| He began producing his own massage and treatment oils based on plant
extracts. When his patients saw an improvement not just in their physical health but also
in their appearance, he moved into the field of beauty therapy as well. The Clarins
beauty routine has a lot to offer the mature face and body, both in its products and also
in personal treatments. There are 75 Clarins Studios attached to Clarins counters
throughout the UK, plus many more world-wide. Here the "Paris method " face
treatments, which take just over an hour, concentrate on working on lymphatic drainage and
increasing blood circulation in the face. The aim is to stimulate cell renewal using
delicate massage that sensitive skins can tolerate. The facial massage costs £39, with a
similar price for body treatment.
But whether you can get to a Clarins Studio or not, their products are well worth
considering. When I visited their London headquarters beside leafy Cavendish Place, they
emphasised the importance of a daily beauty routine. This, they say, pays dividends in
maintaining a youthful appearance, whereas happily dipping into a pot of cream a couple of
times and hoping for miracles does not. Daily means every day.
The mature moisturiser
The moisturiser recommended for the mature skin is Multi-Regenerante Jour (Extra
Firming Day Cream; it comes as a lotion too), rich in plant extracts including sage, hops
and red algae which are activated by daylight to boost the skin’s diminishing levels
of vitamin D. Other ingredients are horsetail and meadowsweet which are included to
improve skin vitality. Algae from the Antarctic are claimed to provide resistance to
pollution, central heating and other hazards while extracts from wheatgerm and sesame oils
provide a protective shield against free radicals. Launched in 1996, this quickly became a
top seller with a 50 ml jar costing £36.
A year later, Multi-Regenerante Nuit (Extra Firming Night Cream) was launched to
complement the day cream. Its purpose is to enhance normal overnight rest and regeneration
of the skin by strengthening collagen and elastin fibres which maintain the skin’s
firmness. Ingredients include micro-algae spiruline and chlorella. A jar for night time
repair costs £38 for 50 ml. Clarins also make a lighter night cream, Peau Neuve Fluide,
which is claimed to do much the same job.
Try the crash course
For those who feel their skin and facial outline is in need of even more help, a
six-weeks use of Serum Tenseur Raffermisant (Extra-Firming Concentrate) in
the morning and/or Double Serum 38 at night, both including plant auxins, are
recommended. This treatment can be thought of as a crash course. Use it six weeks on and
six weeks as needed . It is the anti-ageing treatment par excellence, containing plant
auxins, which, we are told, "are also known as phytohormones and are naturally
occurring molecules which behave like hormones to encourage plant development and extend
plant life". Plant auxins extracted from sunflowers (a very strong plant able to hold
a heavy flower head) and the sequoia (the oldest and tallest of trees) can significantly
increase the skin’s resistance to the signs of ageing, we are assured.
This product is a gel to be applied under a daytime moisturiser to the face, around the
eye socket (but not within), over the lips and neck. Especially suitable for the mature
skin, it comes in a 30 ml pump dispenser bottle at £35.
For a pick-me-up when the skin looks particularly tired there is also a Masque
Raffermisant Multi-Regenerant which is applied over the face and neck, left on for ten
minutes and then removed with a damp cotton pad. The mask costs £30 for a 75m1 tube.
Eyes right for this
Clarins skin-care staff counsel that most women are far too rough with the eye area,
and can provoke puffiness by putting eye creams too far into the eye socket itself.
Patting around the bony socket is usually enough and the cream will seep gently into the
inner area. In the morning, Clarins Extra Firming Eye Contour Serum, based
on papaya and pineapple extracts among others, should be patted on the bone around the eye
socket to reduce puffiness, and dark circles. At night, the Extra-Firming Eye Contour
Cream is a lightweight formula, full of vitamins C and E and chicory extract for
moisture. Both products have the same PH balance as tears and sell for £25 for a 20 ml
mini pump dispenser.
Remember to use an eye make-up remover, never the same make-up remover intended for the
rest of the face. The area around the eye is very tender and fragile, so it needs special
care.
Facelift in a bottle
It won't do the same as surgery, but Clarins researchers came up with their facelift in
a bottle, Lift Minceur Visage (Contouring Facial Lift), which they
would recommend to women of any age who feel that they are losing or have never had a firm
facial outline. Said to be particularly helpful against a ‘jowly’ look are the
extracts of garcinia cambogia and caffeine which help release fatty deposits, while dark
algae and butcher’s broom stimulate the micro-circulation to drain away toxins and
excess fluid. Application, once a day and preferably at night, is by a novel method: the
product is pumped into the hands, then you rest your elbows on the knees so your face is
lowered onto the hands. Stay there for a couple of minutes to press the cream into the
skin of the jowl. Any extra can be pressed into the forehead and neck.
As facelifts go, this is perhaps not that expensive, at £28 for a 50 ml dispenser.
All in all, Clarms comes across as a producer of very refined and elegant skin-care
creams and lotions, with a good part of their range directed at the mature face.
Multi-Regenerante Jour 50 ml jar, £36.
Multi-Regenerante Nuit 50 ml jar, £38
Serum Tenseur Raffermisant or Double Serum 38 30 ml dispenser,
£35
Masque Raffermisant Multi-Regenerant 75m tube, £30
Extra Firming Eye Contour Serum or Extra-Firming Eye Contour Cream
20 ml dispenser, £25
Lift Minceur Visage 50 ml dispenser, £28
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