Clarins Face Oils

I am a greaseball! I am not kidding, nothing stays on my face – except excessively mattifying products. So me buying facial oils was like a “Whoa!! What you thinkin’ female?!!” moment if nothing else.

It was way back in 2014, when I was a newbie to make up and owned no foundation/blush – nothing!!!!, that I read Caroline Hiron’s blog. I also came across this post about the Clarins Blue Orchid Facial Oil and all the comments were raving about it. I have oily skin which is extremely sensitive and acne prone. I have the occasional hormonal breakouts and for the last year I have had terrible cystic acne which at my ripe age of 27 I do not need!

I tried ordering this oil online – and lo behold – you cannot! It comes under the restricted goods in most of the online sites, so off I headed to Sephora in Abu Dhabi Mall, where I knew they had it. I paid around 226 AED that time for the Blue Orchid. Whilst it was nice at clearing my skin, I still had excessive sebum on my face. So I went on another round of Clarins research and discovered that I could use the Lotus Oil for combating my oils. However, this time I bought it from Duty Free while going on vacay and it was 168 AED. Horrific! The rip off was extraordinary! I have been sticking to Duty Free since then.

The bottles are identical – glass with a dropper, and standard 3o ml. The scent and texture differs slightly. One tip that I would like to give about these oils – massage them well for a good couple of minutes.5-6 drops is more than enough for the face and neck and then dont forget to massage. Otherwise it will sit on your skin and give you clogged pores and feel heavy. Particularly good after a steaming facial (or hot bath) and also after a good clay masking session!

Here’s my thoughts on the oils –

1. Blue Orchid – My most used till now. Smells good but also works well. Good for hormonal breakouts, calming sensitized skin and also combination skin. I use 5 drops all over my face and neck and massage for a good 5 – 6 minutes. Regular use does show benefits. Clears skin.
2. Lotus Oil – It works!! I used 3-5 drops of this every other night on my face and massaged well. The smell is appeasing but I am not big on scents, to be honest. After 2 weeks I noticed I had dry patches on my skin – me the greaseball was drying out. So I started using it more sparingly and now I am good with where my skin is at oiliness wise. Don’t use it much in winter, but now that summer is approaching, this is my best friend.

I do admit I am not regular with the Lotus Oil as much as I am with the Blue Orchid. But they have other oils too – Santal for dry skin and so on. Try any of these oils (which ever suits your needs) and I am sure you will love them, they are my favourites.