So £10 (or just a big well done) goes to anyone of you that can guess where the rather obscure title comes from! (here's a clue, London Boy, Welsh Girl, fall in love and live in Billericay...a story as old as time)
So I don't know about any of you but I have been noticing so many products from Clarins popping up all over the place. Most notably the Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector, cult favourite Beauty Flash Balm and the Lotus Face Treatment Oil, all of which I am now keen as mustard to try.
Before this recent Clarins tidal wave I never really thought to try anything, except perhaps the Beauty Flash Balm, but to me, it just seemed like a really old school brand with very fragranced product that I would expect to irritate my skin, so I didn't really go near it. However this was also how I used to feel about Clinique until I was given a few products to try and consequently fell in love!
So we had a sample sale at work and I was lucky enough to spy these two products.
So as I said I am keen to try a few things on offer from Clarins but due to my dubious feelings towards the fragrance aspect as well as my current holiday purse restraints I couldn't really bring myself to invest incase I didn't get on with the product and had then wasted all that precious cash!
Then I saw these two sample sizes and thought, yes! Let's give those a go and here's my thoughts...
Clarins Gentle Refining Exfoliating Cream £24.50 - As the title suggests this is a gentle exfoliator. It's a lot finer than my Lush Lettuce Face Mask and so great to use on a more regular basis. I have been using this following my Shiseido Extra Gentle Cleansing Foam and it seems to be working really well. I have no irritation despite the subtle fragrance and my skin looks noticeably brighter after use. The only thing, like most exfoliators, is it doesn't foam up much, if at all so I don't find it that easy to spread around my face and seem to use quite a lot. I would advise mixing this in with a foaming cleanser to get a really effective deep cleanse. I don't know if it'll make its way into my 'holy grail' exfoliators just yet but I am a big fan. It's a great option if you want a gentle exfoliator to use about 3-4 times a week and I'd recommend it for most skin types. If you're sensitive I'd advise at least getting a sample and seeing how you get on.
Clarins Water Comfort One Step Cleanser £19 - Unless you've been living under a rock you can't have failed to see the hype around the Bioderma Micellaire Cleanser. This is similar as it's a water cleanser but I don't think it has the oil particles that make Bioderma a Micellaire solution rather than a regular water cleanser, please do correct me if I'm wrong! However, I only ever use these to remove my make up before I cleanse rather than my actual cleanser as I don't feel like my face is ever 'clean' when only using water cleansers. This has a subtle peach fragrance which I actually find very pleasant as it's really soothing and does a great job at removing make up. The only thing I'd say, and the same goes for Bioderma, DO NOT use to remove eye make up especially if, like me, you have very sensitive eyes. I find both these products really sting and I much prefer to use my Boots Botanics Eye Make up Remover as it's so much more gentle and I can actually open my eyes straight after using it rather than squinting out tears for 10 mins! Would I advise this over Bioderma? Probs, but then, I'm not Bioderma's biggest fan, it does the job but isn't particularly different to any other water cleanser I've used and stings my eyes, so for me, it definitely doesn't have everything going for it.
Overall I am really liking using both these products and they have cemented my desire to try the other three I mentioned earlier. I have real confidence in Clarins as a brand now and I think it's good to stick to these 'old school' brands like Estee Lauder and Clinique for skincare as they definitely know their stuff and have years of knowledge to work from.
Have you tried any Clarins products? Any recommendations?
Until the next post!
Love, love, love,
Labels: clarins, clarins gentle refiner exfoliating cream review, clarins skincare review, clarins water comfort one step cleanser
