A Surprisingly Brilliant Night Cream

I think I have finally found the perfect night cream for my mush.

It came as a total surprise to me because this cream is one I would never ever have bought myself as it is aimed at dry skin whereas the skin on my face is normal on the cheeks but oily on the forehead and nose.

I usually remove my makeup, wash my face, use some toner and then use a moisturiser.  If I don't tone, I don't moisturise.

I have been toning and using this cream for two weeks now.  It is a fairly rich and thick cream which once massaged in, makes my skin feel nicely moisturised and "normal".  Despite the fact that it is quite rich and thick,  it never makes me feel greasy and I don't wake up with whiteheads and a greasy face in the morning.  It makes my skin feel plumped up and pretty smooth.

The one negative thing I have to report is the smell, it smells like a cream my grandmother used to use..with a slightly citrusy scent.

So, what is this mystery cream?

Clarins HydraQuench Cream!

If you have combination skin and find your skin a bit tight after toning, this might be the one for you.

What are you playing at Clarins?!

I got the Clarins coffret for Xmas and I used up the handcream as I really liked it.  I decided to buy it again because it lasted ages and was pretty good.

Well, check out this brand new bottle of their handcream:

That's a 100 ml bottle..with 50ml of handcream in there..

I haven't been back to the counter to return it because I've misplaced the receipt but even still, that is ridiculous.

I haven't used ANY of it and it's nearly half empty? I know that when you buy cream products like this that they aren't full right to the top but nigh on half full is taking the biscuit!

I don't know if this is just how much Clarins fill their bottles..if it is then I'm sure you're not allowed to say it's a certain measurement when you're clearly selling a great deal less than that amount.  If it's a mistake/bad bunch then that's also just as bad because you'd think that a high end brand like Clarins would have a decent quality control set up going on.

Review: Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel

As one of my many Xmas presents last year I was given this:

This is the Clarins Gorgeous Getaways Coffret (or gift set to you and me).  I found out after Xmas that it retails for £40 as it was in the John Lewis sale for £20 (I got another one, naturally).

I've never really been attracted towards Clarins as a brand before and I always associate it with skincare for older ladies and for some reason air hostesses (it must be all that red).  However, I'm all about opening my mind and this is the second Clarins product I've used (the first being this little gem).

The first product I decided to use from the gift was the Pure Melt Cleansing Gel. Please do note that my tube is not full sized, it's the travel size version.

I was meant to post this review up last night but I got waylaid watching Family Guy and then Pulp Fiction.  I woke up this morning and checked some blog posts out and saw that Sirvinya had recently got the gel as a gift with purchase (GWP).

Anyway, onto the review..

Clarins say  it is "a quick, efficient, deeply comforting rinse-off cleanser with a unique texture that changes from a gel, to an oil, to a milk. At its heart, the ultra-effective yet gentle Marula plant oil."

How did it fare with me? 
I've added the boldness (?) to the bits of the description which I was testing but before I get to that, here's my personal tube:

Is the "unique texture" just a clever marketing ploy?

Have a look at the hands and decide..

Step 1:

Clarins say: "it starts out as a refreshing honey-coloured gel that adheres to surface impurities and make-up.. 

The gel formula as it comes out of the tube.  It's pretty thick and feels like a heavy duty cleanser.  It does have a smell but it's not one which is offensive.  It feels like honey but a fraction less sticky.

Step 2 (featuring Ginormo-claw):

Once you rub the product around your face, it should "melt into a sheer deep-cleansing oil."

I feel it transforms into an oil pretty well, it's not your conventional oil in that you feel super greasy but it's like a semi oil?  You can feel that it is making you clean but it doesn't feel intrusive in the way that some foaming cleansers do.

Step 3:

After rubbing it in you should "add a splash of water and it transforms into a deliciously light rinse-off cleansing milk."

The transformation is complete.  Now you just wash it off.

It's ticked all the boxes so far.

