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Product Comparison

Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of Lancôme Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence versus Lancôme Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing Serum .

Published on July 07, 2023

Overview

What they are

These products are both reef safe . They have a total of 11 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain AHA, BHA and Vitamin E

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for fighting acne, anti aging, dry skin, brightening skin, oily skin, reducing pores, scar healing, dark spots and better texture

Free From

They both do not contain any common allergens, parabens, silicones or sulfates

What's Inside

They both contain harsh alcohols and oils

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that need an update? Let us know.

Essence French Brand France
Serum French Brand France

Essence

Essences are used to prep skin for further treatment and may provide extra skin benefits. They are usually used before serum and moisturizers. Essences are thought to have originated in either Japan or Korea and is an essential step in K-Beauty.

Serum

Serums are highly concentrated with ingredients to provide skin with benefits. They should be used after cleansing and before moisturizing.

Price

Shop

Buy Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence

Starts at $95.00
Shop

Buy Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing Serum

Starts at $89.00

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and view relevant ingredients.
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Notable Ingredients

AHA
BHA
Vitamin C
Vitamin E

Benefits

Hydrating (2)
Good For Oily Skin (2)
Redness Reducing
Skin Texture (2)
Reduces Large Pores (2)
Anti-Aging (3)
Dark Spots (2)
Scar Healing (4)
Acne Fighting
Brightening (4)

Concerns

Drying (2)
May Worsen Oily Skin (2)
Irritating (4)
Rosacea (3)
Eczema (4)

Notable Ingredients

AHA (2)
BHA
PHA
Vitamin E
Niacinamide
Hyaluronic Acid

Benefits

Hydrating (2)
Good For Oily Skin (2)
Redness Reducing
Skin Texture
Reduces Large Pores (2)
Anti-Aging (2)
Dark Spots
Scar Healing (2)
Acne Fighting (2)
Brightening (5)

Concerns

Drying (2)
May Worsen Oily Skin (2)
Irritating (3)
Rosacea (5)
Eczema (5)
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Ingredients Side-by-side

Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.

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Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

1
What it does: Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. Talk about multi-purpose! If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water

Lancôme Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence contains this as ingredient number 1.

Lancôme Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing Serum contains this as ingredient number 1.

2
What it does: Buffering
Community Rating: Loved

Glycolic Acid is arguably the most famous AHA with research to back up its benefits. Its main role is to peel the top layer of skin cells from the newer layer of skin underneath. This helps skin to remove dark spots and look more even.

Glycolic Acid has shown to boost collage production, a protein that helps skin stay firm. Overall, Glycolic Acid helps with improving uneven tone, rough patches of skin, fine lines, wrinkles, and sun damage. It also increases skin hydration by playing a role in creating molecules that create hyaluronic acid naturally.

When applying Glycolic Acid, it is normal to feel slight stinging. The pH value and concentration of glycolic acid play a role in the effectiveness of the product.

Recent studies have shown Glycolic Acid may protect the skin against UV damage. However, you should always wear SPF, especially when using exfoliants.

Read more about some other popular AHA's here:

Learn more about Glycolic Acid

Lancôme Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence contains this as ingredient number 3.

Lancôme Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing Serum contains this as ingredient number 23.

3
What it does: Humectant, Masking, Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Community Rating: Mixed

Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:

  • It is a solvent, meaning that it helps to dissolve other ingredients. This also enhances the absorption of the product into one's skin.
  • It is a humectant, which means that it helps attract moisture into the skin.
  • It helps improve product application.

Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient. It is unlikely to irritate skin, and works well with pretty much all other ingredients.

Lancôme Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence contains this as ingredient number 4.

Lancôme Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing Serum contains this as ingredient number 4.

4
What it does: Antioxidant, Masking, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Liked

Tocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.

Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skin’s lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.

Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.

You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.

There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.

Learn more about Tocopherol

Lancôme Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence contains this as ingredient number 10.

Lancôme Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing Serum contains this as ingredient number 10.

5
What it does: Tonic

We don't have a description for Fagus Sylvatica Bud Extract.

Lancôme Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence contains this as ingredient number 12.

Lancôme Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing Serum contains this as ingredient number 14.

6
What it does: Emollient, Masking, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Disliked

Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil is the oil derived from the seeds of a Sunflower. Sunflower seed oil is non-fragrant. It is an emollient, meaning it helps to soften the skin.

Sunflower seed oil contains many fatty acids. The fatty acids found in sunflower seeds include (from highest amount to least): linoleic acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, oleic acid, and linolenic acid.

These fatty acids help the skin create ceramides. Ceramides play a role in repairing the skin barrier.

Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil helps moisturize the skin. This in turn helps the skin look more rejuvenated and smoother.

Sunflowers are rich in vitamin E.

Historians believe Indigenous cultures of North America domesticated sunflowers before corn. Thus they relied on sunflower oil for a variety of uses. One such use is moisturizing skin and hair.

Sunflower seed oil may not be fungal acne safe. We recommend speaking with a professional if you have any concerns.

Learn more about Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil

Lancôme Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence contains this as ingredient number 16.

