Sometimes it’s impossible to know where to start with your skincare. Black heads, blocked pores, blemishes, fine lines, dullness, oiliness? It can often feel line a total minefield out there with every blog, beauty counter and magazine proposing some miracle to cure this and that.

I was a little sceptical of Clinique Smart when it first launched this premium serum was first launched. I have always been a believer of prescriptive skincare used alongside a good foundation routine – using products targeted to a specific concern.

To quote my original article on the Clinique Smart Serum:

Clinique Smart Serum works, in principal, on the cell communication properties of peptides which can be programmed to target damaged/wonky cells and deliver the cocktail of reparative and restorative ingredients.

So basically, if the cell has been damaged by the sun, the sun damage repair element of the cocktail will work. If it’s damaged by dehydration, then the dehydration repair element of the cocktail will work. Now, if the cell is damaged through dehydration but not by sun damage; the sun damage repair element of the cocktail will still be there floating around, it just won’t have anything to do. 

The smart serum has continued to be a favourite of my other half, Chris. He’s very confused by the world of skincare, despite having me on hand. But he’s enjoyed that universal benefits of the serum including a reduction in his enlarged pores as well as a reduction in emerging fine lines. For me it was great for pore unblocking and easing congestion as well as restoring surface hydration.

So what’s new?

Due to the overwhelming success of Clinique’s wonderkind, at the end of last year, they launched two accompanying moisturisers – a day cream with broad spectrum SPF15 and a restorative night cream.

There’s also an eye cream I’ve been testing long term and then an oil which I’ve not really given much of a look-in (I’m still sliding into using oils – Zelens are winning me over on that front lately!).

I’m reviewing the oily/combination formulation day cream and dry/combination night cream – I prefer more intense hydration at night.

Clinique Smart Custom SPF15 Moisturizer

The Clinique Smart Custom SPF15 Moisturizer gives an immediate hydration boost which immediately plumps the surface of the skin and reduces the appearance of finer lines and wrinkles. The SPF15 then reduces photo-damage as any good UVA/UVB protection should. 

There’s also a who concoction of skin soothing and hydrating ingredients such as St. Paul’s Wort, caffeine, sugar soya and murumuru seed as well as whey extract and tamarind. Algae and Plankton extracts also help to repair skin and give it life!

It feels gorgeous on the skin, and despite containing an SPF doesn’t leave a trace on the surface of the skin. It’s very cooling and it leaves my skin instantly soothed and ‘pumped’. The smell is also gorgeous with that almost medicinal scent most Clinique products have, not being masked with artificial ingredients! For me, I needed to use a serum with it to ensure my skin stayed hydrated all day.

Clinique Smart Custom SPF15 Moisturizer Ingredients

wateraquaeau • butyloctyl salicylate • glycerin • polyester-8 • polysorbate 60 • cetyl alcohol • butylene glycol • sorbitan stearate • dimethicone • tridecyl stearate • peg-100 stearate • saccharomyces ferment filtrate • sodium hyaluronate • camellia sinensis leaf extract • astrocaryum murumuru seed butter • tridecyl trimellitate • dipentaerythrityl hexacaprylate/hexacaprate • algae extract • plankton extract • laminaria saccharina extract • tamarindus indica seed extract • sigesbeckia orientalis (st. paul’s wort) extract • acetyl glucosamine • whey proteinlactis proteinprotéine du petit-lait • glycine soja (soybean) protein • centaurium erythraea (centaury) extract • cetyl palmitate • polyethylene • acrylates/c10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer • acetyl hexapeptide-8 • biotin • aminopropyl ascorbyl phosphate • sorbitan palmitate • sorbitan olivate • ethylhexylglycerin • caffeine • tocopheryl acetate • ethylene/va copolymer • sodium polyacrylate • trehalose • ergothioneine • lecithin • hydroxyethylcellulose • sodium benzoate • sodium hydroxide • pentylene glycol • disodium edta • phenoxyethanol • chlorphenesin • yellow 5 (ci 19140) • red 4 (ci 14700) [iln41849]

Clinique Smart Night Custom Repair Moisturizer

Similar ingredients to the day cream, but with a slightly richer texture added hydrating ingredient concentrations. Dimethicone also aids in delivering moisture deeper into the skin whilst you sleep. Again, very soothing, very calming. Lysate, a probiotic, is also used for skin repair along with yeast extract and soy amino acids. 

I found this particularly good for healing any sensitivity caused by shaving. When it’s hot at night, I’d swap this out for something with a more gel texture like The Body Shop Oils of Life, but on a normal night, this sinks into the skin and doesn’t leave me feeling like I’m wearing a ‘mask’ of cream.

Clinique Smart Night Custom Repair Moisturizer Ingredients

wateraquaeau | isostearyl neopentanoate | glycerin | butylene glycol | glyceryl stearate | peg-100 stearate | dimethicone | cetearyl alcohol | tamarindus indica seed extract | biotin | ergothioneine | centaurium erythraea (centaury) extract | sigesbeckia orientalis (st. paul’s wort) extract | caffeine | whey proteinlactis proteinprotéine du petit-lait | glycine soja (soybean) protein | isohexadecane | hydrolyzed soy protein | algae extract | saccharomyces ferment filtrate | acetyl hexapeptide-8 | micrococcus lysate | lecithin | yeast extractfaexextrait de levure | soy amino acids | camellia sinensis leaf extract | astrocaryum murumuru seed butter | glycereth-26 | cetyl alcohol | tocopheryl acetate | acetyl glucosamine | petrolatum | acrylamide/sodium acryloyldimethyltaurate copolymer | cetearyl glucoside | caprylyl glycol | sodium hyaluronate | acrylates/c10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer | sodium benzoate | tromethamine | citric acid | polysorbate 80 | aminopropyl ascorbyl phosphate | hexylene glycol | hydroxyethylcellulose | sodium citrate | disodium edta | phenoxyethanol < iln41450>