Lou's Reviews :: Battle of the Cleansers

Aloha Bloggerinos,

For the past few months, I have become somewhat obsessed with skin care. In my quest for beautiful skin, I have tried a few different cleansers/makeup removers and I thought I'd share my thoughts with you. I have actually already made my YouTube video on this, which you can see HERE.

 

Way back when in about November, I was given a little sample of a Lush Cleanser called 9 to 5, which claims to 'clean the skin thoroughly with a mild antibacterial action'. I totally used all the sample (I don't always do this if I'm not enthused. I was also given an 'UltraBland' sample but didn't really warm to it) and wanted more! Soooo, in the boxing day sale, I bought a bottle for half the original price. I was going to link you to Lush and tell you the rrp but as you may well know, the site has been hacked and is temporarily shut. I *THINK* 9 to 5 Cleanser is around the £6-7 mark for a smaller bottle.

Seeing as 9 to 5 is infused with orchid oil and everlasting flower, it really does have the most soothing yummy effect on the skin.

To achieve this I wet a piece of cotton wool pleat, squish it down so it's damp, not soaking, squib on some cleanser (yes, squid) and gently rub onto my face. A lot of makeup comes off with this step, but then I take another damp cotton wool pleat with no cleanser on and rinse. I can't describe the soothingness, but it feels really calming.

It's great for taking skin makeup off but I found it struggled with my eye makeup. I think if you are a gal that only wears a light dusting of eyeshadow and a slick of mascara, you might be ok, but for my primer, shadow, eyeliner and looooadddsa mascara'd kind of eyes, it's no match. Sad times. Because if this flaw, I only use this in the mornings to kind of pep my skin up and to cleanse it of general impurities, not as a makeup remover. Or sometimes, I just use it for a little skin treat :)

As always with Lush, packaging is spot on. Sleek, unique to Lush, enjoyable to have on display in your bathroom and I enjoy that it has a small opening so you can control the flow of product, preventing mess.

In the absense of the UK site, you can check out the Lush USA site HERE.

Next up on my little quest for cleany clean skin is the MAC Pro Eye Makeup Remover which retails at £13.50 for the big 100ml bottle. I was actually sent a sample with a little postal order I made a few months back and had been saving it.

I used it all, so far so good. I had high hopes for this little number, especially since my opinion of a lot of other MAC Products is uber high, but sadly I was a bit let down. It claims to be a 'mega effective remover that lifts off every look', but as with the Lush Cleanser, I found it didn't really remove all my eyemakeup. I will be fair though and say that the sample was really teensy, so I wasn't overly generous with how much I put on the cotton wool pleat, and also I dampened the cotton wool, thus diluting the remover a bit.

I really liked the fragrance of this, not chemically but just pleasantly clean. This is a really winner for me because I am ultra fussy about smells. I also found it left my sensitive skin calm and happy, which isn't always the case with makeup removers.

I won't really go too far into this one as I don't think I had enough to fully give a fair opinion on it but I would say it's OK, but not something I will be buying soon. It works alright, but unlike the Lush 9 to 5, it doesn't make my skin smile.

On a side note, have you tried the makeup wipes from MAC- wowzas I bloomin' love them! I wish I had some of those to review for you because it would be smiles all round :)

You can check it out for yourself HERE.

Last but by no means least, is the hero of the hour. This is the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser Kit- phewf what a mouthfull!

The idea with this is to squirt a little bit of the product (which comes out as a smooth, rich, white cream) onto your fingers, massage into dry skin, then using a wet with warmed/hot water muslin cloth (2 are provided in the kit), remove (or 'polish off') the massaged in cream and it takes away all makeup and impurities.

At first I was quite sceptical about this product. Yes, I too have read a lot about it on other blogs, but I couldn't see how this white creamy stuff would manage to get off all my eyemakeup/how my eyes wouldn't sting after having something massaged into the lashes. I was wrong. Oh so wrong. This is a remover of kings I tell thee.

I could go on all day about this item but I'll try and just keep it short with what I love about it.

It is uber gentle on my skin. I haven't felt tight/dry/irritated, just fresh as a daisy. I think this may well be down to the fact that it is 'plant based'. Winner.

It has a really refreshing scent to it. As I have said a million times before, I am super fussy about fragrances but this just smells really zingy and fresh. It took me about a week to work out it was the eucalyptus. Love it.

In the kit, which retails for £13.25, you get the 100ml bottle, 2 generous sized muslin clothes and a cute pastel green wash bag to keep it in. I was really glad of the 2 clothes because it means you can have one in the wash and still use your cleanser. Top tip- Don't be a fool and put your cloth in with your jeans...unless you like baby blue. Top Fact- I read somewhere tha Kylie Minogue uses muslins to remove her makeup and look at her skin- Flawless!

The packaging is very bathroom friendly. Pastel green, sophisticated and grown up. The bottle has a pump top, preventing wastage and contamination. I only use one or two pumps a night, so hopefully this will last a while.

It removes ALL my makeup!!!!!!!!! Even dark bases like MAC SharkSkin Shadestick can't fight this.

It's pretty fair to say that I am a convert and will buying this over and over, for richer for poorer, til death us do part.

I urge you to have a look at this little wonder, HERE.

Have you tried any of these products or do you have something that you lovity love? Let me know :)

Toodlepip!

xx

Little Disclaimer- Liz Earle Cleanser was sent to me to review, but as I'm not paid by them or anything serious like that, I give you Bloggerinos my honest opinion and thoughts. Woop woop.