If you're a Spotty Dotty like me, you might be tempted to try some nose pore strips out...
These T-Zone ones are some of the best that I've stumbled across. You can easily pick a packet up in discount beauty stores for about a pound, so they're not going to break the bank if you try them and don't like them. Places like Home Bargains and Bodycare always sell loads of different types of nose pore strips.
They are specifically designed to eradicate blackheads. I've never struggled with them; but I do get plenty of whiteheads and blocked pores. There's something SO satisfying about inspecting these after you've peeled them off. I'm strangely addicted to it... It feels kind of good to know that you've ripped some oil out of your pores - which is great if you're prone to spots in the nose area.
I know that they're quite controversial; and some people are reluctant to try them because they could potentially do more harm than good, but I've been using a range of different ones for years without problems. (I don't know if use exacerbates oil production, but I've never noticed a surge in spottiness days after using these.)
I know that they're quite controversial; and some people are reluctant to try them because they could potentially do more harm than good, but I've been using a range of different ones for years without problems. (I don't know if use exacerbates oil production, but I've never noticed a surge in spottiness days after using these.)
You should always leave at least three days between using these, but I tend to do one a week. Unless you fancy looking like Rudolf, you really don't want to overdo it. Just be careful not to rip any skin off.
If you fancy trying these, you can get a pack of 6 for £2.99 from Fragrance Direct by clicking here.
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If you're a fellow zit-face like me, you'll relish the opportunity to try products that boast about their spot-killing capabilities. Does this product live up to my ridiculously high foundation standards? Read on and find out...
I turned to this foundation a few days ago, despite having owned it for a couple of months, because I've had another horrific breakout. The product contains salicylic acid, which is great for fighting spots. As you can see, it claims to clear your skin within four weeks. To me, that's an exciting prospect and I thought it was well worth a try!
I bought the foundation in Soft Ivory and I'm not actually sure whether this is the lightest shade or not. For some reason, it's defined as the second lightest shade... However, comparing this and Porcelain, the so-called lightest shade, Soft Ivory was the one that actually looked a bit lighter. As you can see from the second picture, it still looks terribly orange on my fair skin... I daren't leave the house wearing it again, for fear of people thinking I'm a star of TOWIE.
I like the consistency of this foundation, it's not too watery or too thick and gloopy either. It gives quite a matte finish and it's reassuring to think that it could be helping to eradicate those nasty spots whilst you're wearing it.
The packaging does say that this foundation offers a full coverage. I'm not sure it does for me. I had to use quite a lot of product to reach a finish that I was happy with. I'm not normally one for slapping loads and loads of foundation on, but it took a lot of this to cover blemishes and red patches properly. Even after applying, I wasn't that convinced that it left a particularly full or heavy coverage.
The tube, 30ml, isn't that big. Considering that you have to use a fair bit to get good coverage, it might not last all that long. (Surprisingly, it's actually the same size as a bottle of Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation, but looks far smaller).
By the end of the day, I caught sight of my reflection before I was about to wash this off. I genuinely looked terrible... Embarrassingly so. The foundation had descended into various orange patches dotted around my face. It was unbelievably patchy, to the point where I looked a little like I'd applied it in the dark. (Which I hadn't, obviously... I applied it in the light with my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush).
Another problem with this foundation is that it did go a bit funny when I applied my setting spray. I wear setting spray pretty much every day and don't normally experience any problems with it. This foundation doesn't seem to get on with it. It's quite hard to explain, but I guess that it just 'unsettles' it a little and takes ages to dry afterwards. Now, I'm not sure if this is what made the foundation look patchy in the end, but I didn't notice patchiness at all initially.
I can't really comment properly on whether this foundation does clear your skin up after 4 weeks, like it says, because it's just so dark, I daren't wear it every day. I can't go out looking like a patchy Wotsit every day for a month, can I?
At £6.99, it's honestly worth a try if you suffer from breakouts and you're not too pale. I just hope others fare better with this foundation than I did...
So, to recap:
Advantages:
I turned to this foundation a few days ago, despite having owned it for a couple of months, because I've had another horrific breakout. The product contains salicylic acid, which is great for fighting spots. As you can see, it claims to clear your skin within four weeks. To me, that's an exciting prospect and I thought it was well worth a try!
