Beauty in a Flash! (Clarins Beauty Flash Balm)

Member Name: ellebelle21

Product:	Clarins Beauty Flash Balm
Date:	22/02/09 (295 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: AMAZING product well worth the...

Disadvantages: ...cost!

I have never really been all that 'into' buying special face primer, or the like and my routine ususally consists of using a standard cheapy moisturiser before applying my foundation of choice.
That was until my boyfriends mum bought me a 30ml tube of Clarins Beauty Flash Balm as part of a gift set last year.
It has been a reallyl ong time since i've been 'bowled over' by a beauty product, but seriously, beauty flash balm is a little miricle in a bottle.
It comes in a trademark Clarins design squeezy bottle: clean white with red script telling you its Clarins, telling you (in both french and english, I might add) that it's Beauty Flash balm and that it 'brightens and tightens'. On the back of the bottle come the instructions for application, followed by all the usual bumpf about net weight (1.06 fl oz - 30 mls by the way!) and place of birth (France, quel suprise!).
So aaanyway, as I said it comes in a squeezy tube bottle with a screw tap, and looks overall very presentable indeed.
Onto the 'blam' itself. It is a peachy colour, and smells delicious - kind of fruity and moisturisy! It is quite thick in consistency and is silky to the touch.
So, in accordance with directions for use, I apply a 'thin layer to the face without rubbing in. Follow immediately with make up'. And here's the thing - you must listen to these instructions - they are not just there for a laugh. Leave it on too long and try to put foundation on and the liquid will have dried and will flake when you try to rub something into it - try and rub in the liquid and the same will happen. Do what Clarins tell you and you'll have no problems.
So the effect? Amazing. On application your skin instantly feels lifted and brighter, and without foundation does seem to give you a healthy glow, evening out skin tone. With foundation, it does the same and makes foundation easier to apply and blend. I can't say that it particularly helps to keep your make up in place, but as this is not one of the claims it makes on the bottle, I don't intend to get too caught up in that!
The fact is it really does 'brighten and tighten' and quite honestly i'm not sure now that i've tried it I will be able to go back!
The bottle also says that it can be applied more thickly, and left on for 10 - 15 minutes as a face mask - I can imagione that this would be divine, though as I only have a precious 30 mls of the product I have decided against testing this out so can't really comment!
As for price....well i was lucky enough to receive this as a gift but it will soon be time for me to purchase a new one - and this I will do without looking back - I could not live without it!
So the product retails at £24.50 for 50ml ........ so not exactly a bargain buy but I would totally recommend trawling the web for a bargain, as I have seen it available for as little as £17.50 (quite a reduction).
So there you go, clarins beauty flash blam: the best thing since sliced bread.

Summary: A miracle in a bottle...