Beauty Flash Balm: Another Flash in the Pan!

Clarins has been around for about fifty years now, first debuting in France and then it came here in the 1960s. Ever since it first came out, the company has enjoyed prestige and a good reputation all over the world. Clarins prides itself on using plant-based extracts in their many, many beauty products which has become their signature. The line of skin care products from Clarins is absolutely astounding, there is something to cure every conceivable skin complaint including acne and severe wrinkles, as well as too oily or too dry skins. Some of the line's many products I have found to be superfluous, including this Beauty Flash Balm which I recently tried in a few sample sizes from Ebay.

Going in, I had such high expectations from this product which is supposed to be a good skin preparation base for foundation. The instructions advise you to use this right before moisturizing and then follow with a moisturizer or sunscreen and then apply makeup. For starters, this product contains rice starch which, granted has oil absorbent properties which can be a problem for dry skins. Sometimes, rice starch is used in place of talc, though talc is strictly a mineral derivative, whereas rice starch is a food derivative. In fact, rice starch has been shown in lab tests to cause redness and irritation and other allergic reactions; many skins cannot handle this ingredient for that very reason.

That said, Clarins hails the Beauty Flash Balm as being one of their "special treatment products" for the face in their brochure. There are two main "actions" or benefits that this balm is supposed to deliver to the skin. The first one is as an instant "pick-me-up" aimed at instantly restoring the skin's radiance. I am always leary of any product that claims to instantly do anything, except foundation which does instantly change the look somewhat of your skin. No basic beauty moisturizer can deliver or instantly transform anything, including this product; that's a pretty hefty and unrealistic claim to make. The accompanying brochure on the Beauty Flash Balm purports to promote instant radiance and dramatically smoother skin, while tightening the superficial layer of the epidermis, all within an amazing five minutes after applying the stuff. Well, I waited five, ten, even fifteen minutes after I put this on with my fingertips, as instructed, and NOTHING, no dramatic difference whatsoever. I have pretty good, smooth skin to begin with, so maybe I'm not a good test subject, but my oily skin keeps me looking very young at 38 anyway, but hey, I was curious to see whether this delivers like it says. In the primary phase, the product is supposed to help set and prepare the skin for makeup, making it last longer throughout the day. After a full day's wear, though, I did not see that this made my makeup stay any longer or look any fresher than usual, without using this first.

Now for the second phase or "action" as Clarins refers to it, this part of the Beauty Flash Balm is more of a treatment phase, ie, it is supposed to lessen fine lines and wrinkles over time. The instructions remind you to use "pressing motions" on your face after applying this and before applying makeup, if your aim is to stall the signs of time on your skin, don't all of us want that? It seems odd to me that a few pressing motions will do anything magical or change the performance of this product if you simply apply it for the primary phase which is to make makeup stay on longer and look fresher all day long. I know, it's confusing, but I am going by what the company recommends.

Actually, there is a third phase of this product which says that for treating very deep lines or wrinkles, you can apply this heavily and leave on for fifteen minutes, then rinse off with tepid water and follow with the Plant Toning Lotion. Ok, now I tried this as well, and again, there was no change in the quality of my skin, I went thru two good sized sample tubes (2.7 oz each) and didn't see a thing change in my skin.

So, aside from the confusing instructions and dual or triple phase uses of this one product, my overall conclusion is that this is just a standard, simple moisturizer, yes, it did add moisture to my complexion, but I saw no real chages in my skin. Why on earth, I wonder, would a company like Clarins, that makes hundreds of skin care products need a product like this one? Like I said in the first paragraph, I find all these products, some of which are identical in aim and performance, but with different names, to be superfluous in that they are not necessary. For every ten items that are similar in terms of addressing a particular skin ailment in Clarins, maybe eight of them could be eliminated. Maybe the company is simply trying to stay on top of trends and or appeal to a younger clientele by adding hip or trendy ingredients to essentially the same moisturizers that do exactly what the originals did. Don't know about that, but I do know that the amount of perfume Clarins puts in its products is not good for sensitive nor dryish skins. Unless you have ultra tough skin, you probably should steer clear or use less of each product. Too much perfume translates to an overload of alcohol which is an irritant and not conducive to good skin, and can dry any skin out to boot!

If you want to shell out the $36.50 for 1.7 oz. of this, be my guest, but for me, I would rather use products with less perfume and that are more gentle to my somewhat sensitive skin.