Okay, I was wrong...

I hate admitting that! Especially when it's about a product I was so convinced of up front. But no, the L'occitane Angelica Hydra Vital Gel was a fail to me. I talked about how excited I was to try this in my very exited post on the Crème Radieuse or Hydra Vital Cream. After I finished that jar, I immediately rushed to the store to buy the gel for my then nearly spotless face, only to turn it into a miserable landscape of pimples again.

 So, if I liked the cream so much, why did I go and try something else? Exactly: don't do that! When you finaly find something that works for you, don't switch to something else, especially when you have a face that clearly has some serious issues, like mine (I think it might be autistic and hate change, is there a cream for that?). Anyway, my reasoning when I got it was that it would help even better for my oily face because of its texture. Especially in summer, when I hate anything creamy on my face. The Hydra Vital Cream doesn't leave an oily feeling though, so actually there's no need to switch.

Anyway, after doubting my choice again at the store, my curiosity for anything new won me over and I took a leap of faith, buying the Hydra Gel for a little less (€29) than I paid for the Hydra Cream (€33). Advantages? There are some in general. For example, you need less product to cover your face. This gel will probably last you a lot longer than cream. Another plus is that if you keep it in the fridge, it really cools your face nicely when you put it on. I'm afraid that's everything positive I have to say about it.

About 3 days after I first started using it, I noticed a few tiny pimples. I wasn't alarmed and thought it was just a hormone breakout, but after a week I got larger pimples and the rashes came back. Moreover, my face was back to its oily self, and didn't feel hydrated for hours, like when I used the cream. I gave it another week just to be sure it wasn't a hormone thing. Then I switched back to the vital cream to see the effect and indeed, two weeks later my face is looking a lot better again. Still not as great as before I started using the gel, but I'm getting there.

I'm sorry for betraying my cream, I'm sorry for wasting 29 f-in' euros and I'm sorry for ruining my face, but hey, how should I know? It's the first time I've taken care of it and apparently, it's not a fan of hydrating gel.

Keep in mind that this might just be my face, maybe it works for other people perfectly, I haven't looked at any reviews yet. But judging from my case: I'm going to stay away from this as far as I can. It took me weeks to get my face to look okay and only one week to ruin it again. I'm not taking risks anymore. For now, only Hydra Vital Cream for me, because I still love that one!

What a pain, my first negative review. I'm sorry money!


Lots of light,

Sloppy D.

Com-pore-ison

You know what people, I'm not sure about this kind of primer. As I said in my last post, I love the texture of these things, but after a weekend of testing, I'm not convinced. Nonetheless, let's look at the difference between high end Porefessional and drugstore find Flower Perfection.

To be fair, I didn't give these two too much time before judging them. I wore both one day this weekend. I put on Flower Perfection Saturday morning, under my BB cream and powder foundation. I also wore some blush and bronzer. Same thing for Porefessional on sunday. That's that. I wore both a whole day and I didn't re-apply any make-up. I was outside both days.

I can't say either one of these made my make-up stay put any longer. Frankly, I don't really care, I don't mind re-applying. It would really impress me to find a product that actually fixed my make-up, these two don't, as expected.

They are really similar to each other when it comes to texture, feel and coverage. Both disappointed me a bit when it comes to tightening my pores. When testing them on my hand they both have the same effect, erasing fine lines and mattifying a little. Neither one of them is powerful enough to help my face. Bummer. I can see the magic happen on my hand, and I know I would absolutely love them if they did the same on my face. Maybe my pores are just too wide. Or maybe I have to wait until I've got some wrinkles to try it again. For now, nothing to get exited about here.

They both make my face feel nice. They're very gentle and soft on the skin. No complaints there whatsoever. They provide a smooth base for my make-up, although I can't help but wonder of that smoothness isn't erased when I put on my BB-cream. These primers seem so fragile...

Another similarity is the fact that they do nothing for my oily skin. It looks a tiny bit more matte at first, but it seems even more oily than usual a little while later. What's the point if they do that? Don't let the looks deceive you, these things look as matte as anything in the jar or on your hand, but for combo skin? I could get over this fact of they leveled my skin out better, but since they don't, no points here.

Maybe we should look at some differences, the only way to decide whether the most expensive product is also the best one. First of all: the packaging. Bourjois' tiny fiddly jar is absolutely no match for Porefessional's tube. What were they thinking, putting this in a jar? It almost guarantees that you will use too much. The tube is way more economical. A little goes a really long way with these products, the jar is just asking for using it up much sooner than you should. Porefessional wins this round with eyes closed.

The only other difference is the colour. Where Flower Perfection is translucent, Porefessional has a bit of a sandy colour. The colour gets into my pores and makes it a tiny bit visible on my face, which I don't like about a primer. It should be either invisible, or it should have a colour that corrects redness. Otherwise there is no point in it having a colour for me. So, Bourjois gets a point for that. 

We have a tie! If I would have to pick one I would still go for Bourjois because of the lack of colour and a very subtle hint of nice scent. However, this kind of product is not for me. It does too little for my face to balance out the fact that it makes it oily. I wish I would've liked it, because I'm still wondering about Clinique's pore filler with the same kind of  formula, but I'm afraid it would be a waste of money if not even Porefessional works for me, as it is such a popular product. I did only use it in the conventional way, maybe it will prove useful as a top coat, for a nice finish. I've heard of it being used that way.

For now my favourite primer is still Essence Sublime by L'Occitane. It's not comparable to the ones I talked about here, since it's a creamy one. But it does a much better job at tightening my pores subtly. It also feels like a moisturiser to my face, but it's got very good mattifying power too. Thank God I love it so much, 'cause it's mighty expensive!

If you love one of these primers and you think I'm doing it wrong, please, feel free to correct me!

Lots of light,

Sloppy D.