Clarins Beauty Gift

I interrupt the Kiehl's series to highlight a special deal that is running at the moment till 9 June. 

I have written in the past how the best way to buy products from the larger beauty houses is to wait till they run specials where you get a free gift with purchase.  These come around once or twice a year and I manage to space my purchases to coincide with these.  This is what Clarins offers:

 

 

 

 

 

If you buy a serum or moisturiser and any other product you get a 30 ml bottle of Eau des Jardins (a perfume), a large bag and you can choose two of the travel sized products.  The travel sized products are fairly large, between 30 and 100 ml.  This is the list you can choose from:
Wonder volume mascara
Gloss prodige lip gloss
Extra-firming day cream
Instant eye makeup remover
Multi-active day cream
Beauty flash balm
Super restorative night cream
Moisture rich body lotion
Hydraquench cream
Hand and nail treatment cream

I was wanting to buy the exfoliating toner after reading about it on Caroline Hiron's blog.  And then I saw this special was coming up, so I just spent an additional R500 on a moisturiser I really did not need at the moment in order to qualify for the free gift. (It all makes perfect sense, I was saving.) All the while feeling so chuffed with myself.  To put things in perspective, the toner only cost R350.  I chose two of the moisturisers for my free gift and discovered a small sample of an eye cream in the box with my moisturiser.  I was completely baffled by the Eau des Jardins.  The writing on the packaging did not help much since it talked about picking you up and treatment oils.  Google is your friend and I have since discovered that it is a perfume.  Very citrusy and nice.

The bag is enormous, kind of pretty, but has Clarins written at the bottom all over it and does not have a zip at the top.  So I am not entirely sure whether I would ever use it.

So rush before 9 June, you have an excuse to do some shopping.

Clarins HydraQuench Tinted Moisturizer

I guess the problem using a type of product you have never tried before is that you have nothing to compare it to.  I have never used a tinted moisturiser before.  I have used tints (as in concealers and foundations) and I have used moisturisers, but never the combination.  And I did not like it the first time

I would have written a very different review of the Clarins HydraQuench Tinted Moisturizer after a single use.  I would have said:  I hate it.  I felt like it was neither a good moisturizer, nor a good foundation.  It did not feel as if it penetrated my skin and moisturised it at all.  Definitely no hydra quench.  It felt like it sat on top and functioned like a foundation.  It was a little ‘stretchy’ like a foundation.  But it was a really light, almost see through foundation, so it did not cover everything I would want a foundation to cover.  On the plus side, I did not look heavily made up and very natural and I liked the colour.  It blended very well with my skin tone.  Since the tint is so light, I do not think it would matter much if the shade did not match your skin tone perfectly.   It also had an SPF of 6. 

However, I continued using the product all week.  And my skin was soft and smooth at the end of the day.  It was almost as if the moisturiser kept moisturising during the day.  And I used a normal foundation later in the week and found that it also did not cover up everything I hoped a foundation would hide.  So maybe I was a bit harsh with the poor tinted moisturiser the first time I used it.

According to Clarins:  Skin-smoothing pigments deliver radiant translucennt colour and reflect light perfectly for a beautiful natural looking complexion.  They optically minimize fine lines, imperfections and signs of fatigue to deliver an instantly fresh and luminous complexion.

Some reviews can be found here, here and here.  I am not the only one who did not like it.

Saving on cosmetics

There is no need to pay full price for skin care products.  I like using Clinique. For its price it offers good value.  I used to live in New York for a short while and started using it there because it was so much cheaper than anything else.  It is an American product and outside of America it is a bit more expensive relative to other brands than it was in America.  Lucky readers who travel can pick it up there.

Clinique runs specials from time to time where you need to purchase one or two products and then get a free gift.  I only ever buy my Clinique when these specials are on.  Just keep your eyes open when your bottle is less than half full and buy the next time the special comes around.

The last time I bought a special they had this offer.  The gift was claimed to be worth R1000.  It included: 

• A large cosmetic bag (one I actually use daily),
• Key ring change purse (which I also use in my handbag)
• 7 Day Scrub Cream
• Dramatically Different Moisturiser (30 ml)
• Youth Surge SPF 15 Decelerating Moisturiser
• Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle & UV Damage Corrector
• Eyes 1 2 3 Colour Compact
• High Impact Mascara
• Superbalm Moisturising Gloss (7 ml)
• Deep Comfort Hand and Cuticle Cream

 I liked all these products and have reviewed some on my blog; just click on the product above for the reviews on my blog. 

This boils down to half price cosmetics, since I paid about R 900 for the two products I had to buy to get this gift.

Someone else also thinks these gifts are cool.

I know this Clinique gift does not help the reader, since it is an old offer.
Currently Clarins has similar offers of free gifts of travel sized products when you buy two products.  These are worth checking out.