Friday Favourite - Clarins Gentle Refiner Exfoliating Cream

My Friday favourite this week has to be the Clarins Gentle Refiner Exfoliating Cream. This exfoliator is by far the best exfoliator that I've ever used, and I have to say that my skin has improved so much since using it.

The Clarins Gentle Refiner Exfoliating Cream retails at £24.00 and it is available at any Clarins counter and also the Clarins website.

Here is a little bit of information about the product:
"A rich cream formulated with two different types of microbeads - one exfoliates, the other purifies. Lifts impurities and dead skin cells and tightens pores. Contains soothing Mimosa Tenuiflora extract. For softer, smoother, deeply cleansed skin."

Recently I have found that PanOxyl makes my skin really dry, to the point where it's sore and flakey. I sometimes feel like my skin is so tight I cannot move my mouth. I can usually deal with dry skin but it was getting to the point where it was affecting the way my makeup looked. My foundation would stick to my dry bits and as you can imagine, it really did not look right. I decided to use the Clarins exfoliator on my dry skin. I didn't expect it to do much because my skin was so dry but I was completely amazed with the results. My dry skin had disappeared and my skin felt so soft, it felt like my skin had changed within the space of 5 minutes. I am now able to use my wonderful PanOxyl every day without worrying about dry skin. PanOxyl is such an awesome spot cream and I would recommend it to anyone, I just don't like how it causes severe dry skin.

It is recommended that the exfoliator is used once or twice a week. It can be used on the face and neck and the eye area must be avoided. I apply this to my face using circular motions, leave on for around 5 minutes and then wipe away using my Liz Earle cloth.

Here is the lovely Clarins exfoliator...

I love love love this exfoliator! It's just so lovely. It's lightly scented, the microbeads are just the right size and only a small amount is needed.

If there is one product I would highly recommend buying, then this is it. It's fab!

:D

Clarins HydraQuench Tinted Moisturiser

Yesterday I bought the new clarins hydraquench tinted moisturiser. This is exclusive to Debenhams at the moment but I presume that it'll be available at others places sometime soon.

Here's what Debenhams say about the tinted moisturiser;
"A collection of 6 hydrating and radiance boosting day creams, with a subtle powder and rose fragrance, that glide effortlessly onto the skin to deliver an incredibly natural, healthy looking glow, with just a hint of sheer colour."

The tinted moisturiser is available in 6 different shades;
01 - 'Naturel'
02 - 'Beige'
03 - 'Peach'
04 - 'Blond'
05 - 'Gold'
06 - 'Caramel'

The shades appear to be really dark but don't be put off if you have a fair complexion. I am really pale and can never find a foundation to match my skin tone but 01 was fine for me. When the SA tested 01 on the back of my hand it looked really dark but once she'd fully rubbed it in, it looked fine.

Here's the tinted moisturiser...

It's important to know that only a pea-sized amount is needed. You literally need the amount shown in the above picture.

A swatch...

As you can see, the tinted moisturiser spreads far and it just shows you how little you actually need. The moisturiser looks really dark and you'd imagine it to look horrendous but once rubbed in everywhere, it looks lovely.

Here's before...

And after...

My final thoughts...

The Good:

• The tinted moisturiser gives you such a nice golden glow. It would be great for taking on holiday.
• It smells divine, I couldn't believe how nice it smelt! My foundations all tend to have a chemically smell so it was nice to apply something to my face that didn't smell like a chemistry lab. The tinted moisturiser smells like a mixture of flowers and fresh water.
• It makes your skin feel so soft and I felt like I had no product on my face. 
• You only have to use a tiny amount which means one bottle of the tinted moisturiser would last you a very long time!
• The tinted moisturiser is available in many different shades which means there is something for everybody. 

The Bad:

• The tinted moisturiser retails at £27.00 which is pretty expensive. There are cheaper options available but I don't know if they'll be as good.
• The tinted moisturiser provides no coverage so I probably wouldn't recommend it to those of you who like a medium or full coverage. 
• It's exclusive to Debenhams at the moment, it'd be better if it was available at Boots too, handy for those who have a Boots advantage card. 

I adore the Clarins tinted moisturiser, it's such a lovely product and I can see myself using this daily. I only intended to use this whilst on holiday but I really can see myself using this everyday. I was a bit unsure about buying this at first as it doesn't provide any form of coverage but to be honest, I actually think that the tinted moisturiser makes my skin look really nice. Even if it doesn't cover my little imperfections. 

Hope you liked this post!

:D

Clarins Daily Energizers

As many of you already know, I recently bought the Clarins Daily Energizer set from boots. Daily Energizers is a new collection of skincare that is designed for people who are in their late teen's and twenties. I also asked a Sales Assistant if this collection could be used by somebody younger than 18 and she said yes. She basically said it's for people who want to start looking after their skin in a simple and easy way.

The set is £19.50 and it contains: 30ml Cleansing Gel, 30ml Daily Energizer Wake-Up Booster, 30ml Daily Energizer Cream. These all come in a small Clarins bag.

