KEY POINTS: 

Dear Klairs: The MOST SOUGHT AFTER brand on Wishtrend – AND HERE’S WHY

Simple but enough. Basic but ultimate. Mild, but powerful. That's the Klairs philosophy. This cruelty-free and eco-friendly Korean skincare powerhouse creates clean, high quality and functional formulas that work with even the fussiest of skin types. One of the iconic brands curated by parent company Wishtrend, it prioritizes sensitive skin and looks after it the way I stare at a jar of Nutella: with pure tender love, baby.

The most impressive thing about Klairs is that it recognizes not all sensitive skin is the same, and that our skin’s condition is in a constant state of flux depending on environmental and lifestyle factors. That’s why it offers a wide line up of products – from anti-ageing, to brightening, to hydrating and barrier rebuilding. It caters to your skin, no matter what stage it’s in.

BUT FIRST, let’s talk about the klairs sunscreen controversy

What happened to Klairs sunscreens? Non-comedogenic, reef-safe and available in both physical and chemical form, these enormously popular products have been a lot harder to find these days. Well, in case you missed the drama in the skincare world over the last few months, here’s what transpired. Klairs’ sunscreens were recently caught up in the same scandal that enveloped Purito. Independent testing of Purito’s sunscreens revealed their maximum SPF protection level was actually 19 (instead of the advertised 50). As it turned out, the chemical formula Klairs’ Soft Airy UV Essence and physical sunscreen Mid Day Blue UV Shield were manufactured in the same lab. The company decided to suspend future sales of its sunscreens, until it completes a thorough review. We’re anticipating it’ll be another 6 months before we see reformulated Dear, Klairs sunscreen back on the market.

But this does not necessarily mean Klairs sunscreen is no good. It’s worth noting the following: as we understand it, it would be helpful if SPF were tested and appraised to universal standard. However, this is just not the case as it varies from country to country. In addition, the level of protection offered from an SPF19 doesn’t vary greatly from that offered by an SPF50. According to a medically reviewed article in Very Well Health, these are the protection differences between SPF levels:

• SPF 15 BLOCKS 93% OF UVB RAYS
• SPF 30 BLOCKS 97% OF UVB RAYS
• SPF 50 BLOCKS 98% OF UVB RAYS
• SPF 100 BLOCKS 99% OF UVB RAYS

The bottom line is that after SPF30, the level of protection offered by a higher SPF level is only incremental. Even an SPF19 still offers a percentage protection level in the mid-90s. This still makes any Dear, Klairs sunscreen that’s lying around in your cabinet an effective product for cloudy days, light sun or filtered sunlight. And remember – the two important but frequently overlooked factors in sun protection are the amount applied (remember the two-finger rule) and re-applying every 2-3 hours. SPF can tell you how long you can stay in the sun without getting burned. If it takes you 15 minutes to burn without wearing sunscreen, then applying an SPF 10 means it will take you 10x longer to burn (or 2.5 hours).

Dear Klairs’ Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop: A stable Vitamin C Serum that’s not uncomfortably tingly!

For sensitive skin, finding a vit C serum that doesn’t oxidize quickly and feel horribly tingly is like trying to find the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Impossible! Or so we thought, until we tried Klairs’ Freshly Juiced vitamin C serum. This stuff WORKS – despite a gentle concentration of 5%. This makes it ideal for reactive skin, with the hypoallergenic serum fading scars and rendering your complexion noticeably brighter. The application is just as easy, with one dropper generous enough to cover your face and neck.

You may have heard that the gold standard packaging for vitamin C serums are opaque and airless containers. This is true – for pure vitamin C. However, for stabilized serums such as the Klairs Vitamin C, the shelf life is a lot longer (around 12 months) and as such, dark packaging is not a necessity. This doesn’t mean it won’t turn darker with time, but we’ve only noticed it going a shade yellow after being left outdoors all day during a long photoshoot! We were impressed. Meanwhile our pure vitamin C serums went straight to brown town.

Check out our Klairs vitamin C serum review here.

