Current Skincare | Cleansers #10

Wow, I can’t believe this is the tenth instalment in this series! It’s always nice to look back at what I had in my stash and what I thought of each product. The first cleanser I want to talk about today is no stranger to my blog or this series either! 

 

The Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm RRP £52 is probably one of my favourite cleansers and one of my most repurchased skincare items! It is just a 5-star experience from start to finish in my opinion! It has the most uplifting, citrus scent that is not overpowering and doesn’t make my eyes water and the balm itself is so luxurious, it melts easily on touch, a little goes a long way and it spreads like a dream. It feels hydrating and balancing and removes heavy makeup with ease. The pot comes with a little spatula, so is hygienic, as well as a lovely thick, soft cleansing cloth! It’s pricey at £52 but I have never paid full price and always order this when it’s on offer at Look Fantastic though it is well worth the money!

 

Next up, is the semi-recently reformulated Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm RRP $52 CAD | £38*. Now, I had only ever used a mini of the original formulation of this cleanser and I remember enjoying it but I can’t compare the two however I love this formula! As well as this version, it also comes in a fragrance-free form for those with super sensitive skin! I love the scent of the classic one – lime, bergamot and orange – it’s so fresh! The balm has a stiffer formula than the Emma Hardie but melts easily one you start massaging into the skin and transforms into a milky lather when you add water. It’s rich in antioxidants and contains sunflower oil and papaya extract to nourish skin and target impurities leaving my skin soft and hydrated. It removes my makeup without leaving any residue behind and I can’t fault it!

 

Lastly for my PM or first cleanse is the Pixi EOD Cleansing Oil RRP $23 CAD | £14*. This is the most affordable cleanser in my current collection and works just as well as the previous two! It feels a little less luxurious to me as it’s fragrance free but this will suit sensitive skins no doubt! It’s plant based and contains argan oil and soy bean oil and I have no issues with this removing makeup and SPF effectively. My skin is left feeling soft and hydrated and the only negative I would say is that sometimes I find the packaging can be a little messy around the cap so I tend not to take it travelling with me and I would prefer a pump! I think Pixi is such an underrated skincare and makeup brand, I love the majority of the products I have tried!

 

Sticking with the green theme and the Celimax Noni Acne Cleanser RRP $24.89 CAD* is the newest cleanser to my stash. While not currently experiencing acne (touch wood), after using for a couple of months now, it’s found a firm place in my routine as a morning or second cleanse on days when I have a few breakouts. It contains glycerin, salicylic acid, willow bark extract and centella asiatica so gently removes dead skin cells and soothes skin. It has a fresh, herbal mint scent and despite being a foaming cleanser, doesn’t strip my skin at all, it leaves it feeling soft and balanced! Use my code DANIELLESBB5 for up to 5% off at YESSTYLE!

 

Rounding off the morning and second cleansers are a duo from Farmacy. The Farmacy Green Clean Whipped Foaming Cleanser RRP $44 CAD | £31* is a pH balanced, oil free, foaming extra deep cleanse that draws out oil, dirt, and impurities caused by pollution. It contains moringa, green clay and papaya enzymes so nourishes while absorbing oil and doesn’t strip my skin barrier. I have been loving this throughout the summer when my combo skin leans oily! It smells so fresh and transforms into a light lather with water, doesn’t dry out my skin and makes it feel so clean!

 

Lastly, the Farmacy Green Clean Gentle Creamy Cleanser RRP $44 CAD | £31* and this one is great for drier and more sensitive skins! It’s fragrance free, also contains moringa as well as oats and Vitamin F to sooth and nourish the skin. This feels a touch creamier than the foaming cleanser and I reach for it especially when my skin is feeling in any way sensitised!

 

None of these cleansers irritate my eyes but I do always use the Nivea Double Effect Waterproof Eye Make Up Remover RRP £10.99 CAD | £3.89 to take of my eye makeup before cleansing with one of these!

 

Have you tried any of these cleansers before? What cleansers are you currently using? Like I said, I now have ten instalments of this series on my blog so I won’t go through all of them but here are the most recent three if you want more cleanser reviews!

Current Cleansers #9

Current Cleansers #8

Current Cleansers #7

 

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me.

All opinions are my own. Affiliate links used.

See my full disclosure here.