Lancôme Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing Serum contains this as ingredient number 17.

7
What it does: Masking, Preservative, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Liked

Salicylic Acid (also known as beta hydroxy acid or BHA) is one of the most well-known ingredients for treating skin that struggles with blackheads and acne. It helps to exfoliate both the skin's surface and pores, and also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.

This multitasking property makes it a great ingredient for cleaning out pores, controlling oil production, and reducing inflammation.

Unlike AHAs which are water soluble, Salicylic Acid is oil soluble. This means that it's able to exfoliate the inside of pores and reduce blackheads.

Concentrations of 0.5-2% are recognized by the U.S. FDA as an over-the-counter topical acne product.

It can cause irritation and/or dryness if one's skin already has a compromised moisture barrier, so it's best to focus on repairing that before introducing a Salicylic Acid into your routine.

In general, Salicylic Acid is a great ingredient for oily acne-prone skin.

While salicylic acid does not increase sun-sensitivity, we still recommend wearing SPF.

If you are looking for the ingredient called BHA or Butylated Hydroxyanisole, click here.

Learn more about Salicylic Acid

Lancôme Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence contains this as ingredient number 17.

Lancôme Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing Serum contains this as ingredient number 15.

8
What it does: Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Community Rating: Mixed

Pentylene glycol is typically used within a product to thicken it. It also adds a smooth, soft, and moisturizing feel to the product. It is naturally found in plants such as sugar beets.

The hydrophilic trait of Pentylene Glycol makes it a humectant. As a humectant, Pentylene Glycol helps draw moisture from the air to your skin. This can help keep your skin hydrated.

This property also makes Pentylene Glycol a great texture enhancer. It can help thicken or emulsify a product. Emulsifiers help stabilize a product. It does this by preventing certain ingredients from separating.

Pentylene Glycol also acts as a mild preservative and helps to keep a product microbe-free.

Some people may experience mild eye and skin irritation from Pentylene Glycol. We always recommend speaking with a professional about using this ingredient in your routine.

Pentylene Glycol has a low molecular weight and is part of the 1,2-glycol family.

Learn more about Pentylene Glycol

Lancôme Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence contains this as ingredient number 18.

Lancôme Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing Serum contains this as ingredient number 7.

9
What it does: Masking, Preservative
Community Rating: Disliked

Benzoic Acid is used to preserve and adjust the pH of products.

The antimicrobial property of Benzoic Acid helps elongate a product's shelf life. Its main role is to reduce fungi growth and is not found to be effective at fighting bacteria. Therefore Benzoic Acid is always added along with other preservatives.

In its pure form, Benzoic Acid looks like a white crystalline solid. It has slight solubility in water.

The name of Benzoic Acid comes from gum benzoin, which used to be the sole source of deriving this ingredient. Benzoic Acid is the most simple aromatic carboxylic acid.

Benzoic Acid is naturally occuring in strawberries, mustard, cinnamon, and cloves. It has a slight scent but is not considered to be a fragrance.

Learn more about Benzoic Acid

Lancôme Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence contains this as ingredient number 19.

Lancôme Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing Serum contains this as ingredient number 18.

10
What it does: Preservative
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Sorbic Acid is a preservative. It is the most commonly used food preservative in the world.

Sorbic Acid is a natural antibiotic and highly effective at preventing the growth of fungus. It is less effective against bacteria.

Potassium Sorbate, another commonly-used preservative, is the potassium salt of Sorbic Acid.

Sorbic Acid may worsen eczema. We recommend speaking with a professional if you have any concerns.

Potassium sorbate and sorbic acid can be found in baked goods, cheeses, dried meats, dried fruit, ice cream, pickles, wine, yogurt, and more.

Learn more about Sorbic Acid

Lancôme Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence contains this as ingredient number 23.

Lancôme Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing Serum contains this as ingredient number 19.

11
What it does: Antimicrobial, Refreshing, Tonic

Rosemary extract has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and astringent properties.

This ingredient has a natural fragrance due its small component of rosemary oil. The antioxidant properties from its rosmarinic acid, flavone, and phenolic acids.

Lancôme Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence contains this as ingredient number 26.

Lancôme Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing Serum contains this as ingredient number 20.

Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these two products.

41% are loved or liked
21% have mixed ratings
24% are disliked or very disliked
14% have no rating yet
42% are loved or liked
17% have mixed ratings
29% are disliked or very disliked
13% have no rating yet

Usage

Here's some more info on how this product is used by our community.

When to use

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Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Lancôme Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence 29 ingredients

Clarifique Refining & Brightening Dual Essence hasn't been rated yet.
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Lancôme Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing Serum 24 ingredients

4.0 /5
from 1 rating
Light (1) Sticky (1)
NSmith's avatar

NSmith

3 months ago · Combination Skin
Review

Product does what it is supposed to do. However it leaves a sticky residue and takes a while to be fully absorbed. So be mindful when layering....

Product does what it is supposed to do. However it leaves a sticky residue and takes a while to be fully absorbed. So be mindful when layering. Overall, there are other less expensive products that can do the same thing.

Alternatives

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