Dear Klairs’ Vitamin E Mask: Part of a dynamic, glow-giving duo

The ideal complement to Klairs’ Freshly Juiced Serum, Klairs’ Freshly Juiced Vitamin E mask is a goopy, pudding-like spread that’s packed with vitamin E (obviously), ceramides, hyaluronic acid and niacinamide. You’re basically like 3 products in 1, with it functioning as a sleeping pack or a moisturizer as well as a standard mask. While the vitamin C serum goes on during the daytime, the Vitamin E mask does its best work at night – helping to regenerate your skin during your beauty sleep, erase fine lights and ensuring you wake up bright and hydrated. Just be aware it contains a small amount of eucalyptus and lavender extracts, so avoid if you’re extremely sensitive to essential oils. If you’re not sure, you can try it in the 15ml size before you commit to the full 90ml, or buy the small size in a cute set along with the Vitamin Drop. 

Dear Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner: A K-Beauty ICON

This Klairs toner has achieved legendary status in the beauty community. It’s good for sensitive skin, it’s good for oily skin, it’s good for acne - I kinda feel like it’s the Windex out of My Big Fat Greek Wedding – Klairs’ Supple Toner fixes everything!

Available in unscented and original, Klairs’ Supple Preparation Toner is a straightforward product that adds an extra hydrating and cleansing step to your routine. Suitable for any skin type but especially perfect for sensitive skin on the oily side, Dear Klairs Toner just gives your skin that extra OOMPF. It also fulfils a toner’s purpose, which is to remove any residual impurities, hydrate and prepare the skin for the next step in your routine.

A review of the ingredients list shows its packed with a long line-up of goodies. You’ve got amino acids, hyaluronic acid, Cica, vitamin E, licorice root, aloe vera, panthenol and so much more. Frankly, it reads like a dream. If your skin is dull, stressed or over-worked, you’ll love the Dear Klairs’ Supple Preparation facial toner. You’ll find your skin calmer, less irritated and more supple in no time.

You can also buy the Klairs toner in a travel size – handy now that borders are starting to reopen!

What happens at midnight? Blue dreams & soothing creams

Another one of Klairs’ skincare hits is its Midnight Blue calming range. Its mysterious name is likely inspired by the dusky blue hue of these products – like a cinematic scene at nightfall. But don’t worry – despite the colour, it won’t turn you into an extra on the set of Avatar. Instead, it provides a great offset to redness, evening out your skin tone even when you’re suffering from irritation or a breakout.

Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream should be at the top of your list if you have acne, eczema or rosacea-prone skin. Rather than an all-over face moisturizer (although you could certainly use it like that), it’s best used as a spot treatment to provide comfort and relieve redness. The star ingredients here include guaiazulene (a natural component extracted from chamomile oil) and Centella Asiatica, both of which carry powerful skin calming abilities. The Midnight Blue Calming Cream also contains shea butter and hyaluronic acid, but it’s not greasy in the slightest – which means it’s even suitable for oily skin. It still manages to feel luxurious on your skin, but I’d say extremely dry skin types should use this as a soothing serum and follow up with another moisturizer.

Read our review of Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Creamhere.

Klairs Midnight Blue Youth Activating Drop is for those with anti-ageing concerns. In our opinion, it’s probably the best Klairs serum. We’ve given it the nickname Benjamin Button in a bottle, because it really does feel like you’re ageing backwards after a while! With soothing chamomile extracts along with the anti-aging benefits of EGF, FGF (rh-Polypeptide-1), this formula drives cell renewal and promotes firmness and elasticity in skin. For the best results, we’d use the Youth Activating Drop along with the Calming Cream, especially if your ageing concerns are combined with skin sensitivity, congestion and irritation. They work in harmony like a symphony.

Meanwhile Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Sheet Mask is the overachiever in the class. Sheet masks are probably one of the staples of Korean skincare. Some soothe, some reduce and control oiliness, others reduce inflammation of acne and some - like the Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Sheet Mask - do it all. Just wack it on when you’ve broken out, feel itchy or just want to give your skin a treat.

