For someone who is always looking forward to trying the next best thing, the decision to repurchase says a lot about how great a product is. La Roche Posay Effaclar K and Nuxe Rêve de Miel Honey Lip Balm strayed into my life about 5-6 months ago, and the last bit should be gone in a couple of days. I couldn’t bear to run out of them, so I repurchased and I’m going to review them for you!
I have combination skin with normal cheeks and oilier T-zone. I don’t break out bad often, but I do get hormone-related breakout from time to time, and I used to be plagued by blackheads. After having tried many products that claim to help and got disappointed every time when I was much younger, I resigned to the fate of removing them with a mask regularly and forgot all about tackling the problem at the roots.
If you are also plagued by blackheads or breakouts, don’t despair! There are so many products nowadays with AHA/BHA that will, given some time, majorly improve the situation. The key is finding a formula that your skin can handle and having some patience!
This is where Effaclar K comes in. The salicylic acid (a form of BHA) exfoliates your skin gently and continuously, so that older cells peel off. If old skin cells get out of the way at a regular pace, there would be much less piling up to form blackheads.
Using this is simple. You have to first turn the whole nozzle part left for the product to go through, and then remove the cap normally. The tube is hard, so I would advise you to start at the end and fold it up as you go. This is a good product for someone who has never used acid before because it is gentle enough, but in that case I wouldn’t want to use it all over my face twice a day right from the start (I did, and I ended up with burnt cheeks for a few days… Living example of how you shouldn’t be overenthusiastic about acid)! I use it mainly for my T-zone and wherever I have acne forming. When I use it for my T-zone I use a thin layer (the product is white but once it’s absorbed/dry it becomes transparent), but I would slather it on where the acne is. 99% of the time the acne dries up before it even has the opportunity to pop up! This does to a certain extent hydrate as well. I wouldn’t use it to replace a hydrating serum when my skin is dehydrated, but with the normal state my skin is in this is sufficient.
5-6 months on my blackheads have been greatly reduced, and they just don’t form as fast. My pores have shrunk as well, and this is great for every little emergency I have with hormone-related breakouts. Whenever I feel something nasty on its way, I nip it at the bud with a good dose of Effaclar K before bedtime!
The new tube I got touts a reinforced formula. I will report back if I experience any difference!
When I reviewed the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment a while ago, I briefly mentioned how my lips are. In short, they can be really dry and painful if they don’t get some proper moisturization at night, but if they do I’m set for the day. Sometimes they also have a mind of their own. I could use the same thing on my lips, but on certain days I’ll wake up with great lips and others lackluster ones.
Not since I started using Nuxe Rêve de Miel Honey Lip Balm! Housed in a hefty glass pot, the balm is very interesting. The texture is thick and could be a bit grainy. Especially when the weather is cooler, you might want to swirl your finger slowly in the pot to melt some. If it still feels a bit grainy once you slather it on, just press your lips together a little and the graininess should go away. In warmer weather it becomes softer, so it’s easier to get some out of the pot.
It is VERY thick and heavy, so I personally wouldn’t use it during daytime. However, going to bed with a generous layer of this balm has systematically guaranteed soft and luscious lips in the morning! I usually just blot the rest out in the morning. A lot of it is absorbed, and you might have some white residue on the inner rim of your lips. Never mind. I would rather suffer that little bit of unattractiveness to have soft lips all day!
As you can see, again this is not a product that is merely a spiced-up version of Vaseline. I’m not saying that Vaseline doesn’t work, but at least for me it certainly doesn’t work as well!
Here’s a picture of the products so you can see the texture:
Bottom line: Gentle, effective, and reasonably-priced, I would definitely recommend NUXE Rêve de Miel Honey Lip Balm to everybody and La Roche Posay Effaclar K to people who suffer from breakouts and blackheads, especially if they are new to AHA/BHA!
What have you repurchased recently? Have you tried any of the two? If so, would you recommend them?
Sunny, your beauty culture translator xx
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