March 2018
Clarins Extra Firming Skincare Range
Giant leap for Clarins
There’s a powerful new botanical ingredient in Clarins’ brand-new Extra-firming Day and Night Creams. And it’s got Di's skin bouncing…
KANGAROO FLOWER. Who knew that was a thing? Not me. But I liked the sound of them. Actually the full name is kangaroo paw flower, they come from (brace yourselves for the big reveal) Australia, and they can’t get enough of them in California. Or Japan. Or at Clarins, as it turns out, because the exotic, deep-red blooms are a key ingredient in their new, Extra-Firming Day and Night Creams.
‘Extra’ and ‘firming’ - that’s a magic word-combo for anyone of my (mature) vintage. Anything that promises to ‘put the spring back into your skin’ is worth checking out. If natural ingredients are involved all the better, and there are plenty of them in these two new beauties - plus a reassuring dollop of science. I won’t blind you with it, because during initial research my eyes glazed over somewhere between the words ethnobotanists and fibroconectin. What perked me up was the promise of smooth, even, visibly firmer skin, and overnight regeneration.
The botanical extract is key - kangaroo flowers are highly successful regenerators thanks to their irresistibility to birds, and that natural ability is harnessed here. ‘I’ll have a bit of that,’ the birds think, and now, so can we.
What more can I tell you? The creams are gorgeous. My skin lapped them up, especially the night cream, which has a reassuringly dense texture (shades of Creme de la Mer) that sinks in almost instantly. I set great store by night creams: that’s when the most intense regeneration happens and you need something with welly.
The day cream is a delight: I loved the way it prepared and smoothed my face for the day’s base. That they smell good and come in beautiful, heavy-glass pots goes without saying: Clarins always gets that right. It takes a powerful beast to prise me from my beloved Elemis Pro-Collagen creams but this pair is pushing all the buttons. My (newly peeled) face isn’t just lapping them up. It’s loving them.
* I say: In short, this new combination of organic plant extracts works on the bits we want to preserve, encourage and increase - collagen, elastin and worryingly-named but important fibroblasts.
* They say: Expert firming wrinkle control day cream with a fresh and silky texture that puts the spring back into your skin. Key ingredient, extract of kangaroo flower, helps plump and firm the skin for a smoother, radiant and visibly younger-looking complexion, wrinkles visibly reduced, facial contours appear sculpted, instant smoothing effect,radiance, skin protected from the harmful effects of pollution
Extra Firming Day Cream All Skin Types, £48.30 
Extra Firming Day Cream for Dry Skin, £48.30
Extra Firming Day Cream SPF15 All Skin Types, £48.30
Extra Firming Night Cream All Skin Types, £51.70
Extra Firming Night Cream for Dry Skin, £51.70
