Saturday, January 25, 2014

Perfecting Apricot

Another beauty buy from my trip to London last September came about with the help of an excellent gift with purchase I stumbled upon at House of Fraser. If you purchased any two Clarins products, you could select three deluxe size samples of some of their most popular skin care products. I was running out of my favourite Multi-Active Night Youth Recovery Cream and had been contemplating repurchasing it, but the cheapest price I could find online was around $58 for the 50ml jar. Already having a few products from Clarins that I was interested in buying, I figured why not score free 30ml tubes of Multi-Active Night, HydraQuench Cream and HydraQuench Cream-Mask in the process. While one of the items I had my eye on, the Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner, was sadly out of stock, I finally had an excuse to take home the Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector.






Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 02 Apricot Shimmer

I selected Apricot Shimmer (02), though my first choice of a darker pink was out of stock. Admittedly, I was a little taken aback at the price — £17 or around $31. That's a heck of a lot for a lip gloss. The price in the UK is even more expensive than in Australia, where this retails for $26. I definitely wouldn't have purchased it without the incentive of the generous gift with purchase.

The gloss itself is very cushiony and plush, like a smoother, slightly more liquid version of the Korres Lip Butters. It's relatively thick but very moisturising and lightweight on the lips. Apricot Shimmer is on the pale side in that it's lighter than my natural lip colour. It's quite a milky peach that appears relatively pink on my lips, but remains mainly sheer. One of my favourite aspects of it is that it's glossy without having any shimmery particles. You could wear this paired with a darker lipstick or stain (like Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey) to make the darker shade less intense, or over a similar colour (like MAC Shy Girl) for a more "three-dimensional" effect. It does leave the lips looking fuller and more plump and I imagine it'd offer welcome relief for dry, peeling lips.

The sponge tip applicator doesn't bother me as much as I initially thought, though I always squeeze the product out onto my finger and then apply it to my lips. The vanilla scent is an added touch that makes it a pleasure to use. I love the sophisticated, attractive packaging, with the elongated shape, colour-coded exterior and gold cap. It's a high quality balm/gloss hybrid with a refined, comfortable-feeling formula, but at the same time, if you already have a lot of lip glosses and balms, you probably could do without it.

34 comments:

  1. These are my favorites- I actually can't believe I got so fond of a lipgloss.

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  2. I love these bad boys! They are pricey but as im not really a fan of other lip glosses I let it slide x

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  3. Amazing colour :)))

    http://prettypurple92.weebly.com/

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  4. I didn't realise it cost so much in the UK! I thought $26 was unreasonable... The feeling of this formula is so cushy and plush and lightweight- the best hybrid gloss/balm I've found.

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    1. And I forgot to add- oooh nice photo! Flower crowns (Y) ;)

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  5. I really do think that these look super lovely, this shade in particular really appeals to me. The Exfoliating Toner you mentioned is something I'd like to try too.
    Amy x | A Little Boat Sailing

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  6. aww i love this!! i have the exact same shade, and it really leaves my lips looking exactly the way i want them to - glossy, plump, moisturized, and light pink :) i just found out that they have stopped selling this in hong kong, which made me really sad. i'm going to have to look online to order my next tube!

    rachel x
    blush&brunch

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  7. This is one of those products that I know I don't need but ooooooh my goodness the want is strong. It's the price that's holding me back (it really is ridiculous when you think about it for even more than a second) but who knows… maybe some day I'll cave!

    ♥Cassie
    thriftthick.blogspot.com

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  8. I didn't realise this was cheaper in other countries! I've been tempted to by it for so so long. It does look lovely on you, but I'm just struggling to justify the cost x

    lamourjosie.com

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  9. I know I could probably do without it... but I definitely WANT IT! After watching the Pixiwoo sisters use this in a few of their videos, it's definitely on my radar and I always pick it up whenever I go to the Clarins counter ;)

    x
    Phoebe
    Eat. Live. Love. Repeat.

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  10. I definitely want to try a shade of this because I dont own any lipglosses really and this is apparently the only one you ever need !

    Madeline | Its a Mads Mads World | Check out my MAC lipstick giveaway

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  11. I just bought this a few days ago, but haven't tried it out yet! I have a weird thing with higher end products, I like to keep them in their boxes and kind of just save them for some reason. I had heard a lot of hype with these too, and hopefully will love it because the shade range is gorgeous!

