Clarins Calm-Essentiel Soothing Emulsion

To provide some context, I have very dry sensitive skin with rosacea. The type of rosacea I have its red hot skin with occasional pustules which is basically acne. I have been searching for a regime that works for me.

Wow the smell of this is amazing! It made me quite nervous to use as fragrance is something people with rosacea avoid... I trusted the sensitive label and used as directed. NO FLARE UP!!!!! I was over the moon when my face felt calm and soothed. I can finally use a beautiful smelling product and not burn my face off!!

I found this cream particularly amazing when I was mid flare up. This can happen at random times but most often after exercise or being out in the heat. When I put it on my face it's almost like a big sigh of relief to reduce the heat and calm it down.

I will absolutely be purchasing this again. Huge recommendation from me.

First off, this comes in a handy tube format (simple but pretty in white and pink) with a pump dispenser and a firm-click lid, so it's portable, hygienic and very easy to dispense the amount you want. Love it. The emulsion itself has a nice mid-weight cream texture, so 'rich emulsion' is probably a good description, great for melting softly into your skin and beautiful for around the eyes (yes, really - and no stinging or puffiness).

The floral scent is pleasant enough but very strong. I was actually nervous to put it on the first time, because as a sensitive-skin girl, my face products are almost all fragrance-free. It turned out to be fine in terms of my sensitivity, but it was stronger, more floral, and longer-lasting (lingering for hours) than I would personally like. Not a deal-breaker for me though.

As for performance... A+. My skin was VERY tight, dry, reactive and uncomfortable before the trial (it gets like that most winters), and my usual gentle moisturisers were stinging on application. The first time I applied the emulsion, there was a very slight stinging feeling, which disappeared quickly (so that was actually already an improvement), but after that, every time I used it my skin just felt better and better, even around my eyes. Calm. Soothed. Hydrated. As you'd expect, it takes a while to re-set upset skin and break the over-sensitised, reactive cycle, but mine was feeling great within a week! In terms of pure hydration, at first the emulsion didn't seem enough on its own. So I added a couple of drops of the Calm Essentiel Oil on top, which helped. But now I do that just once every few days IF I feel the need to. I think my skin's normalised now, so it's just not as desperately thirsty.

For coverage, a pea-sort-of-sized blob of emulsion does my face and neck, so the 50 ml tube would last many, many months. It's definitely a lot pricier than my usual, but as a winter rescue treatment purchased once every couple of years, I reckon it's probably worth it.

For anyone with hyper-sensitive, dry skin, I can't recommend this highly enough. Mine's certainly breathing a looong sigh of relief.

My first impression of the product was confusion. The product dispensed the emulsion through a pump which I was unsure whether to use inverted or as presented in pictures. However, I enjoyed the fact that the pump limited how much product I was getting - so no issues of applying too much or too little.

The instructions for how to apply the product were also a bit unclear as I have not used an emulsion before (or frankly heard of it as a term in skincare). But, as part of the trial group I did recieve some additional information about using the product as a moisturiser substitute and this made more sense with the feel of the product (I had also used in combination with the soothing oil as suggested).

As far as effectiveness, I think my skin enjoyed the emulsion - particularly as part of my skincare routine. I would not suggest using it as part of the morning skincare if you already use a moisturiser and wear makeup too. I did notice that my skin had no issues adjusting to the calming and soothing emulsion - there were no major breakouts or reactions which was really good to see. I think the product was nice and gentle on the skin and helped to restore hydration at night after cleansing.

This moisturiser came into my life at a good time - just when winter cold started, bringing with it indoor heating and temperature extremes. Due to this weather my skin immediately started showing redness and signs of sensitivity. I was very pleased to have this moisturiser available to apply.

Did it conquer all the redness in my cheeks? No. Did it do a good job at preventing and reducing it? Yes, I believe it did.

Other pluses for this product are that it has a lovely fragrance, can be used morning and night, and did not irritate my sensitive skin, even when applied near the eye area (was I supposed to do that...?).

The down sides were the packaging - I'm unfamiliar with this style of tube with pump top, so I'm dubious about getting the last bit of product out of the bottom - and the lack of instructions. Clarins often go light on instructions, meaning I'm trying to guess how to use their products properly. Partway through the trial Beauty Review contacted me to let me know exactly what order I should be applying the products in. Turns out I'd been doing my day routine in reverse! If Clarins gave better instructions on their packaging people would see better results with their products, so I feel it is in everyone's interest for them to provide a bit more info!

