Most beauty brand don't mess with a successful product However, Clarins have taken their top selling serum and given it a makeover. Editor Trudi Brewer finds out why.
What is it?
Clarins Double Serum Concentrate, 30ml, $120.
Clarins is a beauty business of firsts. From their first 100 percent natural Face Oil, that launched back in 1968, to the iconic 'skin pick me up' known as Beauty Flash Balm, a primer and skin firming skin mask all-in-one. To Double Serum with dual dispensing chambers that opened the door for choice. This meant women could customise their beauty routine, and decide what their skin needed from day to day. A little like another new innovation the Booster range, (that launched last year). Three skincare shots, including Energy, Repair and Detox that you drop into any regular moisturiser, depending on your skin needs. And now, their 8th reincarnation of the classic, Double Serum. It launched back in 1985 and remains the companies top-selling skincare product today. Why would they mess with a good thing, I hear you ask? Technology has allowed Clarins to make Double Serum Concentrate even better. So, this new Concentrate still contains plant-infused goodness, 21 plant extracts to be exact, however the formula has been revitalized and it's housed in smart new packaging.
What's in it?
Quick biology lesson: The new formula highlights a cellular listening capacity in the skin. Without blinding you with science, Clarins say this 'listening system' allows the skin to respond to the effects that the environment throws at our skin on a daily basis. The benefits include regeneration, oxygenation, nutrition, hydration, and protection. With some help from Dr. Yves Pumay and his team from the school of medicine in Namur, Belgium, Clarins have pinpointed a link between why skin is ageing, and how better to treat it with plant extracts. That science, along with plant extracts including organic, quinoa, Marsh samphire, Kiwi, Mary's thistle, goji berries, edelweiss. And fair trade - ginger lily, the leaf of life, and green banana once infused with the wonder spice turmeric (known for its calming and anti-inflammatory properties), and we have ourselves one seriously good serum. This powerful new cocktail of ingredients forms a hydrolipidic film or protective barrier on the skin to repair and rejuvenate.
What do we like about it?
Along with its natural ethos, the packaging was ahead of its time when it launched 30 years ago, and it has stepped up once again. While the new bottle has the same dosage mechanism in the pump, which administers the right amount of serum with each press of the lid. It dispenses 2/3 from the water side, and 1/3 of the oil - this blend absorbs quickly and doesn't feel greasy. And the good news, this serum can sit alongside any product you use. It's also suitable for all age or skin type, even those with sensitive skin.
Take home
It is one of those products that broke the mould back in 1985 and even though it's had an ingredient tweak and a package redesign, Clarins Double Serum will always be a great beauty buy, that will always deliver.