This class action suit alleges premium beauty products company CLARINS made false and misleading misrepresentations regarding the efficacy of certain high priced skin creams and the scientific basis for the development of such products, in violation of Florida consumer protection laws.
Clarins Group, a privately held French luxury cosmetics company founded in 1954 with multiple international divisions and personal product lines, specializes in high-end fragrances and skin care products. The marketing and advertisement of Clarins beauty enhancing creams typically include references to the “science” that is the basis for the development of the products and the improvements a consumer can expect from product use.
Florida resident Elisa Garcia purchased two Clarins beauty enhancing cream products for personal use from a Macy’s department store in January 2013; specifically, Vital Light Night Revitalizing Cream and Body Lift Cellulite Control. According to the complaint Garcia filed against Clarins in October 2014, she paid the high price of $90 for each of the products in reliance on Clarins’ misleading claims that the results promised by the company are supported by scientific research and resulting innovations. The alleged deceptive product information Clarins provided regarding Vital Light Night Revitalizing Anti-Aging cream, for example, is described as including flawed data and misleading interpretations of results, such as the statement that the cream would “reorganize weak collagen into a resilient cushion hat beams light up to the skin’s surface.”
The complaint charges Clarins made false and misleading misrepresentations to sell anti-aging creams at premium prices with ingredients that could not provide the results claimed. To the extent that any studies existed regarding the efficacy of the products, the complaint alleges such studies were substandard and not able to be relied on as they were performed without necessary rigor and sample size as to constitute defensible scientific clinical studies. Garcia also alleges Clarins compared its products to pharmaceutical products, implying that Clarins products affect the structure or function of the human body and that salespersons made misleading statements that the products were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Garcia seeks class action certification for herself and other Clarins product purchasers for the class period, commencing on the date of the product launch to October 2014, for unjust enrichment and damages resulting from Clarins’ false and deceptive advertising in violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Customer sues Clarins alleging deceptive marketing campaign
April 8, 2014
The complaint alleges that Clarins engages in a practice of marketing certain products as having special anti-aging qualities without scientific support.
clarins_complaint.pdfCase Event History
Customer sues Clarins alleging deceptive marketing campaign
April 8, 2014
The complaint alleges that Clarins engages in a practice of marketing certain products as having special anti-aging qualities without scientific support.
clarins_complaint.pdf