Those who have followed my skincare journey from the beginning know that I was once an avid fan of La Roche-Posay's Effaclar Duo, an acne treatment that is both gentle and effective and is extremely popular in the beauty blogging and YouTube world. I stopped using it a few months ago after having used it for a couple years simple because I wanted a change, not because it stopped working for me. (I can't help my curiosity!) Though it's a product that is no longer in my daily routine, I had come to think of La Roche-Posay as a whole as a reliable skincare brand.
I had no idea the Effaclar range even offered a serum until I scoured their website a couple months ago. With more research, I discovered that people seemed to love the Effaclar Serum, a pore-refining anti-wrinkle serum, so I gave it a go.
The serum itself is clear and a bit more viscous than water, although the moment you spread it on your skin, it seems to spread just as easily and absorb just as quickly into the skin as water. It does not feel like an oil whatsoever. It has a strong chemical scent that dissipates quickly after the product is absorbed, and there is a slight stinging sensation upon application that only lasts for a couple seconds. I drop about a third of a pipette full of serum onto my fingertips and quickly spread it all over my face every night, after cleansing but before moisturizer, being careful to avoid my eyes.
The serum contains acids, an AHA-Glycolic Complex and LHA to be exact, that gently exfoliate the surface of the skin and supposedly minmize fine lines, tighten pores and refine skin texture. Though I haven't exactly noticed the biggest difference in my pores (they weren't that obvious to begin with) and I don't have any wrinkles yet to test out the anti-aging claim, I've noticed that due to the daily micro-exfoliation, dead skin cells that would normally clog my pores are gone (bye bye, pesky whiteheads!), and the increase in skin cell turnover helps to accelerate the fading of scars left by blemishes and the like.
Since using this serum daily for the past two months, I've noticed that my skin is incredibly soft (I actually noticed this after only a few days of use!), my complexion as a whole looks brighter, my skin texture is more even, and a few scars that were left by annoying breakouts are fading faster than they normally would.
Though it says you can use it both morning and night, I've opted to only use it before bed, and even with once daily usage, I've noticed a big difference in the state of my skin.
I purchased my bottle from Ulta when I had a 20% off coupon that worked on nearly every brand, but this serum normally retails for $42.95, and I would pay full-price for it in a heartbeat. Just for reference, I've used a little over a third of the bottle using it once daily for two months.
Though I thought I may have been speaking too soon when I thought I loved it after having only used it once or twice, now, after two months of continuous usage, I can finally say with confidence: I LOVE THIS STUFF.
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Serum is available from Ulta for $42.95.
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