Two Cleansers: L'Oreal and RosehipPlus

I have (or rather had) a stack of empties and I suspect my other half had no idea how many of the containers taking over the cupboards and drawers were actually empty. Otherwise I'd have been in a lot more trouble than the usual grumbling about how many products I have! :D 

So let's get started working through these empties.

Today - two cleansers.

1. L'Oreal Revitalift Milky Cleansing Foam (purchased on sale from Priceline quite a while ago now). Revitalift is L'Oreal's anti-ageing range, designed for 40+ year old skin. I've commented elsewhere that I often find cheaper cleansers drying, but the fact that the tube shouts 'glycerin' comforted me (LHA - beta-lipohydroxy acid - is supposedly fab for treating acne ... which doesn't really make sense for a product aimed at 40+ year olds ... although it looks like it works by removing dead skin cells so maybe that's the idea here - sloughs away the wrinkles! ;) ).

It's a white cream which foams up a little when you add water. It left my skin feeling clean, but slightly tight ... and after some consistent use it was drying. I ended up barely using it and then binning the (probably reasonably substantial) remainder.

Would I buy it again? Possibly a moot point as it no longer appears on either the Priceline site or the L'Oreal Australia site - but no.

2. RosehipPlus Daily Cream Cleanser. At one point I won a fair few RosehipPlus products (thanks to both RosehipPlus and The Beauty Collection AND A Bella Adventure). I've loved them all and because I've ended up with a few duplicates I've been able to share the love with some friends, who've loved them too.

The daily cream cleanser is beautiful - pearly, lightly foaming and completely non-drying (on my skin, at least!). My skin always felt clean but really soft and hydrated. It has a lovely subtle rose scent and my only complaint was that over time this did fade and eventually turn into the sort of scent that unscented products sometimes have (does that make sense?!). I used most of it but did bin the last little bit - it was getting hard to get out and I didn't like the smell.

It's first ingredient is (organic) aloe juice, followed by cetyl alcohol, chamomile extract and coconut oil. Don't be freaked out by the 'cetyl alcohol' - it's not 'alcohol' like ethyl alcohol (ethanol) is. It's actually a fatty alcohol which is used to thicken, to aid with foaming and to prevent emulsions (like aloe juice and coconut oil) from separating.

Would I buy it again? Absolutely. A bargain at $16.95 (even more so if you spot it on sale!). A bonus is that the company is Sydney-based, family owned and operated AND the products are made in Australia. You can buy online and the RosehipPlus website also has an excellent stockist locator (there are tons in metro SA).

So there you go - two very different cleaners - one of which demonstrates you don't need to spend a lot of money on a great product!

TRANSFORMULAS Miracle Daily Glycol Cleanser

 I picked up this Transformulas cleanser at Priceline when on sale. It was one of those brain fade moments. I had ZERO need of a cleanser but only realised that after I'd got it home, unwrapped it and had a go using it.

This product shows how much of a sucker I am for clever wording. Miracle? Yes please! Glycol? Sounds like it includes glycolic acid and will smooth out my skin.

Woot all round.

And then I used it. It's really pretty - pale blue, pearlescent and you need only the tiniest amount (seriously, it lasts FOREVER) - it foams up really easily. It's not heavily scented which makes me happy.

But wow - my skin was feeling a little tight, a little dry after using it. So that's when I read the ingredients. Maybe one day I'll read ingredients lists before purchase ... still waiting for that to happen though.

Obviously the first ingredient is water and next ... sodium laureth sulphate. For crying out loud - it's a detergent and surfactant (so that's why it foams up so nicely) and it's a cheap one at that! It's basically like soap. For sure, it cleans but I know from past experience with very cheap cleansers, it has the potential to dry out my skin like nobody's business.

Next up on the ingredients list is sodium cocoamphoacetate - more surfactant, foam-boosting goodness (ahem) here but derived from coconut oil and recognised as gentler.

Fortunately for me, glycerin is fourth and I know how well my skin gets along with it. This meant that I was actually able to use this cleanser once a day and not have it knacker my skin. Every now and then I'd get a small patch of dry skin but nothing serious.

This isn't a cheap cleanser - normal price is $35 for 100mL. It does last for a long time so you do get good bang for buck, and, as it's stocked by Priceline, you will be able to pick it up on sale (as I write it's discounted by 30%).

As always - your mileage may well vary. My skin seems to be quite sensitive to drying out and Barbe over at Fashionista in Suburbia tried out a range of Transformulas products and really liked this cleanser.

Would I buy it again? No, but I would consider other products in the range.

I'm adding this post to Ingrid's Monday Madness Makeup Link.

Innoxa Organic Gentle Cleansing Gel

 

I may have mentioned before that I can sometimes struggle with cheaper face washes. I find that they can dry out my skin horribly - especially those that are also exfoliators. I'll never the forget the time Andy and I went away for a couple of days and I either forgot my face wash or thought I'd use his. BIG MISTAKE. Whatever cheap product works for your significant other may not work for you. My skin dried out after using it for just two days.

For a while I spent the money on high end face washes. But these days I'm always on the lookout for something cheap and skin friendly to use in between the samples of fancy face wash I get from my mum!

I actually won this Innoxa Organic Gentle Cleansing Gel from Innoxa (thanks!) but it retails for $15 and you can grab it at Priceline.

As it's a gel, it's clear. It has a pale greenish tinge to it and it's neutrally scented (note - neutral does NOT mean it smells disgusting!). You only need to use a tiny amount - pea sized or less even so this makes it great value for money. It doesn't foam up a lot but it certainly does a good job of cleansing without drying out your skin. My skin felt clean after using it but not that horrible, drying 'squeaky clean' feel.

I used the whole lot without my skin drying out, so it definitely gets a thumbs up from me.

In terms of ingredients, it's an interesting read. The main ingredient is organic aloe juice followed by glycerin - so that's why it doesn't foam up at a great rate of knots (seriously, I have seen cleansers where sodium laureth sulphate - SLS - is the FIRST ingredient). It's not until ingredient three that we see decyl glucoside listed. This is the surfactant (the ingredient that does the foaming) - and it's a completely different beast to SLS. Not only is its manufacture renewable and plant based, a big feature is that it doesn't cause dryness. So, if like me, you find cleansers can dry out your skin, keep an eye out for it in the ingredients list!

After these three, there are lots of plant derived ingredients. The free-from list is almost as lengthy - for example, it's free from parabens, mineral oils, silicones, petrochemicals and sulphates.

This cleansing gel definitely goes on my repeat purchase list. If you're looking for something gentle and effective, I'd recommend giving it a go.

I'm including this post in Ingrid's weekly roundup of beauty posts. Thank you to everyone who commented last time and hopefully soon I will work out how to actually reply to comments rather than just add to them!