I have many people to thank for recommending me the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo for combating spots, zits and breakouts but for the life of me, I can’t name all of you because I’m deathly afraid of forgetting to mention someone and then I’d get flack for that! So, if you have at some point mentioned the LRP Effaclar Duo to me on Twitter, Facebook or here in the comments, THANK YOU!
For everyone living in Malaysia, no, don’t get your hopes up. La Roche-Posay STILL isn’t available here at time of writing (Sept 2013) which is a pity. There are so many other items I’d love to try from the brand because I’ve only been impressed so far. But I picked this up online and you can too.
I picked up the Effaclar Duo at a time when I was feeling low about the condition of my skin. It had all these bumps and spots (later traced to a reaction from food – who’d have guessed!) and I just didn’t know what to use because what I’d previously used was the Vichy Normaderm cream and since they pulled out, I’d run out.
I was then recommended Effaclar Duo and then, I saw that Escentual.com was doing a sale so I picked it up, and I have never looked back since. This is now my go-to cream for when I get the occasional spot!
The Effaclar Duo cream is what they call a corrective cream, targeted at skin imperfections and clogged skin. It is reminiscent of the Vichy Normaderm cream (not surprising, since they are owned by the same parent company – L’Oreal) but I feel that this one is more potent.
It is also more drying, if you use it all over your skin very often. When I mentioned this, I was told that I could not and should not use it all over my face. But you know what? It’s what the instructions tell me to do and I always follow instructions.
See, it says “Apply morning and/or evening on the whole face” so I did. Where I did not have spots or clogged pores, I found it a little drying. I wasn’t too surprised to be honest, because it does contain ingredients that exfoliate skin and reduce clogging and these ingredients do tend to be drying. It doesn’t cause my skin to flake or be irritated, for which I’m thankful, and LRP credits that to the inclusion of thermal spring water, to calm irritated skin.
So, what I do now, is only use the Effaclar Duo on areas where I have problems, directly on clean skin. For me, this is usually around my chin where my skin may get clogged or I may break out. When I have a spot on my cheek, I apply this cream only where I experience the breakouts, and it does the job beautifully! Yes, I do use 2 different moisturisers on my skin to target different concerns and it’s working well!
I credit the LRP Effaclar Duo with unclogging my bumpy chin when it was at its worst, and also, for soothing and zapping zits that may pop up from time to time. I don’t get breakouts very much anymore, now that I’m playing around less with different types of skincare (and forsaking the ones I have no confidence in – no more mad scientist experiments from this blogger!) so when I do, this is the cream I reach for and it clears everything up in 2 days or so. Perfect!
The cream itself is a light gel-cream texture and there is a fragrance. Slightly metallic to my nose, but I’ve gotten used to it, and I associate it now with my skin healing process. This is a good product, and one that works well. I don’t know if it will work for very badly congested skin or for those with bad acne, but if you’ve tried everything else and nothing seems to work, give Effaclar Duo a try. I love it for saving my skin! 😀
In a nutshell
The La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo is a lightweight gel-cream textured cream that works to combat skin imperfections and zap zits without irritating and flaking skin. It can feel drying on skin but it doesn’t cause skin to flake, nor turn it red. I only use it on areas that feel clogged or that have spots and it goes to work very quickly, so I usually have normal skin back in a few days. I also make sure I apply this directly on clean skin, so no serums for me on those areas. I love this one and it has truly been a skin saver!
Pros: Lightweight texture, Zaps zits very quickly, Does not irritate skin nor cause flaky dry skin, Unclogs pores and smoothens skin very gently and effectively, Affordable
Cons: Unavailable in Malaysia at this time, Fragrance, Can be drying if used all over
Who will like this: Anyone trying to fight spots, acne or clogged skin
Here is the ingredient list for the Effaclar Duo (it is paraben free).
I got mine off Escentual.com where they often go on sale. Shipping from the UK is affordable and generally efficient. No hesitation recommending them at all 🙂
Have you used the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo? Is there anything else from LRP that you love?
This is now my to-go zit busting cream. Every time I feel my skin getting clogged (which isn’t often now) I apply this and it goes and does its magic, and my zits get zapped. I also used to be a big fan of the LRP Anthelios sunscreen but haven’t used that in years, since it’s so hard to get. You could say that I generally love French pharmacy skincare 😀
Paris B
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo Corrective and Unclogging Anti-Imperfection Care Price: RRP£13.50 (or watch out for sales) Availability: Escentual.com or your closest La Roche-Posay counter, you lucky things!
I’ve heard lots about this too! My skin has been behaving much better this year, so I’m really happy to say I don’t need this, but let’s not jinx it 🙂
Mine is the same, but occasionally, the odd spot pops up and this one kills it in a pinch! Love it 😀
Great Review! I am looking forward to trying new La Roche-Posay products soon, I will definitely need to check this one out!
