Where I got it
Just before we step into October Clarins has launched a new member in their SOS primer range. It has become available at Farmers, Life Pharmacy and ClarinsNewZealand.co.nz at $66 each. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you might remember me mentioning that I have a friend that used to work for Clarins in Life Pharmacy at Botany. I got onto their WeChat group and the sales that is working there now update the posts. They get a lot of Asian clients so WeChat is one of their popular social media channels to promote products, sales and promos.
From Clarins Botany Life Pharmacy WeChat account, I learnt that they were doing a GWP offer as well as discounts off all of their products. I already love their SOS primer products already so I decided to get the primer as well as the eye serum. The SOS primer was $54.40 after 15% off. The serum also had a $2 discount for being a new product (Clarins at Life Pharmacy often do this for new products as promo). During these sales, you don’t get reward points, but the discount does make up for it.
Clarins SOS UV Primer SPF30
What I got
This is the SOS UV Primer with SPF30 (30ml). SOS UV Primer prepares your skin for make-up application, improves its hold, and instantly corrects and boosts your complexion’s radiance while providing an additional barrier to protect your skin from UV rays. Hydrating and smoothing, SOS UV Primer can be used under other SOS Primers to correct your complexion depending on individual beauty needs.
How I find it
I already own at least 4 different shades of their SOS Primers and I love all of them. I have the green one for redness, universal light for illumination, peach to counteract the look of imperfections, rose to brighten tired-looking skin and lavender to brighten yellow-toned skin (not available in NZ and AUS, but available in Asia). I use them less often now because I am hardly putting on makeup and even when I have been wearing makeup, I prefer to apply as few layers of product as possible so I prefer to use something like a colour-correcting primer with SPF or sunscreen with a tint to hit two birds with one stone. If I need to apply sunscreen over a moisturiser and then apply a primer over that and ultimately a foundation, I feel a kind of burden on my skin. There is also a risk of products fighting over each other and getting patchy.
Anyway, when they launched this primer with SPF, I was really excited and decided to get it right away. Currently, the UV primer is only in one shade, which gives a slight radiance effect, but not as brightening as the universal light. It is a sunscreen so there is a worry about the thickness and any white cast in this. It comes out looking quite white so I was a little weary that it might give me a pretty intense white cast. I am usually OK with a bit of brightening, but when it gets to this white cast on the skin, it does look very strange if you are not putting any foundation on top. As I rub the primer in, that white cast turns transparent, leaving me with an overall brightened look. Not shimmery or pearl-like, but just brightened and slightly dewy. It leaves my skin feeling soft and non-sticky to the touch, but you can feel a layer on the skin. You can also smell the significant fragrance that would last for at least 20-30 minutes.
Overall
I have been enjoying using this primer with SPF. I understand that I might not be wearing the “required” amount of SPF when it comes in a primer format, but I have been staying indoors, away from the window and with shades as well, I don’t feel the need to coat my skin with the amount of SPF needed when I go to the beach if you know what I mean. I would always reapply sunscreen whenever I go out for a stroll and wear a well-protected hat over my face and also covers my ears and side of my face (yes, I love this hat at the moment). I like the finish and the brightening effect this primer gives me, but in terms of evening out skin tone, I think the lavender shade in the same primer range does a much better job. Sometimes I would use this UV primer first, and then apply the lavender primer to where I need it. My skin would look and feel really comfortable and hydrated for the day.
I noticed that when I do not wear foundation over this, my skin would look very good and no dry patches would appear. However, if I use a foundation, I would need to use a moisturising foundation or a BB cream as such. If I use anything mattifying, I would start seeing dry patches around my chin and on the side of my mouth and the foundation would start separating. The primer isn’t really hydrating or moisturising, so if you have dry skin, you would need to make sure your skincare provides plenty of moisture, or you might need to put a moisturising primer on underneath.
Overall, if you do not have many skin problems and just like a quick, 2-in-1 primer/SPF product, you are good to go with this. However, if you have other skin issues or want a proper foundation primer for foundation longevity or skin-tone correcting primer, this is not the product for you. It doesn’t claim to do everything, but it does what it claims to do. I think that’s fair enough, and I have been using this product non-stop.
