Packaging that hinders not helps

La Roche-Posay launched to great fanfare here in the UK a few years ago. This French brand, sold mainly in chemists,  is well priced and does the job superbly. Its sun protection comes highly recommended by dermatologists (in fact it was mine who initially recommended the range after he went on a tour to the LRP facility in France and came back an advocate). There’s no hype, just a massive range of hugely effective products covering every skin type under the sun.

But the very size of the collection is part of the problem. When you add in the names of the various ranges, Toleriane, Effaclar, Anthelios, Lipikar, Nutritic, and many more that roll off the tongue, or not, and see how many SKUs there are in each range you get a sense of how complicated the purchase process can be.

However, despite these barriers, I’ve put in the time poring over the product literature – because they’re worth it – and know what suits me.

Yet I, and the wonderful local Churchill’s Chemist, where I re-stock on a regular basis, were stumped when I went in for a bottle of my favourite Physiological Micellar Solution (despite the name, it’s the best cleanser/eye make remover, I have ever tried). Disappointingly, there was none to be seen. Had they discontinued it, was the chemist out of stock? It took us a while to realise that the packaging had subtly changed from a clear bottle to a slightly opaque bottle.

There was no flash on the pack to alert the shopper or retailer to the change. When you consider how similar the products all look in situ – and here are just a few on display (as the image at the top shows)  – you get a sense of how hard it can be to pick the product you want, even one that you use regularly. God know how someone new to the range would fare. As it is, I’ve just restocked before going on holiday, but in my hurry picked up the wrong, but similar looking product.

So while I adore La Roche-Posay, their packaging really isn’t working for me. As a seasoned user, even I need sign posts to guide me through the range and make sure I’m buying the product I want to buy.

PS I’m a real advocate of local shopping and Churchill’s Chemist is brilliant. They are the sort of place that humours product junkies like me who go in with ripped-out product recommendations from the Sunday Times Style magazine ,and offer to order them in without me even asking!