I bought the foundation in Soft Ivory and I'm not actually sure whether this is the lightest shade or not. For some reason, it's defined as the second lightest shade... However, comparing this and Porcelain, the so-called lightest shade, Soft Ivory was the one that actually looked a bit lighter. As you can see from the second picture, it still looks terribly orange on my fair skin... I daren't leave the house wearing it again, for fear of people thinking I'm a star of TOWIE.
I like the consistency of this foundation, it's not too watery or too thick and gloopy either. It gives quite a matte finish and it's reassuring to think that it could be helping to eradicate those nasty spots whilst you're wearing it.
The packaging does say that this foundation offers a full coverage. I'm not sure it does for me. I had to use quite a lot of product to reach a finish that I was happy with. I'm not normally one for slapping loads and loads of foundation on, but it took a lot of this to cover blemishes and red patches properly. Even after applying, I wasn't that convinced that it left a particularly full or heavy coverage.
The tube, 30ml, isn't that big. Considering that you have to use a fair bit to get good coverage, it might not last all that long. (Surprisingly, it's actually the same size as a bottle of Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation, but looks far smaller).
By the end of the day, I caught sight of my reflection before I was about to wash this off. I genuinely looked terrible... Embarrassingly so. The foundation had descended into various orange patches dotted around my face. It was unbelievably patchy, to the point where I looked a little like I'd applied it in the dark. (Which I hadn't, obviously... I applied it in the light with my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush).
Another problem with this foundation is that it did go a bit funny when I applied my setting spray. I wear setting spray pretty much every day and don't normally experience any problems with it. This foundation doesn't seem to get on with it. It's quite hard to explain, but I guess that it just 'unsettles' it a little and takes ages to dry afterwards. Now, I'm not sure if this is what made the foundation look patchy in the end, but I didn't notice patchiness at all initially.
I can't really comment properly on whether this foundation does clear your skin up after 4 weeks, like it says, because it's just so dark, I daren't wear it every day. I can't go out looking like a patchy Wotsit every day for a month, can I?
At £6.99, it's honestly worth a try if you suffer from breakouts and you're not too pale. I just hope others fare better with this foundation than I did...
So, to recap:
Advantages:
- Spot-fighting ingredients,
- Lovely matte finish,
- Cheap,
- SPF 15.
Disadvantages:
- Potential patchiness,
- Too orangey for me,
- Quite a small tube,
- Need to apply quite a lot for good coverage.
Have you tried this foundation? Did you like it? Comment below and tell me!
Thanks for reading!
Katie
x
I have talked about this before, albeit briefly. In my Spotty Summer Scrapping Schedule, I did promise that I'd go into more detail about the much-lauded Effaclar Duo. So here you go!
The box claims that the product: 'Corrects the appearance of imperfections, unclogs blocked pores and fights against marks.'
'After 24 hours the product is supposed to make imperfections look visibly less red. After 8 days, imperfections should appear significantly reduced. After 4 weeks, pores should look unclogged, skin texture should look refined and this product is supposed to control the appearance of shine.'
I'm not sure that it solved all of the above problems for me, but if you suffer from spots and nothing else seems to work, I'd give this product a go. It's worth a try.
For me, this product seems to work about 50% of the time. Sometimes, it's a miracle product; getting rid of huge, horrid zits within hours. However, at other times, it just doesn't seem to do that much. I've no idea why, but one of my friends uses this product too and has exactly the same problem.
As an aside, it smells quite unusual. I'm really not sure how I'd describe it... You soon get used to it though.
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| Effaclar Duo balancing on a couple of Shakespeare's Sonnets; which I understand about as well as the instructions... |
When I first bought this product, I had no idea how to use it. I didn't know whether it was a moisturiser in its own right or whether it was more of a 'treatment' before moisturising. I saw the instructions and assumed that those would cover the steps...However, the instructions were only in German and French. I'm part-German and studied German at school but that doesn't mean to say that I can translate it word for word... I didn't do French at all, so I'd be absolutely useless. In the end, I had to resort to Googling it and reading instructions from La Roche Posay's website. (Which isn't really ideal, is it?)
