In partnership with Clarins

Skincare has always been synonymous with plant science. Some of the earliest recorded beauty rituals are connected to herbal and floral remedies. Potent botanical and marine extracts have been used to optimise skin health for decades, but in more recent years, ingredient innovation has given rise to an entirely new way of harnessing these natural compounds.

Clarins is a brand at the forefront of this (French skincare is known for revering natural formulation philosophies, Clarins especially). Long known for its use of natural ingredients, the Precious skincare line especially does it to the highest degree.

Precious is all about harnessing potent plant extracts in order to improve skin longevity, in turn reducing the long-term impacts of ageing. The core ingredient within the range is moonlight flower. Unique to Clarins, moonlight flower only blooms once per year, and is extracted using cryotherapy to ensure optimal potency. It's proven to replenish and revitalise the skin, simultaneously delaying visible signs of ageing while undoing existing lines and wrinkles. Overall, the line affords a series of formulas that work synergistically with the complexion – nothing superfluous, just pure plants that encourage our innate renewal and repair.

The collection recently expanded to include two new products with a focus on brightening: Precious Brightening La Crème and Precious Brightening Le Serum. Both are focused on cultivating clear, even-toned, glassy skin.

Le Serum is a concentrated fluid with cystoseira seaweed extract – a botanical that works to brighten the look of dark spots and discolouration. In its natural environment, cystoseira is able to activate its own photosynthesis (it actually appears olive green outside the water at low tide, but vivid blue underwater). Cystoseira is hand harvested by Clarins  in protected ecosystems in Brittany, France. Within the serum, there's also soothing oat extract, albizia plant, vitamin C and a tetrapeptide to counteracts skin thinning and loss of density. The texture is light, fluid and silky; it's instantly absorbed but leaves the skin plump and illuminated.

Precious Brightening La Crème is a day moisturiser also formulated with cystoseira seaweed and moonlight flower alongside camellia and botanicals to protect against environmental damage and water loss. Beyond its efficacy, the texture is kind of like cashmere – it's soft, plumping, fluffy, leaving the skin looking bright and glassy.

Clarins has long been a pioneer when it comes to plant-based skincare. The brand cultivates and harvests much of the raw materials in-house, is certified B Corp and manufactures every single product in France.

Precious is an investment but it's a worthy one. not only are the products beautiful to use, but they contain a high concentration of pure, thoughtfully-harvested ingredients proven to work with the skin.

Clarins Precious La Crème Bright

Clarins Precious Le Sérum Bright