Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner

Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner - £25

I know you're all probably bored of me banging on about Alpha-H Liquid Gold by now but it has been my skin saviour for almost a year. Sadly I have to say that it doesn't quite give me the same results anymore. Theres still a visible difference every time I use it but nothing compared to what it did when I first tried it out. Maybe its because I only use it once a week but I guess my skin has just become used to the product. A few of the closed comedones on my cheeks & forehead have begun to make a very unwelcome reappearance and while my skin is otherwise 'good' now (touch wood!), those horrible flesh coloured bumps still get me down. Ideally I wish I could use Liquid Gold every night to sort them out but I'm sure that overdosing on such a high percentage of glycolic acid would just make my skin very red & sensitive. I've even heard of people whose skin has become blistered and raw after their first use of Liquid Gold so I don't want to risk that happening to me. But I think I may have found a safer alternative & its widely available in Boots & department stores across the country - Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner.

It works in a similar way to Liquid Gold in that it is also a chemical exfoliant. As the name suggests you use this product as a toner. After cleansing apply a generous amount to a cotton pad and wipe it all over your face & neck. You then have to wait a couple of minutes before continuing with the rest of your skincare routine but afterwards you can apply whatever serum, eye cream, moisturiser etc. that you normally use. The instructions say to only use it once or twice a week, the same amount as Liquid Gold, but this is so mild on the skin that you can actually use it as a daily product. Its so much gentler on the skin than physical exfoliants yet more potent at the same time.

I've been using it almost every night before applying Hydraluron, Alpha-H Absolute Eye Complex & Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins. It has significantly reduced the amount of closed comedones on my face and leaves my skin feeling really soft & smooth. No adverse effects whatsoever, not even the slightest sting or tingle. You won't see an immediate visual difference like with Liquid Gold but over a couple of weeks you'll start to notice what a difference it makes to the texture of your skin. Clarins say that the main ingredients are tamarind extract which eliminates impurities & dead skin cells and white nettle extract which tightens pores but it also contains glycolic, salicylic & tartaric acid. These AHAs and BHAs help to treat existing blemishes as well as prevent new ones from appearing. It has also helped to reduce the scars left from old spots so my skin looks brighter & clearer in general. Just don't forget to wear sun protection during the day as the glycolic acid will make you more sensitive to the sun. If you've tried Liquid Gold and found it to be too harsh or you're too scared to try something so powerful then this is a brilliant & more readily available alternative for people with sensitive skin.

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