Happiness is… (viii): The Clinique Chronicles

I was sixteen the first time I tried Clinique. I received sample sizes as gifts from my best friend on special occasions. Little did I know that he would ask for these from his mom whenever she went to the US; his mom got the full-sized bottles, all the samples were his, to give to me. I married my best friend eight years later. Clinique was only one of the wonderful ways he showed me his love, even at a time we didn’t even know of it yet.

I am now 44. I have been using Clinique for the last 28 years. I rely on Clinique for my skin care and I use their cosmetics on a regular basis. My friends say I look young for my age and I always counter that fat has no wrinkles, but I believe Clinique has had a lot to do with it too. That, and my wonderful husband’s love for me.

I wrote this entry to Shen’s Addictions’ post on the Clinique Real Women Party. I had hoped to be her guest for the party but knowing that others were just as interested as I was, I took a chance that a plain housewife and Nanay (mother) would be just as welcome as the pretty young people I often see in beauty and fashion blogs. Even as the experience would be totally novel and alien to someone who stays at home for the most part of the day, I wanted to step out of my comfort one and see what else the world has to offer.

Fortunately, I was not denied my hopes. Early Thursday evening, I received a phone call from Shen herself informing me that I had been chosen. I tried to be calm on the phone but you should have seen me that time; I was really all hyped up! As soon as I put the phone down, I grabbed it back to speed dial A♥’s number at the office.

Me: Hon, I won! I won!

A♥: I always knew you would, honey.

Me: I won! I won! I won!

A♥: You deserve to win. I love you.

Me: I won! I won! I won! Thank you, honey! This is all because of you! 🙂

And so it came to pass that on November 5, I was one of six guests to join six beauty and fashion bloggers to a night of beauty, fun, talk (lots of it!), good food and hopefully, newfound friendships with these young, beautiful people.

I have a few photos from that night. Shen, bless her kind heart, took many photos of me which, except for a few, will not find their way to this blog, haha. I really enjoyed the fascinating conversations and the company of these young people. I am amazed at how much one can learn when you open your mind and heart to the experience.

The Clinique Real Women Party

Meet my gracious host and new friend, Ms. Lee Shen Gee of Shen’s Addictions.

Kittymama, looking frazzled from the heat, but happy to be there.

Clinique’s skin care products- one of the most reliable brands in the world and my skin is proof of that.

With Ms. Ella, Clinique’s beauty consultant, who taught me the right way to layer on all my creams and magic potions- thinnest to thickest. You always learn something new everyday!

Now meet Ms. Mirabelle Villanueva, Clinique Philippines’ Marketing Manager, with Shen as they flash their gorgeous smiles for the camera!

Sylvanians bring out their charm for Ms. Lauren Dado of I Am Bourgeois and Mira!

The makeover- fun and educational at the same time! (That’s me, still talking!)

I realized I forgot to take Mr. Paolo Maranan’s photo so this would have to do. Paolo is Clinique’s color artist and an accomplished young man in his field.

And this beautiful lady is Ms. Tricia Roxas. She made me lovely and feel lovely that night. 🙂 Thanks, Tricia! (Behind Tricia is Ms. Kay Fidelino, Estee Lauder’s Brand Manager.)

Apparently, at Clinique, even their photographers are cute! Meet Mr. Mike and his dimple. 🙂

Before we headed out to dinner, we took a final shot for posterity. Spot Kittymama in the picture!

Beauty is not all about cosmetics and skin care for real women must eat! And eat we did! This was taken at Kulinarya Kitchen where the group had dinner and endless conversations about everything and anything (including Clinique, of course). We had a wonderful repast thanks to Mira and the Clinique team.

Hours later, after dinner and dessert, and a second dinner (haha!), I still felt pretty cool. But ahh, old people need their sleep. 🙂

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My takeaway from the Clinique Party was more than just the makeover, the great dinner, or the wonderful gifts they sent us home with (sorry, I forgot to take a picture of that, boo). It’s that real women love themselves for who and what they are- warts, pimples, wrinkles, flab and all. I also learned the value of setting a few minutes each day to care for your skin, and knowing this, I am more diligent now in applying what I learned.

Back at home, I laid out my products in a line and studied them intently. (These are just the skin care products. My cosmetics are a whole different matter altogether.) Suddenly, I realized that for a low-maintenance girl, I am quite high maintenance after all! Hahaha!

My favorite products: Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief, Comfort on Call (I love, love, love this!), Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion and Moisture Surge Face Spray Thirsty Skin Relief. Lesson learned: When you moisturize long enough, even leather becomes soft!

I will always be grateful to Clinique Philippines for this experience, and to all the wonderful people who made that night possible for a Nanay like me. Thank you, dear Shen, Mira, Kay, Paolo, Tricia, Ella and all the other kind people (Lauren, Nikki, Sophie, among others, forgive me if my senior citizen neurons fail me at this moment) that I met during those few hours.

Still, if you ask me what really makes a woman beautiful, plain and fat and old as she may be, I would have to answer this: the most wonderful beauty product in the world is the faithful and sincere love of an honest man. I love you always, A♥!