 

Danielle xx

 

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Current Skincare | Cleansers #9

It’s almost been a year since my last instalment and I’m finished most of these of very near to finishing, so, before I add some newbies into rotation, here’s my current cleanser stash! 

 

Starting with my makeup removers and first cleansers and the Alpha H Melting Moment Cleansing Balm RRP £39.99 | $64 CAD. This feels more lightweight to me than the Emma Hardie Moringa Balm Cleanser but is just as effective at removing my makeup and also has a beautiful fresh citrus scent! It’s antioxidant rich and anti-inflammatory and left my skin soft, cleansed and hydrated! Feels and smells luxurious and spreads easily so a little goes a long way!

 

The Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Cleansing Balm RRP £29 | $29 USD is another great cleanser that I thoroughly enjoyed! A little less on the luxurious side as there is no scent and a little more travel friendly and hygienic with its squeeze bottle, this one also made light work of removing makeup! It contains omegas 3, 6 and 9 and felt gentle and hydrating!

 

Moving onto my morning and second cleansers now and unfortunately, the Byoma Creamy Jelly Cleanser RRP £9.99 | $17.99 CAD is not my favourite of the bunch. I find this irritates my eyes quite regularly so I don’t reach for it and will probably pass it onto a friend. It contains ceramides to nourish and there is a good lather which cleanses my skin well without leaving it feeling tight but I can’t get past the eye stinging! 

 

The mini Youth to the People Superfood Cleanser RRP £15 | $20 CAD is cute but slow to get the product out! This is an antioxidant packed gel to foam cleanser. Even though it’s targeted towards acne prone and oily skin, this works well to leave my skin feeling cleansed and doesn’t make it feel dry or stripped!

 

I got the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Cleansing Gelee RRP £12 | $45 CAD in a set at Christmas and immediately opened it! This is another gel to foam cleanser with amino acids to support the skin barrier. I really enjoy what I have tried from the Advanced Night Repair range and this is no exception, my skin feels soft, balanced and clean!

 

Lastly, the Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser RRP £22 | $38 CAD was another great gel to foam cleanser. It contains squalane so kept my skin hydrated and supple and feeling clean without drying it out!

 

I’ve enjoyed all of these apart from the Byoma which I was a little disappointed with due to the eye irritation! The Alpha H and Paula’s Choice aren’t quite up there with my favourite Emma Hardie cleanser but I would repurchase both! Out of the last three, the Kiehl’s is probably my favourite based on feel as well as price!

 

Have you tried any of these? What cleanser are you using at the minute?

 

All opinions are my own. Affiliate links used.

See my full disclosure here.

 

Danielle xx

 

If you want to keep up to date with my posts, don’t forget to follow me on

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Current Skincare | Cleansers #8

I’m so overdue one of these posts I have already finished three of these cleansers since I took the picture months ago! Two of them will be in my next empties post but one has already been and gone so let’s start with that one and my first or evening cleansers! 

 

 

The e.l.f skin Holy Hydration Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm RRP $14 CAD | £11 is a balm that quickly melts into an oil then, if you add water, a milky emulsion, to remove makeup effectively! It contains sunflower seed oil, hyaluronic acid, ceramides and peptides so my skin felt soft and hydrated during and after use and the scent is not overpowering at all! It’s a super affordable option that comes in plastic packaging (great for travelling!) and works so well and it’s made me want to try more from the Holy Hydration range! This also featured in my Best Beauty Discoveries of 2023!

 

A little more on the luxurious side is the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm RRP £38 which comes in glass packaging and has a richer texture as well as a beautiful citrus scent. It contains plant oils, olive oil and grapeseed oil as well as persimmon and Vitamin E. I don’t feel like I need to use as much of this to cleanse and like I said, it does feel more luxurious! It removes makeup easily and leaves my skin feeling nourished and clean!

 

The Paula’s Choice Optimal Results Hydrating Cleanser RRP £26 | $23 USD is a little more of a hybrid first cleanse and second cleanser! It’s a cream formula containing green tea extract, glycerin and chamomile flower extract. Despite being so gentle, this removed makeup well (I always use a facecloth to remove) as well as working nicely in the morning for me, keeping my skin hydrated before my next skincare steps!

