July 5, 2012

Musings of the Day: What Was Your First High End or Counter Moisturizer?

Does anyone remember Clean & Clear Moisturizer (not even sure they make it anymore?)? I remember using it in high school. It had a tingly sort of feeling going on my face and supposedly had an oil-free formula but my face somehow still looked oily after using it.

I was trying to remember my first real counter moisturizer this morning.

Do you remember yours?

I can’t recall how I was introduced to it. It was a sample of some sort but Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion was def my first real “high end” moisturizer.

I used it through much of my youthful good years.

Hey, it was cheap and it was near 7 oz in size what’s not to love?

I think maybe I got a gift with purchase when purchasing a fragrance (Happy maybe?) from Clinique and that’s how I discovered the moisturizer.

But I can’t honestly remember anything “high end” or “counter” prior to Dramatically Different Moisturizer but can remember tons after so I guess it was a gateway drug of sorts ha!

After typing this out I realized I want to re-try it. I wonder if it’s as great as a remember it to be. I remember it was light, absorbed easily, and had just a enough hydration to get me through the day…!

What about you?

What was your first higher end or counter brand moisturizer?

How old were you?

Do share!

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Jessica Diaz

    Mine was the DDML from Clinique too! I think I was 12.

    • the Muse

      I think I was 17? I wish I can remember LOL seems so damn far back!

    • Jean Benacchio

      I loved the old Clinique.. I’ve been wearing it since I was in my 30’s .. I’m 63 now.. and look great.. but … I bought the new Clinique Moisturizing lotion… I returned it. It’s much too dry feeling. I’m now looking for an alternative…. any suggestions?

  • Jessica W

    Mine was a Clinique one as well but it was the Acne Solutions one. I was 15 or so. That whole line is so so drying and I don’t think I would touch it with a ten foot pole now!

    • the Muse

      aw why does everyone think acne means that you have oily skin and need to dry it out!?

  • Littlecreek

    Mine was Clinique too! I think there’s goin to be a lot of people who tried this first due to the large size and affordable price. I didn’t try it until college. It was my first time ever going to any sort of “counter” in a dept store. Very big moment for a small town girl, I had no idea what I was doing. I still go back to it occasionally during winter when I don’t need SPF as much. It’s still a good basic moisturizer.

    • the Muse

      I swear I want to try it again Brooke! Been years since I tried it!

  • K.B.

    Estee Lauder’s Clear Difference Oil Control moisturizer, and I was in 9th or 10th grade.

    I now swear by Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel to the extent that I can’t see myself using any other moisturizer regularly, especially after my failed attempts with mattifying moisturizers this summer. Clinique has really impressed me with their skincare.

      • Kaitlin

        Muse, I would definitely recommend the clinique gel over the lotion for you or pretty much anyone under fifty. The lotion can be too much moisture for most and actually be overwhelming to skin. Te gel is especially great for oily skin, I use it everyday 🙂 Good alternative to moisture surge if you can’t find room in your finances.

  • Rachel

    Same here! Although it might have been the gel one? I am not sure. I still like clinique moisturizers. 🙂

  • Comrade Garlic

    Bain de Soleil Orange Gelee was my first, I used it pretty much every day in elementary school. Sometime I moved on to Oil of Olay with SPF, then L’Oreal Futur-e with SPF (surprised to find out that is still around).

    For high end it was one from Fresh, which they haven’t made for years. It was when they first branched out into skincare. But I still used Olay or L’Oreal for day because of the SPF.

    I just realized I’ve been using and SPF on my face for most of my life.

    • the Muse

      I used an olay seven essential one when I was like 14? what I was thinking was beyond me!

  • AmandaM

    DDML from clinique for me too…but I didn’t start until I was around 20. I don’t remeber using much skincare prior to that except for Liquid Neutrogena cleanser and Seabreeze Astringent. Holy Mother of Pearl that Seabreeze stung my face! Yargh!

    • the Muse

      LOL seabreeze! I swore to the skincare gods that stuff was amazingzballz!

  • TLE

    Haha, it’s not high end, but I remember when I was like 15 I used Bag Balm because Shania Twain used it on her face.

      • Chynna

        Oh my gosh, I couldn’t allow Bag Balm near my face. That stuff smells!