It's for use on oily skin and can be used on sensitive skin too. I have the latter, but my skin's more combination than just oily. On its own, I found that it doesn't moisturise those dry parts quite enough. To combat that dryness, I often use this product in conjunction with a small blob of my normal moisturiser, so that my skin's definitely getting the nourishment it needs.
Obviously at £15.50 for 40ml, it's a pricey product. I thought it was risky to spend so much money on this product, but I wanted to see if it would help my ever-worsening skin. I've made it last for about six weeks, often using it just at night. Obviously, if you use it day and night, as advised, you'd run out considerably quicker.
I've suffered from red skin for years and it's something that I can hide quite well under foundation. This product boasts about eradicating redness and I do believe that my skin is a little less red. After I started using it, I kept on catching my own reflection and seeing that I looked paler, not beetroot-faced like usual. So either I'm ill or it's worked in that respect...
Regarding spots, I'm having fewer breakouts, but I don't know if that's due to lifestyle changes or this product. About three-four weeks into using this product, I had one of the worst breakouts I've ever experienced and had to launch a vicious assault on acne with myriad products; this being one of them. So I'm honestly not sure if it's worked.
It's one of La Roche Posay's flagship products; and I do like it, but I wish that it would've had a more dramatic effect on my skin. Maybe I expected too much from this product, on account of it being expensive and coming from a premium skincare brand?
Will I repurchase? I'm not sure. It's very nearly run out now, but I'm not made of money. As I said, I'm not sure if it has worked; so I'll give myself a break from the product to see if my skin worsens again without it.
Advantages:
- Good base for makeup,
- When it works, it's brilliant,
- Lasts a few weeks,
- Great for reducing redness.
Disadvantages:
- Expensive,
- Doesn't always work,
- Unusual scent,
- Can make drier patches of skin a little worse.
Have you tried Effaclar Duo? Did it improve your skin?
Thanks for reading!
Katie
x
I like alliteration, alright?
I've had such a problem with bad skin just recently. Stress and tiredness, amongst other things, are conspiring against me and making my skin incredibly blemish-prone. I've had to get the big guns out. (...Not a euphemism...)
What do I swear by? I'll tell you...
SAVE
On a budget? This is perfect for you then! This tea tree oil costs just £1. One. Pound. Everyone...
It's a rollerball applicator which makes it quick and easy to apply and the 'bottle' that it comes in is made of glass.
 |
| Rollerball applicator |
SPEND
Fancy splashing out just a little? Okay, so this is the product for you.
(*'Blasting's' probably not a very good word to use there. There's no blasting involved, per se. It's more just application and then the inflammation slowly dies down...)
The Fast Track product claims to help get rid of redness and inflammation within just four hours. It's good. I'm not sure whether four hours is accurate for me; but it certainly really speeds up that process. The normal product doesn't boast about the time scale of zapping zits, but they both seem to work really quickly for me.
 |
| Regular Freederm on the left, with Fast Track Freederm on the right. Oh, and my sunnies... |
It's worth noting that this doesn't make my spots sting either. With having relatively sensitive skin anyway, I'd honestly rather opt for a gel that doesn't make zits tingle and feel sore. It doesn't really dry my skin out either, which is a HUGE BONUS.
SPLURGE
(I'm not that keen on the word 'splurge'. It sounds rude to me... But I'll go with it anyway.) |
| It's got instructions and everything! |
It's La Roche Posay, a brand which I have briefly mentioned before, when I talked about the Thermal Spring Water spray. It's a French product that I bought from Boots a couple of weeks ago after my friend recently recommended it to me. The scent of this product is a bit... weird at first. It's incredibly hard to describe though, so I'm not going to...
*I've been using it for around three weeks now and I have actually had a really bad breakout since. There have been days where this appears to have really helped reduce those spots quickly and effectively, but other days where it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference. I'll have to get back to you on whether this is as AMAZING as everyone makes it out to be.
As you'll see in the caption in the first pic of this product, the Effaclar Duo comes complete with instructions. It's just that my instructions were only in French or German... Neither of which I speak too well, so I had to Google how to use it instead...
Have you tried any of these products? If so, what do you reckon?
*Shameless plug alert* If you liked this post, why not subscribe?
Thanks for reading!
Katie
x
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