fête à fête

I have to admit, I like to sleep in on some mornings. As a result I end up tap dancing my way through a 15-minute rush so I can dash out the door. I splash water on my face, slap on the SPF and lipstick and I'm good to go.

As a new year's resolution I'm making more time for myself, even if it's building a few extra minutes into my beauty regimen. To make things easy, Clarins has a new Gentle Beauty Soap that works well for my routine.

As their first organic product (certified by ECOCERT) it contains 83.5% organic ingredients (shea butter and hazelnut oil) and has less air than traditional soaps. This means it has a greater mileage for you and it lathers up wonderfully. The light citrus scent is uplifting and works well as a body and face soap, so you can also wash your face in the shower.

If you prefer a liquid cleanser, the popular Gentle Foaming Cleanser will remove dirt without drying the skin out. Enriched with cottonseed and katafray bark extract, it'll protect the skin from the drying effects of hard water. The tamarind fruit acid also helps clear blocked pores by eliminating dead skin cells.

For best results, Clarins recommends their unique suction cleansing method, which was developed by founder Jacques Courtin Clarins:

-Squeeze cleanser into hands and apply to face using quick, tapping motions working from inside out. You will hear a slight suction sound as the cleanser removes dirt and impurities.

-Rinse cleanser off the face with cool water and follow with toner. This is more effective than rubbing cleanser into the face as the dirt will create microscopic tears on the skin's surface which lead to breakouts and irritation. It also is gentler than tugging at the skin which causes wrinkles by stretching the skin.

us.clarins.com

For editorial consideration, a product sample was provided for this review.