Kate Xx
themintedbeauty.com
Glad you enjoyed this Kate! If you do have a problem with clogged pores, this is definitely worth checking out. LRP does good products. I only wish I had better access to it 🙁
Yup! This is good stuff for sure! I always have this in my arsenal for emergencies!
Yes! Emergency arsenal. We all need one of those Beauty First Aid boxes 😀
If Bioderma is available in Malaysia, Bioderma has the same kind of serum which Tracy wrote about today, called Bioderma Sebium Global. I used Vichy Normaderm anti-imperfection global, LRP effaclar duo and Bioderma Global and in my experience Sebium Global is the most potent, but less irritating than Effaclar Duo. Normaderm global version is the most moisturizing and least peeling 🙂 Well when you say acnes, blackheads I can’t stop talking, especially if it includes French Pharmacy!
Thanks for sharing the info on Bioderma, Casey! I’m afraid we don’t get Bioderma here either. We have loads of Asian skincare but not so much French 🙁 I wish we did because my skin seems to prefer French skincare over Asian! Thanks for letting us know about Bioderma. Maybe I’ll give it a go some day and your expertise is always welcomed 😀
Do you know if the brand is available in Singapore? I thought I saw it in the pharmacies when I was there but I could have mistaken it with Uriage since the brand colour is similar.
Yep it is Victoria 🙂 I used to get my sunscreen from Singapore but it just got too much of a hassle, plus with Shiseido now deeply entrenched in my system, I’m not using others 🙂
This is the product that i can’t live without ! I use at as a daily moisturizer , I’m already on my 3rd tube ! It really helps to prevent clogging , breakouts and also helps to speed up the heeling process . I think the ingredient in it also helps to exfoliate my skin , after one month my skin glows ! It’s a really beautiful product to use 🙂 but for my conbination skin i think it is moisturizing enough , my face can be quite oily after a few hours 😛 but it doesn’t bug me at all! It gave me the perfect skin i always wanted . It doesn’t completely stop my skin from breaking out , doesn’t get rid of my blackheads , but still it does a great job at most other things so i’m rating it an -A !
Paris , have you ever tried the Mario Badescu Silver Powder ? Xoxo 🙂
Hi Leonard, thanks for sharing and I’m glad to know you like this one too *high5* I think this one is simply amazing especially when I have a spot or two that needs banishing 🙂 I haven’t used the Mario Badescu Silver Powder I’m afraid. I don’t have much of a problem with breakouts very much anymore so I don’t quite pay attention to those products that address them, sorry!
I need this! My skin has been acting crazy lately – tons of clogged pores and pimples where I have never gotten pimples before. 🙁
Thanks for reviewing this, Paris! Will definitely pick this up.
Hey Sarah, this one really helped me when I went through that period of crazy skin! I hope it’ll work for you if you do pick it up 🙂
If you need to stock up, there’s always strawberrynet or alternatively ping me because priceline is now stocking them 🙂
Oh yeah, I forgot Strawberrynet has them too! I’ll look there but Escentual does do very attractive deals a lot of the time >.<
I shall look for this in Paris 🙂
Yes, along with other French pharmacy skincare! 😀 So fun!
Hi Paris,
Apparently there are two different formulas for the same product. One for the American market wich would be used only in spoted area an the one you and me have wich is to be used all over the face. I LOVE this product, I helps to keep my skin under control because I tend to suffer from glogged pores. Funny enough I never had that condition but on my teens or twenties but there we go now. I currently using my second tube, and for me is a must. Well done La Roche Posay.
Hi Pipa, goodness, are there 2 different formulas?! Now that’s confusing as heck! >.< But I'm glad I have the one that's to be used all over the face, because it is just so much easier to apply this way. I wish I knew about all this when I was younger. Now I have to repair instead of prevent haha 😀 Glad to know this is a firm fave of yours too! Well done, LRP indeed
I’ve always read great things about this product!
I’ve never actually tried anything from the brand but it’s pretty easy to find in italian pharmacies so I’ll definitely give a look at the range soon.
This will surely be one of my first buy, I have pretty good skin but when I get the occasional zit I just don’t know how to deal with it 😀
Oh yes, I’m sure this is all over your Italian pharmacies! But when I was in Prague, I saw that it was stocked only in selected pharmacies and locked in a glass cupboard! I was so puzzled by this LOL I find this very helpful for zapping that occasional zit, for sure. It just seems to work impressively well without leaving marks 🙂
I love this stuff. It’s quite cheap here in Europe, readily available in most pharmacies and works wonders. I also love the honeysuckle smell, as you said, it’s now linked to a healing feeling 🙂
I never experienced any kind of dryness because of this. I consider it a lightweight moisturising cream that does a heck of a nice work in removing impurities!
