La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL 50+ Extreme Fluid Review

La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL 50+ Extreme Fluid, 50ml

Like every other skincare junky out there I was very excited to see La Roche-Posay finally in stock at my local pharmacies. At the time, after recently finding out the difference between physical and chemical sunscreens, I decided to try this out after reading a lot of rave reviews.

This sunscreen has a very runny, milky texture. La Roche-Posay was right in calling it a ‘fluid’. On the box it says it’s non-greasy and trace free, but unfortunately this wasn’t the case for my skin. The product didn’t seem to absorb at all, and sat on top of my skin making it feel quite thick and grainy. I didn’t think twice about it at first, a physical sunscreen is supposed to feel thick, sit on top of the skin and reflect UVA and UVB rays, but the slippery, slimy texture just didn’t seem to feel or look very great. And when you added makeup into the mix it was a complete disaster. Not even my most mattifying foundation lasted very long with this sunscreen beneath it.

Active Ingredients: Octocrylene, Titanium Dioxide, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Bemotrizinol, Ecamsule, Drometrizole Trisiloxane, Octyl Triazone

Before I purchased this, I read many reviews stating that it was a physical sunscreen (a sunscreen that contains physical UV filters that block and or deflect the sun’s rays). Correct me if I am wrong, but I am certain that there are only two ingredients that make a physical sunscreen: titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. The Anthelios XL only contains one physical ingredient, titanium dioxide, which gives extensive protection from UVA and UVB rays but not as much as Zinc oxide, which is more reliable at deflecting UVA rays than its counterpart. Just to note, UVA rays are the ones that give you wrinkles. For someone adamant about anti-aging, having a sunscreen that extensively blocks UVA rays is pretty important, so the lack of Zinc Oxide in the ingredients did surprise me.

I also read that this product was perfect for oily skin, but once again I was deceived. This product in no way worked well with my combination-oily skin. It even states on the box that it’s more suitable for normal to combination skin. I would think this product would be great for dryer types, so now that it’s winter I decided to test this out again. Even with slightly dryer skin I still had the same results. I also really dislike the scent. It’s atrocious, a really horrible chemically smell that linger all day long. I may be sitting in my room on the computer or something, then all of a sudden I’ll get a whiff of it and my entire body would just convulse in disgust. Ick. Even as I’m  describing it I can smell it.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this product. Okay, extremely disappointed, considering the minuscule 50ml bottle cost $30 AUD, but this was first time venturing out into the world of physical sunscreen, so I haven’t lost hope yet.

Have you had any bad experiences with sunscreens before? What’s your go-to sunscreen? Also, if you have any products you would like to recommend let me know!

Bioderma Sebium Gel Moussant Review

Bioderma Sebium Gel Moussant / Purifying & Foaming Cleansing Gel for Combination/Oily Skin

In an attempt to control my oily skin this season I ventured out into the world of cleansers once more. Some cheap, some western, some expensive and some Asian. Recently I've been trying out Bioderma's Sebium Gel cleanser. Bioderma is a French  drugstore brand, infamous in the beauty blogging sphere, and has recently become available in Priceline stores here in Australia (for those who don't know yet!).

This cleanser is a light gel like formula that foams up gently when mixed together with a bit of water. What I like about this cleanser is that it doesn't feel like it strips the skin. It doesn't feel squeaky clean afterwards as I initially expected but feels clean, refreshed and softened. The scent is quite pleasant as well, it's definitely not natural, but light enough that I can stand. Despite all the good comments, there are a few questionable ingredients in this cleanser. For someone who is acne prone there are quite a few irritants in it: Sodium laureth sulfate (an emulsifier) and sodium hydroxide (PH adjuster), and a few other ingredients like sodium methylparaben and glyceryl cocoate  which are considered unsafe to use according to Cosdna.com. I will admit, I only looked up the ingredients list after I tried it. If anything, it reinforced the fact that this is a pretty average cleanser. It makes my skin feel great afterwards, but it doesn't fight off or treat acne. The lack of results, the ingredients on top of a hefty $20 price tag, makes this a disappointment in my books. 

Is there anyone else whose been disappointed by a Bioderma product? If not, which products would you recommend?