*La Roche-Posay Effaclar

Hello my lovelies! Today I'd like to talk to you about two products from La Roche-Posay I got at a beautiful event I attended back in February. :) We all got a little goodie bag with two products - Effaclar Purifying foaming gel and the new Effaclar Duo [+], which was of course the star of the presentation.

I was quite skeptical about the Purifying foaming gel because I'm really used to my Liz Earl Cleanse & Polish (which is a cream/balm) and my Alverde Cleansing cream - I much prefer cleansing balms and creams and stay away from gels, because they usually dry out my skin too much. This cleansing gel did not prove me otherwise and did dry out my skin as well, unfortunately. But I have to say I don't think it's a bad product at all. I was expecting it to be much more harsh on the skin that it actually was and I was also impressed by its formula - most gels that are marketed as foaming, don't foam at all... this one does. Now, before you go imagining that it magically turns into a fluffy foam between your hands, I have to tell you it's not THAT foamy. :) It's a clear gel which you apply to your hands, add some water, foam it all up and massage it into your skin. The texture is really nice and feels lovely on the skin and when I rinse it off, my skin doesn't tighten right away, it starts to feel a bit dry after a couple of minutes (if I don't follow up with a moisturizer).

It's definitely not a product for me (I have combination skin by the way) but it might work for someone with extremely oily skin, because it would strip it of the excess oil, but not so much that it would do more damage than good. If you're one that's battling really oily, problem skin, than this just might be a product for you. Oh, and the scent is also nice, it's not natural, it's pretty 'pharmaceutical', but nice and gentle. :) The price is also great - you can get it for around 11 € in your local pharmacy.

And of course I have to tell you about my experience with the new and improved Effaclar Duo [+]. As I've mentioned before, I haven't tried the 'original' version or the Effaclar Duo without the +, so I can't compare the two. Now, before I let you in on my thoughts about this product, you should know that I have combination skin with clear cheeks and a problem/slightly oily T-zone (I say slightly, because I don't wake up shiny or anything, I don't need to use mattifying products). My breakouts are 'strictly' hormonal and I usually don't get breakouts because a certain product or because I change my skin care routine, I get them because my hormones go up and down all through my menstrual cycle - so I have days when my chin is full of little annoying zits and days when my skin is clear and looking fabulous (regardless of the products I use or don't use). Having said that, skin care and certain products help my skin to remain looking great or at least get back to looking great, much sooner.

After using this 'fella' for a month I can't actually confirm or deny it's affects on my skin. I tried using it as a face cream and as a spot treatment - applying it only on problem areas. When I used it as a face cream and applied it all over, it felt really nice, made my skin super smooth and kept it matte practically all day. But, if I used it morning and night, it was just not enough for my skin and it started to feel dry and some small dry patches started to form here and there. I would recommend using it only on problem areas (which can be hard, if you have acne/breakouts all over your face). 

I will keep on using it when my skin miss-behaves, but I'll use it only as a spot treatment. A lot of people are saying it works wonders for them, so I think it's definitely worth a try if you're struggling with breakouts. The price again, is great - you can get it for around 14 € in your local pharmacy.

What are your thoughts on these two products, tired any of them? What's your experience with La Roche-Possay as a brand?