Product: Shiseido Pureness Deep Cleansing Foam (100ml)
Price: USD 22.00 @ Macy’s counter
Review:

I got this cleanser as a gift from my mom actually – she went out and purchased the entire Pureness set for $55, I think. The price I quoted above is just a search I did so it may vary depending on where you purchase from. I’ve used this cleanser back in middle school and I remember liking it a little bit back then. This isn’t an acne-controlling cleanser by any means, it’s just formulated for oilier skin. Since it’s formulated for oily skin, the ingredients aren’t exactly as gentle and might actually end up be drying for those of you with drier skin.

Ingredients: water, stearic acid, peg-8, myristic acid, glycerin, potassium hydroxide, butylene glycol, lauric acid, glyceryl stearate se, sorbitol, beeswax, sodium lauryl glycol carboxylate, sodium methylcocoyl taurate, fragrance, polyethylene, menthol, trisodium edta, magnesium aliminum silicate, hexyl cinnamal, linalool, butylphenyl methylpropional, limonene, talc, ultramarines (cl77007), zinc oxide, ethylcellulose, disodium edta, paenial albiflora root extract, iron oxides, rosmarinus officinalis leaf extract, benzoic acid

I like this cleanser because a nickel-sized amount can lather up very nicely and produce a rather thick, dense foam. I like cleansers that can create a dense foam because it decreases the amount of friction and damage that you cause to your skin when you rub your face with your hands. The thick foam serves as a buffer between your skin and your hands, so when you’re washing your face, your hands aren’t really even touching your skin directly.

This cleanser doesn’t use your standard sodium laureth sulfate as a cleansing/foaming agent. Instead, it uses stearic acid, which is surfactant that can reduce surface tension in water and allow it to attach to oils and dirt on your face so they can be rinsed away. It also contains myristic acid, which is a type of fatty acid that can be found in nutmeg, palm oil, coconut oil, or butter fat. It helps as a facial moisturizer as well as a cleansing agent. This cleanser also contains glycerin as one of it’s top ingredients, so theoretically this cleanser isn’t as drying as some other “oily, acne-prone skin” cleansers are.

I really like the cleansing power of this product, it leaves my skin feeling squeaky clean. My skin feels a little bit tight afterwards though, so I do think that this product can be a bit drying for those of you dry or normal skin. I’m okay with it though, it doesn’t make my skin oilier or anything so it doesn’t seem to be stripping away all of my skin’s natural oils.

This cleanser comes in a squeeze tube with a cap that twists off. I really like it’s easy to use design and small size, since it makes traveling really easy and spill-proof. I use a nickel-sized amount for my entire face. I use this cleanser only at night, since I want my cleanser to be able to completely remove all the oily, sweaty gunk off my face at the end of the day. ESPECIALLY now, since moving to the northeast of America where humidity is ridiculous during the summer season. I use a separate, more hydrating cleanser in the morning so that my skin isn’t parched at the beginning of the day. Also, there isn’t anything to really “wash off” my face in the morning anyway.

Something to note is that this cleanser does have little blue beads in it. It isn’t enough to really give an exfoliating effect in it though, so if you need exfoliation, don’t depend on this cleanser alone.

Also, this product does have a slight fragrance to it – it has a hint of menthol in it, which also gives this cleanser a cooling effect on the skin when you use it. I generally only massage for about 10 seconds before I wash it off. The cooling effect might bother some of you though and I can imagine that it might even irritate open acne wounds, if your skin is sensitive to it. It doesn’t bother my skin though.

Overall, I do like this cleanser a lot. I would repurchase this in the future should I run out of “new things” to try!

Initial Rating: 4/5