REN's new baby, ClearCalm3 has been causing a bit of a storm. Getting fabulous reviews on Sephora and quickly becoming REN's best selling line in the USA where it was launched recently. I suspect this may have something to do with the fact that the guy who created it is an Acne sufferer. Not only that, but he asked to be allowed to develop this product.
REN are a bit new to me. They have a natural philosophy, created after one of the founders wives had adverse reactions to almost every skincare product during her first pregnancy. Well that rings bells with me. One of the main reasons I have a heart for more natural products is because I pretty much gave up on makeup and a lot of skincare products whilst pregnant. The paraben and plasticisers scares were quite new at the time and I chose to opt out of as many chemicals as I could, rather than add to any environmental risks that were floating around. In hindsight I may have been buying into some OTT scare stuff, but that's how pregnancy effects us sometimes. We want the best.
REN hadn't come into my remit as I had simply seen it as a rather exclusive brand sold in places I don't generally shop in. But I'm so glad to have discovered them. What I really like about REN, is that they don't just aim to be the best within the field of natural products, they aim to be the best full stop.
The ClearCalm3 range consists of a cleanser, day fluid, night serum and treatment mask. All of which aim to provide you with clear skin without the harshness of other anti blemish products. This is done by combating the 3 causes of breakouts and blemishes: Excess sebum, build up of dead skin cells and blemish-causing bacteria.
I returned to the world of cleansers when a friend suggested the Liz Earle range. I loved it and still do, but something about the cleanser and moisturiser didn't love me and I came out in spots all over my chin. Having checked out Liz Earle on QVC I landed with another QVC brand, Philosophy, and have been using it to great effect ever since. The odd foray into other cleansers or moisturisers has often ended in spots or dry patches. Recently however, I'm starting to find that spots come more often, whether it's changing hormones or the greater use of make up, and yet my cheeks are still quite dry.
I've been trying a small sample of the ClearCalm3 Anti Blemish Cleanser and it was near enough love at first use. It feels creamy, leaving my cheeks soft and more moisturised and all but the biggest spots are dried up overnight - just by using the cleanser. I've continued to use my normal moisturiser, in the day time, but needed less of it.
According to the details, here's how it does it:
•French Clay absorbs excess oil and purifies
•Zinc Gluconate reduces production of sebum
•Salicilin provides a mild exfoliation and has antibacterial properties
•Mayblossom tones enlarged pores
•Manuka Honey Extract soothes and nourishes
This really was only a small sample (15ml) but I got lots of use out of even that much. I thought about waiting until I'd bought a full size so I could report back after a month, but was so pleased with it, that I wanted to share now. I will definitely be purchasing this soon. At £18 it is a little more expensive than I was looking to pay for a cleanser right now, but I think it's well worth it for the results. I have the rest of the CC3 range on my wish list too :D
If you don't live near any shops like SpaceNK etc I was pleased to see that REN's own UK postage is a reasonable £3 and that they offer a loyalty discount of 10% off your favourite product for life.
PR sample provided for consideration.
Ren used to be on QVC years ago and the chap who founded it was on and it was helpful to have an insight into what the range stood for (Ren means clean in I think swedish, but stand corrected if wrong ;-)) I used to use lots of Ren, I particularly liked their packaging system of a collapsable inner bag inside the outer tube - great for knowing when running out. But it has sort of fallen off the radar, it was difficult to get hold of and came out of SpaceNK and was then back in. Know what you mean about LE even before the change in formulation I never got on with C&P. Glad this range is working out ok, I have a picky skin too and it is a bummer! Jan x
ReplyDeleteHi Jan, Thanks for that, I had a vague feeling it had had a QVC connection at one point. Bet he was fascinating to watch on there. I really like the colapsable bag/airless pump idea too. LE's cleanse and polish has it also but her bottles are opaque. It really helps to know where your up to in a product!
ReplyDeleteHx
Lovely review. I'm really pleased you got on with it too. I think the range has been really well thought through and I'm very pleased to have been introduced to the brand.
ReplyDeleteJane x