anti-blemish | So Many Lovely Things

larocheposay_effaclar_bbblur_review - 1 Many a times I said I’m not a fan of BB creams and other multi-function products.

It’s time I stopped, given that so many proved me wrong last year! The La Roche-Posay BB Blur, although carries another thing I don’t quite like (blur) has once again proved me wrong.

This mousse consistency product, however, is tinted, offering a really great coverage and is light as air.

It applies very well, but doesn’t set too quickly and it has all the Effaclar goodness to care for blemish-prone and sensitive skins. Plus, it has SPF20.

Look is flawless and I can see that blur working hard.

larocheposay_effaclar_bbblur_review - 2 Durability wise, it’s not amazing in the long haul (10 hours on a work day), so I wouldn’t say it will replace my foundation, but it’s perfect for less makeup days and speedy makeup. Because it is from the Effaclar range, not only does it make my skin look good, but it’s also looking after my blemish prone skin.

I love wearing it for the gym or hoop classes (where might be photography involved); it hangs in there pretty well and combats shine.

The technology behind it is airlicium, a mattifying ingredient which combats shine and imperfections; perlite, which protects against humidity and has absorbing powers and BB pigments which offer a great colour adapting coverage.

For that, it absorbs oil, blur fine lines and wrinkles, smoothes texture, softens, scatters light for better tone, covers blemishes, blur marks, masks redness, minimises pores and evens out skin.

somanylovelythings - la roche posay effaclar bb blur I must admit that I notice all benefits above, but mainly even tone, a slight radiance and better texture, which is quite amazing, bearing in mind it is one product.

It does come in two colours, Light/Fair and Light/Medium, but sadly not suitable to darker skin tones. The medium is already on the light side for my skin, which is not a very fair shade, but not dark.

A fabulous surprise from a brand that entered So Many Lovely Things recently and is certainly here to stay. La Roche-Posay has opened 2016 with a bang.

The is now available exclusively at Escentual (at a promotional price of £11), will be sold Boots and pharmacies nationwide from April 2016 and costs £16.50.

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This post contains PR samples. This review, however, is based on my experience with the product and reflects my honest opinion on them.

I was really excited to receive Skinetica – the promise to fight acne alone makes it go half way up in my good books! Having struggled for more than half of my life time with acne, this is an extremely touchy subject for me. Heart pouring posts have been written only to never see the light of day. Maybe one day they will….

But for now, let’s talk about Skinetica, an anti-blemish treatment with no harsh chemicals, no side effects, gentle to the skin, non-toxic, non-staining and non-greasy. Yes, sounds way too good.

The active ingredient is Quaternary Ammonium Chloride with a Sylyl base, to stick to the skin – none of the usual benzoyl peroxides and salicylic acids. Basically, it means that this is straight from a chemistry lab to work at a molecular level on the skin (the particles are really small and absorbed quickly by the skin, staying put) and killing the bacteria.

The packaging is simple: a plastic tube, flip open top, nothing fancy, all functional. It looks like water, the smell is almost nonexistent. The indication is to apply to clean skin (if you apply over a product, it won’t work!) with a cotton wool pad twice a day and let it dry. Once dried, it is chemically inert (it won’t come off or dilute) and you won’t feel anything. You should re-apply every 12 hours, as this is the time one application will keep working, even if you wash your face. I use it morning and evening – I apply it in the morning and after the product is completely dry I put my make-up on as usual and at night, I cleanse my face, let it dry and then apply moisturiser. I have been using it daily fora month now.

This product caught me at the bitter end of my worst breakout in eight years. Yes, awful. I stopped the antibiotics and topical solution (which didn’t seem to be doing much anyway) and in a brave move, stuck to this. Just this. I must point out that my spots are usually quite deep, medium to large in size and extremely persistent.

So, does it work? Well, for me, I felt it really made spots go away quicker. They don’t become sore and angry anymore. I usually have the type of spots that takes weeks, sometimes months, to vanish, and occasionally culminate in a yellow tip (eeew, I know). I could really feel a difference with this product..

Do I think it prevented new spots from coming up? Well, I cannot say for sure. I tend to think it did. I certainly have less than I had at the time I started – it is worth pointing out that was an unusually bad patch for me, but the improvement could well be due to the product. I still have a couple, but who knows how it would be now?

Having said all that, what really makes like this even more is that it’s really gentle to the skin. In a sad way, I am used to harsh products – peeling, tightness and redness have been part of my life for a long time. With this product, I had nothing. It has been great; my skin is not dry, irritated or sensitive – just normal. Also, for the first time in my life, I am using only one acne related product on my face on a daily basis. This, for me, is quite something.

At the retail price (under £10 for one bottle, including p&p), there is no way you shouldn’t try if you suffer from blemishes – superficial or deep. I really recommend it, it is really worth a go – and that is coming from someone who tried everything. I mean EVERYTHING. And my skin seems very happy with it.

I will purchase another bottle to keep using, as regular use will have no long term undesired effects – anything to keep the spots at bay, better if it is only one product that works and is not aggressive!

You can find more information about the product and purchase it here.