According the Clarins, the end result should be as follows: "skin is left scrupulously clean, velvety-soft and supple so it's perfect for even the most delicate skin types. And because it's packaged in a tube, it's ideal for travelling. (I remember it mentioning something about it being "deeply comforting" so we will add that in too).


Does it do this?
Was my skin left feeling clean and velvety soft? Yes.
Did it feel supple? My skin is pretty supple anyway so I can't comment on this.

Unique texture? Yes, it's the first cleanser/makeup remover I've ever used which goes through three stages.

Deeply comforting? At first I wasn't too sure as my skin felt a bit tight about 20 minutes after using it but I kept up with it and now, after having used it a good few times, I feel that is deeply comforting in that it makes your skin feel nice and clean (as promised).

I should point out that I didn't use this on my eyes because my eyes + liquid removers = hell.  However, I did use it when I was wearing a sheer foundation alone, a thicker foundation and blusher and it cleaned my skin at all times.

Is it really as great as the words suggest?
This product isn't without its problems.

• Firstly, you have to use a fair bit each time, I've only used mine about 4/5 times and the times it's worked best are when I've been generous with it.  However, this also means that there isn't a lot left.
  
• Secondly, you need to build up the usage to get really clean skin, apply a thin layer first and then go to Step 2, apply some more and then go to Step 3.  This will of course vary with how much makeup you're wearing.
• If you need to apply a fair bit, it takes a fair while getting the milk off your face.  When I wash my face I have it in the sink and I hate looking in the mirror because the water trickles down my chin and throat.  You have to be quite consistent in getting the milk off.
  

Purchase?
No.  Despite it having all the good points mentioned above, I wouldn't purchase this for the following reasons:

• The full sized version doesn't look to be cost effective to me, you need to use a fair bit and the full sized version isn't cheap if you take this into consideration.  If the price was reduced, I'd consider it.
  
• I'm a lazy mare and the process of getting the "milk" off your faces takes a while ,especially as it seems to jam on the sides of your nose and under your eyes.
• The fact that you have to apply a fair bit in order to get truly clean doesn't sit well with me.

I'm not saying the actual product itself is bad, it's a very good product and it does what it sets out to do but it could be better, both in how much you need to apply and how much it costs.

Review: Clarins Wonder Perfect mascara

This is yet another post from my vault, I've given up calling it the draft "file" because blue moons show up more frequently than my draft posts.  Do take this into consideration when reading as I've probably made points which are now, no longer contemporary and have either gone down in history or passed by unnoticed by everyone bar me.

Here we go..

I was on my computer a good few Fridays ago "working from home" (read: trying to win a Giles Deacon scarf from the Nibbles Boutique..which has now already been worn by me for about a million years) and Charlotte twittered about Clarins giving away some free mascara and, well.. it doesn't take a genius to figure out what a mascara fiend would do having heard this news. I emailed Clarins on the Friday afternoon and my mascara made an appearance on Tuesday.  That's pretty speedy for a freebie.

Clarins claim it is "A high-glamour mascara which gives lashes incredible volume, length and curl! They are perfectly coated and intensely coloured from the first brushstrokes." 


They go on to say that "lashes are coated in an ultra-flexible film which thickens them from root to tip. They are visibly longer and curled while remaining light and supple. A high concentration of pigments creates an intense colour effect, from the base of lashes, to give a beautiful eyeliner effect. For a flawless make-up result from morning to night."

VOLUME. LENGTH AND CURL. AND CURL. I know I'm not the only one who wants a mascara to thicken and lengthen adequately.  Curl has never really been high up on my list of what a mascara should do but I think maybe now I should think twice..


Practically every mascara out there claims it will give you natural looking fake lashes (if ever there was such a thing) and a lot of them fall flat on their behinds.  My most notorious "false lash giver" is  Benefit's BadGal mascara which did nothing apart from smear everywhere.

So, let's see how we got on with Clarins, which by the way is my first high end mascara (I discount Benefit as being high end for some reason..)