All told this was a lovely moisturiser, but I'll wait and see how successfully I can get the last bit out of the tube before I comment on value for money. ;)

The packaging is sleek and I love the feel, however it gets pretty close to toppling over quite regularly since the pump is a lot smaller than the bottle. I like that it arrived with a clear packaging over the top of the lid to show it was a fresh new bottle!

The pump applicator was a real let down, and unfortunately puts me off ever buying the product in the future. It took a long time for me to get any product out the first time I used it, and over the two weeks that I trialled the product there were more days than not where it took ages trying to get product out. Please Clarins, consider changing the bottle design!

The product itself is creamy and white, and the scent is very strong in this product (floral but a bit artificial - similar to, but stronger than the other products in the range). I would prefer the scent was a bit more toned down on this specific product, to match the others in the range.

It was lightweight and easy to apply, so I expected it to work just as a day cream. However it was extremely moisturising so I used it morning and night with no problem (using the emulsion from the range with it in the morning and an oil alongside it at night is the best option). My skin regularly feels dry and tight after I moisturise (especially after a shower, and sometimes even after I apply oil), however my skin didn't feel tight or dry at all after application. It truly did feel soothed and supple.

I really love how this product works and how it it suitable for morning and evening. Plus, two pumps was all that was needed (so the 50ml bottle will last for ages) so I hope Clarins will consider switching out the pump for a cap. If they did, I would definitely consider repurchasing.

As a runner who exposes her skin to all sorts of wild environments, I was very excited to be chosen to review Clarins Calm- Essentiel Soothing Emulsion. The product is presented smartly in the iconic, Clarins minimalist style. The emulsion is delivered via a pump mechanism which I really appreciate as it controls the amount I can use and also can avoid getting my fingers into the product. The cream feels light and silky and is lightly scented with a musky fragrance. I used the lotion morning and night and found it too be very gentle, while still moisturising. My skin felt softer and less irritated after long runs in the wind. The product promises to protect skin so I look forward to seeing further long term benefits.

I've been using the Soothing Emulsion in conjunction with the Restoring Oil for the last 10 days.

While I don't really like the scent of the soothing emulsion (first thought was Grandma's moisturiser that had been sitting in her makeup drawer for a couple of years), mixed with the very faintly scented restoring oil the scent tones down a little.

I needed three pumps of the emulsion along with three drops of the oil to cover my face (four of each to also cover my neck with a little on the backs of my hands - which have also benefitted from this treatment). As with the corrective gel it was non-greasy even with the oil added into it, and was absorbed by my skin relatively quickly.

After the fourth day I noticed some small breakouts, so dropped the oil back to every second day, which worked fine with no more breakouts.

Overall I have noticed a definite reduction in my rosacea and redness in my skin. I am very prone to blushing, which is normally a prickly burning sensation on my face and neck, however this has also toned down since using this regime and is not so painful/annoying.

Overall I'm pleased with these products and they have achieved good results on my skin as they promised. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone suffering from redness and rosacea.

Just love this product. I had been using all sorts of serums, moisturisers and eye creams before starting this trial and the results were so disappointing. No matter what I did, and did every single day religiously, my skin was dry and itchy, flakey, sensitive, red, and unevenly toned. Just before finding out about this trial I was doing research into what I could do to help my skin, and I came across the benefits of emulsifying ointments and creams. Boom. Clarin’s soothing emulsion dropped into my lap. From day one the results were instantaneous and miraculous (to me). After using for 10 days my skin is no longer dry, itchy, flakey, or tight. The tone is improved and I’ve even noticed an improvement in fine lines and wrinkles!

The product smells amazing, the packaging it ethically sourced, easy to remove, and informative, though I do find you need to pump a bit to get enough product out. I use about 3-4 pumps to cover my face and neck.

Very happy with this product and will 100% be purchasing this once I’ve used it all up!!

This is just a fancy term for moisturiser as I didn’t notice any difference in the texture or results between a normal moisturizer and this! My skin felt super hydrated and comfortable using this and I really like the scent, very “Clarins”, fresh and subtle. The tube has a pump which is super handy, however I am interested to see how much product would be leftover towards the end that the pump tube can’t reach.

I used this both morning and evening and it sits well under makeup – however it did take a while to absorb fully (which is why its so hydrating and protective). Definitely noticed a reduction in redness around my nose where I tend to get dermatitis in cold weather and I had no flaky patches on my forehead either.