Review: La Roche Posay

Having heard a lot about La Roche-Posay on blogs/Youtube, when in boots recently I decided to purchase the 'Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel' and the now famous 'Effaclar Duo'.

I was most excited about using the Effaclar Duo as i'd heard great things about it's skin-smoothing/blemish- vanishing properties. The fact that both products are paraben-free appealed to me as ideally, I would like anything that seeps into my skin to be as natural as possible. Plus I have a soft spot for anything French! 

 I decided to take some before and after photos so I could see how my skin looked after using both products for a month (morning and evening). Warning: These photos are not particularly attractive! Also, apologies that the lighting is different in both photos. I did take both sets of photos at the same time in the morning (a month apart), however it was simply darker outside in the first two. The photos are still similar and clear enough to make a comparison. 

BEFORE:

AFTER:

As you can see, there is a significant difference. In particular, the amount of redness has reduced, my skin feels softer and smoother and foundation goes on more evenly. I feel this is due mostly to the Effaclar Duo rather than the face wash. As you can see, I do still have noticeable blemishes and some scarring/redness remains. However, this is likely due to a number of factors- diet,pollution,genes,skin type etc etc.

Overall, I am impressed with the Effaclar Duo, I think it has done what it says on the tube (to an extent) which is to correct imperfections. It hasn't worked miracles, but in my opinion it would be unreasonable to expect a product alone to produce completely clear skin. I would definitely buy this product again and am interested to see if my skin improves further after another month's use (I think there is still enough product left in the tube). I also think at £14 the Effaclar Duo is reasonably priced.

However, I would not purchase the Purifying Foaming Gel again, simply because I don't feel it was the right choice for my skin type. My skin felt quite tight after using it which suggests my skin is actually dry and would benefit from an oil-based cleanser.

Have La Roche-Posay products worked for you?

OOTD: Mustard and leopard

Sorry about my totally miserable face- I clearly take outfit posts very seriously! 

Coat New Look

Cardigan charity shop

Shirt Uniqlo

Jeans Topshop

Boots River Island

Bag Cambridge Satchel Company

Chain antiques fair 

Scarf jumble sale 

As I continue to be very low on funds this month (renewing your passport sucks!) I have been raiding my wardrobe for items which have recently been neglected. I found this mustard cardigan which I bought from a charity shop about 2 years ago when visiting my sister in Cardiff. I love it with the leopard print scarf and tan bag, I think the colours complement each other well. Furthermore, I enjoy carrying my bag this way-maybe one day soon I'll actually wear it like this outside of my flat and not feel like a total div! 

Also, this outfit makes me happy because I managed to get my hair in a bun again! Regular readers of this blog will know that I had my hair cut recently and have been whining about it ever since. It's been growing on me recently (lol lol lol) though, and although the bun ring I have to use at the moment is significantly smaller than usual, it's progress. Hurrah! 

In beauty news, I tried the Sleek BB cream in 'light' for the first time. I'm unsure about it- on one hand I really liked how it made my skin look. It was sort of tanned/glow-y but not orange, the only other make up I wore was mascara and I still felt 'done'. On the other hand, I feel as if my face maybe looked kind of 'muddy' haha which is obviously not great, but blending it in with a stipling brush did help. The only other downside is that I think it made me break out. However this could be down to something else, to be honest my skin hates me at the moment. If anyone has any tips on how to control dry, spot prone skin (especially on the cheeks) please impart your wisdom! 

Boots Give it a Go Event

Yesterday I ventured into Piccadilly with my friend Becky to the Boots Give it a Go event. The idea of the day was to try new things, whether it's bright red lips or statement nails. The layout of the event was super cute, with cake pops and pic and mix a plenty (I definitely had a sugar-induced headache by the end of the day!)

I love how the sweets were nestled in this floral display! 

The event was split into 3 main sections- make up, nails and hair. We went to the lovely ladies at No7 first, who were demonstrating bright eyes or lips. As I wear lipstick quite regularly, I decided to go for a spring eye, and the make up artist applied a limey green all over my eyelids and finished it with a black eyeliner flick. I would never have picked the colour she chose for me but I actually loved it, it was subtle but so pretty and really popped:

Next up was nails. I do tend to try new things with my nails a lot, so I was keen to try something I hadn't before. Lindsay, the nail artist, had some gold wavy line stickers which were from a craft store, so she applied them to my nails- I went for nude with two pink accent nails. The idea was simple and so easy but looked really effective:

I love this design, I have genuinely not seen anything like it before and have definitely been inspired to go into craft stores for ideas. I was chatting to Lindsay about all the designers she has worked with at all the fashion weeks- pretty much everyone, from Vivienne Westwood to Marc Jacobs.  I was very jealous.  

