Clarins Beauty Flash Balm Review


In the mirror at the Clarins lounge.

One fashion week day during a break between shows, Chris, Lindsay, and I stopped by the tranquil and spa-like (i.e. I loved it) Clarins Beauty Flash Lounge in the Empire Hotel. I just asked for a bit of undereye help that day, but my makeup artist convinced me to do a full touch up with Clarins Beauty Flash and new foundation. She gave me some tips for application and we discussed sponge vs. fingertips methods.

At midnight my makeup still looked great.

That’s kind of an impossible feat for me (I think at least half my makeup disappears by noon every day), so I was sold on Beauty Flash. It’s the best primer I’ve ever used and even beats out my regular favorites from Smashbox, Laura Mercier, and L’Oreal. I’ve been testing Beauty Flash for about a month now, and it even saw me through a 5am wake up for an early flight to a midnight party… without a single touch up.


Lindsay at the Clarins lounge

Clarins Beauty Flash is both brightening and tightening, so I found that if you have dry skin (me) it’s definitely best to moisturize before using Beauty Flash, then go on with your beauty products as usual.

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm is available for $45/1.7 fl. oz. on the Clarins website, at Nordstrom.com with free shipping, and at Sephora.com.

Disclosure: I grabbed a complimentary full-size tube of Beauty Flash ($45 retail value) on my way out of the lounge.