French Skin Care Staples

In my eyes the skin care world is dominated by the French and Japanese markets - they are constantly enhancing how we look at skincare and of course upping our expectations from such products in general. Truthfully I have yet to fully dive into the world of Asian skincare but I have tried and tested a good few French innovations some have become firm favourites others have bypassed me somewhat. Today I have two products I deem to be French skin care staples both of which I urge you to try sooner or later.

French Skin Care Staples

Bioderma Sensibio H2O (£12/250ml) will have been how the majority of us tinkered with the world of 
micellaire waters, before then the vast majority of us would have had no idea what so ever what such waters were or what they did. In case you are new to micellaire waters (no shame in that) let me explain a little what they do and their intended use. In my opinion micellaire waters are a pre-cleanse something to quickly take off the bulk of your make-up in a gentle manner to allow you to relax a little at home before doing a through cleanse in the evening. They also come in handy when on flights and you don't have access to hot water etc but in my experience they are not to be used as your only means of cleansing as they don't cleanse deeply enough to keep the pores squeaky clean. There is a reason that Bioderma Sensibio H2O is the market leader cleanser of its type and that is purely because it works - it does exactly what it says on the tin (or bottle) it cleanses the skin and eyes in a gentle manner using micro-emulsify technology and contains soothing ingredients so even sensitive skin types can use this without worry. It is one of the few micellaire waters I can use on my eye area to quickly swipe off mascara et al without irritation. Do I use it daily? Nope but I do like to have it to hand and will stash a mini bottle in my carry on bag for any flight I may board.

French Skin Care Staples

The newest must have French skin care item on the block has to be La Roche-Posay Serozinc (£9.31)and let me tell you once you try this especially if like myself you suffer from breakouts and oily skin you will forever repurchase. Typically speaking I don't mess around with toners I use Mario Badescu Glycolic Acid Toner and that is it but alternating with La Roche-Posay Serozinc has really been benefical for my skin and here is why. La Roche-Posay Serozinc is a fine spray on mist that contains zinc sulphate to soothe and cleanse the skin as well as reducing excess oil and helping quickly heal rashes and general irritations. It sounds and looks a little harsh but it is gentle on the skin so much so it can be used on a baby's bottom for nappy rash. Generally speaking I don't use this to heal blemishes but rather to quickly clear up irritation rashes which come part and parcel with my line of work - as soon as my skin begins to tighten, break out or even have that horrid tight burning sensation I mist this on and hey presto problem solved. Of course it doesn't heal instantly but if I mist this on as soon as such problem occurs any skin irritations are gone within 24 hours which is always a blessing. As for oily skin used before make-up application and throughout the day it can help control excess oil but in my opinion its magic lies within its soothing qualities.

French skincare especially La Roche-Posay Serozinc can be difficult to come across, both my items came from (and quickly at that - two day turnaround) Farmaline - link

- Post contains press samples.