A daily moisturiser made my face swell and look like a beetroot

A stunning blonde had her dream holiday ruined when a pricey cream made her face swollen and looking like a beetroot. 

Katie Byrne says her dream holiday was wrecked after her face swelled to almost twice its normal size and broke out in huge red sores and dents, moments after she applied the £30 face cream.

Normally-beautiful Katie, 26, was given steroid injections to calm the severe allergic reaction by hotel doctors, but she was left looking red-faced for the rest of her 10-day trip to Mexico.

The personal assistant, from Dagenham, Essex, had treated herself to the £30 Clarins beauty cream on her flight from Heathrow, as she jetted off to the tropical resort of Hard Rock Cancun with boyfriend Connor.

She used the Beauty Flash Balm on the second day of her luxury £2,000 holiday, and was horrified when the expensive cream left her feeling like her face was on fire.

Katie said: “When I realised how red my face was I couldn’t believe it, I looked like a tomato.

“I tried to go to bed and forget about it but I woke up in the middle of the night screaming in pain.

“When I looked in the mirror I saw huge dents in my forehead and I was terrified my face was caving in.

“My skin was stinging so much I had to call a doctor.

“It ruined my holiday of a lifetime as I had to hide away for the rest of the trip.”

Katie and her boyfriend Connor, 25, an electrician, boarded their flight to Mexico on June 6.

The couple had saved for a year on the holiday of a lifetime, and in a bid to look her best, Katie splashed out on the expensive Clarins moisturiser set.

The travel kit of miniatures included a makeup remover, eye cream and beauty flash balm to tighten and brighten the skin.

On the second day of the trip, Katie used the beauty flash balm before heading out for dinner with Connor.

But a few minutes into their fancy sit down meal, Connor was shocked to see Katie’s face was bright red and swollen.

She said: “When I looked at my face in the mirror, I was horrified to see red sores had spread across my face. I looked like a monster.”

After using a cold compress to try and relieve the pain, she took it off her forehead and noticed two big dents where the cream had been applied.

An emergency doctor was sent to her room and she was given an injection to help soothe the allergic reaction.

But Katie was left with a bright red face for the remainder of her stay, making her look like she had terrible sunburn.

She said: “I spent the rest of the holiday holed up in doors because I was too afraid to go outside.

“I was so embarrassed about my complexion that when I did go outside, I wore a cap and sunglasses to try and hide my face.”

Since returning to the UK she has contacted Clarins and they have promised to investigate her allergic reaction – after demanding Katie sends her receipts and products back to them.

She added: “I never usually use posh face creams but because I was on a fancy holiday, I wanted to treat myself.

“It was a huge mistake and I wish I’d never bought the Clarins creams.

“You’d think for such an expensive product, it would be okay. I’m utterly disgusted that Clarins haven’t offered me compensation for the holiday.

“I’ve never had an allergic reaction to anything in my life, so I don’t know what it is in the cream that set me off.

“I don’t want a refund, I want compensation.

“If a doctor hadn’t been able to get to me in time, I could have died.

“It totally ruined my dream holiday.”

Top-end beauty giant Clarins have apologised to Katie for the mishap with the cream that left her looking like a beetroot.

A spokesperson said: “We were so sorry to hear that this happened during Katie’s holiday, we are pleased to hear that the sensitivity she experienced has now calmed.

“We have expressed our desire to work closely with Katie to restore not only her faith in Clarins, but more importantly, help identify the ingredient in question to avoid this happening to Katie in the future.

“As we explained in detail to Katie, all of our products are formulated from the highest quality ingredients, many of which are plant based and are subject to stringent dermatological, ophthalmic and allergy testing before marketing.”