Taking A Look At Bioderma

Beauty lovers rejoiced all over Ireland last month when the French brand Bioderma was launched here. For year another going to France or just 'away' where you could get your hands on it, they would be weighted down with a list as long as their arms to bring back things from this skin care brand. I myself have been one of those people and there have been many a phone call and whatsapp message to the sister when shes over in France for a holiday. I'm delighted that the brand is finally here so everyone can try it out. I was kindly sent some things to try out, so I thought I'd give a brief look at them all, having tried them out over the past few weeks.

First is the iconic and much raved make up removing micellar solution. If you have never heard of the brand before, you will still have seen a bottle of this roaming around a beauty lovers house at some point. This is a tiny 100ml bottle that you can get for €5.50, 250ml for €11.50 or a 500ml for €16. This is in the sensitive range, although its perfect for any skin type. Its definitely one of the best micellar waters I have ever used, it takes away make up quickly without irritation and you don't need as much product as you do with other make up removers. I have to say, if Garnier wasn't an utter babe with their 400ml bottles for under €6, I would all over Bioderma like it was the sexiest thing alive, But it has to be said, I do use a hella lot of Garniers to get off a full face before bed, compared to far less with Biodermas. Plus its fancy be being fragrance, alcohol and paraben free, as well as hypoallergenic. 

I've not been wearing makeup daily over the past few weeks with it being warm, so I still have loads of this left, but with a full face of make up I would use far more of other micellar waters then with this in order to remove everything completely. I'd recommend picking up a little bottle to try out.

The rest of these products are all new to me and I have mixed feelings on them. I was really excited to get the Anti-Redness skin perfecting care BB cream. It looked to be a great full coverage and it was in Light which is my perfect shade. Only on applying it, it was far too dark for me, which I was really disappointed about. I did try to blend it down my neck but I'm still far too pale and it showed up almost orange in comparison. I'd love if this came in an ivory shade so I can properly see if this did get rid of redness, but right now I think theres only three shades available. I have mixed it with lighter foundations and its worked alright, but the whole point of BB cream is to be quick and easy with a minimum amount of make up. So thats a bit of a fail, but for those with darker skin it could well be worth trying out as it is a lovely texture. For €17.50 its a tad pricey and for us pale girls, we'll have to stick to other brands.

I'm never too bothered with any type of sun creams on my face as I use a lot of products with SPF already in them and lets be honest, how in the name of god are rays going to get through the amount of make up I cake on! But joking aside, I now reach for this almost daily and its a really lovely product. Aquafluid very high protection SPF 50+ for sensitive skin and a little goes a long way with this. Once you apply it and rub it in, it absorbs really well into the skin and there has never been any shine from it. Its water resistant and although it claims to be fragrance free, there is a definite smell of almost plastic off it. Not the most pleasant scent to be putting on your face, but once it sinks in its not as strong and eventually fades. Its also perfect to use with make up and doesn't effect that application at all, once its left for a few minutes to sink right in properly.

 This is surprisingly reasonable at €13.50 considering that its SPF 50+ and a little goes a long way, so 40ml is going to last you a really long time, - Its expiry date is 6 months after opening, but if like myself your using it almost daily then it will be well used by that time.

  

 And lastly is the Pore Refiner corrective care for enlarged pores. This white gel-like stuff is going to be fab for some people, but I could take or leave it. I have really big pores and a lot of the time my makeup will set into them, but when using this pore refiner I didn't see a massive difference. Maybe my pores just need something a little more heavy duty, I'm not too sure. Personally I think this is a bit overpriced at €18.50 for what it is. Though if its a good match for you then with it being 30ml, you'll get plenty of use from it.

Overall I think at times Bioderma can be a bit over hyped and expensive. I've used a lot of their products prior to this and some are really brilliant, but others are a massive let down. Do try to find testers or get samples of the products before buying them, as theres nothing worse then forking out for something that ends up not working for you. Personally I keep buying the cleansing water and the facial sun cream when they run out in local chemists and Sam McCauleys, but for everything else I might want, I'll still be handing a list to who ever is popping across to France where Bioderma is far cheaper. 

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here.