Clarins Extra Comfort Foundation - review

Clarins latest and greatest foundation: Extra Comfort SPF15

I've been using this one for a few weeks now - it's due out on 15th of September and I've decided to post my review prior to its release - this is great stuff that I heartily recommend.

As mentioned in my previous post, this is a cosmetics-skincare hybrid, containing lots of really good stuff for nourishing dryer or more mature skin in particular.

Coverage

This is an "almost full cover" foundation that can be sheered-down by application method (eg: use a damp sponge).  You'll get between "heavier medium" and "lighter full" out of this.  It builds reasonably well, up to a point, but bearing in mind it's an oil-based foundation, you're not going to want to layer too much of this on.

Finish

This has a gorgeous, satin finish - considering it's such a heavier coverage, it's not a dead matte.  There's a beautiful natural, lifted, rested, unaffected glow, a "your skin but really evened-out and luminous" look to it.

Wear

First time I used it, it went on at around 12pm and still looked fresh when I removed it at almost midnight.  I had a very busy day and had only powdered, once, on application.  And it still lasted that long, and more importantly, looked that good, after nearly 12 hours.  Impressed Face!  I didn't notice any particularly significant fading, flaking, bunching*, separating or oxidising... all in all this is a nice, quiet, unassumingly truly lovely foundation.

As I've found it to last so long under normal circumstances, you don't particularly need a primer underneath this one.  Oilier areas of a combination skin will definitely need powdering however.

* But do make sure it's buffed-in, it can bunch at the hairline, brows etc if you're not careful (as with any heavier coverage foundation).

Shades & Undertones

Most of the shades have a undertones which tend more towards neutral than yellow or pink - which means that most shades should suit most skin tones.  I received a press sample in shade #112/Amber and it's actually completely and utterly perfect for my skin shade/tone at the moment (which has been tanned in the recent sun-filled weeks we've enjoyed and is now hovering somewhere around the MAC NC35-40-ish ball-park.  Here's the thing.  I'm definitely cool-toned (greeny-yellowish-sallow).  My mother is categorically warm-toned (pink-ish).  We've both tanned a bit in the last few months and this shade actually suits us both perfectly.

The shades available in Ireland will be 

• 104 - Cream (not shown above)
• 105 - Nude
• 107 - Beige
• 108 - Sand
• 109 - Wheat
• 110 - Honey
• 111 - Toffee
• 112 - Amber (me)
• 113 - Chestnut
• 114 - Cappuccino

Best Applied With

You do need to work with it reasonably quickly, not that it sets in the way that many other foundations do, but still - bang it on and blend it out and don't be messing around with it.  Best for application I found was my Shu Uemura #18 brush for a decent cover (I know that I'm ranting on about this brush a bit of late, but it really is just amazing).  For a more medium coverage, I like the new MAC 159 - the duo fibres sheer it out a little more.  I didn't like fingers to apply this, you can certainly do it but you need a brush to blend away the edges (especially at the hairline), and a more dense brush works better for this.  Although it'll do the trick ok, I wasn't personally mad about using a paddle brush with it.  A dry sponge isn't great with this, a damp sponge works to give a nice, slightly more sheer than full-on look.

Formulation

This is a lightweight cream formulation.  Incidentally, you will definitely "feel" this foundation on your skin, but that is true of all heavier coverage foundations.  At its base is argan oil so if you're going to use a primer, make sure it's similarly oil-based (the most obvious one that jumps to mind is Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentrè) - honestly though I think unless you have absolutely dessicated skin, you're not going to need a combination of oil-based serum + moisturiser + primer + this foundation, you'll just wind up with an oil slick - so I would skip the primer, personally.

Best Suited To

The lucky "normal skins" will love it.  It is amazing on dryer skins and makes more mature skins just light up.  I have combination skin and it worked absolutely fine on me but I did notice that at the oilier areas started to feel oily (powdering it will help).  I wouldn't recommend it for oily skins.

Skincare, Flashback, SPF, Price?

With respect to skincare, see my preview post about this - it's a skincare-cosmetic hybrid, in effect.  It has an SPF of 15 so there may be some degree of flashback.  I personally prefer to see no SPF or minimum SPF30, so I feel this is a bit pointless, but it's better than nothing I guess.  Price-wise, this will set you back €43 for 30ml.  Definitely try it out if you like more coverage or have normal, dry or mature skin.

Recommended?

This is a truly brilliant workhorse foundation for dry up as far as combination skin, and will definitely be a hero product for dryer or more mature skin - I can't get my mother to give it back to me actually, she loves it.   But as always, try before you buy to see if it suits you!

Disclaimer: Many thanks to Clarins PR for sending me this foundation for my consideration.  My opinions as always are my own and reported honestly.