I'm not really sure what I expected when I tried
this 'Beauty Flash Balm' by Clarins. To be honest, I wasn't totally sure what it actually
was... apparently it has been Clarins best selling 'radiance booster' for years
now, and is supposed to help you achieve 'a more beautiful appearance in a
flash'.
You can use it as a primer or a facemask, which initially seemed a little odd
to me, but let's just go with it?!
Anyway I've been using it as a primer. I'm
not normally one to bother too much with a primer on myself (I know, bad beauty
blogger & make up artist!) but you guys all know I'm very into products
with a gentle comforting smell, and this is the real selling point for me with
this one. It smells beautiful. For some reason it reminds me of
being on the beach with my mum when I was little, and I love how after I apply
it, I can still smell it on my own face for a couple of hours afterwards. I
sound like such a freak...
Okay, so you have to apply a thin layer and don't rub it in, followed immediately
by your normal make-up routine.
As you can see from the photo, this is ever so
slightly tinted, but not enough to show up. It has this gorgeous lightweight
texture that sinks into the skin instantly, it's almost like you can feel you
skin drinking up the goodness.
As a make-up base, it leaves my skin with very
satin finish and it definitely does do a good job of keeping my make up in
place all day.
I've found this so good for perking up my
dull skin, and has definitely been great to use whilst being preggo and trying
to fake the 'glow'. It manages to get that delicate balance just right, keeping
oily shine at bay, whilst still letting me achieve that dewy glow most of us strive
for with our skin these days.
Over all, a winner for me and a welcome addition
to my routine every morning.
Have you ever tried Beauty Flash Balm? What are
your favorite primers?
Every Sunday evening I have a little pampering ritual I like to do to help me wind down.
This consists of a face-mask, hair-mask, painting my nails nails, applying my tan, and all whilst burning some candles :) It's my favourite way to prep and look fresh for the week ahead. I'm sure loads of you beauty blogging ladies out there do the same thing, whilst on bbloggers chat?!
So, my skin has become somewhat problematic lately. I'm talking random breakouts in random places, and LOTS of them, and also dry flaky patches. I don't know what the heck is going on as I'm usually lucky enough to have pretty clear skin with the odd blemish. It's so bad recently that I'm even thinking of getting a full coverage foundation :( Boo
I would usually opt for a plain mud mask, that detoxifies and makes your skin feel super clean afterwards. You know the kind i mean? The ones that dry on your face? However, since my skin has decided to play up recently I've switched from this rather harsh mask, to a gentler mask, Clarins HyraQuench face-mask.
I'll admit, I had to use this product a couple of times for it to grow on me, but now I really like it. I think it's just because it's so different to the kind of mask I'm used to. It says it 'restores the natural moisture balance in your skin', and the way my skin's been recently, I really do think it helps with that.
It's a light fluffy texture, kind of how you would imagine it would feel to put freshly whipped up cream all over your face :)
It stays wet whilst on your face, and feels so lovely and refreshing whilst on. When rinsed off, it leaves your skin feeling nice and soft, without all the scrubbing you have to do to get a mud mask off. Brilliant :)
If you read my post about the Clarins moisturiser from the same collection you'll already know how much I LOVE the smell. I think that's my favourite thing about the face-mask too, it's not over powering at all and has a lovely soft, relaxing 'bedtimey' scent.
You don't need to apply too much either, so I imagine the tube will last a pretty long time.
All in all, a really lovely high-end face-mask to relax and pamper with.
Have you tried Clarins hydra facial mask?
What are your favourite face-masks for problematic skin? I'd love some recommendations. I still haven't tried Origins, is it worth the hype?
Oh, and I'm thinking of starting a weekly vlog over on my YouTube channel, what do you think?
I've also picked up a couple of nice bits from All Saints recently (my favouritest shop ever) and thinking of doing an outfit post. It's not normally my thing so I'm a little nervous about it. Let me know if it's something you'd like to see here on my blog.
Anyway, I hope you've all had a lovely weekend in the sun! I'll let you know what I've been up to tomorrow :)