        • TLE

          Yeah, it wasn’t good….but I figured it would make me look like Shania!!! 🙂

    • Nat

      OMG bag balm is *the stuff* to use when you are super dry. When I was a teenager I went through some sort of dermatitis phase on my face, and it looked all flakey and gross. Bag balm was the only thing that worked! Thankfully I haven’t needed it much since then lol

  • christmas

    mine was the tea tree oil one from the body shop I think (or it was a garnier one idk). My mom always emphasized moisturizing our skin even though oily skin and acne ran in my family, because pimples look better than red/flaky pimples and skin! I’m happy I learned it because I’ve been moisturizing since as long as I could remember!
    anyway this is funny because I found a bottle of the tea tree oil moisturizer that I used before I went on accutane last year and used it this morning (because the humidity is still making me shiny) and it worked great as a makeup primer! haha definitely works better than it did before acne.

    • the Muse

      I wish I could say my mum was the one that introduced me to moisturizer but she’s such a no nonsense lady, no fuss, no makeup, etc…so I kinda had to discover the joys of beauty all my own ;D!

  • Steph.

    That’s funny, the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion was my first one too, but it was because it was what my Mom used, so that was what she let us use too.

  • Ruth

    I was a late bloomer. I bought clinique moisturizing gel at 30, previously used mary kaye facial lotion. I was on va-ca and ran out and tried the clinique and like the muse, it was a gateway drug to the makeup counters =D

    • the Muse

      ruth, girl, I didn’t even realize you were in your 30’s!

  • Angel

    Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion for me! I think I was about 12. I’ve had super sensitive skin my whole life, and the drug store brands I tried before Clinique made me break out in rashes. My mom uses Clinique and Lancome, so she let me use some of her moisturizer, and it surprisingly didn’t irritate my skin at all!

  • Lauren

    Mine was DDML as well. I started using it this past December because my skin started getting really dry and using a moisturizer on my face wasn’t something I was taught when I was younger, I sorta discovered the need for skincare on my own since my mom just uses whatever she can find to clean and moisturize her face, and being 17 at the time, I didn’t really see a use for skincare until you’re at least a lot older. I found it worked very well and I had good luck with it until I switched brands for my skincare (I have to use the skincare system from bareMinerals for my work and so far it’s wonderful!)

  • Alanna

    Ummm hmmm I think it was a Lush (does Lush count?) one when I was 15 or 16? My mom and I had discovered them on a trip (I think one of our daytrips to Toronto). I thiiiiink it was enzymion. I got my first bar of coalface n that trip too, as well as the tea tree toner, and they worked so well! I think I threw out my load of proactive rubbish the next month, that stuff wreaked havoc on my poor sensitive skin.

  • Alex J

    The Clinique Acne Solutions clearing moisturizer,when I was 12 to 13.I would never touch it again though, the benzoyl peroxide dried my skin out so bad, I had to use Vaseline Cocoa Butter, wich only added to the acne problem. 🙁

  • Rebekah

    Unfortunately for me, no one ever taught me to moisturize as a girl! I didn’t start using any kind of moisturizer until I was into my 20’s! Blasphemous, I know! My first counter moisturizer was Origins A Perfect World. I’ve since moved on since it was not right for my crazy combo skin…now I’m using their Make A Difference and it is heaven on my face!

    Now I am like Crazy Moisturizing Lady and have even convinced the MEN in my life to use SPF and moisturize!

    I used Proactiv but I’m sure that the “lotion” in that is SOO not moisturizing!!!

  • Tinkibell

    My introduction to high end products was also the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. (I use the DDM Gel these days)

    I also have a fantastic, and very special memory with my first purchase. I was 19 and visiting my favorite Aunt and Uncle and cousins in England. My uncle worked for Kodak and they lived just outside of Windsor (in Ascot) for a little over 10 years.

    My Aunt took me to Harrods and to the Clinique counter for my first “adult” make-up and skin care purchases. I still have the gorgeous, VERY nice and very large makeup bag that came filled with large samples as my gift with purchase.

    That began my love affair with many Clinique products. As someone with rather sensitive and very pale skin (who only uses products NOT tested on animals) Clinique has been a godsend! To this day, 20 years later my makeup bag is 98% Clinique and thanks to the soft colors and fantastic skin care line I am always being told I look like I am in my mid-TWENTIES!

    But it is still that first trip to one of the worlds most famous stores with my favorite Aunt and those first few purchases that remain my favorite!

