In my quest to find the answers to ageing gracefully, I often find myself testing out products I’ve never heard of or always deemed as something I have no need of. Only to realise during the short testing period of mine – which usually ranges between two weeks to a month – will have a lasting effect on me and that certain products sent to me will actually be the catalyst to a new step in my skin care regimen.
I’m talking about serums.
While I’ve been loyal to my creams – from hand, eye, face, to whatever (you name the body part and I will probably have a cream for it) – I always thought that serums are just a redundant product. Why would I need one when I’m actually diligent in using my moisturisers? They’re the same thing right?
That was until I tried some serums from a Korean brand called Purebeauty and most recently, when I was sent serums by Clinelle – a brand I’ve never heard of until I moved to Malaysia.
I admit to buying their toner when the toner I brought from Manila during our big move to KL last year ran out. I was attracted to the clean, professional, and no frills look and the product literature it came with. It worked well on my dry skin that I developed a certain level of respect for the brand. So when they asked me to review their new line, of course I had to say yes. They mentioned caviar, black, and gold in one sentence so I thought back then that this was bound to be interesting.
And just to be clear – serums are actually lightweight moisturisers and not necessary for your skin care regimen. Serums are more for women who are willing to go the extra mile (and bucks) to age gracefully. *raises hand*
Based on my research and talks with other beauty and skin care aficionados, serums also work great as a booster for your heavier moisturisers. (I was actually using it as that already before actually researching and asking about serums. Leaving just one extremely light layer of moisture on my dry skin seems wrong. I’m pretty much OC when it comes to moisturising.)
As you can see in the photo above, I was sent two serums to review – one for the skin around the eye area and one for the rest of the face. The photos were taken when they arrived so by now, I can honestly tell you that they are half empty and have been given a permanent spot on my and my husband’s dresser (which he says is starting to look pretty full but I’m practically running a dictatorship over the dresser and that’s another story).
Let’s talk packaging. Both serums come in a square-ish plastic bottle with rose gold accents. Everything is made of plastic so the product is pretty lightweight and pretty easy to travel with. The Firming Eye Serum comes in a 15ml bottle while the Firming Serum (for the face) has 30ml of product in it.
What I love about the packaging is that both of them come with a pump. I am obsessed with hygienic packaging and pumps are always the way to go. However, do be careful with the pumps and the whole packaging of these products since they are not that sturdy. When they first came in, I also had a hard time with the pump of the face serum. I kept pushing and nothing was coming out. I had to keep pushing for like 5 minutes (continuously and quite forcefully) before I got the pump to work. It’s now working well though so no worries.
I noticed this as problem as well with the Clinelle toner I purchased months ago. It came in a spray bottle and the pump for the spray was not working. So I had to unscrew the spray top off the bottle and pour it on to some cotton just so I can use it. It’s a shame since I really loved that toner! From the smell down to how it works so well in cleaning my skin thoroughly.
Now we move on to the products themselves. Let’s go with the Clinelle Caviar Gold Face Serum first, shall we?
Advertised as a serum that would increase the elasticity of your skin by 16% in 4 weeks, this serum is packed with ingredients like Phyto Plant Gold, 24K Nano Gold, and Caviar Black Gold which make up the range’s Triple Gold Lifting and Firming Complex.
After trying this product for a week, I was pretty disappointed. I even told my friend Arpita that I might not write a review about it since I wasn’t seeing any effect at all. However, just a few days later, I started seeing the effects. And this was only after two weeks of use. My face was less dry and the crusty feeling I get every now and then (my skin is very dry) is gone.
I also noticed that my moisturiser is absorbed faster whenever I use a serum prior to putting some of it on my face.
The consistency of this product is that its very watery and really easy to apply all over your face. It has a bit of gold flecks on it that melts once you’re done applying.
It only takes about a minute for the serum to be absorbed. It’s also a bit warm and sometimes, I feel a bit of tingling on my skin which totally gives me the vibe that it’s doing some magic there.
The scent is actually very light and clean. Something that I like. I don’t like overpowering scents on my skin care products. I just feel that that’s a bit wrong.
The main ingredient of the product – Caviar – is often called ‘black gold’ since it’s one of the most expensive types of food in the market. Made out of salted and processed fish eggs, it is said to have a cell format similar to human skin structure making it effective in delivering the potent nutrients directly to skin’s cellular level. It boosts your skin’s firmness, hydration, and nutrition.
The 24k Nano Gold I mentioned earlier is supposed to boost your collagen production by 300% to improve your skin’s elasticity. Now that’s something that turned me into that emoji with the heart-eyes. 😉
One thing I’m not so interested in is the whitening properties of the Phyto Plant Gold. I’m not into lightening my skin since I find myself pale. But this should be good news for people who are into whitening.
The brand also promises to help your face achieve the highly coveted V Contour here in Asia. But I’m not really keeping my hopes up for this since my face’s bone structure is definitely not Asian. Though my cheeks seemed less puffy since I started using this product.
My fine lines which I have developed during my years as a reporter (Hah!) are still there. I don’t think they can ever go away unless I go under the knife anyways. But this serum has proven effective in making my skin a lot more hydrated and a lot more elastic.
Now let’s move on to the Firming Eye Serum.
Just a wee bit denser than the Firming Serum, this product is definitely it’s partner in keeping the hydration locked in my skin. My under eye area is as dry as the Sahara and as dark as a gloomy London day so concealers tend to crease in that area. But such incidents seem to happen less and less since I started using Clinelle Firming Eye Serum.
This product is advertised to increase the skin on your under eye area’s elasticity by 18% in just 5 days! A pretty huge claim, if you ask me. Personally, I noticed the increased elasticity after over a week of use. But keep in mind that my skin is really unnaturally dry.
I’ve been using this solo (only under eye area care beneath all the makeup) during the day and with my eye cream at night. While I can honestly say that my eye cream – the Skin Doctors Eye Circle – is already doing a pretty good job, I’d say that this serum helped boost its powers. I’ve been sleeping extremely late at night the past week and I’m currently battling a really bad case of the flu and I still do not look like a raccoon.
My eye area looks fresher and well rested.
All in all, I have to say that Clinelle’s Caviar Gold range is pretty good and worth the money if you want to get into the serum bandwagon and start really investing on your skin. They should be a good start up kit as well instead of going for the more expensive ones right away. These serums will also last you quite long since you only need the tiniest amount per use. A little literally goes a long way.
Clinelle is actually a Malaysian brand that uses technology from the US, France, and Korea. They also promise that they do not use artificial colouring, artificial fragrance, parabens, comodegenic ingredients, mineral oil, SD alcohol, and lanolin. So their stuff should work for people with sensitive skin.
The Clinelle Firming Serum for the face and the Eye Firming Serum retail at RM101.70 (Php1213.38, EUR24.27, USD26.63) each but they are currently on sale on the Clinelle Website where you can shop and have the products delivered to your doorstep! Cos of the sale, they currently retail at only RM91.53 (Php1092.05, EUR21.84, USD23.97).
As a gift to you guys, here’s a 20 ringgit off and free shipping voucher for you guys! Do take note that this is valid for purchases amounting to RM100 and above! Just enter this code during the check out process:
FANVQEDHTBS20
Happy shopping! And let me know how these products work for you as well!
Love,
Carol
