There are three skincare range I am into and using daily – anti-aging (a must!), hydration and of course, whitening is pretty standard. Asians are into having a fairer skin. That is not the case for me. I love my tan skin! I only started dabbing my toes into whitening because I wanted to lighten my acne marks.

I have been with Clarins since 2010. And I have been on their whitening bandwagon at the same time I started Clarins skincare journey. Now enter the new White Plus Pure Translucency era. In 2016, Clarins launched Tri-Intensive Brightening Serum. And now, this new range completes the whole regimen with Purify, Prepare, Correct, Embellish and Revive steps.

Why the change? Clarins Research team identified that dark spot formation due to melanin overproduction happens in 3 stages. Clarins also identified a fruit extract – Acerola Fruit Extract that works to regulate Melanocyte’s environment. It helps to decrease 24.5% and counterbalance Exosomes’ impact on melanin overproduction.

• Stage 1 (Under Normal Conditions): Melanocyte produce melanin, which was transported to Keratinocyte. It is responsible for natural even skin tone, which can be affected by UV exposure which then leads to future dark spots.
• Stage 2 (Under UV Exposure): The direct hyperactivity of Melanocyte and Exosomes enhanced Melanogenesis. This increase the melanin content in Keratinocyte although not enough to cause it to be visible on the skin surface. This is what skin analysis devices detected “under the skin”, which is referred to dark spots in progress.
• Stage 3 (Over Time / Due To Intense UV Exposure): The melanin quantity accumulated in Keratinocytes reaches the level where dark spots are made visible at the skin surface. Now that is called stubborn dark spots.

The new Clarins White Plus Pure Translucency range includes five products in total. I only have the new four products with me so I will not be talking about the serum as I did not have it.

Purify: Brightening Creamy Mousse Cleanser (RM140)

Of all four products, my favourite has got to be the Brightening Creamy Mousse Cleanser. Coincidentally I was sick and tired with cream cleanser as the balance 10% product is always the hardest to squeeze out from a tube. So I convert to bubble cleanser or self-foaming cleanser. “Clarins coming out with mousse cleanser? Cool!”. That was my first impression the moment I saw the product at the launch event.

A pump is all you need for the whole face. I made a rookie mistake by pumping 2 pumps. Boy oh boy that was too much. That is because this one from Clarins is a creamy cleanser. True to its name, it is indeed creamy and thick. Therefore a pump is really all you need each wash. Some said foam cleanser can strip of the skin’s natural moisture hence the skin feels dry and tight. Not with this one. I do have more dehydrated and dry skin type now and I do not feel any sort of dryness or tightening on my skin. Love this! Smells great too!

Prepare: Brightening Milk Treatment Lotion (RM180)

The toner aka lotion has two variant to choose from. A clear version named Brightening Aqua Treatment Lotion and a milk version, which is the one I have. All these years using Clarins I have only used the clear type lotion. This is my first time trying out milk lotion. Brightening Milk Treatment Lotion is said to be Clarins’ legend in terms of formulation since 2007. It has a thicker consistency but when used with a cotton pad all over the face, it gives the skin a soft, bouncy and hydrating result. Just as what other users claimed. It took me just two usage to get used to this type of lotion. My drier skin texture really love this thicker lotion. Where have I been all these while! lol. Despite having a thicker texture, it does not overly drenched my skin so I have to work faster to apply my eye cream and quickly apply my face serum.

Embellish: Brightening Emulsion (RM255)

Just like the previous range, the emulsion range also comes in two variant. One is the normal emulsion and the other one with SPF20/PA+++. I remember I bought the one with SPF20/PA+++ before and I did not like it that much. I felt that it is too heavy for me. Imagine I piled up so much serum (3 at least) then emulsion that has a SPF, which means it is heavier and then a separate SPF etc. And I also remember this bottle is so huge that I could never finish it. Fast forward to today, I was glad that I have the normal emulsion version instead.

It has a OPEN and CLOSE nozzle but me being the lazy bum me had the nozzle turned to OPEN all the time. It has a cap anyway so I am not bothered. However the cap does not suction down to the bottle so if you hold the bottle by it’s cap, you will risk having the whole bottle drop. The bottle is made from glass therefore it tend to be heavier. I was glad I did not smash the glass on my vanity table!

The Brightening Emulsion has a rather light and liquidy consistency than any other emulsion I have tried. For me, this act as the last step of my skincare routine before sunscreen. When used on it’s own without makeup, you will feel slight stickiness on the skin. That is normal if you do not have makeup on. It claimed to have a velvety matte finish but for me, not so. Maybe my acceptance on matte is different. My matte is really matte type of matte lol. Whitening product has come so far now. It used to be drying on the skin but I can say this Clarins White Plus Pure Translucency has been providing hydration to my skin as well.

Revive: Brightening Revive Gel (RM285)

Now, now. Something new and different. Instead of a whitening cream, Clarins shocked me by coming out with a gel instead. Those with drier skin will gasp in horror thinking if the gel will be sufficient for this skin. The answer is YES.

The other different thing about this Brightening Revive Gel is that it has multiple function. It is a moisturizer, an intensive mask and a sleeping mask. This explains the gel consistency!

Personally, I do not use this in the day time. I have the emulsion for day use so I reserved this gel for night regimen. It has a fresh scent that is ultra-sensorial and smooth over the skin. When used as normal, it is a face moisturizer but when applied thickly, it acts as a quick intensive mask or even a sleeping mask. So far I have only used it as normal moisturizer and as sleeping mask. Either way I like how brighter my complexion is as days goes by but I still prefer to save it as moisturizer instead. I do not need to be a typical Asian that wants a fair skin 😛

If you have been noticing a dull skin tone, give this Clarins White Plus Pure Translucency range a try. Before I started using the whole range, I was mixing a few other products and I notice the lack of brightness on my skin. At that time I was focusing a lot on anti-aging and hydration. After a few weeks on nothing else but this White Plus Pure Translucency range only, I notice a tremendous change in terms of brightness. No, you will not get from shade 3 to shade 1 by using whitening or brightening skincare. What the product does is that it brings out the aura from within so that your skin look more translucent and brighter. This gives the illusion of a fairer skin, not bleachy white skin 🙂

Disclaimer: Product was from media launch. This doesn’t affect my judgement in the review in any way.