All Topics, Beauty

Need A New Cleanser? High-End Ones To Watch

As a self-professed luxury beauty addict, I think of my collection as an investment. The excuse is particularly viable for skincare. After all, what’s worth investing in if it isn’t your own face?

I have a weakness for lengthy and effective skincare regimes. Removing makeup at the end of the say is the most satisfying feeling to me and I haven’t skipped on it once for around eight years. There’s no doubting my commitment. I’ll do anything and spend anything to achieve healthy skin (apart from maybe drinking my two litres of water per day, that is effort).

Despite my overfilling skincare drawers, if you told me I could only keep one type of product, I wouldn’t hesitate. Cleansers.

MY HIGH-END CLEANSER RECOMMENDATIONS

Cleansing is ingrained so heavily into my routine that skipping it would be akin to not cleaning my teeth. Completely unacceptable. When it comes to product I favour gels or creams but the most important consideration is always, without compromise, does it work?

Well, I’ve rounded up 4 of my favourite high-end cleansers, the ones that ab-so-lutely work.

GIVENCHY, READY-TO-CLEANSE CLEANSING CREAM-IN-GEL | £27.50

When it comes to skincare, I have a type. Simple, yet effective. But I’m going to start off with an outlier.

Givenchy’s ready-to-cleanse is effective but certainly isn’t simple. It boasts a superior formula which requires only water to effortlessly transform its gel consistency into a creamy mousse lather. That it leaves the skin feeling fresh as well as clean, revived and moisturised goes without saying: those benefits apply to every cleanser that I’ll be recommending (within this post and ever).

It’s the enriching properties of Opuntia cactus flower extract set this apart from other products. The best way that I can summarise: It will leave you feeling expensive. It’s indulgent and when I use it I feel momentarily transformed into a Calabasas socialite or rich old lady (basically all I want to be when I grow up).

DERMALOGICA, SPECIAL CLEANSING GEL | £33.00

This one isn’t pictured because I haven’t repurchased since featuring it in my first product empties of the year. It’s such a wonderful cleanser though, one which I’ll definitely be using again in the near future, that it just didn’t feel right to disclude it. It’s the most gentle cleanser I’ve had the pleasure of using and works like a dream. I haven’t had problem skin in quite some years, but I know a few people who swear that this is the only product that works for them in terms of clearing up acne.

Boasting CF & vegan status, it’s gentle lather washes away impurities without stripping the skin of its natural moisture. It also soothes the skin with calming Balm Mint and Lavender extracts.

GATINEAU, TRANSFORMING CREAM CLEANSER |  £36.00

Designed for normal-dry skin, the (brand new) Transforming Cream Cleanser acts as a double-cleanse in one product. When I’ve left my evening skincare ritual a little later than usual and just want to get the job done, it’s this that I reach for.

Combining the benefits of an oil and cream cleanser, it effortlessly dissolves and washes away makeup and impurities. Sweet almond, coconut and soybean oils work alongside vitamin E to ensure skin is taken care of.

Another advanced formula, this one turns from cream into a hydrating milky oil which leaves my face feeling amazing. I can only describe the scent as clean and comforting, much like baby bath products or fresh laundry.

CLINIQUE, LIQUID FACIAL SOAP | £17.50

This is it. The longest relationship forged in adulthood (well, teenage-hood) that I’ve ever had. It rescued my pubescent acne ridden face and for that, I’ll be forever grateful.

I’ve repurchased this countless times. I’ve literally had a bottle (or two, or three- those Clinique gifts are too good to pass on) at all times since I was around 14 years old. That’s 10 years, and now I feel old.

I have no doubt that there are cleansers that work just as well. In fact, both the Givenchy and the Dermalogica are pretty similar. My history with this though leaves it at nowhere but the number one spot on my favourite-cleansers-of-all-time list. Plus, it’s a great dabble into the world of more expensive cleansers without the eye-watering leap from spending loose change in Savers to walking up to an actual brand counter and investing nearly 20 quid into one product. It’s a slippery slope, soon you’ll be hundreds of pounds deep and will proudly own enough to set up your own shop. Or maybe that’s just me.

*  This post contains gifted items. As always, all words, images and opinions are my own. Please read my full disclaimer for more information.