*La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL & Posthelios

Hello my lovelies! Today I'd like to talk a little bit about sun protection/care - pre and post exposure. :) As you may or may not know, I was at a press conference about melanoma/skin cancer awareness in the beginning of May and of course we got lovely goodie bags with La Roche-Posay products when we were leaving. :) I got the ultra-light Anthelios XL fluid and the Posthelios Melt-in gel. After testing both out, here's what I have to say...

First let's talk about Anthelios XL - it's a gorgeous light fluid with super high sun protection (50+ SPF) that protects your skin against UVB+UVA rays. It's perfume and paraben free so it's great for sensitive skin and skin prone to allergies. Now, I personally don't have really sensitive skin, but I do have problem skin (with hormonal breakouts) so I was a bit wary at first - face creams/fluids with high SPF can clog pores and make your life a living hell, but thankfully that was not the case with this product. :)

I first applied it before going for a walk with my cousin one day. It was super sunny so I decided it was a great time to test it out. I applied it to my clean face and let it sit for a bit before going out. I was immediately pleasantly surprised that it did not leave a white 'cast' on my skin and did not make me super shinny (a bit, but it looked more like a glow, not a shine). We were out for more than 2 hours and when I came home I fell in my bed and went to sleep, without cleansing my face. The next day I was sure my skin would hate me and be full of little white breakouts, because I left the fluid to 'sit' on my skin that long, but to my surprise my skin looked amazing, even better than the day before - no signs of irritations or breakouts, just lovely looking skin.

The fluid is really ultra-light as it claims to be and sinks really fast into the skin. It doesn't have that typical sunscreen scent to me - the scent is pretty chemical but it's not pleasant nor unpleasant to my nose. The packaging is also great - inside the bottle is a metal ball that really mixes up the fluid nicely before application and I also love the applicator itself, really makes it easy and mess-free. All in all, I'm really satisfied with this fluid and I know I'll be wearing it a lot during spring/summer. :)

The next product is Posthelios - a melt-in gel that's meant to be used after sun exposure, to calm and replenish the skin. This is also suitable for sensitive skin and skin prone to allergies. It's also paraben free, but it does have perfume in it, though it's barely noticeable and on the very bottom of the ingredients list, so you know there's not a lot of it. The scent is not particularity pleasant, but not unpleasant either. :) 

It really is a melt-in gel - it glides on the skin nicely and the skin just 'sucks' it right up. :) The consistency however is nothing like a gel - it's very creamy and quite thick, but you don't have to work hard to spread it around the skin. It works great on normal, healthy skin and leaves it deeply hydrated for a long period of time and I think it would work just as great on dry, sensitive, sun-damaged skin. A really lovely product indeed. :)

You can get both of this products at your local pharmacy - both Anthelios XL and Posthelios (which comes in a 200 ml or 400 ml tube) retail for around 17 €.

So, what are your thoughts on these two products? Do you use sun protection, which brand do you like the most? :)