Last but not least we went to have our hair did- as I've recently had my hair cut and really don't like it I was keen to see what the stylist would do. After talking through the spring 2013 hair trends with a lovely lady from Bumble & Bumble, I decided on a messy/wavy look. I loved the outcome, the stylist used quite a few products on my hair but it didn't feel heavy or weighed down, and held the style really well- even after walking to the tube on the way home in the rain! I learned that when applying a  product to the hair, it  needs to be brushed out afterwards to make sure it is distributed throughout the hair evenly-a great tip for someone who hardly brushes their hair anyway let alone brushes products through. The finished result has made me want to purchase everything the stylist used from Bumble  Bumble, and there's a Space NK about 2 minutes away from my work so my new found love could get expensive! 

Below is the best photo I have of my hair, it's not very clear though sorry.

This is what I wore to the event:

              

Jacket Primark

T shirt Topshop

Scarf Jumble Sale

Jeans Topshop

Boots River Island

Necklace Primark

I had such a good time, everyone was so friendly and I learned some excellent new tips and tricks which I will definitely be incorporating into my spring and summer looks! Thanks so much to Boots for putting on such a great even and to Becky for inviting me.

To participate yourself, head over to Let's give it a go and try something new for Spring. 

New Jewellery Purchases

I thought I would share the new additions to my jewellery collection. I'm gutted as my watch has broken, I think it can probably be fixed but I haven't gotten round to taking it as I'm scared they will say it can't be! It's only a £25 watch from River Island but I really like it and I don't think they still sell the particular one I have.

Anyway, here are my purchases:

This beaut is from Forever 21- I think it was £3.99. I like the mix of material and metal. It's good for stacking with other bracelets.

This set of 3 simple rings was only £3.44 from Etsy. I like them but wish they were a more shiny gold. However they look nice with my H&M rings from this post, as those are a shiny gold. I like the different textures together.

This trio I got from New Look, they were in the sale so were only around £2.99. They are supposed to be worn together but I like to wear them seperately with plain rings. I'm not a massive fan of the pink one either, it looks like it doesn't go with the others.

So here is my new usual everyday bracelet/ring combo:

I love wearing multiple jewels. Even though they are a pain in the ass every time you wash your hands!

Cambridge Satchel

One of the main reasons we found ourselves strolling around Covent Garden on Sunday was to visit the Cambridge Satchel Company shop. It was so pretty inside, with floor to wall bags in every colour of the rainbow- It made me want about 10 more!

My boyfriend was going to emboss my satchel for me at Christmas when he bought it, but he thought I might change my mind about the colour (he knows me too well as that is exactly what I did!) so I had it done on Sunday. It costs £5 per letter and only takes about 10 minutes, they do it in store for you on a letter press device (official term). I opted for all 3 of my initials as I think it looks smarter, and chose 'blind' (as in no colour).

I am so pleased with it, I think it finishes off  the bag and just looks mega cute!

OOTD: Gold Skirt

Seeing as i'm broke as a joke this month I thought I would raid my wardrobe and crack out some things I haven't worn in ages. I got this gold skirt from Topshop 2 Christmases ago when I still worked there and had a hefty discount. Oh how I miss that. I paired it with my trusty Boy London t-shirt, my old faithful Primark pleather jacket and River Island boots. 

I wore this to have a look around Covent Garden today with the boyf, I was in search of the Chanel flower cart, but it wasn't there :(. I swear it was supposed to be there until Mother's Day. LIES! 

We looked after my boyfriend's sister's cat this weekend, she has just been neutered so she had half her side shaved and had to wear a plastic cone around her neck! (the cat not my boyfriend's sister). Bless her tiny paws she looked so pathetic. 

On Saturday I had a wander around The British Museum, it's not my favourite of the museums in London but  I did enjoy looking at some of the jewellery, particularly the cameos as they are my absolute favourite. 

They are wasted on display in a glass case! 

I went in the Monki shop in Carnaby Street for the first time and fell a bit in love. The layout and merchandising of the store is super cool and I wanted everything, most of all an alphabet print shirt which I can't find on the website. Sad times.  

So that was my weekend, I'm off to make a bean curry followed by some oatmeal and raisin cookies. Yum yum. 

Bye!