With the weather turning cooler and drier, there is a need to add some extra moisture to our skincare products. Since ancient times, Indian aristocracy has been using potent blends of oils and herbs to keep their skin healthy and youthful but oils soon got a bad reputation for being heavy and causing breakouts. Facial oils are now making a big comeback as beauty brands around the world are incorportating them into their product portfolio. I have been using, and loving, one such oil and that is the Clinique Smart Treatment Oil….
About the Clinique Smart Treatment Oil
“Be smart with a customizable routine.
Adding an oil to a beauty routine, now that’s smart. NEW Clinique Smart Treatment Oil is a lightweight oil, infused with de-aging ingredients that help to deeply condition dry, damaged skin. This nourishing, non-greasy oil leaves skin instantly radiant, and feeling smooth, while potent antioxidants work over time to help shield against harmful free radical damage.
Customized skin care is enhanced as NEW Clinique Smart Treatment Oil can be used a multitude of ways within the Clinique Smart Custom-Repair regimen. Appropriate for all skin types, this nourishing oil helps restore radiance and minimizes fine dry lines. After cleansing dispense 2-3 drops of oil in hands. Gently warm oil in hands and pat into skin. Avoid eye area. Lightweight oil glides over skin easily and absorbs quickly without leaving a greasy or oily film. For added radiance, a few drops of oil can be mixed in hands with a daily moisturizer for an added boost of nourishment. It can be added to NEW Clinique Smart SPF 15 Custom-Repair Moisturizer and NEW CliniqueSmart Night Custom-Repair. Lastly, for extra conditioning or comfort, apply it after your daily moisturizer to “seal in” everything that has been applied and leave skin with an extra dewy glow.”
What is the packaging like?
Unlike most facial oils, the Clinique Smart Treatment Oil comes in a plastic bottle. I was initially surprised but I am glad because that makes this bottle extremely travel friendly. You can carry it along with you on your travels and not worry about the glass breaking and oil spilling all over your stuff. The silver cap has a button that acts as a pump to fill up the pipette inside that also dispenses the product.
While the transparent plastic bottle makes it easy for one to see how much of the product is inside, there is a downside to it. The reason why most facial oils come in dark glass bottles is to keep the efficacy of the oils intact. Most oils react to light and might lose their potency and hence the amber bottles in most cases. I keep this bottle inside a drawer to keep it away from light.
Who should use it? When to use it?
Conventional wisedom would suggest that people with oily skin avoid a facial oil. However, this is oil is really lightweight and easily absorbed and hence all skin types can benefit by adding this to their regime. The quantity of oil used would of course, depend on your skin type but even the driest of skins would need no more than 4 drops of oil for their entire face. It can be mixed with your serum or moisturiser to make it more hydrating if you have very dry skin or it can be used by itself.
Ingredients
Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernel (Argan) Oil, Oxycoccus Palustris (Cranberry) Seed Oil, Commiphora Mukul (Guggul) Resin Extract , Hordeum Vulgare (Barley) Extract\Extrait D’Orge, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Extract, Squalane, Tocopherol Acetate, Phytosterols, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, BHT.
What a super impressive list of ingredients! And no added fragrance either. Most importantly, no mineral oil!!! The ingredients in the Clinique Smart Treatment Oil are all known for their moisturising/anti-aging/free-radical-fighting/antioxidising properties and adding this oil to your skincare routine would definitely improve your skin.
The Good?
Everything! From the amazing ingredients to the light texture to the way it adds moisture to my skin to the travel-friendly packaging, the Clinique Treatment Oil is a sure winner. I have been using this since the last two weeks and my skin has really improved.
In the mornings, I use 3 drops of this oil on my face (and 2 drops for my neck) after I tone my face with the Blithe Patting Water Pack and follow it with the sunscreen. Because this oil gives me adequate moisture and anti-aging care, I skip serum and moisturiser. If your skin is dry and you want to use a serum and/or moisturiser, then the oil would come on top of those. Or you could reduce the quantity of oil and use just a drop or two mixed with the serum/moisturiser.
At night, I use the oil directly after cleansing my face. No toner or mist. Just this oil. A couple of nights when my skin was feeling a extra dry, I topped this oil with The Body Shop Drops Of Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask for some added pampering but on most days, it is just this oil.
Though this is an oil, it doesn’t make your face look oily or greasy. It gets absorbed quite fast and gives a lovely, dewy, radiant glow to the skin as you can see in the picture above.
The not-so-good?
Other than the transparent bottle that exposes the oil to light, there are no other cons that I can think of for the Clinique Smart Treatment Oil. It is truly fabulous.
Price
At ₹3,450 for 30 ml, it might seem quite expensive. But when you think about the quantity that you require per application (just a few drops), you realise that one bottle will last you for at least 2-3 months. I have been using it twice a day since the last 2 weeks and my bottle is still almost full!
To Sum It Up
A super fabulous product from the house of Clinique that has come just in time to help our skins combat the cold, dry winters. This is a product I would highly recommend to everyone, especially if you are living in colder places that actually experience a proper winter. The blend of oils in this treatment oils also help with anti-aging so if, like me, you have just very few fine lines, then you can skip your anti-aging serum and moisturiser because this oil takes care of those. Because it doesn’t have any harmful ingredients, you can also use it on the children when their cheeks get super dry in winters. There is no smell/fragrance to this oil and it gets absorbed fast without feeling sticky so the kids wont have an issue with it.
Do you use any facial oils? Have you tried the Clinique Smart Treatment Oil? Do let me know in the comments below….
wow sounds like a great product