Rich and Moist, but not a chocolate cake

If you’re not a fan of the word ‘moist’ (Aussies seem to have a real thing with this word) then avert your eyes because this paragraph has moist sprinkles all over it! Dry skin people, the Rich Moist Soothing range from Dear, Klairs is for you.

Klairs Rich Moist Foaming Cleanser changed our mind about using foam cleansers on dry skin. It somehow manages to be gentle, so even extremely dry skin won’t be left with that tight, pulling feeling. That’s probably due to the hyaluronic acid and aloe leaf extract in the formula, and the conscious skipping of any harsh surfactants. And we daresay this Klairs cleanser could work on dehydrated acne-prone skin as well, thanks to the inclusion of bacteria-fighting tea tree oil.

Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream is pure creamy goodness.Formulated with shea butter, ceramides glycerin, aloe and vitamin E, the Klairs Soothing Cream works fast to deeply hydrate your skin while calming any redness or irritation. It can even work on psoriasis, and will blend in easily into even the more complex skincare routines. It’s one that we keep coming back to, when our skin needs a break and a pH rebalance from product overuse!

Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Serum is like a nourish bowl for your face. This clear, refreshing serum with a pleasant, herbal scent is formulated with organic celery, carrot root, and broccoli extracts deliver an antioxidant boost, while calming inflammation. Because it’s not heavy or oil-based, this is probably a serum that oily and combination types can enjoy more than dry or dehydrated skin.

Dear Klairs Illuminating Supple Blemish Cream: Hydrating Coverage

There’s a good reason why Korean women are raving about this BB cream: with warm, golden undertones and a creamy texture, it provides light coverage and a dewy finish. Our tip? Wear it over a good blurring primer for an airbrushed (but totally natural) look. The only downside to this product is what we find with so many Korean coverage products – it caters for an extremely limited range of fair skin tones.

Dear Klairs Gentle Black Range: Because even sensitive skin deserves to deep cleanse

If you have dry and sensitive skin, don’t think you need to be relegated to a lifetime of mild skincare. Klairs Gentle Black range gives you the deep cleanse you deserve, without feeling stringent and abrasive on your skin.

As a first cleanse, Klairs Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil is excellent. Formulated with black currant seed oil (which is naturally rich in linoleic acid, making it suitable for problematic skin), it emulsifies beautifully to remove all traces of make-up and oil-based impurities. You will need to follow up with a water-based cleanser for a thorough clean, to remove the residue and any water-based dirt (like sweat).

If you’re needing a good exfoliation but can’t do it without your skin giving you major side eye, try Klairs Gentle Black Sugar Facial Polish. It’s not harsh or irritating, but still does the trick of removing dead skin cells and shaking up stubborn blackheads. If you have oily skin, opt for Klairs Youthful Glow Sugar Mask instead.

Good skincare is….fundamental (said in RuPaul’s voice)

If you’ve been reading this blog thinking ok – Klairs has products for dry skin, sensitive skin and oily skin – but what about me with the perfect balanced skin type over here? Firstly, congratulations on having unicorn skin and secondly, welcome to the Klairs Fundamental skincare line.

Formulated for those that wants hydration without greasiness, and nourishment without heaviness, it strikes a perfect balance for skin that’s already in equilibrium but that still needs care and maintenance. With gel-based moisturizers, eye butters, light facial oils and more, you’ll be loving the simplicity and quality that’s so synonymous with Klairs.

Find Dear Klairs products online in Australia at Kanvas Beauty

You can shop all the Dear Klairs bestsellers in Australia right here on Kanvas Beauty.

We ship Australia-wide, including all the major cities (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin, Adelaide and Canberra). Enjoy free standard shipping with any purchase over $50, and free express shipping with any order over $99. If you’re new to Kanvas Beauty, take an additional $20 off your first order with us (use code WELCOME20 at checkout).

Happy shopping! If you have further questions on Dear, Klairs or any of our other brands, drop us a line on chat or on email: hello@kanvasbeauty.com.au.

Have you tried any Dear, Klairs products? What do you think? Leave a review under your favourite products and tell us all the gory details!