Clarins

In the eight (!) months that Baby Girl has been officially “in da house,” I wager that I’ve spent an average of 30 minutes per day moisturizing my bod.

I know, even I’m rolling my eyes at the moment, ’cause that’s A LOT of time to be spending rubbing lotions and potions on yourself.

It’s true though. And it took a lot less time earlier in the process when I could move around more easily than I can now, because, ya know…I could touch my toes and whatnot, but now I have to do all kinds of creative things and maneuvers to get to the places I can’t reach.

It’s been a moisturizing adventure; that’s for sure!

Anywho, I just finished a bunch of products from the Mustela Maternity Skincare line. I used every last drop of the body oil, the stretch mark cream and the balm, and I liked all three, but, because I have a notoriously short attention span for beauty products…I’ve already started a new routine with Clarins!

You know, just to see. 🙂

I’ve been using Clarins products on my face for years (and their body care products off and on throughout that time), and I’ve always loved them. Sometimes their products are pricy, but they generally always work well with my skin.

Actually, very early on in my pregnancy, during the scary time in the first trimester before El Hub and I broke the news to our families, I bought and ended up finishing an entire tube of their Stretch Mark Minimizer because I knew I’d probably like it, and I did. Finished it down to the last drop.

So now I’m doing a whole five-piece pregnancy beauty system Clarins calls “Beautiful Beginnings,” which has a body scrub, stretch mark cream, body oil, a gel for firming zeh bust, and they also recommend using their cult classic Beauty Flash Balm on your face, which is supposed to help you look better rested, although, I dunno…I feel like that’s going to require three solid weeks of sleep (I’m so not kidding).

The Beautiful Beginnings process is designed to take care of pregnant skin and keep it looking beautiful. It includes…

• Beauty Flash Balm ($46), a smoothing, tightening face treatment. Clarins recommends layering it under makeup to help your products last longer.
• Smoothing Body Scrub ($37), an everyday body scrub with bamboo powder for all over zeh body. Clarins says that you should concentrate it wherever you expect possible stretch marks, like the tummy and bust.
• Stretch Mark Minimizer ($52), an unscented body lotion with olive extracts. It’s designed to reduce that tight skin feeling and prevent stretch marks.
• Tonic Body Treatment ($56), a body oil made from 100% plant extracts (oils of rosemary, geranium, mint and hazelnut) to prevent dryness and keep skin hydrated.
• Bust Beauty Firming Lotion ($59), a lotion specifically for the breasts; Clarins says it helps to tone and restore firmness.

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Why isn’t this product permanent, already?! Because it seriously needs to be. Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil, a combination shiny lipgloss/moisturizing lip treatment oil, is back again after going into hibernation for part of the year.

This year, if you’re not quick enough, a particular dry-lipped pregnant lady, who shall remain nameless (she’ll be covered in cat hair), just might clear out the entire stock.

I’m just sayin’. If you have dry lips and like Clarins, you should act quickly. 🙂

My goodness, this has been a freaking godsend. It’s available in two shiny, lightly tinted $24 shades — the 01 Honey shown here and another shade called 02 Raspberry.

It’s a massively moisturizing, shiny lip treatment oil with a non-sticky formula. The oils are 100% plant-based, too, and include hazelnut and jojoba (among other oils) to plump, soften, smooth and nourish.

Ingredients
Hazelnut oil nourishes, plumps and softens lips.

Organic Jojoba oil nourishes and smoothes, without a sticky after feel. Leaves lips soft, comfortable and perfectly hydrated.

Mirabelle Plum oil (present in the honey shade) protects from dehydration—promoting soft, supple lips.

Raspberry Seed oil (present in the raspberry shade) nourishes and protects lips from future aging with anti-oxidant benefits.

After a few hours wearing this magical witch’s brew, my lips look and feel about as close to new as they ever get. They’re much softer, moisturized and feel better, and my lip lines and flakes look considerably less obvious. The finish, which starts out glossy, fades to a satin over the course of a few hours.

I usually wear this on its own or with a nude lip liner, but sometimes I’ll use it on top of a lipstick.

This one here, 01 Honey, tastes (and smells) a little like honey and apples to me, and it’s not one of those artificial flavors. It tastes real. And real good.

Even the applicator is a joy to use. It’s absolutely spa-caliber. It just feels soft and velvety on my lips and gets the product everywhere it needs to be.

I love, love, LOVE this to pieces, and I’m keeping my fingers and toes crossed that it joins the Clarins permanent line. It’s sure to become a cult classic.

Honey and Raspberry are available now (for a limited time) at Clarins counters and online.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

This is the time of year when matte lipsticks are snapping their gum and stomp-walking around the tetherball courts and jungle gyms of the makeup playground like queen bees of the makeup playground/world.

They run the show, and yeah, I’m cool with that, but sometimes my dry lips and I need a break. Please! Teleport me away to the land of supple, moisturized lips!

Incidentally, that’s where these $27 Clarins Joli Rouge Lipsticks live. 🙂

A long-term staple of the Clarins line, they’re shiny, sheer and — oh, I could kiss them — so moisturizing. Clarins revamped them this fall, making them over in gold packaging (remember they used to be silver?) and revitalizing the color palette with 16 new shades.

I love these, and they’ve been seeing a lot of action on my pout lately, particularly the pinkish nude shades, Lilac Pink and Pink Ginger, which go with everything. I pair them often with casual weekend makeup looks, like with tinted moisturizer, mascara and a little bit of blush.

Oh, and uh…did I mention how freakishly moisturizing they are? It’s cray-cray to the extreme, and when you have dry lips like I do, they’re a gift from ye makeup gods. Being lightweight and silky, they’re a welcome respite from all of the drying, heavy mattes that come out to play in fall in winter.

The formula lasts about two or three hours on my lips, so they aren’t incredibly long lasting, but they don’t have any annoying flavoring, for what that’s worth. I do, however, detect a very, very faint floral scent, but it’s not annoying at all (I can hardly tell it’s there).