What It Is:
Clarins Opalescence Face & Blush Powder* and Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base in 02 Champagne*
Why This Should Be in Your Bag:
Clarins Face & Blush Powders are something of legend for me. Released with virtually every season (and replaced by gorgeous bronzers in the summer), they either add color or simply finish off your base products beautifully. And they are always stunning in the pan! Opalescence features Pinkish Beige, Coral and Brown to “warm and illuminate the complexion” and also mattify, as well as a gold overspray that’s removed with a few uses.
New and innovative base products seem to be on every brand’s mind lately and Clarins is no exception. Their Complexion Base is “a moisturizing base that illuminates and corrects your skin tone, while hydrating and soothing”. The shade I chose, Champagne 02, is supposed to correct redness.
How To Use It:
Naturally, I decided to give these a go together. Clarins recommends the Complexion Base alone, under foundation or mixed in with foundation. I decided to apply it alone and see how well it corrected redness. For the Face & Blush Palette, they recommend mixing the three colors for an all over powder or picking up just the coral to use as blush. When I mixed the 3, they are WAY too dark for me to use all over, so blush it is! I tried to photograph these products on my face and neither showed up on camera, unfortunately.
CC Rating: B-
I have to be honest: these 2 offerings from Clarins Spring 2014 line are simply okay. Neither blew me away, which was unfortunate since I’ve such a love affair with the brand! The Opalescence Face & Blush Powder was the better of the 2 and did give me a nice flush. It was easy to overdo and make my cheeks look ruddy and sunburnt; but, applied carefully, it did indeed warm my complexion and I appreciate that it’s matte!
The Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base in 02 Champagne was tough to rate because, like all radiance primers, it really emphasized dry spots on my skin. I had a similar experience with Burberry’s and Laura Mercier’s, so there is just something about my skin that doesn’t agree with “radiance”. If you have dry skin, I’m guessing this product won’t work for you either, even though it claims to be hydrating. I also didn’t find that it reduced redness, but it did even out my skintone some and made a good base for powder, although I wouldn’t recommend wearing this alone unless you have flawless skin. I’d love to hear about others’ experiences with this product because I’ve read some really great reviews! Perhaps there’s something I can add to make this really work for me?
The are available from Clarins for $40US and $37US, respectively.
[Need some new makeup but not sure what to buy? Check out Alex’s other beauty reviews here.]
