New and Revamped Clarins Extra Comfort Cleanser: How Does It Measure Up?

Clarins Extra-Comfort Cleansing Cream has long been on my list of favourite cleansers. It's inoffensive (which sounds dull but is actually essential in a cleanser), gorgeously scented, and ultimately feels great on the skin. When I heard that Clarins had decided to revamp it I was disgruntled. Why mess with something that works as it is?

The cleanser's reincarnation is the rather fussily titled Clarins Extra-Comfort Anti-Pollution Cleansing Cream. This version is only available in a tube (it used to be available in tub form, too) but I'm not bothered by that - if anything it's better in terms of hygiene.

Clarins have beefed up the ingredients list a little; you can smell the lovely mango in there. But they maintained other ingredients, like Shea butter. Shea butter is a tricky one. It's a lovely, luxuriant ingredient, but can really clog the skin.

If you have bad acne, I'd avoid this cleanser. That said, I have acne prone skin, and having road tested this cleanser for about two weeks, I can say that it hasn't broken me out. So although there's Shea Butter in there, it's not a huge amount.

If you are an advocate of double cleansing like me (check out my routine here) then I'd recommend this cleanser for a second cleanse. This is both for efficacy of cleansing and also for your wallet. If you double cleanse with this even once a day, you'll need a new tube pretty sharpish. And at €30 for 200ml, we'd like to avoid such a quick turnaround.

If you don't double cleanse, then I'd avoid this one. It's just too thick to cleanse off all of your eye makeup in one cleanse. You'll find that it hasn't removed all your makeup the first time. I cleanse with Úna Brennan's Cleansing Oil first, and then follow up with this to remove any leftover residue.

Clarins say that you can use this as either a rinse off or a tissue-off cleanser. I'd recommend rinsing it off. If you're acne prone, leaving traces on the skin after wiping the cleanser off with a cotton pad may encourage a breakout (solely because of the Shea Butter). Even if you're not acne prone, cleanser residue on the face can act as a barrier to the products you apply after cleansing. And in order to break down the cleanser residue, you'd have to use an alcohol-based toner. And they're EVIL. Why assault your skin with alcohol when you can simply rinse off the cleanser? Job done.

There are a couple of caveats with this product, but I don't want to put you off. I'm awfully fond of it and I'm really glad that Clarins haven't...well...buggered up an old favourite.

Clarins Extra-Comfort Anti-Pollution Cleansing Cream is available for €30 from January 20th.

Do you have an attachment to the old version? And will you be trying the new one?