Claudia Louch Mousse Foundation

A couple weeks ago, this foundation made it's way into my collection.  It's from Claudia Louch and it's their new mousse foundation which retails for £52.50* (I have the shade N4).

The Mousse Foundation is 94% natural, hypoallergenic, allergy-tested, non-comedogenic (doesn’t block pores) and free from fragrances and harsh chemicals including parabens, methylisothiazolinone (MIT or MI) and SLS, making it suitable for use on all skin types and many skin conditions.

It comes in a squeezy bottle, very similar to the Illamasqua foundation, I don't miss having a pump, this works well too.

I have really mixed feelings about this foundation.  Part of me absolutely adores it, and the first time I used it, I was ready to give it holy grail status, yep, I liked it THAT much.  But the next few times I've used it, it hasn't sat quite right on my skin.  I think the first time I used it I didn't have any dry patches on my skin, but have since.  I've primed my skin with moisturiser each time first, but when you have a look at the pics below, you'll see that it does cling to dry patches.

 Left with the Claudia Louch Moose Foundation, Right no foundation.

How it clings to dry skin (this was on my cheek)

I also noticed that when I added a setting powder, it make it look more patchy around those dry areas, really highlighting my pores - perhaps that was the powder more than the foundation and perhaps I was using too much powder?

It has light to medium coverage, which I didn't find buildable, but as long as you're not aiming for fuller coverage you shouldn't need to build it.  If you have normal skin, I really think you'll love this, it almost blurred my skin and made me look younger.  When it sat on my skin as it should, it looked stunning.  It lasted all day and never felt like it was coming off, and I pretty much couldn't feel it on my skin, it's so light weight.

It really is a gorgeous foundation, one of the best I've tried, but if you have any dry patches of skin, it won't work for you, so give it a miss, but if you have normal skin, or oily skin, I really think you'll love this.  It is expensive, the most expensive I've tried, I'm not sure it's worth the £52.50, but just remember, after the first use I was ready to give it holy grail status, that must account for something?

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Claudia Louch face wash & toner

It's been a while since I featured any skincare on the blog, so I thought it was about time I rectified that!  I wanted to feature a couple of products I've been using recently, in conjunction with my Origins Gin-zing moisturiser and face scrub.

If you've not heard of Claudia Louch before then you're in for a treat.  The Claudia Louch brand was started up by... you guessed it, Claudia Louch.  She's an internationally-renowned natural holistic skin specialist, nutritionist, pharmacologist and health scientist and has a clinic based in Harley St, London.  They focus on Phytomedicine (plant-based medicine) and botanical skin care, it's this approach which means you won't find any parabens in their products.

So, that's a bit about them - lets see how I got on with their products.

Chamomile face wash

It's a light foaming gel face wash with chamomile - apparently chamomile is a natural anti-inflammatory and anti-allergen that is ideal for nourishing the skin, who knew? :)  Well, I might not be able to comment in that level of detail, but I will say this:  it smells absolutely gorgeous, it's a soft gentle slightly sweet scent.  You only need a small amount of it (about pea-sized), lather it up in your hands with some water and massage it into the skin.  It leaves my skin feeling soft and nourished.  I tend to use it on days when I'm not using my Gin-zing face scrub to give my skin a rest and re-hydrate.

It'll set you back £37.40* which might seem a tad expensive, but you do get a lot of product for your money (240ml) making it my biggest face wash by far, much bigger than my Clarins one which cost just over £20 (125ml) making this one on par price-wise.

Botanical firming toner

This little beauty "is an alcohol-free toner containing natural active ingredients of aloe vera, chamomile and Japanese green tea to refresh, rejuvenate and firm the skin after cleansing".  It has a similar scent to the chamomile face wash but more delicate.  I use this after the face wash or my face scrub, and before my moisturiser.  It helps to take off any residues and prep my skin for the moisturiser.  It also contains cucumber extract which help to tighten pores (something I desperately need!).  I apply it by pumping out some product onto a cotton pad and swiping over my skin.  You can also apply it with your finger tips, but personally I much prefer using a cotton pad.

Much like the face wash, this also costs £37.40* and for that you get 40ml of product (in very nice packaging) :)  I think with these products, the money is really going towards decent ingredients to make a high quality product.  I'm not saying there aren't other more purse-friendly products out there which might well suit your skin better, but for me these have certainly worked their way into my daily/weekly routine.

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*This post contains PR samples