Product: Lancome Ablutia Fraîcheur Purifying Foaming Cleanser
Price: ~USD 20.00 @ Gottchalks (on sale b/c Gottchalks was going out of business)
Review:

I bought this for a slightly cheaper price, but it retails for about USD 30 regularly. The packaging for this is very nice, it comes it a very sanitary pump-bottle with a cap to prevent leakage when traveling with it. This cleanser comes out as a reddish/pink gel that you need to lather in your hands before applying to your face.

The ingredients of this cleanser is almost the exact same as the Clinique cleanser, which means that one of the major ingredients is also sodium laureth sulfate. This ingredient is known to be too harsh for people with sensitive skin, but it doesn’t do much to me so this cleanser actually works pretty well.

It is an oil-free gel cleanser that activates with water to remove makeup, excess oil and impurities. The cleanser claims that it won’t strip your skin of its essential oils, and I don’t feel like my skin gets oily after cleansing in the morning and night. I’m not very sure about how well it takes off makeup though, since I usually take off my makeup with a makeup remover beforehand.

All in all, I feel that this cleanser is good and doesn’t break me out but it isn’t anything special. I basically just took off a point for the price because the cleanser really isn’t that great for the price. I feel that I can get the same results using my Clinique cleanser. I have been using this product for at least four months now and as you can see, there is probably still another month or so left in the bottle so it will at least last you a long time.

Rating: 4/5

Product: Lancome Exfoliance Clarte Exfoliating Gel
Price: $24.00 @ Lancome
Review:

This is the best exfoliating scrub that I have ever come across – none of the drugstore brands that I have tried even come close to how well this works! I use it every night but for those of you with dry skin, I’d suggest you choose a scrub made for people with dry skin or use this once every other day to avoid drying out your skin. I have very oily skin so it takes a lot to dry out my skin in the first place. Although in terms of drying, it is nowhere as harsh as Clinique’s Exfoliating Scrub, since it is in gel form.

I’m sorry I don’t have a picture of the actual gel, but the texture reminds me of Clean & Clear’s Morning Burst Scrub with Bursting Beads. It really helps slough off excess dead skin and oiliness that I feel by the end of the day.

It is a bit pricey but it comes in a 100 ml tube and all you need is a pea-sized amount. One bottle lasts me up to a whole year, so I think that its very reasonable! This is definitely my HG exfoliating scrub that I will never abandon and its going to take a lot to convince me otherwise.

Rating: 5/5

Product: Clinique Liquid Facial Soap (Oily Skin)
Price: $11.50 @ Clinique (prices have raised to $15)
Review:

I have been using this cleanser for almost three years now and its been serving me very well. Its one of my absolute favorite cleansers, despite the fact that it contains sodium laureth sulfate (not to be confused with sodium lauryl sulfate). The use of products containing sodium laureth sulfate is usually not advised, especially for those with acne-prone skin, as it is very harsh on the skin. But I have tried cleansers both with and without sodium laureth sulfate before and it doesn’t seem like it mattered to my skin – my acne came back either way.

My skin has been its best and at its worse while using this cleanser, so I don’t think ingredients are a cause of my acne – but please do remember that this is just for me, if you experience irritation to this cleanser, stop using it right away.

I like this cleanser because my skin feels clean after washing, not oily but not completely dried out either. It doesn’t break me out at all and I’m simply in love with it. The product comes in an easy pump bottle, so just pump once into the palm of your hand, lather and gently slather it all over your face for 10 sec. I rinse with lukewarm to warm water, but you use what you’re comfortable with. You don’t even need to use one whole pump! I usually use half a pump and it works just fine for me – and one bottle usually lasts me three to four months.

Rating: 5/5

Product: Daily Facials Deep Cleansing, Cleansing Cloths
Price: ~USD 13 -14 at Costco (pack of 120 cloths)

I started using this around the time I started to use BB Cream daily. You’ll probably hear me mention BB cream a lot, and I will make a post regarding this soon. For now, consider it a tinted moisturizer with benefits – but it is still considered make-up so you can’t wear it to sleep, etc. I think that it does a pretty good job taking off my make-up – which is mostly just the BB cream, but it takes off all of my mineral make-up and eyeshadow as well.

There is a smooth side and a “rough” side, although both sides of the cloth feel pretty smooth to me. The “rough” side has blue dots, as show below, to help you exfoliate after removing make-up and impurities.

You just add a little water to the smooth side and rub it a little to get it to start foaming. I gently rub it all over my face, paying close attention to my eyes if I put on eye make-up that day. Using this makes my skin feel very soft and I think after incorporating this into my daily regimen, it has helped to control my break-outs. How do I know? I tested it of course. I went a whole month without using Olay cloths (and thus, no make-up of any sort) and I can honestly say that my acne looked worse than it did when I did use the cloths.

The box says that it can remove waterproof make-up as well, but for some reason I doubt this. I use Stila Smudge Pots in jet black for eyeliner and the cloths usually leave behind a lot of residue, making me look more like a panda than ever. This is easily fixed though, by using a real eye-make up remover.

I love this so much I have to buy it in bulk at Costco in order to make it worth it. Otherwise, for a tiny pack of 30 cloths at Longs or Walgreens, it will cost you around $8 USD.

Rating: 4/5