Sooooo a few months ago I touched down in London Town and my bank account took much of the impact. Me and my friend had a browse around Selfridges, then we headed over to Burger and Lobster and I'm blaming the Sauvignon Blanc for my lack of restraint when browsing around Liberty, Whistles and Space NK - speaking of the latter, this is what this post is concerning.
So I went into Space NK with the intention of either purchasing Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel or Emma Hardie Amazing Face Natural Lift and Sculpt Moringa Cleansing Balm and I came out with neither. I got chatting to the lovely lady and she was super helpful and really really sweet - she continued to tell me Oskia wouldn't be the best product to remove my makeup, if I wanted to buy this it should be used solely has a cleanser not for makeup removal. So in the midst of our conversation she suggested I use Algenist Genius Ultimate Anti-Aging Melting Cleanser.
And long story short, she sold it to me, I walked out the new owner of a product I'd done no research on and that I'd never heard of the brand before (see the blame was placed well when blaming the wine.) I think the key selling point was the technology behind it and the fact she told me Caroline Hirons loved one of the other products and anything Caroline gives a thumbs up too, i'll definitely try.
I'll start my opinions with the packaging ... it's nothing fancy; a simple tube concoction, it makes for squeezing the product out simple and effective. It stands alone which is great, even when I'm clumsily placing it back down one-handed, amidst washing my face. There is no dripping, so no product is wasted - as far as tubes go, it does the job.
The cleanser its self, as I said before I was sold on the "technology" behind it. Basically there's 3 stages to this cleasner; you squeeze it out as a gel and rub onto dry skin. It then melts into an oil once its been activated and you continue to rub/ massage into your skin. I then grab my flannel and run it under the hot water tap, squeeze the excess water out and wipe accordingly against my face and once the water reaches the product it turns from an oil into a milk. You can leave it at this stage or repeat which I tend to always do on days when I'm wearing makeup (which isn't everyday as I'm not much of a morning person and my alarm does get snoozed quite a lot.) It does feel beautiful on my face, it melts into the skin and it does feel luxurious. I find it takes my heavy duty makeup off really well and it makes my skin feel super-duper clean.
The cleanser hasn't made me break out, I would say my skin is no better nor worse for using and it does smells gorgeous. However it instantly made my skin feel tight, which after a few uses led to dryness. Now this is combated by my recent beauty purchases Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex 2 and Clinique's Moisture Surge Intense Skin Fortifying Hydrator Gel-creme Hydratant Fortifiant. But I've always had quite oily skin, so dryness is something I have never had to deal with and I'm not taking it as a good sign - as ultimately the product is stripping my skin.
I would be concerned for anyone with dry skin using this and would not advise it. I'm surprised with this outcome as it seems so nourishing, there are no foaming elements to the product. So it makes me think the 3 stage process is a bit of a gimmick and unfortunately I wont be purchasing this again. If it wasn't for my heavy duty serum and moisturiser I'd dread to think of the state my skin would be in. I'm really disappointed with the product as it had such raving reviews from the girl in Space NK and at £32 it feels like a complete waste of money.
As I said before I feel like the dryness and tightness can be counteracted with a good nourishing products. But my concern lies with the ingredients used within the cleanser, as I imagine they aren't good for your skin - our skin is sensitive and stripping it of its natural oils is never a good thing. I do favour the product for travelling purposes as its lightweight and there's not concern of leaking due to a cheap cap lid, like there is with my Una Brennan oil. And in comparison to my Una Brennan which always leaves an oily residue on the bottle when using, because this product comes out as a gel there is no oily transfer, which is great.
Just to confirm I am disappointed with this product and the Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm is definitely going to be my next purchase, But with all beauty products it can be trail and error, so at least I know now. And it just reaffirms when purchasing a new product, do your research, it pays off and means you aren't wasting your money.
This gets a thumbs down from me and my lesson is learnt don't drink and shop!
Frankie
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