La Roche Posay

I first heard about La Roche Posay products at the start of the year and my interest grew when I saw how popular the brand was becoming when I went to America. Of course the fact it is a French skincare brand helped to increase my want to try the products. After reading many product reviews I started my collection and purchased Effaclar Duo (I have reviewed this previously here). Since then I have been sent another bottle of Effaclar Duo and Effaclar Foaming Wash (I wasn't asked to write a post up but love these products!), and in a Lust Have It box I won two other La Roche Posay products were included-Lipikar Baume and Eau Thermale.

La Roche Posay products are enriched with thermal spring water and made with the most sensitive skin types in mind. They have products designed for the face, body and have sun care products as well.

The Effaclar Foaming Gel has been beautiful to use. I keep it in the shower to use after work to wash off any left over chlorine and my skin has seemed very calm afterwards (big bonus as my skin would normally be red all day!). This is a clear gel that foams up slightly and gently cleans the skin. I don't use this day and night as I already have a favourite cleanser, but I will be continuing to use this in the shower.

Effaclar Duo has been amazing for me. I'm almost at the end of my first tube and my breakouts have lessend considerably. I still get the odd spot from my hormones at that time of the month and a few little spots if I have been eating horribly but Effaclar duo lessens them so that they don't grow into big mountains. I have found that big spots do leave a bit of a burn mark if I use this straight away on them so I'm going to try Mario Badescu's Drying Lotion on them first and then use this after to see if it clears up better that way.

Now the Thermal Spring Water seemed a bit strange to me because surely it's just water in a can?! I haven't used this too much but when I have it has been quite pleasant. It is good to use when my hay fever is playing up and my skin is irritated as it really cools and calms my skin down. I still think it is a bit expensive for a can of water but I might buy some if it is on sale to use in summer if I get burnt.

Lipikar Baume was the surprise of the lot for me. For a few months I was getting this little itchy bumps on my feet that seemed to multiply and would never go away. Now of course I would itch them as they would drive me crazy but then I decided to use this on them. Literally within 20 seconds the itch would be gone. This says it is great for itchy, skin but I wasn't expecting it to help clear up my random skin condition but it did! My dr had wanted me to go on steroid creams to clear it but this has worked a treat so I'm very happy. I've read that this is also very good for people with Eczema as it keeps the skin really hydrated (I'm not a dermatologist but this is just what I have read about a number of times).

I've recently seen La Roche Posay makeup items at Priceline so I am super keen to try them out!! If anyone has please let me know what your favourite item is and also what your favourite La Roche Posay skincare item is too!

Philosophy Hands of Hope Review

Although I'm only 24 I go through hand creams so much due to working in a pool and doing a lot of baking. I suffer from dry hands that can be quite uncomfortable so I love a good hand cream. In the future (in addition to this post), I'll be reviewing all the hand creams I use as I know there are many others out there that need a thoroughly moisturising cream.

 

Anyway... on to the first review!

 

philosophy hands of hope

 

I was lucky enough to win a philosophy pack from BeautyHeaven and this cute hand and cuticle cream was inside. I find it is a mixture between a cream and a gel so it is a pretty interesting texture.

 

 

While it is a bit thicker in consistency to regular creams this doesn't translate to it being a thoroughly hydrating hand cream. It seems to hydrate the top layer but it doesn't really penetrate any further, which means my hands are feeling dry again in an hour. It has a very subtle scent so it is great for people you don't want to add yet another scent to themselves after possibly using body wash, moisturiser and perfume. I would give this hand cream a 7/10 as it has a nice consistency and scent but not hydrating enough for my hands. I would recommend this to someone with regular to medium dry hands.

 

philosophy hands of hope retails at $12 for a 30ml tube.



La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo Review

After hearing bits and pieces about this French skincare brand, I was thrilled to see it was on sale at Priceline's 40% off skincare sale. Before I went on the pill I had terrible acne, and although it has mainly cleared up I still get hormonal breakouts-especially on my chin. I'm one of those bad people who can't help but pick at pimples (I know-so so bad!), so I've been after something that will stop them forming in the first place. After a few different product trials I think I've found my saviour!

 

Effaclar Duo is a white gel that you use on your face morning and night after cleansing. It claims to "Reduce the appearance of Imperfections" and "Unclogs sebum-blocked pores". I haven't seen a big improvement on the appearance of imperfections mainly because this beautiful product doesn't allow my pimples to form! I've been using it on my chin day and night and on the occasional bump that looks like it might become a pimple and I'm happy to say that I haven't had one breakout in two weeks. For me that is amazing as my chin was just a constant of pimples that wouldn't clear. I use Effaclar Duo after cleansing and toning, and before moisturising (I have read this can cause dry skin, so best to apply a moisturiser on top just in case).

 

I'm going to be continuing my use of this product as I am so thrilled to have found something that works with my skin. I am hoping that when I eventually come off the pill that this will help on bigger breakouts, but until then I will be using this to prevent anything further from popping up.

 

La Roche-Posay's Effaclar Duo is available in a 40ml tube and retails for $25.99 at Priceline.

 

Have you used any La Roche-Posay products before? Is there anything else in the range that you think I might like?