Clinique Pretty Wow, Pretty Now Color Set

There are so many wonderful holiday palettes and gift sets available right now! I've already told you about my Tarte "Light of the Party" Holiday Palette and my Urban Decay/Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette - and today I'm going to tell you about Clinique's Pretty Wow, Pretty Now Color Set!


This gift set is available at a lot of stores, but I purchased mine at Nordstrom when they had a Clinique bonus gift with a $29 purchase (it's sold out there now). So not only did I get the Pretty Wow, Pretty Now Set, but I got an additional set as well (I'll tell you about that one in another post). Best deal ever!!

The Pretty Wow, Pretty Now Set includes:

• Limited-edition All About Shadow Quad (0.17 oz.)
• Cheek Pop in Heather Pop (0.12 oz.)
• High Impact Mascara in Black (0.24 oz.)
• Limited-edition Skinny Stick in Sleek Teak (0.001 oz.) limited edition shade
• Long Last Glosswear in Love at First Sight (0.07 oz.) (pink lilac with silver pearl)
• Take the Day Off Makeup Remover (1.7 oz.)
• Cosmetics Bag

The Cheek Pop blush ($22), High Impact Mascara ($16.50), and All About Shadow Quad ($28.50) are all full-size products. Those three products alone are worth $67 - almost twice the cost of the set. The Take the Day Off Makeup Remover is the travel size ($9.50). Everything else is deluxe sample-sized, but very generous. The set is valued at $100.


The All About Shadow eyeshadow quad contains four coordinating shades. Left to right the palette says:

1. "from limited edition wear everywhere blues palette" - pale white-silver frost
2. "from jammin duo"- a light dusty rose with barely noticeable shimmer
3. "chocolate covered cherry" - a plummy brown-red with barely-there shimmer
4. "from limited edition wear everywhere greys palette" - medium pewter-grey shimmer/frost

It also includes two applicators and a mirrored case with a numbered illustration showing shadow placement. I love these colors! As I mentioned in my post about the UD Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette, I have to be careful about using pinks as eyeshadows - they can make me look as if I have pinkeye or have been crying - not a good look! But fortunately, this pink works for me. I also have to be careful with shimmer, but this shimmer is pretty "micro", so it's barely noticeable except for the highlighter color, which is more of a frost. I have to go easy with that one.


The Cheek Pop blush in Heather Pop is a very pretty plummy rose that I think would work well on most skin tones. Applied with a stippling brush, the color can be applied so that it is sheer, or it can be layered for more color. I like this color a lot, and have found myself picking it up to use as my daily blush. It's a matte blush, which I prefer.


The eyeliner (Skinny Stick in Sleek Teak) unfortunately isn't a favorite. It's a pretty color - sort of a blue-grey - but I found it difficult to apply. It seems to be somewhat dry rather than creamy (I'm used to using liners like Urban Decay 24/7, Tarte SmolderEYES, and Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Eye Crayon), so not only was it difficult to apply, but it was also difficult to blend. Then, even though I set it with eyeshadow, I still had major problems with it smearing and smudging throughout the day. It also didn't last. By the end of the day, it looked like I hadn't put any eyeliner on at all. That said - someone who doesn't have issues with liners staying put might not have any problems with it.


The Long Last Glosswear is a really lovely shade of pink, but when I saw how shimmery it was, I was worried. I knew that if it was glitter, it wasn't going to be something that I wore very often. I have a couple of Clinique lipsticks that are such pretty shades of pink - but they both have a lot of glitter in them. I wish Clinique would stop putting glitter in all of their pink lip products! I prefer a cream, but I would even put up with a little shimmer. There's nothing I hate more than having big chunks of glitter stuck all over my lips. And unfortunately, that's exactly what was left when this gloss wore off. Stop it, Clinique! Women over the age of 13 don't want glitter on their lips!


The High Impact Mascara in Black is a decent mascara. If you read this blog regularly, you know that I have issues with mascara staying on my lashes, sometimes even with a primer. This mascara goes on nicely over my Shisheido Nourishing Mascara Base, but after a few hours, I find it disappears from the tips of my lashes. That's not unusual for me. Topping it with a coat of waterproof mascara helps tremendously. I do like the brush - it happens to be my favorite brush shape for mascara.


Take the Day Off Makeup Remover is da bomb! I love this stuff! One gentle wipe and even my waterproof mascara is gone! I have sensitive skin and wear contacts, so I usually just use whatever carrier oil I have on hand to remove my makeup (jojoba, sunflower, grapeseed, etc.). The oil will remove my waterproof mascara, but I have to let it soak a bit, and then I have to be sure to wash all of the oil off my lashes. This makeup remover works so much better, I think I might continue to buy it! I'm a fan!


I also love the little pink and purple toiletry/cosmetic bag. It's a pretty decent size and is zippered, so you don't have to worry about anything falling out. And of course, I love the colors!

The Clinique Pretty Wow, Pretty Now Set is currently available at Sephora, Dillard's, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and other department stores. But whatever you do, don't buy it from the Clinique website - for some reason, it's $85 instead of $39!

UPDATE 12/16 - Macy's has this on sale for $29.50, with free shipping!!

Have you purchased any gift sets yet this holiday season?