This moisturiser is something that I have being trying over the past few months after my mum gave me a tub as she didn't like the feel of it on her skin.

Clarins is one of the well know French company and most of their products are on sale in department stores or via the Internet.

Packaging
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The Moisture quenching hydra cream comes in a lovely blue frosted glass pot with a white lid. As I inherited this one from my mum I am not sure what the outer packaging looked like.

How to use
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Clarins advise applying this both in the morning or evening and by dabbing this on to the skin rather than pulling at it. I believe the reason for this is to stop the skin being dragged as it were and adding to the tight dry skin feel.


Active ingredients
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Hyaluronic acid: helps maintain ideal moisture levels.

Katafray bark: restructures skin's protective outermost layers, limits dehydration.

Sorbier tree bud: stimulates radiance-boosting microcirculation. (Taken form Clarins website)


In use
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It has taken me about 2 months to work my way through the majority of this pot and during this time it has been some of the warmest months on record and I have been not great at keeping my body hydrated. What this has meant is that this moisturizer has had it work cut out with trying to keep my skin from drying out and to look fresh. I am not sure it has totally lived up to these claims but this is how I have found it.

The cream itself is a lovely smooth texture and when you are taking it from the pot it feels lovely to the touch as it so thick and creamy. The cream itself comes up into nice soft peaks as you take it out of the tub which for some reason I always find satisfying. The smell to me reminds me of roses and bergamot and is not unpleasant to wear and have on your face. Dabbing the cream in is simple to do and often by the time I have finished lightly dabbing my face and neck the first area tackled as it were has been fully absorbed. There is a light feel left on my skin after applying it which lasts about 15 minutes but there is no discernible film on my skin and this is purely a sensation that I feel with using it. This sense of feeling a lightness on the skin was the reason my mum didn't like it as it felt wrong to her to then apply make up on not long after it and she found this made her foundation feel a little heavy. I personally don't wear make up to work unless there is an important meeting so this hasn't been an issue for me.

I have worn this cream at least once a day and twice if I remember or have time in the morning before work and dropping my son off at nursery. I do however always wear it at night and my skin does feel soft in the morning. The moisturiser is light and I have found during the time of using that my pores have got clogged and cause sports with wearing it as some other moisturisers have. Equally however it hasn't actually done anything to reduce some of my fine lines around my eyes or my major frown line by the top of my nose. I haven't noticed any difference in the depth of these due to my skin being more hydrated which I have found disappointing really. Equally for such a high end product I am surprised it also doesn't include any SPF levels as most moisturisers seem to now and given sun damage is a main cause of dehydrated skin this does seem to me a failure.

Overall
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I like the feel of this on my skin and how it does seem to make my skin feel softer and it doesn't block pores. However for me personally I prefer to use a cream that may have a bit more of an impact on my fine lines. At around £30 for a 50 ml tub this does represent an investment but not one that I will be making again. I am going to give it 3 stars for its creamy texture moisturising ability and scent. But I will look for another product for my skins needs once my tub is finally used up as I didn't find it meant all my moisturiser requirements.