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Diva
updated 24 Dec 2010, 17:53
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Mon, Aug 16, 2010
Diva
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Double chin begone!
by Cynthia Loh

One major beauty concern that women have with their looks is excess fat on the face. Call it what you will - heavy jowls, puffy cheeks, double chin or a heavy-set feature - it's not a pretty sight.

Responding to Asian women's desire for a more refined facial sillhouette, Clarins' new Shaping Facial Lift Lipo-drain serum targets those pockets of fats that are especially hard to get rid of around the face. After all, no amount of exercise or dieting that you do will deliver more tone there. Encouraging the release of fats, the serum contains caffeine, a key ingredient that helps to break down fatty acids within cells.

However, the action of caffeine is limited in two ways. One, it is insoluble in oil, and hardly soluble in water, so it has more difficulty crossing the skin barrier to reach beneath skin cells to where the fat deposits are. Secondly, there is a protein barrier called a lipidic vacuole, which stores fat inside a fat cell that restricts the access of caffeine to these cells in order to break down the fats.

To get around these problems, the Shaping Facial Lift Lipo-drain serum has an optimal amount of sunflower phospholids and escin from horse chestnut added to it. These ingredients encourage the penetration of caffeine into the skin and increases the amount of caffeine that reaches fat cells. Another plant ingredient, the blue button flower extract, helps the fat release enzymes from caffeine to better reach excess fats and release them into the body's circulation in order to be eliminated.

To tighten and lift the face, oat sugars are used while alchemilla, a stabilised form of Vitamin C derivative controls hyperpigmentation.

Like all other Clarins' skincare regimes, the process of achieving a more refined face shape is two-fold. Botanical extracts in the products target the problem areas, while massage methods help promote circulation within the blood stream to carry off excess fat and liquids. With instructions provided when you get that bottle of Shaping Facial Lift Lipo-drain serum, you get a DIY home solution to better-looking facial features.

Apply the serum after cleaning your face and neck twice a day.

Retails at all Clarins counters for S$98.

Diva's review: A serum that has the consistency of a light cream, it seemed to be absorbed into skin very quickly with minimal fuss. It's not 'sticky', but gave off a slightly stimulating sensation upon application. We guess that's the caffeine at work as it gets massaged into skin. We like the comfortable feel of the serum, and it was not too heavy so that it could be used during the day under make-up.

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