La Roche-Posay Skincare Review

I had this hope that for a time in my life I would have neither spots nor grey hairs.  Sadly the grey hairs started appearing when I was 16, and 20 years later, the spots still haven't gone away.  They might be slightly less frequent, but there they are.  So when the lovely folk at Escentual were looking for people to review the La Roche-Posay skincare range for sensitive & blemish-prone skin, I knew I was the woman.

I was amazed to receive a whole bundle of different products to try out, just have a look at this little lot!  We've got Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel, Astringent micro-exfoliant lotion (or toner to you & I), a whole selection of different moisturisers, Physiological micro-scrub, and a thermal spring water spray.  Wow! Where to start?

Actually, that's a difficult question. Because these are trial size products, they don't have all the instructions, so there was a little bit of guesswork involved. However, I'm plenty old enough to know how to wash my face properly, like the beauty experts say I should, so I hit the bottle(s)!

La Roche-Posay is a brand I hadn't heard of before, they're a  French company, and all their products are formulated with water from the thermal springs at La Roche-Posay. They're recognised as a leading brand for sensitive skin & dermatological experts.

I've tried out pretty much everything you see above.  I'm no expert on moisturisers, but the Effaclar Duo was my favourite, light enough to wear under make up, but left my skin feeling soft & smooth.  The cleansing gel was light & effective, and easily rinsed away, the astringent toner did what it said, which came as a bit of a surprise as it's been years since I used toner.  I love the spring water spray, this is going straight in my handbag, I love these for travelling, and it's small enough to be allowed as hand luggage on a plane.

After my first use, a little cluster of new spots cropped up very quickly. I'm not surprised, it happens quite a lot when I change brands, just working out some that would have appeared over the coming days/weeks anyway, bringing out the imperfections.  They cleared up pretty quickly and weren't followed by any further outbreaks in a week or so of use, so I'm happy.  My skin is noticably smoother, and despite a momentary tightness on using the toner, it settles nicely & feels really comfortable.  People with sensitive skin will understand, that's not an everyday occurrence.

With prices ranging between £5 -£25, the La Roche-Posay brand are comparable to other products at the better end of the high street, and they certainly seem to work for me.  The only one I wouldn't buy again is the Physiological micro-scrub, as reading the ingredients it contains polyethelyne, see my previous post about plastics in beauty products for more information.  I found this a bit strange as La Roche-Posay state a commitment to the environment on their website.  I'd love to see a more environmentally friendly version added to their range.

You can buy La Roche-Posay products online at escentual.com, or in person from their store in Wellfield Road, Cardiff (one of my very favourite shopping streets!)  You can also follow Escentual on twitter and facebook.  They have lots of competitions so they're well worth following!

Disclosure: I was sent a range of trial products free of charge for the purposes of this review.  I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for your convenience only, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme and will not receive reward for their use.