Your Complete Guide to Clarins
More than 70 years of skincare expertise, plant-powered formulas and a line-up of beauty icons - Clarins has earned its place in bathroom cabinets across generations.
New to the French beauty brand? From its heritage to the skincare ranges worth knowing, consider this your complete guide to Clarins - with expert advice from their own team along the way.
Who Are Clarins?
Clarins' story began in Paris in 1954, when founder Jacques Courtin-Clarins opened his first beauty institute. From the beginning, his approach combined skincare, wellbeing and expert massage techniques, with plants becoming central to the formulas he developed.
Fast-forward more than seven decades and that philosophy still sits at the heart of the French beauty house. Clarins continues to combine plant expertise with skincare science, creating formulas designed to deliver results while making your routine feel like a little luxury. That commitment extends to transparency, too. Through Clarins T.R.U.S.T., you can trace your products from field to face, discovering where key plants are grown, how they’re harvested and how each product is made.
That sensorial side of skincare matters, too. From silky serums to aromatic oils and indulgent moisturisers, Clarins' philosophy isn't simply about what you apply, but turning those everyday skincare steps into moments to enjoy.
And that's something the brand's experts still champion today.
Clarins Expert Tip: “Your skincare routine should feel like a moment of pleasure rather than a chore!”
Consider that our permission to make a little more time for the bathroom shelf.
Why Is Clarins So Popular?
Clarins has heritage, yes - but this isn't a brand resting on its beauty laurels.
Its approach combines botanical ingredients, scientific research and decades of skincare expertise, with products spanning everything from hydration and the visible signs of ageing to bodycare, eye care and makeup.
But one of the reasons Clarins has endured is its focus on the individual skin in front of you. Rather than treating skincare as a prescriptive set of rules, its experts encourage customers to consider what their complexion is experiencing and, crucially, how they want it to look and feel.
Add in icons like Double Serum, Clarins' face treatment serums and its targeted skincare, and you have a brand that can appeal to longtime devotees and skincare newcomers alike.
Which Clarins Skincare Range Is Right for Me?
First things first: forget choosing your skincare according to the number on your birthday cake.
The Clarins philosophy is much more personal. Instead, look at what's happening with your skin right now and choose products according to the concerns you'd most like to address.
Clarins Expert Tip: “Don't let your age choose your skincare, let your skin do the talking!”
So, what is yours asking for?
Clarins Hydra-Essentiel: For Dehydrated Skin
Skin feeling thirsty, tight or looking a little lacklustre? Meet the Hydra-Essentiel collection.
Designed with hydration in mind, this is the range to reach for when your complexion is calling out for a refreshing moisture boost. The Clarins team particularly recommends Hydra-Essentiel for thirsty, tight or dull-looking skin, with hyaluronic acid helping to deliver that much-needed hydration.
- Best for: dehydration, tightness and dull-looking skin.
Clarins Expert Tip: Think about how your skin feels as well as how it looks. Tightness and a lack of comfort can be just as useful in helping you identify dehydration as what you see in the mirror.
£44.00
£42.00
£22.00
£48.00
Clarins Multi-Active: For Skin Feeling the Effects of a Busy Lifestyle
Late nights, busy weeks, endless to-do lists – sometimes your skin gives the game away.
The Multi-Active collection is designed for busy, stressed skin, helping to visibly smooth, refresh and restore radiance when everyday life starts to take its toll. Powered by ingredients including niacinamide and sea holly extract, the formulas help skin look revitalised and radiant, while targeting the visible effects of stress and fatigue.
- Best for: busy, stressed skin, signs of fatigue and a lack of radiance.
£60.00
£55.00
£55.00
£57.00
Clarins Extra-Firming: Boosting Skin’s Collagen
When supporting your skin’s collagen becomes a priority, look to the Extra-Firming collection.
Powered by [COLLAGEN]³ Technology, the range targets collagen’s quantity, quality and structure to help replenish skin’s collagen reserves, with firmer-looking skin in just 7 days.* Clarins recommends the collection when skin begins to show visible changes in firmness and elasticity.
- Best for: skin experiencing a loss of firmness and elasticity, and those looking to support their skin’s collagen.
*Consumer test, 109 women.
£79.00
£68.00
£63.00
£42.00
£79.00
Clarins Super Restorative: Replenishing Skin Through Hormonal Changes
When skin is experiencing more noticeable changes linked to hormonal shifts, look to the Super Restorative collection.
At the heart of the range is harungana extract – nature’s alternative to retinol which is just as effective** at visibly firming, replenishing and restoring skin. The collection is designed to support skin experiencing changes in density, firmness, comfort and radiance, helping it look smoother, replenished and revitalised.
- Best for: skin experiencing hormonal changes, loss of density and firmness, and a need for greater comfort and radiance.
**Comparative clinical study done on anti-wrinkle and smoothing efficacy on 46 women having applied a base containing either organic harungana extract or retinol with a % of identical ingredient found in finished product, over a period of 56 days.
£86.00
£72.00
£86.00
£90.00
£46.00
Ready to curate a Clarins skincare regime of your own? Discover our routine builder.
The Clarins Icon: What Is Double Serum?
If there's one amber bottle, you're likely to recognise, it's the Double Serum.
One of the brand’s most iconic skincare products is designed to target multiple visible signs of ageing in one formula. Inspired by the science of epigenetics, its Epi-Ageing Defence Technology helps target signs of ageing linked to lifestyle factors, including fine lines and wrinkles, loss of firmness, dullness and dehydration.
Its distinctive dual formula combines two complementary textures with a powerful blend of plant extracts, bringing together Clarins' expertise in plants and science with the sensorial experience the brand is known for.
In other words? It's the overachiever in your skincare collection.
Double Serum technology is also found in Clarins Double Serum Foundation. Their latest complexion product that not only leaves you with a buildable coverage and radiant finish, but contains Double Serums powerful skincare benefits.
£118.00
Clarins Expert Tip: “I like to think of Double Serum as a multi-vitamin shot for your skin, packed with everything your skin needs to look healthy, radiant and youthful.”
It's also why the Clarins team recommends it for someone who wants to invest in their skin while addressing several concerns with one hero formula.
Who Should Use Clarins Double Serum?
Double Serum is a great place to start if you're looking to address several visible skin concerns rather than focusing on just one.
Rather than adding a different serum for every concern, Double Serum is designed as a multitasking hero - something the Clarins expert describes as “that one product you can build your routine around.”
How to Use Clarins Double Serum
Apply it as the serum step in your skincare regime, after cleansing and eye care and before your moisturiser.
Warm the formula between your hands before gently pressing it into the skin - a simple Clarins-approved technique that makes your everyday skincare feel that little bit more luxe.
Clarins Expert Tip: “Warm your products between your hands and use gentle, purposeful pressing movements as you apply them.”
Is Clarins Good for Sensitive Skin?
Sensitive skin isn't one-size-fits-all - and according to the Clarins team, choosing products shouldn't be either.
Before reaching for a new formula, their approach is to ask questions. Does your skin feel tight, uncomfortable, reactive or dry? When does it happen? And what products are you already using?
Clarins Expert Tip: “When someone tells me they have sensitive skin, my first response isn't to reach for a product, it's to ask questions.”
Discover Clarins at LOOKFANTASTIC
From skincare icons to targeted formulas, discover the Clarins products made with your skin in mind. Let your skin do the talking and find your new beauty favourites today.
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