    PS
    I thank my Aunt every time I see her for my much younger appearance!;)

    • the Muse

      aw that was such an awesome story Tink! Your aunt sounds lovely ;-D

    • chase

      hey abby! it’s STILL pink my dear. very lovely but smells like toilet paper. i use it in the winter time. sold at walmart. 🙂

      • chase

        sorry mel. i said ‘abby’. i was partially reading abby’s post below. oops. 😉

  • Abby

    Mine was Clinique’s DDMG at age…21? 22? I thought it was a huge splurge considering I had never paid more than $10 for a facial moisturizer before. Still, I remember thinking it was DA BOMB (until I had to admit that my dry skin needed something way heavier)

  • Carly

    Mine was the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizer too! I think I was 25 when I bought it, along with their under eye cream too.

  • meghan

    I’ve never not used drugstore moisturizer! But I’m still bummed about a Clean and Clear moisturizer that was DC. I’m not even sure it was supposed to be used as a moisturizer as it was really high in salicylic acid and it came in a smaller than usual bottle. But I definitely used it as a moisturizer and it was AMAZING in the summer, it was the only thing that didn’t make my face sweaty and oily right after application.

  • Carrie

    I remember using a moisturizer from The Body Shop. It was probably pretty good, but since I combined it with Noxema( which BTW I used to leave this on for hours as a mask), I know my skin was just screaming. I remember getting the Clinique moisturizer when I was about seventeen. I also learned then how to take care of my skin, thank you God.

  • Ryou

    I’m sure mine was a Kanebo Blanchir Emulsion & Gel. Dude, that was expensive, and sadly didn’t do much for me. >:

  • Rachel

    Mine was Dermalogica’s Active Moist. I’m running out of day moisturiser, and I think I might try Clinique’s DDMG because of the positive comments here!

  • intheflowbaby

    Mine was Clinique, I got the whole set, soap, astringent and that yellow moisturizer. Honestly hated it, didn’t return until they got moisture surge. Now more than half of my skincare are from Korea & Japan.

    • the Muse

      ame here intheflow, I notice more and more of my day care is Korea or Japanese.

  • LaLa

    Nivea! Lol I’m Mexican so that was the traditional moisturizer my mom and grandmother used growing up so they said it was the best! Even though its too heavy for your face and sooooooo thick it says for face and body!!! 🙂 yay no sunscreen!

  • LaLa

    But I used Estée Lauder daywear! I didn’t like the smell scents irritate my skin but my skin built up a tolerance to it, lol I guess that’s good! I was 19, was using Nivea for too long!

  • Fuu

    Shiseido Pureness line was my intro. Still love the make-up removing wipes from it. Great line for oily skin types.

  • Rebecca

    My very first was a cheap moisturizer from Neutrogena, but my first high end is the same! I went to the counter about 6 times to get samples that would last me months before I actually purchased the bottle! 🙂

  • Southern Gorgeous

    I don’t think I will ever use another moisturizer other than the DDML {Okay, I lie, I really want to try Philosophy’s Hope In A Jar this winter.} I used it before I had acne, and I use it now with my adult acne. It does not disturb it and gives me the moisture I need. I get large jar, but I think I will get the super duper size from Sephora when this one runs out!

  • D-tan

    Clinique DDML like a lot of the people so far! I started using it at 15 since my mom used it and took me to the department store to get my skin type checked out. I stopped using it for a few years and went back to it late last year. My skin has definitely improved a lot and can’t see myself using anything different again… at least for awhile anyways!

  • Dannie

    My first counter moisturizer was Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. I love everything about it except that it doesn’t have any SPF, so I use it at night. My favorite day moisturizer is Origins A Perfect World SPF25.
    I love the entire Origins A Perfect World skin care line.

  • yuvee

    Mine was DDML too! I remember reading a whole 2-page magazine spread on how awesome it is and decided to get the whole 1-2-3 step for my 17th birthday. Think I went through 3-4 bottles before moving on to their Moisture Surge range.

  • Sara E.

    My first I think was Vinefit from Lancome. It great for my combo skin when I was 13/14 and smelled great. Too bad next time I run out I head to the Lancome counter and they tell me that it has been discontinued and so they try to sell me the most expensive anti-aging moisturizer they carry. I guess I was a mature looking teenager 🙂 Needless to say, Lancome hasn’t been my first choice for skincare since then.

  • Amber Zionkowski

    I love the Dramatically Different Gel formula. I have combo oily skin and it is just the right balance. The “lotion” version is just too much for my skin.