On trial: Clarins’ new luxury face crème

Beauty powerhouse Clarins has launched a luxury line of La Crème lotions and Precious potions – and our skin is excited.

Why? In part, because Clarins knows great skin – just ask anyone who’s dabbled in its multi-award-accumulating Double Serum. 

Clarins’ Precious range marks a monumental step in skincare, a new vision of luxury that pledges a commitment to responsible beauty and heralds one helluva headline-grabbing ingredient. Decadent and decent, indulgent and innovative – Precious is packed with so. Much. Good. Stuff. 

The key ingredient? Moonlight. No, seriously – moonlight is a rare flower that blooms only once a year (in Brittany) and is harvested by hand when it’s reached its full molecular richness. The flower is immediately processed at -196C (to freeze the fragile molecules), allowing chemists to obtain the moonlight flower’s cryo-extract, said to have a preventative anti-ageing effect on the skin. Clarins lab chemists then amplify the power of moonlight, adding a replenishing peptide trio to reverse existing signs of ageing for a two-pronged approach.

It might sound woo-woo, but Clarins says the process ‘better harnesses the extraordinary power of the moonlight flower, resulting in plumper, smoother, stronger and firmer-looking skin’.

Apply a hazelnut-sized amount of La Crème, and the size of a grain of rice of La Crème Eye, AM and/or PM, or whenever you (or your skin) need a little ‘lift’. 

The Rare Routine includes: 1. La Crème – a daily moisturiser promising ‘bounce back’ and leaving skin looking plumped and toned, with natural radiance restored. 2. La Crème Eye – a luxury eye cream enhanced by a cold metal tip applicator (developed by Clarins Professional Experts) to erase dark circles and puffiness. 

If you love Clarins (who doesn’t?) and are looking for a new, suits-all-types skincare treat, Clarins Precious is destined to be one of 2023’s buzziest beauty launches.

So, is Clarins’ Precious skincare worth the luxury price tag? Ranging from £125 for La Crème Eye 15ml to £299 for the 50ml La Crème, there’s no denying this is premium. 

Many of us would feel nervous about spending £100-plus for a new skincare routine, but fans of Clarins won’t be disappointed. And if being first to a hyped new one-of-a-kind ingredient is kinda your thing, you’ll love it. 

I’ve been using Clarins Precious La Crème and La Crème Eye for 10 weeks and I have to admit, both glide on like a dream. La Crème feels suitably decadent, rich in consistency – like a cashmere blanket for your face – and is an early morning perk-me-up when my skin (and mood) needs it most. 

As for the results? Truthfully, I’m a skincare cynic at the best of times, and with kids who watch Disney’s Tangled on repeat, all the moonlight flower talk did feel a bit Mother Gothel meets Gollum. Niche references, sure, but it needs to be said, for luxury skincare can sound a bit la-di-dah. 

The reality? This moisturiser is the total package – it feels like I’m massaging velvety-soft unicorn tears into my face, and it does perk up my dull skin in seconds. Thanks to a recent bout of adult acne for my 40th (thank you, skin) and a very strict two-step routine of aqueous-based products, my face has been looking lacklustre. In sashayed Precious and lo and behold: luminous skin (without aggravating flare-ups). More than that, Precious has allowed me a majestic morning ritual that has lifted my skin and my spirits. 

This is skincare that stands out – a rare routine reserved for paydays, big birthdays and oligarchs. Indulgent? Sure. Luxurious? Absolutely. Do I love it? Most definitely.