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| Vichy Normaderm deep cleansing purifying gel & purifying pore-tightening lotion |
To be honest, I am more interested in makeup products than facial skincare but several years of beauty box subscription and occasional hitchhiking to ultimate goody bags at SpaceNK, Harvey Nichols, etc. ended up with multiple stashes of sample- and travel-size products. Until recently, I was very hesitant to use them, thinking that I needed to save them for the next holiday. Before my trip down to London last month, I had a chance to go through them and realised that there were simply too many products (almost a year worth!). Yes, it's time to STOP buying new products and use what I've already got.
Vichy is one of my oldest friends in my skincare department. I remember purchasing Vichy from a small pharmacy back in university years in Seoul, South Korea. It was not cheap but I couldn't resist as the brand as a whole had very compelling reviews from many of my close friends as well as online beauty communities.
Normaderm range is specifically designed for trouble/acne prone skin. I haven't used many of the products from this line but with its claims on 'no soap, paraben and alcohol', thus suitable for sensitive skin, I decided to give it a go. I was lucky enough to take advantage of a gift set given when purchasing one full-size Normaderm product (I bought deep cleansing purifying gel) and the two products that I review here came in the gift set along with two other products which I will review another time.
1. Deep Purifying Cleaning Gel (30ml)
As you might have guessed from a brief statement above, I am familiar with this cleansing gel as I used the whole full-size bottle (200ml) before. When I first got it, I was a bit confused about the purpose of the product: is it a cleansing gel (as in a cleansing oil/cleansing wipe to get rid of the makeup) or is it a foaming cleanser (which I use after getting rid of the makeup)? The answer is the latter. You lather up the product, gently apply onto your face and massage, and finish by rinsing with lukewarm water.What I like most about this cleansing gel is obviously the fact that while ultra-efficient in terms of preventing new imperfections caused by excessive sebum production, it's gentle enough to be used by those who have sensitive skin. It is alcohol-, soap- and paraben-free and has salicylic acid which is proven to be effective for acne and other imperfections. It also contains totarol which purifies the skin, Eperuline which soothes redness without irritating the skin and glycolic acid which is a very effective ingredient when it comes to purifying the skin's surface as well as treating imperfections. It is infused with Vichy thermal spa water which is one of my ultimate favourite products from Vichy.
30ml is more than generous amount of the product. I was using it day and night and it lasted just over three weeks. The only thing that I didn't like is the bottle design. The full-size comes with a pump which dispenses the perfect amount of the product. The sample bottle doesn't have the pump, thus it is hard to control the amount of product comes at a time.
Woud I purchase a full bottle?
Probably not.
As I mentioned above, there is nothing wrong with the product. It is a decent cleanser but I've had better ones before. Besides, the last time when I had the full-size product, it was a pain in the arse to go through the whole bottle. I think it lasted almost 7-8 months. I am not very loyal when it comes to facial cleanser and it was just too big for me. But if you are looking for a good economical facial cleanser, I would definitely recommend it.
2. Purifying Pore-Tightening Lotion (30ml)
!!!?!?!?!!! This came out as a total shock. It is NOT a lotion as the bottle suggests; it is a toner. As I wasn't aware of the fact that it was liquid, the first time when I open the lid and held the bottle upside down (as you normally do when you use lotion-type of products), you can only imagine what a mess that I created. I think I wasted about half of the product the first night I opened the product. After a quick researching on the internet, I learned that in other parts of the world, it is called astringent TONER. I have noooooooo idea why British label calls lotion but let's just move on.The toner itself is good. On the website, it says the toner contains active ingredients which have a purifying, antibacterial and keratolytic effect that reinforces the product's efficiency and tolerance such as salicylic acid, totarol, eperuline and glycol acid: i.e., same as the deep purifying cleansing gel. Despite the fact that I wasted so much product on the first night, the toner lasted me almost the same time as the cleansing gel and after using almost 3weeks, I agree with most of the claims made on its website. I apply the product by dampening a cotton pad morning and evening on cleansed skin. If there are any imperfections, I usually leave the cotton pad on those spots extra 10sec and my face is ready for the next step. I haven't experienced any new imperfects while using the toner, but I don't get imperfections that often, so I am not sure if it will work for those of you who are suffering from severe imperfections. I am not sure if my pores are tightened but they don't look enlarged. If anything, I think the toner is effective in terms of mattifying the skin. In my experience, when the skin gets oily, pores look much more prominent. This means that my mattifying the skin, you can at least ensure pores don't look as large as they actually are or at least, it is my opinion.
Would I purchase a full-size product?
Probably not.
I don't think it is a bad product but I think the product contains alcohol. I am not 100% sure but I can smell and feel it. It may work brilliantly for those of you who are still in their teen-age and early 20s but for me (I am 32), this seems too harsh. It's maybe gentle enough for sensitive skin, but I don't think it's kind enough for dry or combination skin because my dry patches get really noticeable after using this toner. However, if you are not worried about dry patches like myself, I think it's worth trying.
Have you ever used Vichy Normaderm products?
Kyra x
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