Porcelain perfection from Clarins

Ever wonder where alabaster-skinned beauties get their glow ?

Maybe it’s good genes. Maybe they’re really good at avoiding the sun. Maybe they’ve found the ultimate whitening products, like the White Plus range from Clarins.

I never had any major problems with my skin until I turned 30. Then it was one complaint after another: sudden breakouts from stress, skin tags from pregnancy, dark spots and uneven skintone.

You can’t turn back the clock to your twenties and apply sunscreen every day like you should have done, so what’s a gal to do except resort to lighteners and brighteners?

Clarins launched White Plus in 2004 with a range of eight whitening skincare products that combine the best of science and plants. This is the French skincare company that has 50 years of research behind it, so you know you’re in good hands. Clarins is famous for using botanicals in their luxurious cosmeceuticals, "using a maximum of active ingredients at their most effective concentration."

This year they’ve added three new products to make their whitening regime even more effective: White Plus Detoxifying Pure Soap, Renewing Gentle Exfoliator and Intensive Whitening Mask.

Knowing that Asian women are the number-one coveters of fair, flawless complexions, they tested their Total Whitening Essence on 40 Japanese women in a clinical trial. A dermatologist examined them after the first application, then after three months of daily treatment. The results showed that dark spots were reduced by 68%, formation of new dark spots was decreased by 80%, complexions were brightened by 70% and evened by 83%.

This was great news to me. I couldn’t wait to try the White Plus regimen.

First, you cleanse and exfoliate, to prepare your skin to receive treatment. Clarins’ Detoxifying Cleansing Mousse is light as air yet vanquished my stubborn mascara in one fell swoop. For all its effectiveness, it didn’t dry out my skin but left it comfortably matte.

Next came the Renewing Gentle Exfoliator, with micro-beads to lift off dead skin cells. I worked it in with gentle, circular motions, then rinsed with water. Voila, instant brightness and velvety smoothness. Even my pores looked smaller.

Now for more intensive care. The list of whitening ingredients in the creams reads like a recipe for some delicious fruit cocktail: mandarin, raspberry, strawberry, and grapefruit.

Clarins’ Total Whitening Essence has the highest concentration of this vitamin-rich complex, and is anti-pigmentation, anti-aging and anti-dull complexion. Here, Clarins’ patented Lock-Around System kicks in, minimizing dark spots and preventing new spots from forming. Personally, I loved the feel of the serum, which is oil-free and sinks into the skin with a non-greasy finish.

A new addition is the Intensive Whitening Mask, hygienically packaged in single-dose tubes to give you exactly the right amount each time. Smoothed over the face and neck, it provides a tingly, relaxing break – a ten-minute oasis of pure pampering, French style. I definitely see a rosier glow after I wash the mask off.

To maintain the effects of the intensive treatment, you’re supposed to apply the Hydrating Whitening Lotion SPF 20 during the day. Light and pleasantly scented, it moisturizes and protects your face from further sun damage and environmental pollution.

At the end of the day there’s the Repairing Whitening Night Cream, which nourishes and replenishes skin as you sleep, while continuing the lightening effect. In the morning when I wake up, my skin looks fresh and more luminous. Suddenly, looking as radiant as Ziyi Zhang in Crouching Tiger doesn’t seem like such a farfetched dream anymore.

The White Plus range also includes the All Spots Whitening Corrector, for spot treatments; the Purifying Whitening Body Mist, so your tanned limbs can match your face and neck; and the Tightening Whitening Lotion, a toner that preps the skin for the more intensive treatments.

With all this, Clarins has left no stone unturned – or in this case, no spot unlightened – in the quest for flawless skin. After a mere two days, I could see visible results: the freckles on my nose minimized, my skintone more even, my complexion more luminous. With a few more weeks of White Plus, I can see the fulfillment of Clarins’ ultimate promise: to turn back the clock and achieve the translucent, healthy glow of a child’s skin.

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Available at Rustan’s.