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  12. I'm going to post my review of another colour soon. :) I find these mute my lip colours as well - was hoping that a darker shade would show more, but nope. The quality is great though. Great slip, quite nurturing, nice vanilla scent.

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  13. I have this one as well but in shade #2 ( forget the name :p ) I love how moisturizing it is and how it makes my lips looking healthier and plumper and also the scent is very nice. But it does no wonder for the price. I think,the only reason why it costs €18 is just the fact that it comes from Clarins, not Essence.

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  14. This looks very pretty on you! I've always wanted to pick the pinky one up, maybe sometime this year!

    Kate xo / www.beautybabbles.com

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  15. I picked up two of these in the Duty Free shop before I went to London, because you basically got 2 for the price of one and I've been wanting to try one for ages. But I don't know... I'm not sure what I think about this product yet. I mean, it's nice and all, but I feel like it's way too expensive and over-hyped.

    Sandra - The Puzzle of Sandra's Life

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  16. I've heard really nice things about this glosses...I have to admit : I'm more of a Lipstick kinda girl, but who knows...I might try to get one and try one of these days (specially when promotions are up!)
    The shade you choose is really pretty, specially for the Spring and Summer time :3
    Take care, have a nice day!*

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  17. I've heard so much about this product and I have been so tempted to buy it but it just seems pricey for a glossy product that I may not wear that often. I haven't decided on a shade yet, but I think eventually I will be giving this a try.
    xx
    Celina | The Celution | Bloglovin’

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  18. Wow I didn't realise it was cheaper here! This guy is still on my wishlist but I've got enough lip glosses for now.

    Tasha // shiwashiful.

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  19. I've never tried any Clarins beauty products before but this looks like a promising one, though just like you, I am taken aback by the price too (wowza)! The packaging is certainly quite unique and different than those that I've used in the past but I wonder if it is that different than a normal doe-foot applicator?

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  20. It's a pretty color. I've never tried their cosmetics before. Great review.
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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  21. I think this was my first high end purchase and I just love it! Wonderful review, I really enjoyed reading it :)

    www.phoebetea.co.uk

    xxx

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  22. I love these lip perfectors! I wear it on top of Benefit's posie tint often (I have no lip colour) haha.

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  23. i've been seeing so much of these everywhere, no matter how simple these glosses are everyone seems to really really think they are quite worth it. Although there's nothing special about the shades, I would really consider getting one if I get around to visiting a counter this year! Thanks for sharing your thoughts

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  24. I'm not generally into glosses, but I've heard so many good things about these, I think I'll have to try it! I also like that this one isn't shimmery.

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  25. Lovely!
    I have heard many good things about this particular lippie.
    Love your new profile pic, btw. ;)

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  26. Have you tried Sara Happ's Lip Balm? It's amazing as well and a little less pricey.

    MISSY IN THE MIRROR

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  27. I own this shade and also the lightest pink one, they really are so good for chapped lips when lipsticks cling to every single piece of dry, flaking skin!

    www.madeleineslittleblog.blogspot.co.uk

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  28. I really want to try these, but I don't know if I can get past the unhygienic applicator! Although squeezing it onto your finger first seems like a good idea! This is such a pretty colour too! xx

    Sarah | Squares - Bookworm and Beauty Enthusiast

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  29. I'm so keen to try my one out (I got 01 Rose Shimmer). I'm kicking myself now though because there was an exclusive duty-free travel kit that sold full sizes of 01 and 02 for only around 23 - 24 euro! x

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  30. I always see this at the Clarins counter but the price just feels a bit too much for me to part with! Have heard rumours that they're bringing out a mini set of 4 so may keep my eye out for that instead x

    Evelyn @ We Were Raised By Wolves

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  31. Thanks for the review. It was thoughtfully written. I like that you were honest about the price and quality. The color looks gorgeous, no doubt, but it's very expensive. Regardless, I'm happy you got it, because it looks great on your skin.
    Beauty Fashion Skin Care Blog - Girlie Blog Seattle | Cheap Makeup Reviews

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  32. What a lovely colour! I'm going to check these outs for sure. It's interesting packaging too.

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