Clarins has challenged me to try their Bright Plus range and review the affects over 21 days of use. The range includes the new Tri-Intensive Brightening Serum, Clarins Brightening Hydrating Day Lotion and the Clarins Brightening Repairing Night Cream. All of which smell amazing. This post is quite an extensive review of the product, because I do not take beauty products lightly! 

I am usually skeptical with cosmetic skin care products because my skin is acne prone. I have always used medical grade face wash and day cream both to keep my acne regulated and to relieve any current breakouts. When it comes to night cream and pre-care I am not too fussy as long as the product helps to brighten my skin tone and relaxes my pigmentation scars from my previous breakouts. The condition of my skin is combination between oily and dry and I have been for skin peels so my pigmentation has already been slightly lightened. I think with a manageable canvas it’s easy to use cosmetic products because the results appear faster than when one has a problem skin.

I gave my dermatologist, Dr Dilshaad Asmal, a call to ask her about the products and what she thinks regarding the claims to reduce pigmentation. “Botanical extracts do work to reduce pigmentation issues in superficial cases, that is pigment that is not very dark or deeply rooted in the skin. There is definitely a place for them in skin care but I advise my patients to understand the condition of their skin first”. What Doctor Asmal means is that, if your skin pigmentation is a bit more serious, botanical products (products developed with natural extracts) will not perform as you may expect them to. In this case I would recommend seeing a dermatologist for some advice before proceeding. Personally I have undergone deeper treatments (like needling) and chemical treatments (like chemical peels) to lighten my pigmentation. This has allowed me to benefit from products like Clarin’s bright plus Bright Plus from Clarins, which I would not be able to use had my pigmentation been as bad as before. That said – the product performs as promised but your expectations need to be realistic too – there is no way a product can perform miracles on your skin, it can only help skin to appear more radiant.

Since this range has so much hype around it, I felt like I was willing to give it a go. I continue to use my regular face wash and day moisturizer and add each product into my routine to see how it would fair.

CLARINS NEW BRIGHT PLUS TRI-INTENSIVE BRIGHTENING SERUM

Applied evenly on the face and neck before moisturising, this acts as a pre-care treatment to your day and night cream. The product itself is very luxurious and has soothing texture and scent. It definitely adds a dewy glow to my skin, and I would use this as a makeup primer if I was trying to achieve a natural glowing look.

This product works as a preventative anti-ageing tool. So it won’t necessarily decrease your current pigmentation, but assist in reducing dark aging spots and tightening of skin for the future. I noticed a lot of reviews online saying the product doesn’t work at reducing pigmentation – but it’s almost impossible for cosmetic products to do that! If you want to reduce the appearance of your pigmentation due to sun exposure or acne you need to invest in a deeper treatment like a chemical peel or needling treatment first. If however you have freckles from the sun, or any superficial discoloration on the face due to ageing etc, this product will work for you.

What Bright Plus from Clarins will do is make your skin appear brighter and more luminous, making your scarring less apparent and noticeable to onlookers. I found that I didn’t feel the need to cover my scars up when wearing this, my skin looked natural (with scars) but the luminosity and glow made me confident enough to embrace my scars.

Clarins Bright Plus HP BRIGHTENING REPAIRING Night Cream

This was a personal fave of mine. My night cream had recently finished so I was excited to try something new after I had been using the last one for about a year. In my line of work I have to change my products all the time to stay in touch with what’s out there but if I could I would stick to one product.

That said, I was very impressed with this night cream. My skin felt like it was on a spa day when I woke up the next morning, way more supple and soft to touch.

My career and life in general is very busy and stressful so I try to find solace in “bath time”. My night time routine is really a time for me to light a scented candle and spend some time massaging my face and body with my products. I definitely enjoy using the night cream from this range, it’s easy to apply and the texture is light and luminous. It’s also rich in vitamin C and B8 which is proven to hinder the production of hyperpigmenation – so your dark spots won’t get darker.

CLARINS Bright Plus HP Brightening Hydrating Day Lotion SPF 20

This is one of my favorite products in the range because of its lightweight texture. It has just enough shine to finish off the face but not too much so that it looks oily. I use this especially when I am giving my face a break between events and heavy makeup application. I feel confident enough to wear no foundation with this product because it gives the appearance of even skin tone while protecting harmful UV rays attacking my already pigmented skin.

In addition to being great on its own, I found it quite helpful when applying foundation. The product allows the foundation to be applied seamlessly and conceals dark spots slightly better than without. A word of caution too of course, add extra translucent powder to ensure the foundation does not move after a few hours due to the slippy nature of the Clarins Bright Plus Hydrating Lotion.

I have attached an image above taken on my iPhone. Both have no filters but I am wearing makeup. The first image was taken about a month and a half ago and the second was taken yesterday. In the first image, I think I still look great but in the second image I see my skin glowing more, my makeup application looks less cakey and in general my complexion is much more even in the second pic so my makeup application was more subtle.

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Xo Aisha