Travel Size Skin Care - Clarins

So, a little while ago I wrote this post all about the benefits of sampling skin care before buying and as I’ve mentioned before, after trying lots of products from different brands I ended up buying some new bits from Clarins, who had a promotional offer going on at the time where you could choose four items from a range of travel size skin care products as a free gift when spending over a certain amount (I think it was around the £40 mark). Why are you only showing us three products then, you ask? Well it’s simply because apart from the three I had already chosen, I didn’t feel that I was in need of any of the other products on offer, so the nice lady let me have two gentle refiner exfoliating creams instead, which I’m about to share my thoughts on, along with the other products that I chose!

 

Gentle Refiner Exfoliating Cream with Microbeads. I actually love this exfoliating cream, it’s non abrasive yet still does a great job of making your skin feel baby smooth and refined. It’s formulated for all skin types and I use this twice a week as instructed. This product also claims to tighten pores, which I can’t really say is something that I’ve noticed, however that’s not the reason I use an exfoliator and it certainly doesn’t clog my pores so for that reason I would definitely repurchase this. At full size (50ml) it retails at £25, so considering the travel size I received is 30ml, plus the fact that I got two, I think makes this a deal in itself!

HydraQuench Intensive Serum Bi-Phase. I can take or leave this one, I think serums in general may possibly be more effective on normal to dry skin rather than on skin that verges on the oily side like mine. I certainly haven’t noticed that it’s too heavy or that it clogs my pores like some extremely hydrating moisturisers do, but I also haven’t noticed that my skin is any more hydrated – probably because it really doesn’t need to be. My thoughts on this product are pretty much summed up by the expression ‘meh’ as I really haven’t noticed any difference at all since using it. Clarins claim that this is formulated for all skin types, however I can’t help thinking that it may be more effective on those who suffer with dry or dull skin. I can’t say I’m a fan of serums in general as I don’t feel they offer anything for my skin type. The full size version of this retails at £42 for 50ml, not a purchase I’ll be making any time soon. Those of you with combination/oily skin, what are your thoughts regarding serums? As you can tell, I’m yet to be convinced by them.

Water Purify One-Step Cleanser with Mint Essential Water. As you can see, I’ve nearly run out of this. I have put my trusted Bioderma on hold to try this cleanser out and while I do thinks it’s a fabulous product – it’s gentle, it takes my makeup off easily, it smells like minty amazingness, it also removes eye makeup easily… at the end of the day it does everything my Bioderma does. But that’s where it ends, it doesn’t offer me anything more. Unlike Bioderma it is aimed specifically towards combination or oily skin and it is great for these skin types, but any beauty buff will tell you that Bioderma works to perfection on all skin types anyway. In a nutshell, I love this just as much as I love my Bioderma – they are on the same level in my eyes, and that level is way up there. However this retails at £20 for 200ml, whereas I can buy 500ml of Bioderma for £15. You don’t need to be a mathematician to figure out which one I will be repurchasing when this pup runs out.

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Review: Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil

 

 

If you watched my Current Beauty Favourites video you will have seen me mention this lovely face treatment oil by Clarins for oily/combination skin. In the video I mentioned that I would have never thought to use an oil for my face, especially seeing as I have combination skin with an oily T-Zone, however when looking for a few new bits of skincare I happened to try a sample of this and loved it.

I have been patting this into my face and neck every night for a couple of months now and it really has worked wonders for my complexion, my red patches appear more balanced and my oily T-Zone is well under control. Considering I’m living in Dubai where the heat and humidity can really play havoc with my skin, this product has helped out ten fold in keeping oil production balanced, which of course means less of those nasty spots and blackheads, hurray!

As a side note, I just have to add that this oil smells amazing and I get that oh so lovely feeling of luxury when applying it. It’s very moisturising yet soaks into the skin a treat. At £32 this is a little pricey, however Clarins provide free samples of their products so I would definitely recommend giving this a try before you buy, which is exactly what I did. If like me you hadn’t previously thought of trying a treatment oil, you may well be pleasantly surprised!

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Review: Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser

 

A few weeks ago in my sampling the goods post I mentioned that I was on the hunt for some new skin care and the main item I was after was a cleanser, but not just any old cleanser – one that was aimed towards combination/oily skin but that did not over dry my face. Not a lot to ask for (you would think) however my search seemed to be endless, until I found this gentle foaming cleanser with tamarind and purifying micro-beads from Clarins. I must admit when I picked up a sample of this product I didn’t hold out much hope, foaming cleansers are usually too astringent on my skin but I thought I’d try it out anyway and I was very pleasantly surprised! So much so that after a week I went out and bought the full sized bottle which at £18 I consider to be fairly mid range on the skin care price scale.

I’ve been using this for just over a month now both on a morning and night and I love how it feels on my skin, it has a luxurious creamy consistency which lathers up a treat and the micro-beads are almost unnoticeable. After use my skin feels squeaky clean yet moisturised at the same time, I would highly recommend this cleanser for anybody with combination to oily skin especially if you find that cleansers aimed at this skin type are often too harsh. I’ve definitely noticed that my complexion is a lot more balanced than it was previously. The bottle is also fairly large considering you only need a pea sized amount of the product which is a bonus as it will last for ages. I can definitely see myself repurchasing this after it runs out!

 

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Sampling The Goods



Recently I’ve been on the hunt for some new skin care and instead of jumping in full force and blowing my pennies on products that I don’t know will work for me, I decided to visit a few beauty counters to pick up some samples. I’m always dubious when speaking to sales assistants as I always think they are going to give you any old spiel just to sell you their products, of course they are biased and I’m so easily seduced into buying beauty products that in my case their job is quite often done for them. That’s why this time I really wanted to try out various brands in my hunt for perfect skin, well all I can say is I’m glad I did because as it turns out I didn’t rate any of the products that I tried, bar one (more on that later).

When explaining my skin type I specified that I have combination skin (normal with an oily T zone) and that a lot of products that are formulated for this skin type can be drying on my face. Every counter that I visited claimed that their products would not do this...and guess what happened! This is why I believe trying before you buy is essential when it comes to skin care, everybody’s skin is different and you just can’t be sure of how your skin will react to the product, what works wonders for your best friend may bring you out in a horrendous spot fest (nice) or dry your skin to within an inch of its life!

The one product that I did like was the Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil for oily to combination skin. I patted this on at night after using the Clarins Extra-Comfort Anti-Pollution Cleansing Cream which I thought was okay but no different to a lot of other cleansers that I’ve tried. After using the oil I would wake up with baby soft smooth skin in the morning, I love this stuff and I definitely need to purchase the 30ml bottle. I never would have thought to try an oil on my face due to the fact that I struggle with spots, however the product claims to have rebalancing qualities and this certainly seemed to be the case for me.

So those are my reasons for sampling the goods, you may find that you dislike a product that at first glance looks perfectly suited to your skin, or you may discover something that you never would have thought of trying. I’m still on the hunt for the perfect skin care regime, so do let me know if you have any suggestions for me to try out next!

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