The Naturally Radiant Brightening Radiance Balm flew off of the shelves of Superdrug when some magazine named it the affordable dupe for the ever popular Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. At just £5.99, it's a massive £23 cheaper than the Clarins option.
 |
The Brightening Balm claims to even out skin tone (over time of course) and to illuminate and smooth skin. In just one use it's meant to leave skin feeling moisturized, and looking more radiant. It contains kiwi fruit and mulberry extracts, along with sugar beet extract to create an energizing complex that helps boost skin radiance.
In the long term it claims to keep skin looking and feeling softer, more refreshed and smother. After just four weeks of use, it claims to give the skin a more refined and evened out appearance.
It has a very strange scent to it. I'm not entirely sure what the scent is, but for me is kind of a combination of a fruity scent and that standard "natural" scent. It doesn't linger after you apply the product, so it doesn't bother me and the scent doesn't irritate my skin or break me out.
Whilst this is called a balm, it's not quite a typical balm texture. It's very much like a moisturizer with a slightly thicker texture. It sinks into the skin quickly, despite it being thicker than general lotions. For people with normal to oily skin, I would only suggest using this alone rather than alongside a moisturizer, but for those with dry skin this is great used, soft of, like a primer.
I use this after a moisturizer in place of a primer. I don't find this holds my makeup in place any longer than normal but it did give the skin a natural dewy boost, a smoother finish and moisturized look.
I didn't notice any difference to my skin tone over time. I didn't use this everyday because I was trialling other products along side this, so maybe that is why I didn't see a change in my skin tone. I did notice that when I added this into my skincare routine my skin looked healthier and less dry. It kept skin moisturized all day long, and gave my skin a smoother base for makeup to sit on.
The packaging isn't anything spectacular but the simplicity of it makes it great for travel, everyday use and keeping it clean. The simple squeeze tube makes it easy to get what you want out, and the compact size is great for chucking it in your bag (handbag or weekend trip bag).
I honestly cannot compare this to it's Clarins counterpart, but from the claims of both I would say try this before investing nearly £30 in the high end option. If you like this, maybe give the Clarins option a go.
You can get this from your local Superdrug stores, or online here for just £5.99 a tube.
