La Roche-Posay and Clarins: Their Best Products for Different Skin Types
La Roche-Posay and Clarins are two of the world’s leading premium skincare brands, each offering an impressive array of moisturisers, serums and creams that protect skin from the rigours of everyday life.
Developed by dermatologists, La Roche-Posay produce safe and effective treatments that improve the quality of life for those with skin concerns, particularly sensitivity and acne.
Clarins are a long-established, prestigious skincare brand that has been providing innovative and efficacious skincare for over 60 years. Their extensive product range offers everything from anti-ageing treatments to sun protection.
Choosing between premium brands is difficult. This guide will consider each brand in detail to help you choose the right one for your particular skin type or need. It will cover:
Sensitive skin
Though La Roche-Posay is rightly renowned for their sensitive skin range, Clarins also produce highly effective cleansers, creams and serums for sensitive skin.
Selenium-rich with thermal spa water and hydrolipids, La Roche-Posay Hydreane Riche helps moisturise irritated skin and reduce sensitivity. Applied daily, its soothing and antioxidant properties leave skin feeling soft and supple.
Intended for similar use, Clarins Gentle Day Cream for Sensitive Skin is a comforting, anti-pollution day cream made with 90% plant extracts. Applied each morning, and suitable for sensitive skin of all ages, it soothes redness and promotes an even skin tone. This is the more expensive of the two creams, but feels the richest and most soothing.
Acne and blemish-prone skin
Both Clarins and La Roche-Posay offer excellent products for acne and blemish-prone skin. The La Roche-Posay Effaclar Micro-Exfoliant Astringent Lotion should be used twice daily after washing to remove any remaining excess oil. Suitable for all types of skin imperfections, it contains minimal ingredients and works to unblock clogged pores, reduce pore size and purify the skin.
Clarins Pure Scrub is intended for combination or oily skin that tends to be shiny, has minor blemishes or clogged pores. The lava beads gently remove dead skin and other impurities while unblocking pores. The gel turns into a foam when used with water making the skin feel purified and the complexion refreshed, while also leaving a matte finish.
Dry and dehydrated skin
The La Roche-Posay Hydraphase Intense Serum designed for tight, dehydrated skin lacking in elasticity and motion. Quickly absorbed with a melt-in gel texture, this serum contains a high concentration of La Roche-Posay’s signature thermal spring water, hyaluronic acid fragments and the water captors Arginine and Serine.
Clarins Hydrating Toning Lotion is an alcohol-free toning lotion for normal and dry skin which should be applied twice a day after cleansing, using cotton pads to smooth it over the face and neck. Enriched with aloe vera and saffron flower, it hydrates the skin and leaves it feeling fresh.
Oily and combination skin
The new Effaclar Serum by La Roche-Posay is designed for those with oily or combination skin and helps with skin that is prone to acne. It targets imperfections, reduces pore size, regulates sebum secretion and helps to reduce the appearance of acne scars. A pipet is used to apply the serum to the fingertips which are pressed into the skin targeting areas where the serum is needed.
Clarins Foaming Cleanser for oily or combination skin is ideal for daily use and should be applied in the evenings to refresh and de-stress the skin. Tamarind fruit acids help exfoliate the skin and clear blocked pores of excess oils or trapped makeup, preserving the skin’s natural balance.
Ageing/mature skin
Containing Ceramide 5 to keep skin hydrated, firm and supple, La Roche-Posay Effaclar H Moisturiser provides the skin with lipids to help rebuild the skin’s protective barrier. Suitable for oily skin types, apply it in the morning and evening after cleansing the skin and towel drying the face.
Applied each morning as part of a daily skincare routine, the Clarins Extra Firming Day Cream aims to put the ‘spring back in your skin’ for women aged 40 upwards. It protects the skin from the effects of pollution and visibly reduces wrinkles.
Other skin conditions and concerns
Suncare
La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios range of sun care products is for those with sensitive skin. It offers sun protection and after-sun care products to target skin sensitivity, sun-intolerance and prickly heat.
Clarins have a sun care range offering self-tanning products, sun protection and after-sun care. The Dry Touch Sun Care Cream for Face SPF50+ is a comfortable, matte-finish lotion which protects the skin from harmful UV rays and free radicals while also preventing the signs of photo-ageing.
Dullness
The La Roche-Posay Toleriane Ultra Dermallergo Serum is specially formulated for ultra-sensitive skin and can hydrate the skin for up to 24 hours.
In the Clarins range, the SOS Comfort Nourishing Balm Mask is an effective dry skin treatment that only needs to be used once or twice a week. Simply apply to the face, leave for 10 minutes and then rub in the excess or remove with a cotton pad.
Fatigue
La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Eyes is an anti-wrinkle solution containing hyaluronic acid that restores and re-plumps sensitive under-eyes.
Get an instant pick-me-up with the Clarins Beauty Flash Balm that offers instant radiance, restores smoothness to the skin and removes signs of fatigue.
Frequently asked questions
What does hyaluronic acid do to the skin?
Hyaluronic acid is a powerful humectant that helps moisturise and plump skin. It also has a key role in tissue regeneration.
Do dermatologists recommend La Roche-Posay?
La Roche-Posay products have been developed by dermatologists for over 30 years and are now recommended by over 90,000 dermatologists worldwide.
Is Clarins good for teenage skin?
The recent launch of My Clarins aimed at those in the 18-29 age group has produced a wonderful skincare range that is perfect for young skin.