Esse gel cleanser

I honestly do not know why I write so many reviews for cleansers.  I think cleansers are the least exciting part of skin care.  I would be happy with plain old soap.  That said:  Here is a review for another cleanser.

I should start this review by saying that I am definitely not Esse’s target market.  I do not care so much about natural and organic.  I want a product that does a good job for a fair price.  It need not be green; I can do the planet much more good by cutting down on my beef eating and car driving than using green skin care products.  At the same time I believe that government regulations will protect me from really harmful ingredients, so I do not worry so much about organic products either. 

I am definitely not the Esse market.  If this is your thing, Esse is certified organic, animal cruelty free and support Fair trade Africa.  Go to their  website to see their delightful brochure explaining it all.

I used the gel cleanser.  It contains peppermint and spearmint oils.  You can definitely smell and feel these.  The gel has a tingling feeling.  These oils are supposed to refresh (which they certainly do) and improve microcirculation to aid in the elimination of toxins.  The cleanser is pH balanced at 4.5.  According to Esse it is “great as a second cleanse to remove water soluble impurities”.  I have no idea what that means.  Does that mean I am supposed to use another cleanser before I use this?  It is for all skin types. 

I loved using this cleanser.  It smells lovely and is a definite pick me up.  I liked the slightly tingling feeling on my skin.  It is a very thick globby gel, which is nice.  It does not just all run off your hands when you add water.  I needed only a little bit to clean my face and the product lasted long.  I think it did a good job of cleansing my face and did not feel overly drying.  A very nice product, to be recommended.

It costs R150 for 100 ml and R220 for 200 ml. 

You can see a review here   and here. 

PS:  I think I like reviewing cleansers because I have tried cleansers lately that are so different from just plain old soap.  So I found it interesting.

Gatineau Aquamemory Moisture Replenish Cream

This product is AMAZING.  I received a 15 ml sample in a Glambox.  I live in Durban and do not really have a dry skin, so I did not use the cream much, but I liked it.  Then I came to Europe in an amazingly cold spell.   Look how cold it was !!!

 

Yes, I did see snow.

 

This cold was bad for the face.  It dried my skin and I applied moisturiser several times a day.  Gatineau aquamemory coming to the rescue.  The cream has a slight blue tint and an amazing, soft smell.  The cream goes on easily, is not oily, and is almost immediately absorbed in the skin.  It really mositurises.  You can feel the difference.  I will be replacing it when this little sample runs out, and it would be the only thing I used if I lived in the snow.  Living in Durban you could probably get away with other products, but it was not oily and did not add to the oilyness in Durban.  It is thus fine for use here as well. 

 

I could not find any reviews in South Africa.  This is the closest I could get.  The review is for the mask, but it sounds pretty similar.  There are many, many reviews available from outside of South Africa (probably from all those people living in the snow!).  It seems to cost about R440 for a decent sized tub. 

 

On the packaging: 

"This cream is not only a beautiful translucent shade, replete with a subtle floral scent, it's also an incredibly effective humectant with ingredients that maximize your skin's ability to hold on to its own moisture and rebuild your hydro-lipid film.

Pure Hyaluronic acid instantly moisturizes the surface of your skin while brown algae extract reduces the loss of moisture through the top layers of your epidermis. The result is touchably soft and smooth skin that with regular use has a perpetually youthful glow."

Ponds age miracle day cream

I was not a big fan of this cream.  It is very thick, so thick that it felt like it did not penetrate my skin, but simply lay on the surface.  As I have mentioned before, I have no idea how to judge whether creams have anti-aging effects, but I have not seen any improvement using this cream.  The one thing counting in its favour is that it had an SPF of 15.  A lot of the moisturisers I use has no sunblock effects, so this really helped.  It is very affordable, but did not do anything special for my skin.  It costs R129 for 50 ml and is available in Edgars, Foschini, Clicks and Dischem. 

Here and here are some reviews. 

 

 
From the manufacturers: 

Pond's Age Miracle day cream has advanced CLA anti-aging technology that is proven to increase the skin renewal process and stimulate natural collagen production for younger looking skin in just days.

This non-oily and quick-absorbing day cream is specially developed to give the following anti-aging benefits:

·  Expertly fights fine lines and wrinkles

·  Helps visibly reduce the appearance of age spots

·  Protects against age-accelerating UVA/UVB rays

·  Enhances overall skin radiance

Also enriched with vitamin C, Micro Collagen and SPF 15 for effective caring and protection from sun damage.

More hotel toiletries

I have shared by weird fascination with hotel toiletries before.    I got a few new ones since I wrote that post and wanted to share it.

 

The middle ones are from Fordoun.

The body cream was amazing.  It came from the dead sea.  We stayed at a hotel there.  It contains dead sea minerals.

I cannot remember what hotel this came from, but it is quite nice.

Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel

I am a soap kind of girl.  I like the foam, I like the lather, and yes, even though I know it is bad for me, I like the squeaky clean feeling.  I find it HARD to like any non-soapy cleanser.  So please read this review in that light. 

Let's start with the package insert.  The tube of cleansing gel came with a really long (interesting description).  Clarins promise to remove all impurities and makeup.  This product combines the benefits of a gel, oil and milk.  (But not SOAP!).  

• It's a melting gel:  On application, thanks to the incredible gliding ability and hold of the gel texture, the skin is veiled in softness and make-up and impurities are instantly dislodged.
• It's an ultra-fine oil:  In a few seconds, the gel melts into an ultra-fine oil which is perfect for massaging into skin.  Impurities are lifted and oily substances dissolved.  Soothing and nourishing Marula oil ensures skin radiance and comfort.
• It's a milky emulsion:  The third stage occurs when rinsing.  On contact with water, the transparent oil becomes a wonderfully fresh, gentle pearly milk which carries away all impurities.  The skin is visibly clean, fresh and matte.  It is supple and velvety-soft to the touch and enveloped in a sense of total well-being.

Instructions:  Morning and/or evening take a small amount of gel and apply to dry skin over the whole face.  Gently massage in for a few seconds to relax the features and lift off make-up.  Then rinse with water.

I really cannot describe this product better than that package insert.  I just cannot identify the gel phase.  I was a bit sceptical when I first opened the tube.  I expected a gel and in stead found an incredibly runny watery, oil.   I usually wet my face, then lather up my soapy gel. So after I wet my face, I read the instructions (Mostly because the very runny liquid confused me) and then had to dry my already wet face.  The instructions said to apply to a dry skin. 

It is basically an oil, not a gel. It feels like rubbing a very smooth, thin oil (think tissue oil) on your face.   It is very thin and smooth and you rub it in nicely.  I have to say I liked that part.  It really goes on very nicely and feels almost like smoothing, moisturising, not cleaning.  After a long day at the beach your skin appreciates this gently oiliness in stead of soap!  And then you wash it off.  This is where I started not liking the product.  When you add water, the gel becomes oily and milky and it feels like there is an oily layer on your skin.  You cannot wash this oily layer off, no matter how hard you try.  You can however rub this oily layer off with a towel. 

It is not this product, it is me.  I am sure if you like soft, gentle cleansers and love cleansing milk you would like this.  I just need to get over my soap thing.

I think it worked very well.  My skin was clean and soft and felt hydrated as well as cleaned.  Once I towelled all the oil off it felt clean. 

So in short.  NOT a soap, but a lovely luxurious product.  Strongly recommended.  It costs R295 for 125 mL and is sold in most large department stores in South Africa.  I think I am going to save what I have left and use it as an eye makeup remover in stead or use it on days when my skin needs some extra loving in stead of cleaning.

I have found a review here and a short endorsement here.