If you want to see the set for yourself then check out my other blog post, Clarins Daily Energizer Set

I adore this set, it comes in a little bag which would be great for storage or maybe taking on holiday. And the products are a good enough size. I didn't expect the products in the set to be huge as this is just a starter kit, but I'd say that the products would last you around 2 weeks. Which gives you enough time to decide if you like the set or not. I've seen a lot of brilliant reviews about this new skincare collection and I have to say that I agree with all of these positive views.

The Daily Energizer Cream in this set is also full sized and I imagine that this will last a very long time. You only need a tiny amount when you use this as it spreads quite far. The first time I used it, I made the mistake of using too much so ended up washing it away. As a guideline I'd suggest to use a pea sized amount.
The Daily Energizer Cream is worth £19.50 so considering the whole set is £19.50 then this is excellent! The cream is by far the best product in this kit, it smells divine, doesn't leave you with an oily feeling on your skin and it leaves your skin feeling as soft as ever! I never used to be able to use any type of moisturiser as they all tended to break me out in spots but this is the first time I've ever used a moisturiser that hasn't done this. All the products in the set are specifically designed to give you blemishless skin so I had high expectations, luckily all the products lived up to my expectations.

The Daily Energizer Wake-Up Booster is also amazing! I love applying this in the morning as it instantly makes me feel awake. It's definitely come in handy this week when I've been up at 5 in the morning! I apply this to a cotton wool pad and then wipe over my face, I love this because it's quick and easy, it takes no more than minute! You'll notice a small coldness when you apply it, it's not an unpleasant coldness as all, it's just a nice, refreshing coldness. Again it smells just as lovely as the cream. All the products in the set have the same scent, it kinda reminds me of oranges so if you're not a fan of oranges then I probably wouldn't suggest for you to buy it.

The Cleansing Gel is really good too. I usually wear quite a lot of make-up on my face and I thought that the cleansing gel wouldn't be strong enough to take off all my make-up but how wrong was I! The cleansing gel is clear, lightweight and a minimal amount is needed. The amount you have to use will also vary depending on if you're wearing make-up or not. I never thought that the cleansing gel would remove all of my make-up but to my surprise, it did! Once you apply it to your face you'll notice that your skin tightens a bit, it's not an unpleasant tightness, it just feels like you've got a mask on. I tend to leave the cleansing gel on my face for 5 minutes so that it sinks deep into my pores. I remove the cleansing gel from my face by using a Liz Earle muslin cloth and warm water.

Using the set in the correct order:
First use the Cleansing Gel.
Secondly use the Daily Energizer Wake-Up Booster
Lastly use the Daily Energizer Cream

Here's the whole Daily Energizer collection:

Daily Energizer Cleansing Gel - 75ml - £10.50

Daily Energizer Wake-Up Booster - 125ml - £15.00

Daily Energizer Cream - 30ml - £19.50

Daily Energizer Cream-Gel - 30ml - £19.50

Daily Energizer Lotion SPF 15 - 30ml - £19.50

This is such a good wonderful collection because it shows people that they don't need a million and one products if they want to achieve good skin. I know that If I had to apply 10000 different products to my face then I'd probably end up getting bored of doing it. These products are simple, effective and are really convenient. I'm so impressed by this line of skincare, it's fab, I love it and I shall continue to buy it!

My sister, who's 14, is also using one of these starter sets, so once she's used it for a long period of time, I'll do an update and tell you what she thinks of it. 

As far as I'm concerned, so far so good! 

If you're interested in buying any of these then click on the link; Boots - Clarins

Hope this was helpful!

:D

Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up Remover

I have been using Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up Remover for over a month now and I have to say that I'm really impressed by it. Before Clarins, I used Nars Eye Makeup Remover, this again is also good but I went through one of these a month and at £18.00 it was kinda pricey. Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up remover is £16.00 so £2 less than Nars and I know some of you may be thinking that there isn't that much difference but there really is. The difference is that Clarins lasts for about 2-3 months which is good considering I had to buy Nars every month. I've probably got just over half left in my bottle of Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up Remover so It will probably last me for another month and a bit. I also wear quite a lot of eye makeup so would probably use more than someone who doesn't wear a lot of eye make-up.

Here's what Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up Remover looks like...

What Clarins say about this eye make-up remover:
'Firstly, the cleansing translucent phase melts away eye make-up using Volatile Oils. Secondly, Cornflower and Rose Extracts soothe, soften and moisturise. Doesn't sting even the most sensitive eyes and is ideal for contact lens wearers. Dermatologist and ophthalmologist tested.'

The remover itself is lovely, it doesn't leave you will an oily feeling on your eyelids and it doesn't have that toxic smell which you find with other eye make-up removers. All you have to do it put some on a cotton wool pad and place it on your eye for a few seconds. You then gently wipe away the make-up from your eyelids and lashes. Another added bonus is that this eye make-up remover even removes waterproof make-up! I also find this great for taking off bright lipsticks as sometimes they can stain your lips, this really does help to budge the stained look!

Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up Remover is a great product and I'd definitely recommend to anybody, whether you wear little or no make-up or even full coverage make-up. It's also sensitive so is ideal for those with sensitive skin and it's also suitable for those who wear contact lenses. It's definitely an eye make-up remover that's suitable for anyone. :)

Where to buy;
Clarins - £16.00
Debenhams - £14.40 - 10% off all Clarins this weekend.
Feel Unique - £14.40

Thanks for reading!
:D