You are all so lucky in Europe to get this brand so easily! I’ve read so many good things about most of their products but we don’t get it here 🙁 Still, I’m glad for online shopping 😀 Happy to know this works well for you too – it sounds like many people already love it!
Hey Paris, I’m so glad you tried and it’s working well for you! I used to stick to Effaclar K, but when I felt a cystic pimple forming a couple of months back, I panicked and bought Effaclar Duo immediately. Effaclar K would have taken care of it, but it would have taken much longer. With Effaclar Duo, it’s a matter of days! I now use it on my T-zone twice a day to keep those pesky blackheads at bay. I personally prefer LRP to Vichy because the fragrance is lighter 😉
You Sunny, are one of those instrumental for pointing me in this direction so thank you! I actually ended up ordering Effaclar Duo and Effaclar K but they both say they do the same thing so I wasn’t sure which to use and started out with the Duo, now there’s no turning back! I wonder what I should do with the Effaclar K now LOL! 😀
I don’t know about you, but I can’t use Duo all the time because it’s very effective. Sometimes I just know it’s Duo that’s actually causing some spots (more like an allergic reaction). That’s when I switch to K or just give both a break! I don’t use Duo on my cheeks either, but K is good for that 🙂
haha first time I’m hearing that you can’t use something because it’s very effective… yet I totally get what you mean! 😀 I don’t use it daily because my skin is at its optimum right now so I only use Effaclar Duo when I need to address clogged pores or spots. Haven’t broken out the K yet!
I have to give this a try once my Avene Tricneal is over..btw if you love this def give Tricneal a try..both work similarly and Avene is available easily in Malaysia 🙂 Also check out Sebamed Clear Face Cleansing Foam…its the best face wash ever!
Thanks for letting me know, Parita! One day when I’m done with this one, I’ll give Avene a try. As you have pointed out, it’s easily available here so that’s a big plus point!
q : does apply on clean skin also mean not applying toner/emulsion on the area? how about moisturizer? what do you do?
thanks so much for reviewing this and showing how you tailor its use from the instructions 😀 I need to try it!! So far nothing I tried really works (kiehl’s and murad spot treatments) in clearing my spots in less than 3 days and my skin is oily AND dry (whut!) so I need to moisturize. haha!
Hiya, when I use this, I apply it directly on my skin which means, no toner or emulsion. I treat this as my moisturiser, so no, no moisturiser over this either. You could say I use it as an “intensive” treatment, so I use it alone. It doesn’t dry skin out, but on my slightly drier skin, it doesn’t feel too comfortable if I use it for too many days at a stretch, so I prefer to use it just on areas that need treating. I have tried a few products but this has so far been the only one that does as it promises 🙂
Paris B, does it able to fight the pigmentation dark spot? I had never try any La Roche-Posay before. I would love to give it a try if it will be able to fight the dark spot on my face. Haha! Dark spot on my face had always been my concern. I will try to find in the Singapore pharmacy . Thanks for letting me know about this brand!
Hey Michelle, nope this isn’t meant for dark spots, more for clogged pores or acne imperfections. I think LRP does have whitening skincare but I’m not too familiar with them.
OMG!!i have a same problem(food allergy),maybe i should try this product….
skin allergic make me down sooo badly 🙁
Oh do you breakout when eating certain food too? Ever since I identified it, I have significantly less problems 🙂 This product will help if you have breakouts but not with the food allergy (unfortunately)
They sell this brand at watson sg too..
Yep! LRP and Vichy are available in Singapore, lucky peeps! 😀
i think i saw this at Sephora KLCC (and probably the whole range of La Roche Posay)
well, Effaclar Duo comes with two formulations, one made in UK and the other one made in the US. one u have to apply to the whole face, the other u apply only to the spot. but i forgot which is which LOLX!
Can I use this only on my nose and chin area before moisturizer? I have dehydrated skin with big pores on my nose and chin. It does for pimples only? Is it helps on blackhead and whitehead too?
Yep. I only use it on affected parts of my face as well. I sometimes use it on clogged areas. Not sure about blackheads but if my skin feels clogged I use it there and it helps me.
I found this product line confusing because there are Effaclar K, Effaclar Duo and Effaclar A.I….But thanks for your help and might getting this when I’m travel to Taipei.
Not to worry I’m confused too :p I’m not sure of the differences since we don’t actually have the line but I believe that Effaclar Duo is more potent than Effaclar K. At least that’s what I understand. Good luck trying it!
Hi Paris B,
How long does it usually take for you to receive your shipment from escentual.com?
I’m plnning to order effaclar duo from this website too and it says it usually takes 20-30 days. I’m staying in KL so I’d like to knw the average that you have waited. Thanks!
The longest I waited was about a month, the shortest was within 10 days. It pretty much depends. Good luck!