Clarins Opalescence Spring Makeup Look

Though we haven’t yet reached the bright and crisp days of spring, we can certainly pretend we’re there with this bright and beautiful new collection from Clarins. The Clarins Opalescence Spring Make-Up looks to the light for inspiration, unveiling a collection of make-up essentials with which to create a perfectly radiant look.

In fact, the key word for this collection is luminosity. It’s at the heart of all of the products; from the dewy complexion bases, to the radiant lip colours, and the youthful flush of its new cheek products. It’s right on the money trend-wise (radiance-enhancing products are everywhere right now), and it’s all finished with that wonderful mix of luxury and practicality that Clarins does so well. Prepare to be enchanted!

The star product of the spring look is the Clarins Opalescence Face & Blush Powder (now sold out!), a limited edition finishing powder compact that’s perfect for creating a fresh complexion. The presentation makes this one a tempting collector’s piece – Clarins’ signature golden case has been finished with an ethereal opalescent overlay, which shifts between green and purple depending on the light.

Open up the compact and you’ll find the second reason for its must-have status: a patterned, embossed powder made up of three different shades. There’s quick a diverse yet harmonious mix, including pale peach for brightening and unifying, a tawny shade for contouring, and a couple of dots of coral for cheeks. Swirl a fluffy powder brush over all of the shades and dust all over for a more even complexion, or pick out the different sections to sculpt the face. That sprinkling of gold that you see is just an overspray – dust it away with a brush if you’re not a fan of shimmer, or use as a highlighter for a a concentrated dose of luminosity.

The second star product for spring is the Clarins Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base, which has undergone a mini renovation. Packaged in the familiar squeezy tube with a pump applicator, the main difference with this version is its tweaked shade selection and enhanced formula, which is packed with even more benefits. Akin to a CC cream in that it cares for the skin as well as correcting it, Instant Light minimises imperfections while maintaining a really fresh and radiant look.

The Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base can be used one of three ways. Wear alone for a subtle hint of colour and heightened radiance; mix with foundation to infuse luminosity; or wear beneath foundation to prolong its wear time and perfectly prime the complexion. As much a skincare product as a beauty booster, Instant Light also plumps and hydrates the skin with Katafray Bark, and reduces redness with soothing ingredients. It’s a great all-rounder, no matter how you prefer to wear your base.

The finishes are less about creating a high wattage sheen, and more about creating subtle dewiness. 01 Rose is the fairest, with a rich concentration of radiance pigments to give dull skin a real boost. 02 Champagne and 03 Peach contain more colour pigment, which makes them brilliant for correcting discolouration and pepping up the skin. The three shades are so versatile that most skin tones could wear them. That being said, Rose has been created with fairer skin in mind, Champagne makes sallow medium skin look healthier, and Peach energises medium to dark tones.

Making a welcome (and permanent) return this spring is the Clarins Multi-Blush. In the great big beauty anthology of functions and finishes, the chapter on cream blushes would be the one that I like to revisit the most. A good creamy blusher can make a convert of even the most colour-shy make-up fan, and, after using the Multi-Blush for myself, I think Clarins will be introducing a lot more people to its virtues! The floral wax based cream-to-powder formula glides on beautifully. I know that some shy away from cream finishes for fear of streakiness, or of applying too much – there’s no such problem here. The sheer and pliable Multi-Blush is made for ease of blending.

There’s a great range of colours available for the size of the collection. 01 Peach offers a complexion-brightening pop of healthy apricot; 02 Candy is less bright than the name suggests, instead giving cheeks a youthful flush of pink; 03 Grenadine is a more pigmented coral that is perfect for darker tones; and the warming rosy hue of 04 Rosewood will be very pleasing for fans of the best-selling original Multi-Blush shade Lychee – it’s a direct replica.

There’s always plenty to get excited in the way of lipstick from Clarins, and this season it’s the turn of the fabulously shiny Joli Rouge Brilliant Perfect Shine Sheer Lipstick to get some brand new shades. There are three different interpretations in store of everyone’s favourite springtime colour, pink. There’s the hot pink shimmer of 19 Tropical Pink, the orange-pink glow of 20 Coral Tulip, and the rich rosey hue of 21 Pink Orchid.

I don’t think I know of any lipstick that’s quite as glossy as Joli Rouge Brilliant. The high shine result means that they’re not as pigmented as Joli Rouge or Rouge Prodige; the above swatches were created with three swipes instead of my usual one. That being said, coverage isn’t what these fun-loving shades are about. Rather, the sweet mix of pinks provide a wash of flattering colour with crystalline shine for a popsicle-like finish. This glowiness combined with its balmy, comfortable feel makes for a low maintenance, high impact look.

And finally, it wouldn’t be a spring collection without a bit of shine. There are two new shades of the Clarins Gloss Prodige Intense Colour and Shine Gloss offered with this new launch: a limited edition shade named 11 Coral Tulip, and a permanent clear gloss, 12 Crystal. Each one is scented with the signature Gloss Prodige aroma of liquorice and blackberry, which is completely delicious, and packaged in sleek tubes with a tapered applicator for ultra precision.

I adore Coral Tulip. It’s a wonderful milky coral with flattering shimmer that will easily take you right the way through to summer. The launch of Crystal will appeal to those who prefer a more natural look, or want to give their lipsticks a glossy sheen. It offers all of the smoothing, plumping and high-shine benefits of the rest of the Gloss Prodige range, without the commitment to colour.

So that’s the Clarins Opalescence Spring Look for 2014 – what do you think?