Hi All,

Thought I'd give another product review. This cream is one of Dr. B's recs and is in the $$ category. You get a hefty 7 oz. of product and it comes with its own clear plastic spatula that rests in a special crease on the jar lid.
The cream has a nice plastic undercap to keep the air out. So much for the packaging. To use this cleanser, Clarins suggests the "Clarins Gentle Cleansing Method" and they provide an insert to show how to do it. In essence, you warm the product between the flat fingers, apply to the face and neck by patting and releasing (not pressing). Supposedly, the cream creates a suction that "pulls the impurities from the pores." My first thought was, "Aww, come ON!" But, being a risk taker, you KNOW I had to try it! <g> Upon opening the jar, I was assaulted by fragrance -- uh oh!
The cream felt verrrry rich -- nice! And so I used the Clarins method. My skin did NOT react to the fragrance! In fact, the product was barely on the skin for any length of time. You finish by wiping off the cleansing cream and follow with a toner. I know toners are no-no's for DSPW's, but I have been a much happier camper in using an alcohol/free, witch hazel/free toner after cleansing cream. In fact, I use Paula's Choice Skin Recovery Toner, because it is hydrating. (At that to my sin column!) In this case, I used the Clarins Extra Comfort toner -- also fragranced, and had NO problems. Yaaay! THEN I looked at my face in the mirror. EGAD! I had these gaping pores all over my cheeks! They looked like empty holes, no gunk in them. My face looked terrible! At least I thought so. But here's the weird part -- within a few minutes -- by the time I had finished with the rest of my routine -- those pores had closed back up and you could not see a pore on my face. Whew! So, apparently, that cleansing method DID clean out the pores. Tongiht I'm tempted to use the cleansing cream in the usual way, by slathering it on and then wiping it off -- just to see if there's a difference. But then again, maybe I won't, since I don't want to have prolonged contact with the fragrance. Should I try it?
Inky

P.S. I also have that Clarins One Step Cleanser for Dry Skin that someone referred me to. I don't want to try that one yet though. I'm waiting for a weekend when I'll be busier with errands, etc.