As you know, Avène Eau Thermale is one of my favourite brands for skincare.  Up until this year, I’d used the Thermal Water Spray and the Soothing Moisture Mask, and really loved them, but lately I’ve been trying some more of their goodies.  I have yet to find a product from any of their ranges that I don’t like!

The thermal spring water that features in all of the products comes from the little village of Avène in Southern France, where the spring water and it’s healing properties were discovered in 1736.

I have tried a sample of their face sunscreen – the SPF50 Emulsion at some point, and it was great.  Being sometime last year or the year before, I obviously don’t have a photo to show you, but you can find the link for it HERE.  At the same time I had samples of the Cold Cream Cleansing Gel for body and the Rich Compensating Cream which were both lovely basic products for sensitive and dry skin.

Today though, I’m going to talk about the four products I have in my collection right now, that I won’t be replacing any time soon.

Gentle Milk Cleanser – R185 for 200ml

This is just a very basic milk cleanser.  I used to always prefer gel cleansers, as my skin felt super clean after using them, but they were actually just stripping my skin of any natural hydration.

This milk cleanser really effectively cleanses you skin – I always take all of my makeup off with a micellar water first, but even when I’ve used the milk cleanser only just to see how well it fared, it didn’t leave any makeup behind.  I massage it into my skin and then wipe it off with a warm, damp cloth.  My skin feels so clean and soft afterwards.

Now my skin is not dry, even in winter – it’s merely dehydrated – but this soothes my sensitive and thirsty skin, while still leaving it very clean.

Thermal Water Spray – R139 for 150ml

This is my absolute favourite product from Avène.  I use it as a toner, hydrating spray, sometimes to finish my makeup, and just as an all over soother when I have irritated or very dry skin.

My skin is often red and dehydrated, and this is the only thing that helps to soothe it and calm the redness and irritation.  I’ve found after I didn’t have it in my collection for two months, that it really does make a difference in my skincare routine, and since then I always have a backup can before my current one runs out.  I’m that obsessed with it.

Hydrating Serum – R279 for 30ml

I have no idea what took me so long to try this serum.  I’ve always been about hydrating products, and with the added soothing benefits of thermal spring water in this one, I don’t think it was ever going to be doubtful that I’d love it.

Now that I have this serum in my collection, I don’t think I’ll ever be without it again.  It’s light enough to wear under moisturiser in the morning, yet hydrating enough to layer under a night cream and facial oil at night.

This, with a bit of the thermal water spritzed on just before and after, really helps to suck moisture into my skin and keep it there.

Soothing Moisture Mask – R230 for 50ml

My absolute go to if I ever need a mask to sooth irritated skin.  This is a godsend when you’ve managed to get too much sun on your face (tsk tsk naughty you!) and when I’ve had a bit of a reaction to a product, I slathered a thick layer of this on and left it to soak in for a good 30 minutes.  I’ve left it on for 5 minutes for a quick boost of hydration before applying makeup, for 10-15 minutes after applying a clay mask (purifying and hydrating with some multi-masking) and when my skin has been very dehydrated and red I’ve even used it as a night cream over my serum.

This is the picture of my empty tube – I’ve just finished it up and am off to go and buy another.  I don’t even want to try out a different moisture mask, when this one is just such a gem for me.

Have you tried out any Avène products?  Were they these and did you love them as much, or did you have differing opinions?  Or were they other products you’d like to recommend to me and others?