Kelly Driscoll

I’ve been interested in K-Beauty products for many years and I sure have tried a lot of products! In my wonderland adventure of trying all kinds of brands and products, there are a few that I come back to time and again.

One of those brands that I have gone to time and again is Klairs. They really won my heart with their Freshly Juiced Vitamin C Drop (read my review) and I also love that they create their products with sensitive skin in mind. I have tried many products from their line and have a few new ones lined up in my stash. However there is one product from Klairs that I avoided for a while, mostly because I just didn’t understand what the heck it was.

I’m talking about Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream.

Now this thing definitely has some hype in the Instagram skincare community. I’m sure its photogenic good looks and stunning cornflower blue color have something to do with its popularity on a social media platform heavily reliant on photos.

So let’s just say I was resistant to the hype. And let’s also mention the fact that this cream is pretty expensive. Now, I’m no stranger to pricier skincare products but I definitely do budget my skincare purchases, and anything over $20 for one product better deliver some excellent results.

And yet another strike against this blue wonder cream is the fact that it was so confusing. Is it a moisturizer? A spot treatment? It works on acne but soothes sensitivity…? Where would this even fit into my routine?

After a bout of super sensitized skin, I was desperate to heal my poor burning skin by any means. My lovely friend Giulia (@skinchan_skincare) recommended this cream to me and said it was her holy grail for sensitive and red skin.

I trust the recommendations of my friends, especially when they have a similar skin type, so I started to research the cream and stalk the sites for the best price. (skincare dollars don’t grow on trees y’all)

What is the Midnight Blue Calming Cream?

Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream is NOT a moisturizer. I think that is where we need to start. I always thought this little guy was a rather bougie moisturizer, however Klairs states that this is actually meant to be used as a special treatment on inflamed skin. Intended as an ointment you can use when your skin is affected by:

Redness, Inflammation, Stressed Skin, Irritated Skin, Sunburn, Over Exfoliation and Razor Burn

This intended use actually explains why the jar is so small. Now, one of the main problems I had with this cream prior to using it was the price. The original jar contained 1oz of product and was priced at $25! That would be crazy to slather on your entire face twice a day!

Klairs recently released a limited edition 2oz tube that retails $31. The tube makes much more sense to me economically as well as hygienically. I prefer the tube style so that the cream isn’t exposed to so much air and it helps me get just the right amount needed. It’s less Instagramable, but that’s life, kid.

What’s So Calming About the Calming Blue Cream?

This is what sold me on trying the Midnight Blue Calming Cream, the ingredients. As you know, I have been on a quest to strengthen my moisture barrier, and I’m all about those barrier loving ingredients.

The star ingredient here is definitely guaiazulene. Derived from the chamomile plant, guaiazulene is an extremely potent anti-inflammatory ingredient with powerful soothing capabilities.

Guaiazulene… never heard of it, right? Guaiazulene is often also listed as azulene and its name comes from the Spanish word “azul” which means blue.

Which sure is fitting because guaiazulene is the ingredient responsible for the cornflower blue color of this cream. In fact, guaiazulene is often used in cosmetics for its striking color.

However, guaiazulene isn’t only here for its stunning good looks. Guaiazulene has proven it’s effective at treating inflammation of the skin due to acne or irritation. It is also known as being incredibly gentle, even on sensitive skin.

You may be familiar with guaialuzene’s more famous cousin, blue tansy.

Niacinamide is also present here, and don’t underestimate it! Until recently, I only knew niacinamide for its ability to lighten hyper pigmentation and brighten the skin tone. However, it turns out that niacinamide can do a whole lot more than just that.

Niacinamide can help stimulate the skin’s natural production of lipids! That translates to moisture barrier repair!

Ingredient of the moment, centella, also makes an appearance here bringing its soothing and anti-inflammatory benefits with it.

Peptides are also at play here. That’s a good thing because with them they bring the ability to stimulate the skin’s natural repairing process.

Glycerin, sodium hyaluronate, shea butter, and ceramides NP round out the ingredients list with some proven moisturizers.

So it’s not a moisturizer?

Nope, this is more of a treatment you use when your skin is pissed off. At least that’s how I think of it.

This is meant to be used on affected areas to help heal irritation or inflammation. To be honest with you, the first few times I used it my whole face was the affected area!

But this isn’t a really effective moisturizer on its own. This cream is very lightweight and almost a little watery when you work it into the skin. It spreads really well, and a little bit goes a long way. I did find when I used this in larger areas, if I was heavy handed on application it did pill underneath my makeup.

This definitely is not an effective moisturizer on its own, and it would be rather expensive to use all over your face all the time.

So What Should It Be Used For?

My first experience with this cream was when my skin was very irritated and sensitized from a compromised moisture barrier. I was experiencing a lot of low-key stinging and burning on my skin all day long and needed to get the situation under control.

Now, this cream definitely did help my skin feel more comfortable right after application, which was a bonus. After applying the cream all over for about three days, I found that the sensation of burning and stinging had faded. After that, I started to use this just on my cheeks to help continue repairing my moisture barrier, as that is my most vulnerable area to irritation.

I was impressed with its ability to calm my skin down in just a matter of a few days. Without this product, I might have spent a week or two trying to address the issue with lots of hydrating and moisturizing products.

I also noticed that this cream helped to decrease the general redness that I have on my face, especially around my eyes and nose.

Because I knew this was good for inflammation and I noticed it helped with redness, I decided to put this to the acne test.

There are no active acne fighting ingredients in this formula, but its ability to fight inflammation shouldn’t be underestimated.

I tried putting these on some inflamed acne I could feel coming up under the skin, and I do believe this cream helped to keep them at a level 4 instead of blowing up into a full 8 or 9 situation. And trust me, these pimples had the potential to go all the way.

Now, it didn’t make the pimple go flat overnight, but it definitely helped to keep the size down and the redness at bay. I really appreciated this as an acne spot treatment because when your skin is already sensitive, using hardcore acne spot treatments can cause more problems for your skin in the long run.

This is also useful on injured skin. That’s my fancy way of saying popped pimples. Hey, sometimes the only way those pesky spots are leaving is out through the skin.

Since this has so many skin repairing ingredients and the ability to fight inflammation, I tried using this as an ointment on open skin after a pimple extraction. This wasn’t a miracle worker in this area but I do believe it helped the wound heal up a little faster and definitely kept it protected and clean.

Was it Worth Getting?

In my experience, this was definitely worth purchasing. This immediately addressed the problem I wanted it to — my irritated skin. While I was so desperate I dreamed of something that would have solved all my moisture barrier problems in one application, I was still very satisfied with about three days.

I find myself reaching for this now as a very gentle acne and inflammation treatment that won’t compromise the work I’ve already done in getting my moisture barrier back in shape.

I also can see myself using this as protection against the icy, bitter winter winds that whip my cheeks raw.

So I definitely recommend picking up this cream if any of the above benefits are something you are looking for. If you need a moisturizer, don’t get this one.

Buy Midnight Blue Calming Cream 1oz on Amazon* Here
Buy Midnight Blue Calming Cream 2oz on Wishtrend* Here

Receipts: *indicates the use of affiliate links that provide a small commission to help run this blog

 
As ever, if that was a little TL;DR watch the video: