One of the first things I noticed was the strong scent which seemed quite artificial. I didn’t really mind it, but I think it might be a deal breaker for a lot of people. I also noticed that it tastes gross… then I wondered do I accidentally eat all of my cleansers in the shower and this one just tastes especially bad?
I like the nice packaging (sucker for packaging), and I did like that it lathers quite well (doesn’t foam excessively), and is easy to wash off. Plus it definitely gets all my make up off in the evenings when I use it in the shower, so it made my face feel super clean. My face didn’t feel dry after using it, but only after I’d used quite a bit of moisturiser. I was a bit worried that because it foams it might be slightly drying, so I preferred just using it once a day. ‘Gentle’ isn’t really a word I’d immediately associate with it, but it didn’t seem to strip my skin or make it flake or peel though, so my concerns were probably unfounded.
I didn’t really see a difference in terms of how much acne I had or the texture or brightness of my skin overall, so that was a bit disappointing as I had high expectations.
It is a decent cleanser and doesn’t really do anything ‘wrong’, but I think I was just expecting more from this product after all of its claims. For the price, there are plenty of other products that work as well if not better. I think I’ll bring this product back out in Summer when my skin’s a little less prone to naturally drying out.
I'm always a bit skeptical when something claims to eliminate excess sebum, simply because in my experience it's never really worked. Though I must say this product was pleasantly surprising - I found that my skin remained relatively matte throughout the day, especially on my nose.
Gel cleansers are my go to typically, as I find anything else is not as effective on me. Foaming cleansers dry my skin out and aren't great for makeup removal, likewise cream cleansers are great for makeup removal on me and they tend to make my skin oilier. So the concept of a cleanser that was both a gel and foaming one at that was quite intriguing. My past experience with foaming cleansers did leave me with somewhat low expectations, but this product ticked all the boxes for what I look for in a cleanser.
• it smelt nice - it has a faint scent which is quite sweet smelling. I can't quite pinpoint the exact smell. • you can be frugal with it - a little does go along way with this and even though it's a decent sized product, for someone like me who cleanses twice when washing their face (2 cleanses twice a day = 4), this quickly adds up. So knowing a product is going to last makes it worthwhile. • aesthetically pleasing - the packaging isn't anything groundbreaking, but it's simple yet eye catching, especially the shade of blue used. It's also opaque at the top and gradually becomes transparent which is real handy in being able to see how much is left in the tube. • affordable - even though I was sent this as a trial product, I'd happily repurchase. It's RRP at $27.99 and it may seem hefty at first, but it's a 200ml product that even with frequent use, will still last a decent amount of time. I've used mine religiously for almost 2 weeks now (that's 54 washes) and have only used about 2 centimetres of product. • effectiveness - initially there were some breakouts, which is to be expected when trying something new and your skin needs to adjust. Since then, I've noticed that my skin stays matte for at least 12 hours, with my usual products I'm shiny by lunch. My skin is also smoother and I have noticed a difference in texture - legitimately my skin has never felt softer. I also have issues with hyperpigmentation and some mild acne scarring and I've seen that these aren't as noticeable, so I hope that over a long period of time they will fade. • gentle on my skin - like aforementioned, I've not had great results with foaming cleansers, so the fact that this didn't dry my skin out and made my skin feel parched was a plus. I have a VERY dry patch of skin on my left eye that haunts me persistently and I didn't find this aggravated it or accentuated it at all.
Although 2 weeks isn't an awfully long time to devote to a product before giving an opinion, I'd gladly say that within this 2 weeks that this product had proved it's potential and worth. I'd be more than willing to add this to my daily regime and can definitely see this becoming a go to product.
Tips: You don't need too much product at all, a pea size amount will suffice.