If a cleanser needs to be rinsed off (rather than removed with tissue or cotton wool) then it needs to be super-rich and creamy so that your skin doesn't feel too taut and itchy. And of course it's got to do the job of removing make-up and grime as well. Not much to ask! Here are a few that I've found to have just the right detoxing qualities with a touch of luxury:
KORRES
Gentle Foaming Cream Cleanser (£18 - 200ml) has a really lovely fresh orangey smell and glides easily over wet skin, lathering as it goes. Based on the nourishing properties of milk proteins, it has been created to cleanse without stripping the skin. Whether you just use water or you prefer to remove with a muslin cloth, the cleanser is easily removed and leaves your skin feeling smooth and soft. I even found that I didn't need to apply moisturiser the moment I stepped out of the shower.
0870 850 3868
PERRICONE MD
Gentle Cleanser (£31 - 177ml) has a clear gel consistency and a subtle fruity scent, which really kicks in as you add water and gently foams on your skin. Suitable for sensitive or normal skins, the cleanser contains gentle and nourishing olive oil polyphenols and anti-oxidants to calm, firm and hydrate and after using your skin feels soothed as well as properly cleaned.
www.perriconemd.co.uk
REN
Moisture Protect Comfort Plus Cleansing Milk (£18-150ml) is great for those who love a rich, creamy cleanser and at the same time don't want its scent to overpower anything else they'll be wearing. It has no scent at all. It's lovely to use – feeling extremely nourishing, but at the same time effectively removing make-up and grime. Omega 3 fatty acids boost mositure levels of the skin, while polysaccharides from sea grass help to creat a smoother skin surface – so skin feels soft and comfortable after removing the cream with either a cloth or just water.
www.renskincare.com
ELEMIS
Melting Cleansing Gel (£19.40 - 125ml) is a new cleanser from Elemis and initially feels quite thick when it goes onto your face. But with just a little water it massages in beautifully, with no sense of dragging the skin. And as it glides over, the gel turns to a gentle foam which is easy to work in, As always with Elemis products, it's stuffed full of natural, active ingredients (like mineral-rich argan oil and anti-oxidant assai berry) and smells gorgeous.
www.elemis.com and from selected John lewis and Debenhams branches
THIS WORKS
Clean Skin for the Face (£20 - 150ml) is not only luxuriously creamy, it also has that rather particular spa-type smell that I love. That'll be the essential oils that it's packed with – like eucalyptus and petitgrain to help clear blemishes and olive and cocnut oil to lock in mousture. There's also palmerosa to moisturise and rose hip to rejuvenate. My skin is left feeling nourished and smooth as well as clean – and importantly doesn't feel tight and itchy after the product has been rinsed off.
www.thisworks.com and John Lewis
OSKIA
Perfect Cleanser (£38.50 - 150ml) is another unscented product, so ideal for very sensitive skins, and has a thicker consistency than most of the others. But with wet fingers it glides effortlessly over your face and as you add a little more water and massage in it begins to lather, lifting off the dirt as it does so. And thanks to a host of nourishing vitamins, minerals, prebiotics, essential fatty acids and natural emollients in this balm-like cleanser, your face is left feeling deep down clean, soft and brighter.
www.oskiaskincare.com
NUDE
Cleansing Facial Oil (£22 - 100ml) might seem scary to those who feel that the last thing their skin needs is oil, but you have to believe me when I say that this is nothing like smothering yourself in olive oil and hoping for the best. For a start there's a very appealing soft floral scent as the omega-3 and vitamin E-rich oil glides over your face. Then, as you add a little water and massage in, the cleanser takes on a milkiness. There's abolutely no oily residue, just very hydrated-feeling skin. It's also totally ethical, sustainable, carbon neutral and packaged in a shatter-proof, travel-friendly bottle.
www.nudeskincare.com
ORGANIC PHARMACY
Flower Petal Deep Cleanser & Mask (£26.39 - 60g) has made me feel better about using cleansing masks (I usually avoid them, finding them uncomfortable and time-consuming). This is different – you mix a small amount of the oats and milk-based powder in the palm of your hand with a little warm water to make a paste (takes seconds) and the massage it gently into your skin and leave for two minutes (over before you know it). It washes off quickly and easily and you're left with soft, exfoliated and very clean skin thanks to the mix of lavender, chamomile, aloe and rose geranium.
www.theorganicpharmacy.com |
