If you’re a Clarins fan, you’ll be interested to learn more about the new range of cleansers and toners. Made from alpine herb extracts grown in the French Alps, they keep skin clean, without damaging your microbiome, says editor Trudi Brewer. Read on to learn more.
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Pictured above the new Clarins Gentle Renewing Cleansing Mousse, $60 & Soothing Toning Lotion, $57. Below Gentle Renewing Cleansing Mousse, $ 60, were sent to BeautyEQ for review.
Clean skin has always been at the heart of the Clarins' skincare brand, and so has the use of plant extracts in there product formulations. In 1967, Jacques Courtin-Clarins created the first line of facial cleansers (using various alpine herbs). It was strategic; these herbs helped remove the skin's makeup and grime while nourishing and protecting it. Fast forward 54 years and the Clarins brand have launched seven new cleansers, and three new toners made from the plant extracts they grow at Le Domaine Clarins. High in the French Alps, 4,500 ft (1,372 m) to be exact, is 2,000 acres of pristine farmland, free of air and soil pollution, owned by the Clarins family. The company plans to grow alpine plants to carry out biodiversity studies and use them in their skincare and makeup formulas. Long-term, their goal is to create products with “100 per cent field to jar production." So what's so good about these new cleansers and toners? Clean skin is the cornerstone of any beauty routine. If your skin is cleansed morning and night, those luxe-y serums and night creams can sink in, and do their job much more efficiently. Which is where the idea 'double cleanse' comes in. Jacques Courtin-Clarins created that too, a philosophy I have stuck with for decades (the first cleanse removes makeup and grime, while the second, cleans your skin). So, when two new cleansers and a toner landed at BeautyEQ this week, this post was not only nostalgic for me, (I have used the pastel green Cleansing Milk with Alpine Herbs for decades), I was keen to try the next generation of cleaners to see if they measured up to my old favourite - so far so good.
What is it?
Seven new cleansers and three new toning lotions make up the new range. Offering countless combinations for cleansing the skin. Each contains the patented ‘Clarins Gentle Complex’, made with organic golden gentian (a flowering alpine herb), and lemon balm, to gently remove every scrap of makeup. A patented ‘Microbiote Complex’ exclusive to Clarins, (microbiota or microbiome describes the one trillion good bacteria that live on your skin to keep it balanced and healthy), is made from a blend of saffron flower and sea kelp that helps protect and nourish the skin while you cleanse. Soap and SLS-free, there is a cleansing combination for any skin type, including acne-prone, dry and sensitive.
Clarins Total Cleansing Oil, $60.
Ideal as the first cleanse in a double cleansing routine, an oil-based cleanser attracts the oil-based makeup you wear, (so if you’re wearing infallible makeup or waterproof mascara) this oil will lift every scrap of makeup from the skin. Made from organic sunflower and moringa oils that with warm water, the oil turns into a silky lotion to removes makeup, fast.
Clarins Total Cleansing Oil, $60.
Clarins Gentle Renewing Cleansing Mousse, $60.
Clarins Gentle Renewing Cleansing Mousse, $60
Ideally, a foaming or lotion cleanser works well for your second cleanse in that double cleansing routine. I prefer a foaming cleanser, and I keep it in the shower, for a quick and effective morning skin cleanse. This newbie feels great. A rinse-off formula it’s stacked with the alpine herbs as well as organic Saponaria (wild sweet William) which in this case adds the lather, as well as tamarind pulp extract, a gentle AHA, (alpha hydroxy acid) that helps speed up your skin turnover, and prevents breakouts and clogged pores.
Clarins Soothing Toning Lotion, $57
I have never been a huge toner fan; I can’t see the point. However, this is more like a skin softener (pre-moisture lotion), than a traditional skin-stripping toner. Alcohol-free the purple coneflower and organic chamomile extracts soothe dehydrated and sensitive skin, without leaving that tight, dry feeling skin can have after cleansing. Post toner, apply your moisturiser while the skin is still slightly damp.
Clarins Soothing Toning Lotion, $57.