Vichy Normaderm Night Detox - review

Following on from the last post, I also gave my female tester in her late 20's the Vichy Normaderm Night Detox to trial.

What is it?

The blurb: 

'Those with oily, blemish prone skin suffer from an over production of sebum during the night. By morning, the skin can feel dirty and dull with additional blemishes. New Normaderm Night Detox targets the skin overnight by helping to control the production of sebum while purifying the skin.

Upon awakening:

• Sebum production is controlled
• Imperfections appear reduced
• Pores tightened
• Radiant complexion
• Even skin texture
• Skin feels clean & fresh

Powerful formula yet kind to the skin. The texture is light and non greasy leaving the skin with a clean fresh sensation.'

The reality:

A night cream aimed at those with a lot of spots/acne.

What's in it? (Kudos to Boots.com for actually bothering to list the ingredients)

AQUA • GLYCERIN • ALCOHOL DENAT. • HYDROXYETHYLPIPERAZINEETHANE SULFONICACID •ISONONYLISONONANOATE • ISOPROPYL LAUROYL SARCOSINATE • PENTAERYTHRITYLTETRAETHYLHEXANOATE • PEG-20 STEARATE • DIMETHICONE • CETYLALCOHOL • SILICA • ZEAMAYS STARCH • CI 19140 • CI 42090 • GLYCERYLSTEARATE • TRIETHANOLAMINE • SALICYLICACID • SODIUMPOLYACRYLATE • PERLITE • POLOXAMER 338 • TOCOPHERYLACETATE • AMMONIUMPOLYACRYLDIMETHYLTAURAMIDE • CAPRYLOYLSALICYLICACID • TETRASODIUMEDTA • EPERUAFALCATABARKEXTRACT • XANTHANGUM • DEXTRIN • PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRA-DI-T-BUTYLHYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATE • ACRYLATES/C1 0 - 30ALKYLACRYLATECROSSPOLYMER • ACRYLATES COPOLYMER • PARFUM

What's good about it?
From my tester: 'The Vichy Night Detox is amazing! My skin is almost clear. I've been doing your routine and just using this at bedtime and I can't believe the results.'
It's also a great price point. 

What's not good about it?
This isn't the 'cleanest' product on the market if you are someone who wants natural/organic etc. However, in my experience, once someone has suffered from sustained, incredibly annoying breakouts/spots/acne, you stop caring what's in it (for the most part) and just want something that works. Still, at least on this occasion you can actually look at the ingredients and make the choice for yourself. Also: using the word 'Detox' in your product name is at best risky, at worst an untruth - but that's not for me to concern myself with...

Vichy Night Detox is priced around £15.00 (but always on offer somewhere) and available from Boots.com.

Effaclar Anti-Blemish System - Trial Results

Exactly three months ago I asked two people to test the new 2 step kit from Effaclar that included the cleanser, new toner and the original Effaclar Duo cream.

The results are in and they are to say the least, mixed.

My testers were a woman in her late 20's with hormonal acne caused by PCOS and a teenage boy with typical teenage spots/borderline acne.

Below are the actual transcribes of their reports (we'll give the teenage boy a break for his minimal use of vocabulary ;):

Female:
'First cleanse, tone and cream done. It doesn't irritate, the cleanser says its foaming but it doesn't really foam that much. It feels lovely and smooth when you put it on, the toner is really gentle, no sting or feeling at all - I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. Cream smells nice, face isn't too dry.

Day 5:
I had a massive breakout over the weekend. Big, red, painful spots. The spots I had before haven't gone and the cream is leaving a gritty texture on my face. It doesn't feel nice and smooth like it does after I use the products that you recommend.

2nd August (2 weeks of use):
I stopped using the products yesterday. It hasn't worked for me. I've had massive breakouts (big red painful spots), the spots I had before haven't cleared up and it left my skin feeling gritty and dry. Just used a balm cleanser and it felt like heaven. My skin is smooth again and the bumps have gone down instantly.

Final verdict:
Cleanser - definitely a no. The toner is really gentle so that's okay, it just doesn't seem to do anything. I don't rate the moisturiser at all. I think it made my spots worse, it didn't clear anything up, it left a horrible texture on my face and makeup looked awful over it.


Male:
First text.
'My skin feels a bit dry and tight.'

Then it was quiet for a few weeks...

26th August (4 weeks of use):
I've been using the products for the past 4 weeks. I haven't had any new big spots but my face hasn't really cleared that much. My skin felt good for the first few weeks but now it feels a bit dry. I got quite a lot of new pimples on my forehead. Cleanser - ok, maybe a little too harsh. Toner - didn't really do much. Cream - the cream is probably the best out of the three. Face always felt smooth after using it. No massive new breakouts and no blackheads. I think my face is pretty much the same. It didn't make it any worse but it didn't make it much better.


So the final verdicts would appear to be:

Cleanser - too drying
Toner - ok but doesn't really do anything
Effaclar Duo - better on younger skins perhaps? Good topically on spots but too drying over long term use if used as an all-over face moisturiser.

Thank you to my two willing testers. I removed any mention of brands they preferred/balm cleanser used etc to try and keep it fair. The next post is from the same 20-something woman and is about a cream she raved about.....