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Best Clarins product

What’s the best Clarins product?

While Clarins was the first French luxury skin care company to hit the market, its solutions are anything but old-school. The brand develops cutting-edge formulas to create plant-based products that cleanse, protect, revive and hydrate complexions of all ages.

Its top solution is the Clarins Double Serum. It hydrates and firms your skin, leaving you more radiant.

What to know before you buy a Clarins product

The Clarins brand history

After chiropractor Jacques Courtin repeatedly noted that his patients fussed over their complexions, he developed the first line of plant-based skin care solutions and launched it in 1954. He named the company Clarins after a character he played in a high school production and eventually incorporated it into his name, becoming Jacques Courtin-Clarins. 

After he persuaded celebrities to adopt the products into their routines, the brand became a household name in France by 1980 and had expanded to 150 countries by 1990. Courtin-Clarins died in 2007, but his family continues to create effective plant-based skin care products. While the brand also offers fragrances and makeup, skin care remains its bestselling line.

Steps to a complete skin care routine

While skin care routines are ever-expanding, seven basic steps can help you achieve and maintain healthy skin:

  1. Thoroughly cleanse with a gentle cleanser. If you wear makeup, consider washing twice to ensure your face is clean.
  2. Exfoliate two or three times a week. 
  3. Tone with a cotton swab, or drench your skin with a spray solution.
  4. Gently pat on eye cream around your eyes.
  5. Apply serums to targeted areas. 
  6. Moisturize your face, neck and chest.
  7. Apply sunscreen to your face, neck and chest each morning.

What key products do

There are five commonly misunderstood beauty products:

  • Exfoliant: These granular formulas remove dead skin cells and smooth your skin. 
  • Toner: This solution removes any dirt left over after washing your face as it balances and hydrates your skin. 
  • Eye creams: These are formulated to address dryness, fine lines and wrinkles on the fragile skin around your eyes.
  • Serum: These solutions use highly concentrated ingredients to address skin issues such as dark spots, acne, fine lines or wrinkles. 
  • Sunscreen: Each morning, use a formula with a sun protection factor of 15 or above to protect your skin from the sun's harmful rays.

What to look for in a quality Clarins product

Precise dispensing

Pump bottles are notorious for wasting solutions by distributing too much product. Worse, some of the most expensive formulas are only available in those containers. 

However, some Clarins products come in pump bottles that let you control the amount of solution dispensed per pump. While the company has not standardized this component, it is an excellent consideration.

Larger sizes

Clarins does not follow an objective sizing rule across all its products. However, similar quantities are usually distributed by formula type. 

Facial moisturizers, oils and eye serums typically only come in one size. However, most Clarins facial serums come in two or more sizes, including 1-, 1.7-, 2.5- and sometimes ,3.3-ounce bottles.

Generally, when a product comes in more than one size, you can save a lot of money per ounce by choosing a larger size.

Multi-beneficial formulas

If you are not careful when selecting your products, your seven-step beauty routine can quickly grow to 10 or more steps. An excellent way to avoid that is by focusing on your primary skin concerns and picking single solutions that address each issue. 

For example, if you have dark spots, fine lines and dry patches, Clarins' super restorative night cream manages all of those issues.

How much you can expect to spend on a Clarins product

Depending on the formula and size, you can find products from $12-$200. Basic moisturizers and trial-size items are on the lower end, while anti-aging serums and firming moisturizers are on the higher.

Clarins product FAQ

What is the difference between a day cream and a night cream? 

A. Day creams are lighter than night creams and exclude ingredients such as alpha hydroxy acids, which increase your skin's sensitivity to the sun. 

When should you begin using skin care formulas? 

A. It's never too early to develop a daily routine that keeps your skin clean, hydrated and protected. However, many begin using products more intensively once dark spots, fine lines and wrinkles appear.

What’s the best Clarins product to buy?

Top Clarins product

Clarins Double Serum 

What you need to know: Its bottle lets you control the distribution of this two-in-one serum that firms skin as it boosts your radiance. 

What you’ll love: This solution suits all skin types and ages, firming and reducing wrinkles as it minimizes pores for smoother skin. It also hydrates and revives your complexion.

What you should consider: Some felt it was a little too sticky for their skin.

Where to buy: Sold by Amazon, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Sephora and Ulta Beauty

Top Clarins product for the money

Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch

What you need to know: This primer erases pores, wrinkles and fine lines to help your makeup go on smoothly.

What you’ll love: This lightweight formula melts into your skin to blur imperfections and even out the surface of your face, leaving your complexion looking flawless. It is also hydrating and works on all skin types.

What you should consider: Some people with sensitive skin said this product made them break out.

Where to buy: Sold by Amazon, Macy’s, Sephora and Ulta Beauty

Worth checking out

Clarins Double Serum Eye

What you need to know: It lets you control the distribution of a formula that addresses reduces wrinkles and fine lines around your eyes. 

What you’ll love: This two-in-one serum uses 13 plant extracts to firm the fragile skin around your eyes. It also nourishes and hydrates your eye area as it diminishes puffiness and dark circles.

What you should consider: A few reviewers said their results didn't warrant the cost.

Where to buy: Sold by Amazon, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Sephora and Ulta Beauty

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Ella Scott writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.

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