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.

 

Sunday Riley Blue Moon Tranquility Cleansing Balm Review

I love a balm cleanser and I love Sunday Riley so I knew that a balm cleanser by Sunday Riley was going to be something that needed to get on my face. To me, the blue balm was probably one of the most exciting beauty launches of 2015 and I know it's already gained quite a few fans since it hit the shelves back in October.
The first thing that really grabbed my attention when I saw it in in person was the sheer size of the product - the 100g of balm is served up in a rather generous round tub made from resilient plastic. I like how big it is and to be honest I was actually expecting a lot less, despite the high end price tag.
The tub may be big but it's still quite dainty and minimalist in a way and something that could proudly be displayed in your bathroom.
Blue Moon Cleansing Balm is quite a solid balm and has a Cocoa Butter and Moringa Butter base so it essentially melts down to an oil when worked between the finger tips or on your face.

Essential oils in the balm include Blue Tansy, German Chamomile, Vanilla and Sweet Orange, which results in a rather subtle, relaxing scent. I kid you not - this cleansing balm is an absolute joy to use and it smells delicious. Besides the fact that everything about Blue Moon is luxurious, the thing that really sets it apart from a lot of cleansing balms on the market is that it rinses away with very little effort. The balm turns into a sort of milk when you add warm water, making it very easy to remove. I use it with a flannel or a muslin cloth but you could get away with just rinsing it off if you're not into the whole wet-washcloth thing. The cleanser removes make up quite well but I find that eye make up (especially waterproof eyeliner!) requires a quick swipe of micellar water/ make up remover beforehand.
The cleanser can also be used as a mask (as I'm sure pretty much any good quality balm cleanser could be) by leaving it on for about 20 mins for a moisturising boost. I have been known to smother it on before doing the washing up but I recommend you do something more relaxing, like soaking in the bath.
I love this stuff and I think it's going to last quite a few months before I need to restock or try something new. Sunday Riley Blue Moon Tranquillity Cleansing Balm is available at Cult Beauty for £46. You can find it here.

Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar Reveal #24

Drawer number 24 holds a fabulous gift for Christmas Eve - a pot of the iconic Eve Lom Cleanser.
This is actually the first balm cleanser I ever tried nearly ten years ago and I remember how much I loved the ritual of following the little instruction sheet that came with it and massaging the balm in using the different techniques and then wiping it away with the warm damp cloth. It does contain mineral oil, but this balm doesn't cause me any issues whatsoever. It's quite nice to be reunited with a first love on Christmas Eve.
It's £55 for 100ml at Liberty here.

May Lindstrom - The Honey Mud Cleansing Silk

I often write about wanting to eat beauty products but this one takes the cake. See what I did there? Food. May Lindstrom The Honey Mud Cleansing Silk is quite simply the most scrumptiously scented cleanser or mask I have ever had the pleasure of sniffing. Fact.
Not only does it smell like an indulgent chocolatey-caramel pudding, but it looks like one too. You know those wobbly, calorific treats cleverly disguised as 'yoghurts' that you find in the dairy aisle? The Honey Mud Cleansing Silk is pretty much one of those. Except it's packed full of ingredients designed to feed your skin rather than your belly box.

The Cleansing Silk contains raw honey, white clay, plant oils and butters that combine to create a luxurious cleanse that exfoliates, decongests and nourishes. In case you were wondering (which I was), the difference between 'raw' honey and normal honey is that raw honey still has all of its natural enzymes, nutrients and anti-fungal properties intact. This is because raw honey still contains pollen, whereas more often than not, your average store bought honey has had the pollen filtered out. Every day's a school day...

The Cleansing Silk is designed to be used as either a cleanser or a mask - because it's clay based, the formula dries if you apply a thin layer and leave it for five minutes or so.
As a cleanser, I feel that it does a pretty decent job and it feels very, very nice on the skin. To use, you just scoop out a little dollop with your finger tip, spread over your face (wet or dry - I prefer it on dry skin), work it in gently using circular motions and then rinse. Now, while this cleanser does rinse away easily, I have trouble just rinsing it off of my face because I am such a cloth cleanser type, so I use a flannel or a muslin cloth afterwards to remove any traces that might be left behind.

I need to mention the consistency of the honey mud cleanser because it's just so weird. Weird in a good way of course. It's deceptively thick, almost like smooth peanut butter and has an almost putty-like quality. By this I mean, when you scoop some out, what's left in the jar 'self smoothes' and the surface evens itself out again. If that makes sense.

Holy mackerel I love this stuff.

May Lindstrom The Honey Mud Cleansing Silk is £64 for 100ml from Cult Beauty. The pot you see in my picture is a much smaller sample size.

Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm Review

I'm always interested to try skincare from brands I haven't used before and the Melting Cleansing Balm has been a nice little introduction to Merumaya.

I'm a major fan of balm cleansers but have only ever used ones that come in tubs, so the Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm has been a bit of a revelation for me.

Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm Review

Not only is it packaged in a tube (which some may argue is more hygienic than sticking your finger in a tub countless times) but the balm cleanser is a pretty special formula that actually turns into a milk when water is added. This little trick makes it relatively easy to rinse away and you don't have to put in as much elbow grease as you might with a traditional balm cleanser. 

Designed for use on a dry face, the cleansing balm spreads easily and pretty much annihilates makeup with the help of some gentle massage. You then add a little warm water and continue to massage as the balm turns milky.

I've removed the cleanser using just my hands and found it wasn't quite enough (though this is just a personal preference) so tried again with a damp flannel, which is how I usually remove cleansers anyway and found it more effective. Once removed, you just go in for your second cleanse using the same motions.

The end result is cleansed, comfortable and conditioned skin. Conditioned might sound like an odd word to use in describing a cleanser but it's the best word I can think of- my face felt pillowy soft and 'fed'. It's not a 'squeaky' sort of clean (we don't want that anyway!) but sort of nourished and cleansed all at once. If that makes sense?

This wonderful, hydrated feeling is down to the addition of Sweet Almond Oil and Echium Oil, which is sort of like a vegetarian version of fish oil and is rich in Omega 3, 6 and 9. The cleanser also contains Mangosteen Fruit Extract which is rich in vitamins and anti oxidants, and is nicely rounded off with the signature Merumaya scent- something I've seen many people rave about!

Overall this is an incredibly gentle balm cleanser that is nothing short of a pleasure to use. It's a yes from me!

At £20 Merumaya Melting Cleansing Balm has an affordable price point, especially when compared to other balm cleansers. You can find it at Merumaya.com and John Lewis.

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