Clinique’s cream eyeshadows have been through several incarnations. You may remember the Touch Tints (squeeze tube with a narrow tip), and the doe’s-foot-applicator Quick Eyes Cream Shadows (which I swatched here). The Lid Smoothies have a cooling, stainless steel, slanted tip applicator (though you may want to apply these to your lids using your fingertips, a synthetic brush, or even a fluffy brush to make sure you don’t put on too much, and to ensure even application).

You can use the Lid Smoothies alone (as cream shadow), or as a base for powder shadows. You can also blend and mix the cream shades. All 12 of these shades are gently shimmery, and a little goes a long way. As you might have surmised from the name, these are supposed to be crease-proof, with 8-hour wear. (If you’ve tried these on your lids, I want to hear what you think!)

Here are the blended swatches (applied with my fingers):

01 Bit O’ Honey is a shimmery moonlight-beige. 02 Cashew Later is a bit pinker. 03 Sassy-fras is a root beer, warm rosy-purple brown. 04 Gingerly is golden peach. There is no number 5. 06 Cute-cumber is a muted, silvered, mossy green. 07 Pinkgo Biloba is cotton candy pink. It bothers me slightly that Seventh Heaven is shade 08. It’s a rosy shell brown. 09 Born Freesia is a silvery pale smoke blue-purple. 10 Imprompt-blue is a worn, silvery purpled blue grey. 11 Currant Affair is a muted red-purple brown. 12 Lick-orice is a shimmery silver grey-black. 13 Salt and Pepper is a warm, light silver taupe.

To give you a better idea of the colors, I swatched them again (painting a more opaque stripe with a disposable lipgloss brush).

Lid Smoothies are $19.50 each.

I tried on Chunky Cherry — it was a sassy, pretty, sheer red.  More color than it looked like on my arm, but not outside my comfort zone.  (Cherry and Melon were my two favorite shades.)  The product didn’t have a scent, and felt comfortable enough at first, but as it dried/faded away, my lips really feathered.  I haven’t heard complaints from anyone else — everybody seems to love these — so maybe it’s just me.  There could be an ingredient I’m sensitive to.

Just for fun, I also tried sheering one of these out with my fingers.  It sheered out nicely, and I kind of wonder if they could double as blush, in a pinch.

Compared to the Lipstick Queen Chinatown Glossy Pencils, these (1) colors aren’t as bold, (2) don’t require sharpening, and (3) are slightly cheaper. But I don’t get that drying/feathering with my Lipstick Queen pencil.

These look pretty, but (1) I hate click pens, (2) they felt sticky on my arm, and I’m not a sticky-lipgloss kinda girl. If these two conditions don’t apply to you, they’re definitely worth a look.

Clinique Vitamin C Lip Smoothies: Fig-a-licious, Figalicious, Nude-tritious, Nudetritious, Nude-tricious, Nudetricious, Raisin the Bar, Mango-thon, Mangothon, Pink Me Up, Rhubarbie, Rhu-barbie, Goodness Grapecious, Absolute Acai

Clinique also offers fabulous gifts with purchase, and Nordstrom has one starting May 20. With $25 purchase, you get a cute, springy Trina Turk makeup bag, stuffed with Lash Doubling Mascara, Tenderheart lipstick, Blushwear Cream Stick in Rosy Blush, Superfit Makeup foundation, Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, a Colour Surge Eyeshadow duo in Sunburst, aaaaand Take the Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids, Lashes, and Lips.

So in case (like me), you sometimes find yourself in the position of wanting a GWP and not knowing what to buy, I wanted to mention my favorites from the line.

1. High Impact Lipstick – $14 (click here for swatches)
It’s amazing to me that this lipstick is $14. High Impact is fantastically moisturizing and long-lasting (it’s so rare to get both). And it contains SPF 15. Honey Blush is my favorite shade.

