I’m sure everyone has heard of the wonders of French pharmacie skincare brands, but if you haven’t, they’re famous among makeup artists and beauty lovers for being really effective, relatively cheap and having really large, comprehensive ranges. You can get a lot of the more famous brands like Embryolisse, La Roche Posay and Vichy much more easily in the UK now than you could a few years or even a year ago, but on my ski trip a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t resist popping into the chemist on the resort…
Wow… that is a LOT of skincare! This is less than half the stuff they had! I had to snap up a couple of items even though I thought the prices were probably inflated due to being on the resort. Sadly they didn’t have Bioderma, which is still an absolute pain in the arse to get hold of in the UK, but here’s what I did get:
La Roche Posay Hydraphase Intense UV SPF 20:
I wanted the SPF 30 version as more sun protection is always better, but they didn’t have it so I went for the 20, which is a whole lot better than nothing, hey? The website says :
“Hyaluronic Acid Fragments ensure epidermal cohesion to infuse and lock water in for ultra long-lasting hydration. Adapted to sensitive skin.
The filtering system helps protect skin against damages caused by daily exposure to UVA & UVB rays. Normal to combination sensitive and dehydrated skin.”
The filtering system helps protect skin against damages caused by daily exposure to UVA & UVB rays. Normal to combination sensitive and dehydrated skin.”
DOESN’T THIS SOUND PERFECT?! I’m sadly not super impressed with it so far though, but my skin is beyond dehydrated after a week on the slopes ( the combination of sun, cold and wind is always a recipe for a dry, flaky nose ) and then a further week of cold and snow at home. It’s in pretty awful shape. So I’m going to stick with it and hope that it works put for me. I hope so as I’ve liked other LRP moisturisers I’ve tried a lot. When the weather sorts itself out, this might be a nice moisturizer for me for spring. I think this was around 20 euro and it’s available to order online in the UK.
La Roche Posay Solution Micellare:
Yay, micellare solutions! As they didn’t have Bioderma, I picked this one up. LRP say:
“Micelles - micro-encapsulate dirt on skin's surface and lift it up without rubbing, thereby maintaining skin's physiological balance. Optimal safety on sensitive skin with Poloxamer, a cleansing ingredient so mild it is used in contact lens solutions. Effective to remove impurities while respecting skin's natural balance. Cleanses, tones and calms skin, while respecting its physiological balance.”
This was about thirteen or fourteen euro for 400ml, which is quite expensive. However, I do really like it. It has a slight sweet scent whereas Bioderma has no scent. Bioderma makes shorter work of my mascara and things like gel liners, but it’s a very minor performance issue and there’s not much difference between the two at all really, so I’m glad I picked this up if only satisfy my curiosity as to whether all micellar solutions were the same!
Uriage L’eau Demaquillante:
This isn’t a brand I’ve heard of bofore, and they didn’t seem to have as large a range as the rest of the brands in store. I picked up this as it’s another micellare solution and they didn’t have another LRP one. I wanted to stock up as opposed to paying tons of shipping costs and working out where had the best deal for bloody Bioderma. Uriage say:
Uriage L’eau Demaquillante:
This isn’t a brand I’ve heard of bofore, and they didn’t seem to have as large a range as the rest of the brands in store. I picked up this as it’s another micellare solution and they didn’t have another LRP one. I wanted to stock up as opposed to paying tons of shipping costs and working out where had the best deal for bloody Bioderma. Uriage say:
Quick and effective, Cleansing Water, Micellar Solution, cleanses and removes make-up in a single step with no need to rinse. It preserves the hydration and purifies the epidermis.
The skin is clear, soft and radiant.
Yep, the above is pretty true. In fact, if you're not au fait with what micellar solutions are, that pretty much sums it up. They're water-like cleansers/makeup removers in one. I think I favour it slightly over the LRP version. But it STINKS! It’s got a strong herbal/medicinal smell to it. The ingredients list pomegranate extract which… I guess is where the scent comes from? It almost smells like the tannic taste you get from fruit seeds, so perhaps that's what it is? Who knows! It’s not exactly unpleasant but it’s strong and not a scent I was expecting at all! This was about 10 euro for 200ml.
The skin is clear, soft and radiant.
Yep, the above is pretty true. In fact, if you're not au fait with what micellar solutions are, that pretty much sums it up. They're water-like cleansers/makeup removers in one. I think I favour it slightly over the LRP version. But it STINKS! It’s got a strong herbal/medicinal smell to it. The ingredients list pomegranate extract which… I guess is where the scent comes from? It almost smells like the tannic taste you get from fruit seeds, so perhaps that's what it is? Who knows! It’s not exactly unpleasant but it’s strong and not a scent I was expecting at all! This was about 10 euro for 200ml.
Do you use any French or foreign skincare brands? Do you have any recommendations for my poor dry skin from foreign ranges?
Uriage are a brilliant brand, they just launched here in Australia and I'm loving their moisturiser and facial spray. Looking forward to hearing how your product goes, it isn't available here yet sadly.
ReplyDeleteGood to know! I really like the cleanser so I'll have to check them out a little more indepth!
DeleteOoh exciting new things! I have very dry skin too, and I've started using a thin layer of either NARS Body Glow II (the coconut oil without shimmer!) or 100% jojoba oil under my moisturizer... it's made a world of difference!
ReplyDelete