La Roche-Posay Effaclar Cleanser & Moisturiser

I'm always on the hunt for the perfect skincare, and once I'd exhausted all the regular drugstore brands, I turned to more high end solutions. Since dabbling in the high end market, I've been pretty impressed, but not completely satisfied. Everything I try is too heavy for my skin and leaves me producing crazy amounts of oils or is too stripping and leaves my skin feeling tight and itchy. I'd heard good things about La Roche-Posay and decided to give their oily skin products a whirl.

I'll start with the Purifying Foaming Gel first. Targeted at oily sensitive skin it is the perfect cleanser for me. It dispenses as a gel and you only need to use a small amount and work it with some water between your hands for it to all foam up and rub into your face. It isn't at the cheap price coming in at just over £10 a bottle but a little goes a long way. I've had my bottle almost a month now and it's just gone half way through I reckon, used both morning and night. I really love this stuff, first impressions were that it didn't smell foul or overpowering like a lot of treatments for my skin type, instead it was very calming and refreshing. It lathered up really well with a little help from some water and didn't sting when massaged into my face. It did a good job at thoroughly removing any left over make-up my face wipes hadn't done. I've noticed my face is a lot calmer and I have less redness since using this product. It does a good job at leaking my face super clean and leaves it feeling refreshed without stripping it of it's oils.

Next up, the Sebo-Regulating  Mattifying Fluid. Like most 'mattifying' moisturisers, it has a gel consistency as opposed to a more creamy one. This isn't a problem except it does dry a lot quicker than other formulas so you have to work quickly when applying it. You apply an average amount and apply over a cleansed face. This is one of the more expensive moisturisers I've purchased at around £14 a pop for 40ml which lasted me 3/4 weeks used twice a day. It smells similar to the wash which I liked. It gives the skin a very matte finish and slightly minimises the appearance of pores. At first it does feel like your skin isn't quite hydrated enough but after a few minutes it feels just like any other moisturiser. This did everything it claimed to a controlled my oil production better than any other product I'd used. It didn't eliminate it completely but improved it big time. This helps immensely when wearing foundations and BB creams as I didn't need to powder as much so I could pull off a more dewy, less oily look.

Both this products used in conjunction have really cleared up my skin better than any other products I've used. I used these after testing out Vichy which left me unimpressed and I'm so glad I tried them because now I wouldn't use anything else. I'm about to repurchase both and despite the price tag they really do a good job on my skin without being harsh, it amazes me! They aren't miracle products and I'm still yet to be acne free, but in terms of skincare, this is as good as it gets for me.