 

Moving onto the rest of my second cleanse and morning cleansers we have the Pixi Skintreats Clarity Cleanser RRP £18*, a gel like cleanser containing salicylic, lactic and glycolic acids to exfoliate skin and help minimise breakouts. Despite containing so many AHA’s and BHA’s this feels gentle and doesn’t strip my skin. I reach for it regularly but especially round my time of the month when I am more prone to a few breakouts and it works well to help keep them under control!

 

The Isntree Yam Root Vegan Milk Cleanser RRP $28.99 CAD* is another lovely gentle option! This one contains sunflower seed oil, glycerin and oat extract. It has a milky consistency like the name would suggest and kept my skin feeling hydrated and calm!

 

Finally, I have the Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel RRP £42* and I am shocked to see this has increased in price by £9 since I reviewed it here 4 years ago! Despite that, this is a great option, it contains lavender to soothe and it feels gentle to use. It lathers up well despite being soap free and my skin always feels clean and balanced after use.

 

I’m ready to open a few more cleansers now so I’ll hopefully have another round of this series soon! Let me know what cleansers you are using up at the minute!

 

See my last installment featuring Biotherm, Murad, Dermalogica and dear, Klairs here!

 

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me.

All opinions are my own. Affiliate links used.

See my full disclosure here.

 

Danielle xx

 

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Skincare Review | Blue Beauty with Biotherm

 

I’m back today with a one brand review of Biotherm and some products I was sent that I’m either finished or very nearly finished! To give a little history of the brand, it was founded in 1952 and is a division of L’Oréal. Their hero product is life plankton, a microorganism found in the French Pyrenees that contains 35 nutrients to deliver intense regenerating hydration for visibly soothed and soft skin. It is 100% natural, biodegradable and renewable and works to balance, firm, provide antioxidants, smooth and refine the skin. Biotherm’s focus is on hydration and they are committed to using more renewable ingredients, creating more formulas that respect the oceans, developing more sustainable designs and empowering a global community of water lovers.

 

Starting off with the Biotherm Cera Cream to Foam Cleanser RRP $38 CAD* and I’ve always been a bit wary of foaming cleansers so honestly expected this to dry my skin out as it really does lather up more than any other cleanser I have tried before! It’s a vegan formula that is soap free and contains bioceramides, niacinamide and life plankton. It left my skin feeling squeaky clean, hydrated and soft and never felt dry or tight. I also love the scent though I know some people don’t like added scent but this is fresh like the ocean! The packaging is also made from 24% recycled plastic packaging and the formula is 99% biodegradable.

 

The Biotherm Life Plankton Elixir RRP $107 CAD / £69* is a beautiful hydrating and soothing serum that contains glycerin, life plankton and Vitamin C. It’s also scented and I am obsessed with the smell – it’s so fresh and “blue” and it really adds to the experience for me. This makes my skin feel hydrated and supported and it looks brighter and feels smoother! I notice my fine lines less and I love the packaging too, the dropper has a chrome look, it just feels so luxe!  

 

The Biotherm Cera Repair Barrier Cream RRP $65 CAD / £58* was a dream to use! I loved this as my daytime moisturiser as it sat so well under my makeup and kept my skin hydrated all day. That will be thanks to the ceramides as well as the life plankton! The formula felt thick yet sank in straight away and worked overtime on drier patches around my nose, repairing my barrier. My skin felt soft, soothed and well supported and I abandoned all my other day creams for this as I loved it so much! 

 

Moving onto a couple of retinol products now and the Blue Retinol Night Serum RRP $99 CAD / £75* contains 0.25% retinol as well as life plankton, glycerin, HA and niacinamide. This has worked well to smooth and even my skin tone while targeting fine lines and I use it 2-3 times a week. The formula is creamy and doesn’t cause any sensitivity or peeling for me! 

 

Also at night, I loved the Biotherm Blue Pro-Retinol Multi Correct Cream RRP $103 CAD / £72*. It’s a rich overnight cream containing pre-retinol, life plankton and niacinamide that smoothed my skin leaving it plump the next morning and making fine lines less visible. It felt so luxurious and hydrating and I used this on nights I also used the serum as well as nights I didn’t! I’m not sure what percentage retinol this equates to and I can’t find it online but my skin drank it up and I am missing it from my routine now it's finished!

 

Read more about the Life Plankton Elixir, Retinol Night Serum and Pro-Retinol Multi Correct Cream which made it into my Best Skincare Discoveries of 2023! The products are pricey but I have really enjoyed using them and they are regularly on sale (there is a sale on their website right now for Lunar New Year!). 

