La Roche-Posay 'Effaclar' Range.... *LOVE*

Continuing on with my skin-care obsession, I bring you the La Roche Posay 'Effaclar' Range.

Or well a portion of it anyhow.....

I have been using the Effaclar A.I (Anti-Imperfection), the Effaclar Duo & the Effaclar Mat creams for a whileen now after seeing (reading) both Dee & Sinéad of VivaAdonis  rave about the range for absolutely ages, and repeatedly I may add, which only strengthened my desire to jump on the band-wagon and have a go at it myself.

My skin can go through sporadic bouts of clarity but unfortunately, & more-often-than-not, it is home to clusters of spots/mild acne, blocked pores, uneven texture and just plain crappiness. 

I do put about 60% of the blame for this on to the vast number of new products that I am constantly trying out for my blog/youtube channel/makeup kit, and the subsequent clogging up of my skin, but am I going to stop this anytime soon?? I think not! So I need to deal with my skin issues as best as I can while accepting that it'll probably continue to fight against my efforts while I am bombarding it with product after product, ingredient after ingredient. 

I picked up the guys in the picture above from a local pharmacy, priced at;

Effaclar A.I ..... €13.00 (15ml)

Effaclar Duo ..... €16.50 (40ml)

Effaclar Mat ...... €17.00 (40ml)

Here's a short explanation about each of the 3 creams.....

Effaclar A.I.

This is a 'Targeted Breakout Corrector' to be applied locally to any imperfections on your face whenever needed until they disappear.  It "targets individual spots and breakouts, combats redness, reduces scarring and also accelerates skin healing."

I'm not usually one for getting too excited too soon over these type of creams, knowing it can take your skin a while to 'come around' to the benefits, but I honestly noticed an improvement in my more problematic patches after only a couple of weeks!

I dab a little on whenever I see or feel a blemish or spot rearing it's ugly head, usually twice a day. In the morning before my makeup and then again before bedtime. 

Effaclar Duo

The duo cream is for more problematic skin and can be applied over the whole face on a daily basis if needed as a treatment.  It tackles the nasties both below the skin and on the surface, helping to clear up spots, white & black heads, blocked pores, acne lumps etc.

It's more suited to combination/oily skin as it can be a tad drying after continuous use (most chemical exfoliants are guilty of this), and for that reason I use it for about 3 to 4 days in a row but take a day off to re-hydrate my skin intensely, before picking up my routine again if needed. 

Today for instance, I applied it to my cleansed skin after my post-gym shower, and will leave it to do its thing solo until I'm getting ready for bed, at which time I'll apply some of my Simple Night Moisturiser over top to feed my skin a bit.

It's perfect for under makeup as well!

Effaclar Mat 

 The Mat cream is one of those 'does-what-it-says-on-the-tin' kind of products.  It's a cream to combat oiliness in the skin, ergo it's recommended for oily skin, but unlike the duo, it's not a particularly drying product so I would recommend this to all but the drier of skinned folk out there. (It is in fact a moisturiser, albeit a mattifying one.)

It also claims to tighten the pores over time and to actually slow down the production of sebum (oil) in the skin! 

I love this product for my skin type as it keeps my dreaded t-zone area from looking like I just basted it, but as my skin is also very prone to dehydration and the sometimes dryness along the outskirts, it provides enough hydration to keep it from shriveling up! 

This works beautifully as a makeup primer and can either be used alone, or along with any other steps you wish to add to your routine (sunscreen, serum etc).

This, along with the 2 other  products, gets a strong thumbs up from me!

I would love to hear if anyone of you guys use any of these products, or if you have tried any of the rest of the Effaclar range from La Roche-Posay. 

That's all for now,

Take Care,

Siobhán.

xx