
So now ONE of you has the chance to win these Moisture Surge goodies yourself, all you have to do is comment below on this blog post (you may have to scroll down a bit!) and tell me what your favourite Clinique product is. Then enter your name in the widget here, so it counts your entry, good luck!: Safiyah x Clinique Ramadan Giveaway