My Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream review for rosacea skin. Quick note before anything else: I am sight impaired, and in this video I am absolutely convinced I’m looking directly at the camera. I am not. I am looking slightly to the left of the camera. I only found out when I watched it back. We’re going with it.
So. The Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream. I’d seen this thing recommended approximately eight thousand times in every K-beauty and sensitive skin community I’d ever lurked in, and I’m not gonna pretend I wasn’t curious. When a product keeps coming up that consistently for that many years, eventually you just have to try it.
What’s actually in it
The star ingredient is guaiazulene – that’s what gives it the distinctive deep blue colour. It’s derived from chamomile and has anti-inflammatory properties, which is why it shows up in calming and sensitive skin products so often. The formula is also fragrance-free, which matters a lot when you’re managing rosacea, because fragrance is one of the most common triggers for flushing and irritation.
The texture is somewhere between a gel and a lightweight cream. Not heavy, not watery. It absorbs reasonably well and doesn’t leave a greasy film, which is one of my personal requirements for anything going on my face (combination skin, will do anything to avoid looking like a glazed doughnut by noon).
How I used it
I use it in my evening routine, on the nights when my skin has been reactive and that post-flare redness is hanging around being annoying. I’ll also use it as a spot treatment on a patch that’s playing up.
I wasn’t using it as a daily moisturiser – I have a separate moisturiser step for that. More of a calming treatment when my skin needed it.
What I actually thought
Honestly? It’s good. Not revolutionary, not life-changing, but genuinely good. My skin felt calmer after using it. The redness that tends to linger after a flushing episode did seem to settle faster when I used this versus when I didn’t. That’s not nothing.
It didn’t break me out. It didn’t sting. It didn’t cause any of the tingling or tightness I sometimes get from actives. For reactive, rosacea-prone skin, those three things being absent is already a massive tick.
My one honest note is that I don’t think it’s doing anything drastically different from other calming creams I’ve used – there are options at various price points that calm redness effectively. What Klairs has going for it is the combination of the formula being genuinely good, fragrance-free, and widely available from K-beauty retailers in the UK. For the price point (cheaper than a lot of comparable Western options), it’s a solid pick.
Where to buy it in the UK
Klairs is stocked by several K-beauty retailers that ship to the UK. YesStyle is one of the easiest – use code NEVEEN15 for an extra discount on your order. Skinsider and Olive Young Global also carry Klairs. I’d recommend checking current stock and pricing across a couple of them since prices can vary.
If you’re building a wider routine for rosacea and seb derm skin, my seb derm on scalp vs face post covers my full approach, and this post on Malassezia safe moisturisers is where I ended up for the moisturiser step.
The thing I’d actually tell you about: buffering tretinoin with it
This is the use I didn’t expect and it’s become the main reason I keep the pot around.
I’m on prescription tretinoin, and I buffer it. That means putting something on first and applying the tretinoin over the top, so it isn’t going straight onto bare skin and you get less of the irritation that comes with regular use.
Most people buffer with whatever moisturiser they own. I started buffering with this instead, and the difference was noticeable. I’d put it down to the centella asiatica in it, which is doing the soothing work while the tretinoin does its thing on top.
So if you’ve already got this in your cupboard and you’re on a retinoid, try it as your buffer layer before you reach for your usual moisturiser. More on how I got on with tretinoin generally is in my Dermatica review.
Worth repeating that this isn’t marketed as a moisturiser and it isn’t one. It’s a treatment for when your skin is irritated, red or reacting to something. The reason I use it as often as I do is that with mild rosacea, my skin is more or less always mildly irritated, so there’s rarely a night when it isn’t useful.
Jar or tube
It comes in two sizes. The jar, which is what I had, and a larger tube with double the product in it.
The jar does come with a small plastic spatula so you’re not putting your fingers in it and contaminating the pot, which is a nice touch. But I’ll be buying the tube next time purely because it’s easier to get the product out.
The fact that I’ve already decided I’m repurchasing probably tells you everything about what I think of it.
One more use I’ve read about and haven’t tried yet: apparently it’s good on the irritation you get after having your eyebrows threaded. Same principle as anything else, it’s for irritated skin.
The other one: Klairs Midnight Blue Youth Activating Drop
I was sent two things, and this was the second. It didn’t work out for me.
The texture is very, very watery. You can’t really dispense it onto your fingers, so I’d pour it into my palm and then either rub my hands together and press it in, or dip my fingers into the puddle and apply it that way.
It goes through the bottle quickly because of how thin it is. That might be me over-applying, or it might be that I’ve got a fairly large round face to cover, but either way it didn’t last.
It takes a while to sink in, though it layers fine with everything else in my evening routine.
Did it do anything?
Not that I could see. I’ve got some fine lines and I noticed no difference and no plumping effect over the time I used it.
In fairness, this may well be the sort of product that needs months rather than weeks before anything shows. I can only tell you what happened in the time I had it.
A note on the EGF in it
It contains EGF, epidermal growth factors, along with peptides.
EGF in skincare is contested. There’s debate about whether it’s effective at all, and there are theoretical concerns attached to it too. I’m not a dermatologist and I’m not going to pretend I can settle that for you, so if you’re considering anything with EGF in it, go and read up properly rather than taking my word or anyone else’s.
I’m flagging it because it’s the kind of thing that doesn’t get mentioned in most reviews of this product, not because I’m telling you to avoid it.
If you only buy one of them
The cream. Every time.
If your skin is sensitive, if you get irritation, if your barrier is having a bad time, that’s the one worth your money. I’ll be repurchasing it and I wouldn’t repurchase the drop.
The drop isn’t bad. It just didn’t do anything for me, and at the rate it disappears I’d rather put the money towards something I can feel working.
FAQ
Is Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream good for rosacea?
For mine, yes. I use it as a calming treatment rather than a daily moisturiser, either as a spot treatment on redness that’s hanging around or as a last step on nights when my skin has been reactive. It didn’t sting, it didn’t break me out, and it didn’t give me the tightness I get from a lot of actives. For rosacea-prone skin, those three absences are already most of the battle.
What is guaiazulene in skincare?
It’s the deep blue compound that gives this cream its colour. It’s derived from chamomile and it’s anti-inflammatory, which is why it turns up in so many calming products aimed at sensitive skin.
Is the Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream fragrance-free?
Yes, and that matters more than people realise when you’ve got rosacea. Fragrance is one of the most common triggers for flushing and irritation, so a fragrance-free calming product is doing two useful things at once rather than undoing itself.
Where can I buy Klairs skincare in the UK?
YesStyle is the easiest route and my code NEVEEN15 gets you a bit off. Skinsider and Olive Young Global both stock Klairs too, and Olive Young takes NEVEEN20. Prices move around between them, so it’s worth checking a couple before you order.
More K-beauty and skincare
- Dear Klairs Gentle Black Fresh Cleansing Oil Review
- 6 Malassezia Safe Moisturisers That Don’t Feel Like Grease
- The Anua Azelaic Acid Serum Review
- Seborrhoeic Dermatitis on the Scalp vs Face
- My Current Discount Codes – including YesStyle code NEVEEN15
Both of these products were sent to me by Wishtrend for review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