 

Biotherm products are available to buy from their website and Shoppers Drug Mart in Candada and Look Fantastic in the UK! Have you tried the brand?

 

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me.

All opinions are my own. Affiliate links used.

See my full disclosure here.

 

Danielle xx

 

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Current Skincare | Cleansers #7

It’s been quite a while since I’ve done a roundup of the cleansers in my current skincare rotation so here’s what on my bathroom counter right now!

 

Starting with my evening or first cleanse, I have the cult classic Dermalogica Precleanse RRP £49*. This is my second bottle of this (see my original review here) and I got on a lot better this time round! It feels luxurious and has a citrus scent but while I found this too strong near my eyes last time, I didn’t experience it this time round! I will preface that by saying I always use the Nivea Express Waterproof eye makeup remover so I don’t tend to rub this over my eyes anyway but I had no stinging and I got very close! I tend to wash off with a facecloth but you can add water to turn this into a milky emulsion to cleanse further! I was shocked to see this has gone up almost £10 from my original review in 2019 and while this is on the more expensive side it has lasted me a long time as the oil spreads easily meaning you don’t need a lot so it’s worth the investment if you want a treat! It contains Vitamin E and Rice Bran Extract to moisturize and soften skin, Kukui Nut Oil and Borage Seed Oil as well as skin-barrier-supportive omega-3 fatty acids and Apricot Kernel Oil which nourishes and soothes irritated skin.

 

Dear, Klairs Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil RRP $30 CAD is my other current PM cleanser and I have been loving it! More affordable than the Dermalogica Precleanse but feels just as luxurious though this one has no scent. It contains black sesame oil, blackcurrant seed oil and jojoba seed oil which are antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and moisturising! It spreads easily, removes makeup with ease, emulsifies, doesn’t sting my eyes and leaves my skin feeling clean and hydrated with no film left behind!

 

Moving onto my AM and second cleansers now and the Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser RRP £43* made it into my best beauty discoveries of 2022! It contains salicylic, lactic and glycolic acids as well as physical exfoliants in the form of biodegradable jojoba beads. I use this 2-3 times a week when I want a really good exfoliation as it helps the rest of my skincare absorb and it gives me a good base for the rest of my skincare and makeup application! Despite feeling “scrubby” it doesn’t feel harsh or make my skin red or dry.

 

Similarly, the Burt’s Bees Refining Cleanser RRP $16.99 CAD* is also on the scrubby side of things. This cleanser is part of their bakuchiol skin renewal line and as well as bakuchiol, contains vitamin E to moisturise and natural exfoliators to smooth and refine skin. This one feels a touch more gentle than the Murad so could be used every day and is effective at cleansing my skin and leaving it well prepped for my next steps!

 

The Biotherm Cera Cleanser Cream to Foam RRP $38 CAD* took me a while to get used to but has become a favourite. It lathers up more than any other cleanser I think I have tried before and leaves me with a “squeaky” clean feeling. I shouldn’t really have been surprised – the clue is in the name - cream to foam! It is soap free and contains bioceramides, niacinamide and life plankton and while leave my skin feeling squeaky clean and soft, it never feels dry or tight. I haven’t been using much niacinamide in my routine recently but I like having it in the cleanser for brightening. I also love the scent though I know some people don’t like added scent! This is fresh like the ocean!

 

Finally, I have the Versed Wash it Out Gel Cleanser RRP $17.99 USD* which is a lightweight gel containing rosewater, seaweed extract and ceramides. It doesn’t lather up as much as the Biotherm but still makes my skin feel cleansed and soft. It does have a strong scent of mint however this doesn’t make my eyes steam at all! It feels the most basic of all the cleansers here but my skin has been enjoying it! I am wondering if it has been reformulated recently as the latest ingredients don’t say anything about mint oil but mine does so bear that in mind!

 

I can’t believe this is the seventh post in this series! I won’t link to all the previous ones but you can find #6 featuring NIOD, The Ordinary and Dermalogica here and #5 featuring Venn, Inkey List and Emma Hardie here!

 

What cleansers are you using at the minute? Have you tried any I have mentioned?

 

*denotes a PR sample that was sent to me.

All opinions are my own. Affiliate links used.

See my full disclosure here.

 

Danielle xx

 

If you want to keep up to date with my posts, don’t forget to follow me on

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