111Skin Vitamin C Brightening Cleanser

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 I've featured 111Skin previously, when the brand first launched into Space NK (no pun intended) but it's taken literal years for me to try another product from the brand.
The January edition of the Liberty Beauty Drop introduced me to a few luxury beauty products last month, one of which is the 111Skin Vitamin C Brightening Cleanser.
I have here a 30ml sample tube version but it is usually sold as a 120ml pump bottle for around £55.

The very first thing I noticed about the 111skin Vitamin C Cleanser was the consistency. It's quite a strange, thick and bouncy jelly texture and I am completely here for it. It comes out in a thick sort of blob that would stay intact if you were to, say, drop it on the floor, which adds a certain novelty to cleansing with it.
The gel cleanser is designed to deeply cleanse the skin, with the Vitamin C-rich formula brightening and reducing dullness/dark spots.

In skincare, Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that can protect the skin against sun damage, stimulate collagen production and combat damage caused by free radicals. Overall it helps to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and discolouration.
The cleanser also features a Peptidic Microalgae Complex and Glucoside Complex.
The Peptidic Microalgae Complex is essentially an extract from brown microalgae combined with Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (a water soluble derivative of Vitamin C) that reduces melanin production.
Glucoside Complex is described by 111Skin as a molecule obtained from glucose transfer that inhibits the activity of specific receptors sensitive to temperatures and food-related stress.
There are also fruit and flower extracts in the mix including Apple, Lavender, Jasmine and Chamomile as well as a range of oils such as Apricot, Clove Leaf and Castor.
This cleanser has a pretty extensive list of ingredients actually, and you'd probably expect it to be quite fragrant. Surprisingly, though, it smells of very little, if anything at all.

I find that only a tiny amount is needed - less than pea sized- and, applied to damp skin, it creates a fantastic rich lather that leaves skin feeling clean and comfortable. There's no need to use a flannel to remove as it rinses away easily but you can of course use one if you fancy it.
Overall this is a very pleasant, effective cleanser and a nice high end option if you're not bothered about the lack of fragrance. You can find 111Skin Vitamin C Brightening Cleanser at a few retailers but Space NK and Look Fantastic often have the best deals. You can read my post about the brand's Meso Infusion masks here.

Soap and Glory Glow Your Mind Nourishing Cleansing Balm Review

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 A good cleansing balm or oil is a staple to every bathroom cabinet these days and I make sure I always have one to hand. Anyone who wears makeup or SPF (which should be everyone really)would benefit from an oil based cleanser. Either in liquid or balm form, there’s nothing quite like an oil to break down sunscreen and/or foundation and the rest of your makeup. If you partake in double cleansing, there’s nothing quite like a slippery, oily cleanser as a first cleanse.

Designed to suit every skin type, the Soap and Glory Glow Your Mind Nourishing CleansingBalm is a fairly straightforward, effective option that I’ve been enjoying lately. Perhaps the word ‘enjoying’ isn’t actually appropriate here. To be blunt, this is a rather joyless product, not counting the absolute satisfaction you might feel as your makeup, including waterproof mascara, is completely annihilated.

With added Vitamin C, the balm is a blend of oils including Avocado, Sesame, Apricot and Jojoba that starts off solid, becomes liquid as you work it into your face, and then emulsifies with the addition of water. It’s described by Soap and Glory as a balm-to-milk cleanser because it becomes milky once it comes into contact with water.

It rinses away beautifully – you don’t even have to use it with a flannel or cloth if you don’t want to – which makes it an extremely gentle option. I’ve used the cleansing balm both with and without a flannel and while I prefer to use a flannel, I was not left with any residue or film on the skin when I tried it without.

The reason I called the product ‘joyless’ earlier is because of the distinct lack of scent. To me, it smells like literally nothing. Often unscented cosmetics have a subtle, natural fragrance but this is truly unscented. A big win if you are sensitive to fragrance or just prefer your skincare unscented but if like me you prefer a nice smell to add to the cleansing experience, it does make the process a little…boring.

That said, a cleanser’s job is to cleanse the skin and this one does it very well. It’s worth noting it leaves my face feeling clean (though I do double cleanse so use another cleanser afterward) but not tight or stripped. Overall I would buy this again but I do prefer something with a little scent to add to the ritual of cleansing.

Soap and Glory Glow Your Mind Nourishing Cleansing Balm retails for £9.95 though, as it’s Soap and Glory it’s usually on special or part of some sort of promotion at Boots.