I openly admit to hoarding beauty products, but one skin care item I buy in 2-packs and stockpile is Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, which I live in fear will at some point be discontinued. This is in addition to the tubes picked up in duty free shops months earlier that lie unopened. That’s not counting samples, travel sizes, nor GWP tubes. Call me pretty paranoid (emphasis on pretty) since I don’t even use it every day. #Flashy
Labeled as instant radiance booster, and filed under Clarins core essential care, Beauty Flash Balm is an SOS treatment for every beauty kit. It’s an emergency to be without it. This peachy colored cream saves your face when you are neither rested nor relaxed but want to look both. It brightens, tightens and smoothes away signs of fatigue, wait for it… in a flash! This unique formula has been a cult classic since its 1981 launch. #ThrowbackThursday!
Beauty Flash Balm is the best behaved cream that you can apply in a number of ways. The key is to apply it correctly to avoid pilling. Do not rub or massage it in like you do other creams. Clarins suggests using an amount equivalent to the size of a hazelnut. Now that I have Nutella on my mind, give me a minute. Ok, the way to succeed is to tap, dab, and press it into your face with minimal friction. Go ahead, push it into your mug! Think how you apply under-eye concealer: tap don’t rub. #BrightIdea
Now that we have the application technique down, you can experiment with what works best for you on days you need to soften up your complexion. Because Beauty Flash Balm has been around so long, it may just as well have paved the way for today’s makeup primers. Use it as such, following your foundation immediately for the ‘glow from within’ effect. I use it before my tinted moisturizer or priot to using a BB cream. Sometimes I mix a bit of Armani Maestro (amahhhhhzing) foundation into it. #PutSomeFlashOn
As a multi-use gem, Clarins Beauty Flash Balm can also be used as an energizing and soothing mask during special emergencies. Leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes and let Olive, Algae Extract, Witch Hazel and Bisabolol (the primary component of chamomile essential oil), leave your skin tighter and you looking more alert. This very special balm diffuses the look of expression lines adding long lasting radiance to your complexion. This duty-free superstar is popular among travelers since a cardinal rule of flying is a few dabs of BFB upon touching down for the “I’ve arrived” glow. #FlashFlight
Because Beauty Flash Balm is such an iconic product, it boasts its own blog where yours truly was lucky enough to score a mention alongside some major players. Since I still don’t know how to say hello to the wonderful people behind the brand and in hopes they read this, I’d like to say, Merci! #FlashingASmile
Clarins Beauty Flash Balm retails for $46 (1.7oz) and lasts forever because you don’t use it every day (unless you live in Reno and have a gambling problem). Check it out at Nordstrom.com and www.sephora.com. UK readers, indulge at www.clarins.co.uk (£29).
