Wednesday, 7 May 2014

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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