I Gave Up All Other Skincare & Tried Clarins for 10 Days

Clarins recently reached out to me to see if I’d be keen to test out their skincare, with particular reference to their Bright Plus range of products. I was a little nervous I’ll admit, because I’ve only ever used their make-up before, and my skin has been through a lot over the last year. Also, there have been times where my skin has been extremely sensitive to sudden changes in its routine, so I was reluctant to stop everything else suddenly and just start fresh with five new products. The only thing that consoled me was that I’d heard Clarins correctors particularly are pretty good, and I’d also read that if you use skincare products that are all from one brand, you’re less likely to react since they’re formulated to be used together. Furthermore, even though I have combination skin, I often find using combination skin products turns my skin oily in a feeble attempt to balance things out.

Before I talk about my experience and results a little more in depth, check out the photo diary of my results below (and scroll to the end if you’re interested in a giveaway!):

Products used each day:

Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser

Clarins Toner (alcohol free)

Clarins Bright Plus Tri-Intensive Brightening Serum (a dark spot corrector that promotes even tone and glow)

Clarins Bright Plus Brightening Lotion (hydrates, smoothes and evens, also has SPF 20)

Clarins Bright Plus Brightening Revive Night Cream

The Verdict:

Firstly, the sudden switch didn’t give me a reaction, or a break out at all. Despite cutting out all other skincare and adopting five new products, my skin accepted the drastic change incredibly well. I also did not experience an oil imbalance after frequent use.

The most noticeable effect is without a doubt the significant lightening and brightening of the old pimple scars on my face. These are often a really stubborn issue for me so I was really impressed! I noticed my skin tone improve, and definitely saw an added glow. Dented scars seem slightly more plumped too.

The serum combined with the night cream also passed my “flight test” on my recent trip to Milan. For the past two years, long-haul flights have tended to bring out at least two stubborn and painful, sometimes blind, pus-filled zits on my skin without fail, and often a trail of mini blocked pores/bumps too. This undoubtedly is due to the fact that your body loses around 2L of water in a long-haul flight, and dehydrated skin is just prone to ‘misbehaving’. The high altitude really doesn’t help either! So while these two products don’t claim to fight breakouts, they offered incredible long-lasting moisture to my skin’s surface. A great moisturizer and serum is SO important when flying long-haul! I’ve had bad experiences where I brought moisturisers that my skin sucks up really quickly and leaves it feeling dry no matter how much I reapply. I think this over-absorption and reapplying of product could have also been what would causing the breakouts. I applied this Clarins duo twice in 8 hours and the way it deeply moisturized but stayed on the skin was truly fantastic, and also unexpected because it’s not advertised as a long-lasting moisturizer.

Important things to note:

To keep this review 100% transparent and honest, there are five things I need to mention:

1. At the time when I was using this, I had also cut all dairy for about seven days. This is incredibly effective in improving the appearance of your skin, because dairy is filled with hormones and milk is there for baby cows to consume and grow big. We are not baby cows, and those hormones are bad for us. Dairy causes inflammation in the skin (and gut) and even delays the healing of your scars. I find that cutting dairy from my diet helps my skin to take in products better and improves its condition overall. No product will work for you fully if you’re not trying to be better internally too.
2. Two weeks before switching to Clarins, I had a Skin Booster treatment at Renascent Health, which involved injecting a vial of hyaluronic acid under the dermis of my skin through around 500 shots to my face (vlog coming soon). It’s the equivalent to having your moisturizer injected. This doesn’t mean you get to cut your moisturisers out, because the outer surface of your skin still needs moisture. The Skin Booster treatment also doesn’t last forever of course. So while this no doubt affected my flight test and the fact that I didn’t break out during my journey, it doesn’t take the credit for the night cream and serum lasting long on the actual surface of my skin. I also took two Acnevelle zinc tablets pre-flight and added two drops of tea-tree oil to the moisturiser to fight a potential breakout in advance.
3. Whenever I removed my make-up, I used an oil-based miscellar water from another brand to take off the top layer of make-up, then used the Clarins cleanser and toner. I don’t believe this affects the overall skincare effect though.
4. I feel these products are great for people who generally have skin in relatively good condition and who only suffer from an occasional break-out. For those who are more prone to acne that is cystic and frequent, please still consult with your dermatologist as you may need something medical and work on improving your diet before investing in these items, as I only managed to test them on my scarred skin, but not on any actual pimples.
5. This post was done in collaboration with Clarins, but all opinions and content created are my own.

GIVEAWAY:

I’m giving one lucky reader a Clarins hamper that includes:

• Bright Plus Brightening Day Lotion SPF 20. valued on R 830
• Bright Plus Brightening Revive Night Cream. valued on R750
• Bright Plus Tri-Intensive Brightening Serum. valued on R760
• Bright Plus Brightening Body Veil valued R490

TO ENTER:

1. Like the Clarins photo on my Instagram
2. Comment why you need Clarins the Bright Plus range
3. Tag 3 ladies that might like this product

  T&C’s

Only one entry per person

Giveaway open to SA residents only

Competition winner will be announced on Instagram stories on 11 May 2018.

xx