Skincare review: La Roche-Posay Hydraphase Serum

I'm sure you've seen reviews of this product already-
in case you're interested in my point of view, here's my two cents ;)

I've been using this serum on and off for the past two months, so as to allow it a good testing period before writing about it. Personally, I don't consider serum to be essential per se, more like an investment into a good quality beauty regime- if you're willing to spend some extra cash, that is.

In other words: while moisturiser is an integral part of a skincare routine, serum is not.
That being said, if you DO use a serum, your skin will thank you later. Here's why:

Serums consist of smaller molecules than those of moisturisers, thus enabling them to penetrate the skin deeper than regular day creams; they're mainly designed to deliver nutrients to the skin, rather than regulating its moisture level. That's why there's so many different serum formulations targeted to specific skin concerns like skin brightening,
anti-ageing, exfoliating, etc. Moisturisers on the other hand are meant to "lock" the moisture into the skin after cleansing.

Now that the difference between serums and moisturisers is clear, here's what I think of the La Roche-Posay Hydraphase Serum:

What's new at The Body Shop?

It seems that the Body Shop is evolving into a considerable opponent among the brands of the beauty industry, competing with the very best on the market!

A couple of weeks ago, me and some fellow bloggers had the chance of getting familiarised with the new Fall product releases from the Body Shop. Taking into account the brand's revamp during past summer, it's safe to say that there's a whole lotta cool products we should be anticipating in winter ;)

Here's everything we witnessed that day:

First of all, the Body Shop is releasing the Vineyard Peach body range, a Limited-Edition collection of bodycare products with the best-ever, most yummy scent I've come across- no joke! Then, there's the new Scents of the World collection, that marks the re-entrance of probably the most longed for product from the old days, the perfume oils! There's also a couple of new skincare products that sound promising: the Tea Tree Pore Minimiser and the Nutriganics Drops of Youth serum.

But, wait: there's more!

Brand rave: Avène

Hello my lovelies!!! How you've all been?
After a short hiatus, I'm back with a pretty lengthy post ;)

These Avene products have been sitting on my bathroom shelf for a couple of months; however, I kept prostoping to write a post about them, as I wanted my initial excitement to die down and feel 100% confident that I'll share with you my true and honest thoughts about them.

So here it is, after three days of scribbling and re-writing;
a chit-chat on Avene, pharmaceutical companies and their products.

Up until now, my experience with Avene was minimal, if not non-existent. I've only tried a couple of products on a whim, and regardless of my satisfaction, I never really cared to give in to the brand as my trust in The Body Shop, Korres and Apivita stood strong. Same story with the rest of the so-called "pharmaceutical" skincare brands: in my eyes, they were boring, lacking in natural ingredients and odd-smelling, which was enough to put me off and stay clear of such products.

Well, after using all these samples, I have reevaluated my views on skincare brands.
But first, here are the separate mini reviews:

Avene Eau Thermale: when it comes to thermal water sprays, I'm not the one to share the rather demeaning "water in a can" claims, but I guess it's something that is up to personal preference. I've had an on-and-off relationship with thermal sprays in the past, including this one; now that I was reminded again of their beneficial properties on the skin, I'm commited to use them as a permanent fixture in my skincare routine.

Now, I know for a fact that Avene was the first at promoting thermal water for healing and soothing sensitive skin, with the rest of companies following Avene's footsteps purely for profit/competitive reasons. However, I still want to try out the Vichy and La Roche-Posay thermal water sprays, just in case there's any detectable differences between them. We shall see!

Avene Micellar lotion: so far, the only experience I've had with micellar lotions has been with the one by Korres. Same as the latter, the Avene Micellar lotion did an amazing job at taking away all face and eye makeup, but it fell short at leaving my lashes 100% clean from mascara- which is no biggie, I wouldn't trade my Avene eye makeup remover for the world. Micellar lotions are fantastic at removing makeup without causing irritation or redness to sensitive skin. Their only flaw? You tend to go through them faster than regular makeup removers :(

Avene Cleanance gel: this cleanser is targeted to oily/blemish-prone skin, and despite my skintype falling under this category, it currently goes through a dehydrated phase that makes choosing skincare products a lot more complicating... That's why I was so happy (and relieved!) that this cleanser didn't strip moisture from my skin, which probably has to do with the fact it's SLS-free. It also left my face smooth to the touch, which made me reconsider my false notion that "only cleansers containing exfoliating beads result into smooth skin". Conclusion: I'm most definitely going to purchase the full size of this one!

Avene Soothing hydrating serum: this little gem is by far the most amazing product of the bunch! No other skincare product I've used before has made me want to touch my face non-stop after applying it, so that says a lot. The label should have read something like "miracle smoothing potion" in the front, because that's exactly what it does! Most importantly, it didn't aggravate my acne- which happens 9 times out of 10 I try out a new skincare product.

Of course, it hydrates the skin and can be worn on its own during hot summer days, but I think it performs its best under makeup as a lightweight primer that hydrates and smooths the skin before applying foundation. Big thumbs up for this serum!

Avene Reflexe Solaire SPF50+: this face sunscreen was launched this summer as an all-round sunblock that offers high protection from both UVB and UVA rays. Because of the packaging's shape, it can be easily slipped inside your handbag, beach bag or in the back pocket of your trousers, if you wish. In terms of texture, it's not fluid like the Clarins sunscreen that I love, however it spreads nicely on the skin without leaving white marks on the face.

_ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _

Overall, this experience with Avene has taught me a couple of things, which you may already know by now; to me, it was a case of "seeing is believing".

First of all, I realised I've been missing out on some amazing products from pharmaceutical brands, purely because of my fixation to lotions and potions with a more "natural" approach- you know the ones I'm talking about... If I can get skincare products from the pharmacy that are affordable and do a better job than their "natural" counterparts, well, I've been a fool to pretend they don't even exist. And they're actually all smelling nice!

Also, the consistent quality that runs through each Avene product I've tried, in relation to their small-ish but consistent range of products, can only be described as quality over quantity. Up until now, I had lower expectations with all the new skincare products I've tried, and took for granted that they wouldn't perform as stellar as the label reads. But that's not a way to build a trusty skincare routine for that flawless skin; if a product claims it does wonders, it better do so! Am I right?

So, from now on, expect to see more pharmaceutical brands featured in this blog. I'm determined to expand my knowledge in Avene and the likes, and already preparing my first wishlist!

Phew, that's it! I hope you made it this far, kudos to you mighty reader!
What's your experience with Avene? Do share ;)

* The Avene samples were given to me for free. I'm only featuring them on this blog because they're worth it. Sharing my honest opinions, as always; my loyalty is to my lovely readers.

Evi   xx