Clarins Beauty Flash Balm: the best primer

I used to have a love/hate relationship with primers until I used Clarins Beauty Flash Balm.  I adore Clarins skincare products: I think they’re incredibly gentle on the skin thanks to all the natural ingredients that go into them, they smell absolutely gorgeous too and this product was no exception. I found that the main problem with the stack of other primers that I had tried and tested before was that they weighed my skin down, making my combination skin go extra oily and blocked my pores, causing me to break out.  I had none of these problems with Beauty Flash Balm, however: it behaved exactly as it promised it would.

This product really does brighten, tighten and is suitable for all skin types.  Olive and Witch Hazel extracts help smooth the skin’s surface, ideally prepping the skin for your base application and helping foundation stay put for hours.

Product Details:

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm is a little miracle in a tube! It gives you an instantly brighter complexion, firming, toning and erasing any traces of dull, lifeless skin and fine lines.

Immediate radiance: it brightens the face, tightens features. Olive extract and Witch Hazel tighten while Bisabolol softens, Algae extract revitalizes.

An exceptional beauty booster which immediately eliminates all signs of fatigue: facial features appear rested and smooth. It promotes a radiant complexion and long-lasting, incredibly luminous makeup. The ideal treatment before a busy day or an evening out.

Packaging:

I received a 15 mL tube for review. It comes in a regular sized tube as well. Clarins Beauty Flash Balm comes in a squeeze-tube with a twist cap. It is travel-friendly and easy to carry in a small handbag.

Smell & Consistency:

The first thing I noticed about this product is the scent, I personally found it to be a very refreshing floral scent that disappears once applied to the skin. The consistency is thick yet light, almost gel like instantly cooling, hydrating and calming. This balm is absorbed instantly.

Application:

I found the application to be the trickiest part – after your skin is prepped and ready to go, you just need to apply a thin layer to your face – do not rub it in completely as you would your moisturizer because it’s supposed to sit on the skin, rather than be completely rubbed in.  This bit is important: you must have your foundation ready to put on the second the Flash Balm is on; if the balm disappears off your face it won’t do its job correctly. It may take a couple of goes to get the application right, but once you do you’ll be flying.

My Verdict:

I know that Beauty Flash Balm is marketed primarily as a radiance booster,  but for me, its mattifying effects are the reason I first fell in love with it. It really is a radiance booster: after using it for just over a week, my skin looked much brighter in the mornings.  I decided to just use it under my makeup without a moisturizer too as it magically removed the dry patches that I’m prone to. Use it as a mask too if you like for an extra boost.

There’s a reason Beauty Flash Balm is a cult product and loved by Madonna, Demi Moore, Kylie Minogue, Reese Witherspoon, Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford and tons more celebs – it’s fantastic and for me, an absolute beauty must have.

Its regular size tube retails at AED 218 at Sephora. Clarins products are available in the main perfumeries and Department Stores across the Middle East.

You can find the location of their stores on their website.

https://www.clarins.me