What She Said
Carla Read road tests Caudalie Beauty Elixir
I’ll be the first to admit that although I may consider myself somewhat of a cosmetics fanatic, I’m actually a bit of a skincare skeptic! I don’t mean I don’t believe in or practice skincare, of course I do, in face it’s the most important part of my beauty regime! It’s more that I’m not easily won over by skincare products & their claims but tell me a foundation is going to give me Cheryl Cole’s face & I’ll probably have bought it before you’ve finished your sentence. In my opinion, make up, you see, is easy – for example, if a mascara promises to lengthen and volumise your lashes, you’ll be able to see the effects instantly or if a foundation claims to last 10 hours, you’ll know by the end of the day if it does. If you the like the colour of a certain blush, you like it, simple as that! You catch my drift. However, with skincare, often patience is required for results, sometimes quite a lot of it & perhaps this is where I struggle!
Long story not actually made that short, I’ve heard loads about the cult skincare product of 2012, aka the Caudalie Beauty Elixir. At first I was intrigued so I did a bit of research but dismissed it pretty quickly as one of those nothing products that are just surrounded by a good pr campaign, a couple of celebrity endorsements & a lot of hot air. I couldn’t see any overwhelming claims that wow’d me, it was more just lots of people saying it was nice. I continued on with life but try as I might it was as if the stuff was stalking me! Everyday there was a new post cropping up on the internet, I’d overhear someone talking about it & there it would be, lurking around every corner of every beauty department! So, inevitably, I caved & I bought it. 3 weeks ago to be precise, from Fenwick for £11.
Unless you’re incredibly slow you can probably see where I’m going with this post…! Yup, I’m quite the fan. Don’t get me wrong though, it took me a while. This wasn’t one of those products that knocked me off my feet with first spritz, in fact after a week I this thinking yeah it’s nice but it’s not worth £11 & it’s definitely not something I can’t live without. I’ve continued using it & even took it away with me when I went to Morocco for a short break recently & now I’ve returned I finally decided it’s time to share the love & jump on the Caudalie bandwagon.
I’ll start with the scent because as much as people rave about the minty freshness, I don’t actually like it. That said, everytime I spray it on my face I do feel like I’m being transported to an expensive spa so I’ve come to accept it. If you’re not a fan of strong scents (especially those dominated by mint) then you may struggle with the Caudalie Beauty Elixir but if you can get past it, it’s totally worth it. Besides the fact that it just feels nourishing everytime you spray it on your face (that would be all the essential oils its packed with) and ignoring how silky soft your skin instantly is and even how awake & refreshed you now seem to feel, my main reason for falling in love with the Caudalie Beauty Elixir? It’s ability to keep my skin looking moisturised and my make up perfectly in place all day without any touch ups. It honestly does a better job than any primer, spray or powder I’ve ever used. Regardless of price or brand (& my primer is £44 a tube)!
If it wasn’t for it’s make up setting ability, I don’t think my opinion of the Caudalie Beauty Elixir would be overwhelming. Yes, it feels luxurious so if you’ve got money to spare then why not keep a bottle to hand but for me the way it sets my make up is what propels this product into the category of firm favourites & I doubt I’ll be caught without a bottle any time soon! Go on, give it a try.
