Cleansing Day and Night!

I learned, quite late in life, that the key to good skin is not the moisturiser, or the toner, but the first step – the cleanser.

So, I’ve collated (thanks very much to everyone who gifted me a cleanser for this piece) ten cleansers to try – all different formulas, some for day, some for night, and different price points.

There are SO many cleansers to choose from, it’s difficult to know what formula is right, and it depends on opersonal preference. I like something that takes off everything – so I have tried to include more than a few of those in this ten. Let’s have a look.

1. Sesderma Sensyses Classic Cleanser, £10.90, sesderma.co.uk

You push the top of this down with your cotton pad, then cleanse away. It will take off all makeup, clean and tone the skin, and it’s great for sensitive skin, or skin that has had aggressive medical or cosmetic treatments and procedures, acne-prone skin, soap-intolerant skin. It contains soybean and panthenol, and it smells  lovely. it works a treat too, and is so easy to use.

2. Emma Hardie Moringa Lighty Cleansing gel, £34, Marks and Spencer

To celebrate the brand’s 10th birthday, Emma Hardie has launched a new cleanser, following on from the award-winning Moringa Cleansing Baln, which has always been a big faveourite of mine. This is  light cleansing gel and a new addition to my in-shower routine every morning, It’s perfeect for men, oily, young skins, and although I tend to avoid foaming or gel cleansers, it’s not drying, or stripping at all. It smells delicious, and contains all sorts of goodies – moringa, grapeseed, sweet almond oil, omega 6, vitamin E, sea fennel extract, and moringa seed peptides.

3. Cetaphil Gentle Foaming Cleanser, £10.99, Boots, Superdrug.

If you have problems with your skin, then it’s a great brand to try. I have psoriasis, and I do have to be careful what I use on my hands. I also have rosacea, and this cleanser is perfect for a morning wash – it won’t block pores, it’s really gentle, it doesn’t have any added fragrance, and it does remove makeup well. It’s a bit no-frills, but it is gentle on the skin.

4. Time Bomb Peace & Quiet Coconut Oil Cleanser, £25, timebombco.com, QVC

I have to say I used this once, and it had a bit of a chemical smell about it. It diodn’t mix well with the coconut. But the cleanser did work well, taking everything off, including the new Clarins mascara which is very stubborn! It contains grape seed, sunflower, safflower and coconut oils, and it’s easy to use. Apply,m massage in, add a little water, and wash or wipe off with a wet cotton pad.

5. Stripped Skincare Lavender Eye Makeup Remover, £8, and Calendula and Mandarin Hot Cloth Cleanser, £15, strippedskincare.co.uk 

The hot cloth cleanser sounds fantasric, and as an oil formula it promises to remove everything. I tried the eye makeup remover, and it is gret. Really great. Just apply the cleanser direct, then remove with a damp cotton pad. It is vegan, and it take off the deepest of black mascara!

6. Lush 9-5 Cleanser, £10.95

I cannot praise this highly enough. It takes everything off, it’s SUPER easy to use, and it feels so soft. That’s thanks to the almond oil in it. It also has fresh dove orchids in there for a calming infusion, and ylang ylang, to give it a lovely floral smell. Apply it to a pad, and wipe away. I’m 100 per cent converted!

7. NEOM Organics Perfect Night’s Sleep Cleansing Balm, £28, neomorganics.com I am in LOVE with this product. It is fantastic. If you cleanse with this in the evening, you don’t even need a night cream. it’s that nourishing. It has a light exfoliation effect, and I am pretty positive it got rid of an errant blachead on my cheek after using it for a few weeks. It’s not chea, but it is a fantasic product. It contains almond oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, rose, cherry blossom, elderflower extract, oils rich in vitamins A,B,C,E and F and only 100 per cent natural fragrance. It smells so good.

8. The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter, £10

Such good value, this is anther brilliant cleansing butter for the evening routine.It takes off every last bit of makeup and dirt, and is suitable for sensitive skin. It contains camomile extract from Norfolk, and I also just loved sticking my fingers in the virgin tub of it! Apply to a dry face, then apply water and rinse off. or just use a wetcloth, or wet makeup removing pads. It has a super-summery scent as well.
9.Frances Prescott TRI-BALM, £46, francesprescott.com

I’ve tried this before, and it’s such a great, luxury product. It’s a cleanser, exfoliator, and moisturiser, and it all comes in one solid stick balm, You apply it to the face, and then you can either tissue it off, cotton pad it off, or wash it off. I like to use it in the morning – rub the stick over my face, before getting in the shower. It’s a wee bit awkward on eyemakeup, but it does remove it. It contains staflower oil and oats, pumpkin seeds enzymes, and hyaluronic acid, as well as vitamin E and blackcurrant.

10. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Micro Cleansing Balm, £36

Another one for the luxury lovers, and this is not too dissimilar to The Body Shop balm. I first tried it on counter, and I was impressed. It struggled a wee bit with my Clarins mascara, though, which is a wee bit disappointing, but I think I was rushing it. Apply it to dry skin, and watch it melt into a silky cleansing oil. Then, add water, and it transofrms again to a milky emulsion that rinses away. It takes everything off, and it contains safflower oil. It has a new scent of lavender and chamomile, which is very subtle and relaxing.

 * All the products in this post were gifted to me for the purposes of review.