Switching Things Up
Now I know on my skincare post I said I'd never defect to another brand, but my winter skin was shouting for a change so I caved and went to rivals Clarins for some skin TLC. Famous last words ha!
Anyways, I purchased the daily energizers range which is made specifically for younger skin. It's supposed to revitalise the skin whilst ensuring it's clean and moisturised. I did have the cleanser (it isn't pictured as it didn't last long enough to be around when I started my blog, oops).
Of the four products I had, the cleanser and the wake-up booster were the ones I enjoyed using as they had the most incredible smell. Functionality wise, the two have done very little to improve my complexion (not that I was expecting miracles as the products didn't promise any to my surprise) but they smelled so good.
With regards to the cleanser, it's supposed to foam up but I had great difficulty creating a lather with this product. It comes in gel form, and typically me and gels haven't traditionally got along so I wasn't surprised that I struggled with this one. If you had the slightest bit of product on (hand creams, soaps etc) your hands it refused to lather up; even without product on my hands it fell flat on my face. If I was for example removing my make up at the end of the day, even if it lathered on my hands, as soon as it came into contact with my make up it disappeared. Consequently I often had to remove my make up with something else and then use this gel; using up more product than should be necessary.
There isn't really much to say about the wake-up booster (toner) really, it went on and it smelled nice. I didn't have any problems. Just pour onto a cotton ball and lightly tap onto the face, not a problem.
The first think I'd like to say about this cream gel is that it works a treat for combination and oily skin! It mattifies the skin leaving a perfect base for make up application and managed to control my shine during a whole day at university.It's a white gel which is soft to the touch and smooths on like a dream. With this product, a little goes a long way so although for 30ml the price may seem expensive, don't be fooled. A teeny tiny bit is all it takes. The only real annoyance with this product is that is has no SPF so for me, I really disliked wearing it during the day. For me SPF is always important.
The lack of the SPF in the cream gel is what led me to purchase the lotion which does have SPF15; that aside it did very little else for my combination skin. It just made it oily and I even broke out so a big thumbs down for combination skin types. For those that this product might appeal to, it comes with a pump dispenser and I usually needed 3 to 4 pumps to get out the right amount of the lotion (which is white) to cover my face and neck.
Now, this applies to both of the moisturisers I purchased from the range... They smell so bad. If you're a fan of botanical scents then you may like them, but for me the scent was just terrible and it hung around on the skin for quite a while (my boyfriend was just as unimpressed as I, with him moving away from me after I'd applied it before bed.). Now I would have thought that the whole range had a signature scent for all products so I was initially pleased given the scent of the cleanser and toner; how wrong was I! They smell nothing alike sadly.
Given the price points of these products, I was expecting a least a tiny improvement in my skin (I bought them to hydrate my skin as the Clinique when combined with the harsh winter was really drying my skin out) but nothing. My skin had never looked so dull and with regards to moisturising, it still felt tight and uncomfortable so I went back to Clinique and started using Moisture Surge on top (which is what I probably should have done in the first place).
So overall, a not so impressive range from Clarins. I must admit I was expecting better given their reputation for producing cult skin care products. These products definitely won't be ranking alongside Beauty Flash Balm that's for sure.
Well it was a costly mistake, but at least I've learnt it sooner rather than later. I've since reaffirmed my alliance with Clinique and am now stocked up for the forseeable future, phew!
Have any of you had experienced with this particular Clarins line or any of their other products? What did you think?
Kirstie xoxo
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