2. Creamshaper Eyeliner – $14.50
Lovely, soft, easy-to-apply pencil eyeliners with great staying power. My personal favorite is dark-bronzey-green-brown Egyptian (likened to UD Stash). For cream liner lovers, check out the mousse-like Brush-On Cream Liner ($14.50). Egyptian was a limited edition shade, but you can still sometimes find it at Estee Lauder outlet stores.

3. Colour Surge Eye Shadow Soft Shimmer – $14
I seldom wear just one eyeshadow — I like the combination of a lid color and a crease color — but there is one shadow I’ll wear alone with liner: Clinique Foxy. It’s just such a quick-and-easy, can’t-miss color with very subtle, gentle shimmer.

4. Lash Power Mascara – $14
This is a pretty new offering from Clinique, a flake-proof, smudge-proof, tubing mascara. It’s supposedly immune to anything but warm water — swimming pools, makeup remover, crying — though if you’re bawling at the end of Field of Dreams and rubbing your eyes with a tissue in a devil-may-care manner, you will take it off.

I tried it, and I was impressed to say that my lashes looked exactly the same at the end of the day as they did when I first put it on — but definitely have your Tweezerman lash comb handy when you apply.

5. Quick Eyes Cream Shadow – $15 (click here for swatches)
Whether you’re a cream-eyeshadow kind of girl or just in a hurry in the mornings, Quick Eyes cream shadows are lovely (Truffle is my favorite).

6. Fresh Bloom Eyeshadow – $16.50 (click here for swatches)
These soft, shimmery shades were limited edition for spring, but if your counter still has them, this could be the perfect time to pick up Maple Blossom.

What are your favorite Clinique products?

Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Eyeshadows are $15, with a doe’s foot applicator and a somewhat unwieldy name (meant to evoke a dab-n-go application, I guess). These shadows can be applied sheerly (even very sheerly, by dabbing product onto your fingertips and applying) or more heavily, using a brush or the doe’s foot applicator. I also think they’re meant to replace Clinique’s Touch Tint for Eyes, which were cream eyeshadows that came in a squeeze-tube.

Sparkling Nude is a rose-champagne. Cocoa Shimmer is very warm (cocoa) brown. Sunlit Palm is a bright, mossy green (less olive than Sumptuous Olive). Lucky Penny is a rose-copper. Rock Violet is lilac. Starlit Pink is cotton-candy pink. Truffle is a cool, grey- or taupey-brown; Muffin is its warm counterpart (with just a hint of red). Sea Shell is more beige/nude (less pink) than Sparkling Nude, though the two are similar. All shades are sparkly.
Clinique Cream Eyeshadow: Sparkling Nude, Cocoa Shimmer, Sunlit Palm, Lucky Penny, Rock Violet, Starlit Pink, Truffle, Muffin, Sea Shell, Seashell

These shadows have two different colored powders in a flower pattern (not overspray; the difference appears to go right to the bottom of the pan) — but they’re meant to be used together. There’s no appreciable difference between the two shades, so you can dab your brush wherever it happens to fall. The pigmentation is soft, and very softly luminous. My favorite was Maple Blossom, a grey taupe with definite purple undertones (it reminded me a bit of MAC’s Remotely Grey — anyone with me on that?).

Once I had these four shadows all lined up, I realized how much they reminded me of Guerlain’s spring palette: Exotic Paradise. The shades are softer, certainly, and you can pick individual shades. These shadows are $16.50 each.
Clinique First Blush: Maple Blossom, Tiger Lily, Cherry Blossom, Apple Blossom

Citrus Rose was too bright for me (never thought I’d say that about Clinique), so my favorite color is Honey Blush. The color in the ubiquitous ad with the high heeled shoe is Red-y to Wear.

High Impact lipstick: Honey Blush, Pure Posh, Rosette, Citrus Rose, Plum Nude, Extreme Pink, Peach Pop, Go Fig, Metallic Sand, Sassy Spice, Red-y to Wear, Rose Spectrum, Nude Beach, After Party, Toasted Rose, In a Nutshell, Very Currant, Sunset Glow, Cider Berry, Nearly Violet