Kal's Moisturiser Review Guest Post)

We’ve all been there. That feeling when you’re waiting for the latest parcel to arrive so you can get your hands on a product the beauty blogger world has gone mad for. Back in August I eagerly awaited for the arrival of a package that I thought would solve all my worldly problems. Okay, maybe not. But I did think it would help my skin, which at the time had suddenly reverted back to its fourteen year old self. Not cool. I had a severe breakout and was looking to try anything to get it back to some form of normality. The La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo had been raved about by so many people so I decided to take the plunge and spend the £13.50 to purchase it from Escentual.com.

The La Roche Posay Effaclar duo is a gel-like moisturiser, for oily/blemish-prone skin, which claims to fight and prevent breakouts. Just what I needed. The small 40ml tube is simple but sleek in packaging: just what you would expect form a French Pharmacy skincare brand which has products that are paraben –free and suitable for the most sensitive of skins. I find that most acne-targeting skincare products acne usually smell like a hospital corridor, but the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo smells pleasantly fresh. The consistency of the product makes it easy to apply and it absorbs quickly into the skin without leaving any tackiness or residue: which is perfect if you want to use it as a makeup base.

There are two main active ingredients in this moisturiser that serve its dual purpose claim: LHA and Niacinamide. The former helps unblock pores and stop breakouts from occurring, whilst the latter is an anti-inflammatory which helps stop the build up of bacteria. Given the hype that surrounded it, I was expecting a miraculous change in my skin after using the moisturiser. For the first three weeks, I used it as an all over moisturiser both in the daytime and evening. I saw no visible difference in my skin’s texture or appearance, and my breakouts remained. I decided to persevere and try to make it work for me so I started using it in a more spot-treatment like manner: applying it to the areas where I had active breakouts. Whilst I found this to be more effective than using it as a proper moisturiser, it did not give me any radical results nor did it live up to all the hype surrounding it.

Have you tried the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo? If so, did you see any difference to your skin and did it live up to the hype? Let me know by commenting below, tweeting me @clutteredc or visiting my blog.

Guest Post by Kal from Cluttered Closet.