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The mouthful that is Clinique For Men Maximum Hydrator Activated Water-Gel Concentrate is a lightweight, hyaluronic acid enriched, hydration serum for men. Keep reading to find out more but get £5 off it at Look Fantastic using my code THOM-R1X
Is this a serum or a moisturiser?
The name is confusing and I’ve been asked a few times if this is a moisturiser or a treatment, but it’s definitely a treatment and unless you’re very oily, would recommend applying a moisturiser over it. It’s designed to deliver both calming and hydrating ingredients into the skin without leaving a sticky residue or causing pore congestion; and it does it very effectively.
If you’re currently relying on a fairly heavy moisturiser to keep you comfortable all day, by adding the Clinique Water-Gel Concentrate into your routine, you might find you need less, or even a slightly lighter moisturiser.
Isn’t this just the Moisture Surge serum repackaged?
If you’re fairly familiar with the Clinique lineup, you’d be forgiven for thinking this is a blue re-brand of the Moisture Surge Hydrating Supercharged Concentrate. The main bulk of the ingredients are the same, but there are different concentrations and balances designed for the thicker male epidermis.
What does it feel like?
The new Clinique For Men Maximum Hydrator Activated Water-Gel Concentrate (I’m getting RSI from typing it) is what I’d describe as a ‘heavy gel’ feeling and is perfectly suitable for all skin types. It’s very smooth and sinks into the skin very easily. You’ll find you have just seconds before it disappears into the skin; it’s a good skincare item when you’re short on time.
How do I apply it?
It’s feature ingredient, Hyaluronic Acid, is a humectant and it works best when there’s water on the skin. So apply this right after you’ve cleansed your face (pat it dry first). The longer your face has to dry, the less effective it will have you run the risk of feeling a little bit of residue as it sits on your skin. By applying it on freshly cleansed skin, it disappears leaving skin very comfortable indeed.
Sweep it over the skin, don’t rub it in. After about 2 minutes, apply your moisturiser over the top. Do not apply this on your eyes, instead opting for a lightweight eye cream designed to treat the very thin skin in that area – here are some of my favourites.
How did I find using Clinique For Men Maximum Hydrator Activated Water-Gel Concentrate?
When I started using this, the weather was still very much springtime and it wasn’t enough for my dehydrated dry-combination skin. I fight dehydration like the plague and even with serums, I need something a bit richer and it just didn’t give enough to the places that needed it. However, as soon as we’ve hit summer, and especially out of the country in really warm weather, this is absolutely perfect and I’ve been used it every day, weather permitting.
It hydrates effectively without skin feeling smothered in product or gagging for more hydration. I also like that my pores didn’t congest which is the risk I always have to take when trying out products.
Inside the gel are bright-blue liquid spheres or ‘liquid sphere technology‘ that are filled with water-binding ingredients, hyaluronic acid and antioxidants that stay fresh, releasing when worked into the skin. The other water binding ingredients include Urea, Sucrose and Aloe leaf water.
Ingredients in Clinique For Men Maximum Hydrator Activated Water-Gel Concentrate
The power of Urea in skincare
Alongisde Hyaluronic Acid, Urea is an outstanding skincare ingredient, and yes, it is what you’re thinking but I guarantee it doesn’t come from where you’re thinking of. It’s naturally found in surface layers of skin and is an incredible humectant and moisturising agent.
Also, if you’re into skincare and see it banded about, pay no mind to talk of Urea being a formaldehyde releaser; in concentrations found in skincare, you’re very safe. You need to drink water to survive but will die drowning in it; it’s the same principle in cosmetic chemical formulations so it helps to look past the hype and skincare myths – sodium hydroxide is another good example of this nonsense.
The base is water, butylene glycol, phenyl trimethicone and propanediol. The butylene glycol, common in most skincare, helps the other ingredients mix into the product; the phenyl trimethicone and propandeiol make up the gel base and control thickness etc.
When it boils down to it, the feel and effect are what most often counts and this feels and keeps my skin great in more humid temperatures. If you’re oily this is a must as will whack up your hydration levels in an instant to help reduce excess surface oil.
Clinique For Men Maximum Hydrator Activated Water-Gel Concentrate Full Ingredients
Water, Butylene Glycol, Phenyl Trimethicone, Propanediol, Sucrose, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Alteromonas Ferment Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water, Algae Extract, Cholesterol, Hydrolyzed Rice Extract, Trehalose, Acetyl Glucosamine, Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate, Sorbitol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Polyaspartate, Caffeine, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hydroxide, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Carbomer, Dextrin Palmitate, Dehydroxanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Benzophenone-4, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Sodium Citrate, Disodium EDTA, BHT, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol, Green 6.
Clinique For Men Maximum Hydrator Activated Water-Gel Concentrate is just £39 from Lookfantastic but use THOM-R1X for an exclusive £5 off!
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