The mascara:

The packaging isn't too standout and almost looks a bit dated.  However, this is only a sample and I saw the full sized product in Debenhams and it is packaged in a rather futuristic and sleek silver packaging with red writing..see it here.

The brush:

It doesn't look like any of the bigger brushes that I've had success with so I wasn't sure it would do anything..however, the coating of the brush didn't go unnoticed by me. It was covered just enough for me, notice how none of the bristles look clumpy yet are still covered enough. I loved the way it was coated properly but so that you could also see the bristles you were working with.

I wasn't holding out much hope for this little beauty at all..I tried it on yesterday and was pretty impressed by how well it performed after one coat.  I tried it out again and I'm still impressed.

Clarins have hit the nail on the head re. mascara consistency if you ask me.  I've always had mascaras which I felt were too clumpy when they came out on the brush so I'd have to be careful when putting it on my lashes, then I'd have mascara which was far too runny and would need a million coats before it showed.  The consistency of this mascara is great, it coats the brush but you can't see any clumps, no clumps on brush means no clumps on eyes.

After applying I did my usual mirror/glasses test and was majorly impressed.  This mascara has managed to lengthen my lashes which is no mean feat as they are pretty long already, thicken them at the base AND give them a killer curl.  I never realised before what a curl could do, my eyes look like little almonds..well chuffed, is I.  I've been using this mascara practically every day since I recieved it and it's nearly finished because the results I get now aren't the same as I got when it was brand spanking new. The eyeliner effect has disappeared slightly but that's my own fault really for using it so much.

I also noticed that it made me look as if I had put eyeliner on too which was great; a time saving mascara.  In my experience, mascaras which claim to thicken and lengthen always make your lashes rock hard so that if you accidentally rub your eye, you take half your lashes away.  This is not the case with this mascara, my lashes were soft and human like all day..

This is how it looked, glasses test has been included as I felt it illustrated the point (and it helps us specky four eyes see what it will look like on a day to day basis)

See, pretty impressive under glasses.  Excuse the mess on the lens, that is NOT lash dandruff (honest!)

 

This is just to show the length you get with the mascara, you can't see the curl too well here but I wanted to show that it holds up to all it promises, hence the million and one shots.

 

There is a minor curl here but that's because the mascara is running out (it took me that long to get a shot). I rambled on about the curl and the eyeliner effect but trust me, it is there. I've never lied to you lovelies before and I don't see what I'd have to gain from lying about this.  You get a mean curl from this mascara before it starts running out.

When I came to take it off I realised just how pigmented it was, I had to use two wipes on each eye to get it all off.  I have never ever had a mascara as pigmented as this one.

There is only ONE drawback to this mascara, I didn't notice it so much yesterday but noticed today that there is a fair bit of transeference onto your under eye area if your eyes get a tiny bit watery.  Most mascaras just flake off but this hangs around, not sure if that's a good or bad thing though.. Also, if you don't let it dry and close your eyes, you get the same thing. However, it was really easy to remove with a damp cloth.  Plus, if you poke yourself in the eye, your eye doesn't sting and go red which is also nice.  Clarins DO make a waterproof version of this mascara but I would like to get a sample of it first methinks just in case they have changed the formula.

Purchase?
Affirmative, chief. I would purchase the full size of this in a heartbeat.  In fact, once I've gotten through my remaining mascaras I think I will purchase this beauty because one coat gives you everyday stunning lashes and more than one gives you night time lashes. RESULT.  I'm super chuffed that for once, a mascara has written a cheque its arse can cash.  The mascara does have an ultra flexible film (no hardness) which thickens lashes, it does make lashes longer and curlier, the lashes are light and supple, there is a high pigmentation and you get the liner effect.    

Clarins, you have done me proud.

Wonder Perfect mascara from Clarins retails at £17.00 and is available in black, brown and blue.  That's quite reasonable for a high end mascara seeing as Maybelline currently have their Pulse Perfection mascara on sale for £14.67...well, it WAS £14.67 but now the PP is priced at "under £10".