Phones on silent please; it’s the final part in our gripping sachet saga trilogy! (If you missed the first two, click to catch up on The Foundations and The Skincare).
Today, The Cult Cleansers make their debut:
Eve Lom Cleanser (From £40 for 50ml)
Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser (Try it from £5.50; 100ml starter kit £14.25)
St. Ives Invigorating Apricot Scrub (£3.99 for 150ml)
Cult Cleanser: Eve Lom Cleanser
This was the most expensive in the range. The pack contained one sachet, with a muslin cloth and some impressive claims to go with (see the Vogue quote in the picture above).
It combines four essential oils (antiseptic clove, purifying eucalyptus, toning hops, soothing Egyptian chamomile) and cocoa butter to lift away make-up. In short, it hails the natural approach.
The idea with the muslin cloth technique is to massage a small amount over the face (it also removes waterproof mascara), before holding the hot, damp muslin cloth over the face for 2 to 3 seconds, up to 3 times. This will open the pores, allowing the oils to work at impurities. You then work the cloth over your face gently, in circular motions, giving a deep cleanse and gentle exfoliation. To finish, you rinse the cloth in cool water and place over the face to close the pores.
Effective, but not exactly conducive to a 5-minute morning routine!
I have to say, it smelt lovely. And, even though it was odd using an oil-based cleanser on my reactive skin, it somehow felt so right – I can see the more mature complexions among us loving this product.
Unfortunately, I personally can’t get past the ingredients list. It’s no use banging on about the cleansing power of natural ingredients when you chuck in a load of mineral oil, alcohol and parabens to preserve the product and give it its ‘nourishing’ texture!
Ingredients: Eve Lom Cleanser
I’m just not sure whether, in the long run, this is going to do more harm than good? And yeah, I also felt a bit stupid holding a cloth over my face like some kind of weird cult ritual. Maybe that’s why it’s a ‘cult’ product…
Cult Cleanser: Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish
The Liz Earle price tag edges towards the affordable spectrum – it’s the sort of cult product that makes a great Christmas pressie or occasional treat.
The idea behind it is pretty much identical to Eve Lom: it proffers the muslin cloth technique, and uses similar natural ingredients. The difference is the addition of nourishing beeswax, glycerin and pro-vitamin B5 (think Pantene), as well as invigorating rosemary. Oh, and noticeably fewer extras. No additional mineral oils – thumbs up!
The full ingredients list:
Aqua (water), Caprylic/capric triglyceride, Theobroma cacao (cocoa) seed butter, Cetearyl alcohol, Cetyl esters, Sorbitan stearate, Polysorbate 60, Glycerin, Cera alba (beeswax), Propylene glycol, Humulus lupulus (hops) extract, Panthenol, Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) extract, Anthemis nobilis (chamomile) extract, Eucalyptus globulus (eucalyptus) oil, Limonene, Citric acid, Sodium hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, Benzoic acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Dehydroacetic acid, Polyaminopropyl biguanide. I’m possible slightly biased as I had more to play with here (30ml tester kits are also available on the site for £5.50), but I much preferred this formula. It had a softer scent than the Eve Lom, a creamy texture, and felt lighter on the skin – more suitable for the 20-30s age range.
This is one I might be interested in down the line, when a) I have a bigger pay packet and b) nourishment doesn’t equal congested skin.
Cult Cleanser: St. Ives Apricot Invigorating Scrub
Okay, so this is an exfoliator and not a cleanser, but for just £3.99 I think it can squeeze itself in at the end! It has a definite daily price tag, with the added accolade of being the #1 scrub brand in the UK.
Unlike the more ‘luxury’ options, St. Ives has a no-fuss approach: you dampen the skin, scrub away, and rinse off, 3-4 times per week.
All of the exfoliating ingredients are from natural sources, with Swiss glacial water to boot (not hugely important, but great for sensitive skins alongside brands like Avene, which makes use of soothing spring water).
Ingredients: St. Ives Invigorating Scrub
Unfortunately, there are the expected parabens and fragrance that abound in high street products, but the list is actually relatively short compared to its competitors.
More importantly, it really works – for £3.99! My skin felt beautifully soft afterwards; a real joy to use.
St. Ives also makes a hypo-allergenic formula for sensitive skin, which I ended up purchasing the full size of for £4.99. It has added moisturising glycerin and is gentle enough to use everyday. While the ingredients list is still full of preservatives, used just once a week I have soft skin for a ridiculously affordable price. I also sometimes use this as a body scrub in the shower… purely for the heavenly smell!
This concludes our sachet saga; expect the box set in time for Christmas.
