Walgreen's Institut Arnaud Thermo-Active Body Contouring Gel Vs. Clarins Total Body Lift

We just can't get enough cellulite fighting skin care! Every beauty line from L'Oreal to La Prairie has their contender. One of the very best selling cellulite fighters for the last several years is Clarins Total Body Lift. This heavy-hitter is an alcohol-based gel with caffeine and loads of botanical extracts. Though this product always gets raves from beauty editors, the formulation itself is fairly standard. Alcohol, caffeine and texturizers make the bulk of these formulations and few companies vary from that standard.

The trick with Clarins' and really any cellulite treatment is constant and consistent use. The effects of these products are temporary but if you use the treatment every day you will see improvement in texture and firmness. Stop using it, and the benefits go away. It's a common joke behind cosmetic counters to say the effect is only temporary if you stop using it!

So, if every line has its own cellulite-fighting treatment, is it really worth paying top dollar for thigh cream?

The price difference between Walgreen's Institut Arnaud Thermo-Active Body Contouring Gel, for example, at $20, and Clarins Total Body Lift at $58, makes you wonder how much benefit are you really getting for an extra $38? Both products are sold in stores with rather generous return policies, so I decided to put them to the test. If I truly hated one of them, back it would go. As it turns out, you can get samples of the Clarins Total Body Lift just by asking. That's probably the way I would go if you're really not sure which formula you'd like. Walgreen's does have some samples of their European Beauty Collection skin care, but they did not have samples of that particular product. So if you purchase the product from there, hang on to your receipt just in case.

Clarins Total Body Lift

For nearly $60, Clarins promises "up to an inch" reduction around the thighs (with twice daily use - remember what I said about consistent use?). Although this did improve the texture of my skin, I noticed maybe a quarter of an inch difference (after 1 month which is what the packaging recommends). Considering your weight can fluctuate a few pounds every day, it's hard to attribute that to a skin cream. Clarins' product does show a marked improvement. However, it has a strong fragrance that tends to stick around. That's fine if you like the smell, but if you don't, you may have trouble masking it. It can also interfere with any perfume or scented products you put on after it.

Clarins' formula features "contouring botanicals", Hortonia and Baccharis, which purportedly help provide an intensive firming and lifting action for a sleeker, more streamlined silhouette and visible reduction of stubborn cellulite. Hortonia also helps slow down fat storage. Caffeine and Geranium jump-start intense circulation to help flush out fat while stimulating the body's natural release of toxins. Sunflower phosphoids keep skin perfectly balanced while providing intense moisture. Or so says the packaging.

Frankly, it did about as well as I expected it to. But for $58 I wanted to be really impressed.

Next, it was time to test out Walgreen's competitor from the European Beauty Collection and Institut Arnaud. Institut Arnaud has been doing very well in the body category for Walgreen's so I gave it a try against Clarins Total Body Lift.

Institut Arnaud's Thermo-Active Body Contouring (warming) Gel helps improve the fat breakdown process, working to speed surface micro-circulation and clear skin tissue for effective smoothing action on the appearance of cellulite. Sound familiar? It also contains caffeine, along with Green Tea extract, Hedera Ivy extract, Horse Chestnut (an astringent) extract, glycerin and ginger extract.

After 1 month (on the other leg) I noticed almost exactly the same level of improvement as the Clarins product. However, the fragrance is much lighter and the formula felt slightly more moisturizing in the long term. At $20, I was feeling like quite the budget diva. Considering how often you have to use cellulite treatments for maximum effectiveness, finding a less expensive, yet highly effective product is real steal.

Department stores are starting to feel the heat from mass market competitors and this example is one of many. If you're stuck on French body care, but have a budget to contend with, give Institut Arnaud a try.