Product review Liz Earle cleanse and polish hot cloth cleanser

This is Liz Earle's star and original product. It's been raved about by countless UK beauty editors and addicts, it's non foaming, gentle, moisturizing and effective (to a degree). Yes it actually IS mostly natural or naturally derived (all those esters and glycerides in the ingredients are direct derivatives of coconuts and the like). But is it as miraculous as some say....nooooo.

Don't get me wrong, after a month of use I have more positive things to say than negative. It really is crazy gentle (I wear contacts and have had no problems using it as a makeup remover, except that I wish it was quicker). When I use it I notice a much better clarity of skin tone and a bit of a glow. The effects seem to be cumulative because I'm definitely in a better place than I was. It is so soft and moisturizing that most of the time if I was in a hurry I could skip moisturizer (although I am oily). However the process takes so long that all the all in one talk is kind of silly.

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Basically what you do is wet your face, moisten the cream between your hands and massage it all over, including eyes. Then you take the muslin cloth and gently polish off the cleanser. The muslin cloth to me is the real superstar, because if it weren't for that it would take eternity to wash off the cream (it's veryvery thick). The exfoliation effects are for my standards mild, which means for most people would be just enough if used with the right amount of abrasive movement. And off course this means it cannot be used to tissue off the makeup and cleanser around the eye area, because it's too delicate around there. This is the truly frustrating part for me. To get the ridiculous amount of eye makeup I wear off, I either do my usual sweet almond oil routine or spend 10 minutes massaging and rinsing this stuff off. After use my skin does feel soft and clean, which really is the ultimate goal for any cleanser, and why I'm a fan of this one (but I will not be worshipping at the altar anytime soon).

Ingredients:
water, obvious
caprilyc/capric triglyceride, emollient
cocoa seed butter, moisturizer, film former
cetearyl alcohol, fatty alcohol, thickener and moisturizer
cetyl esters, thickener, helps create that lovely smooth cosmetic feel
sorbitan stearate, binder, humectant
polysorbate 60, emulsifier
glycerin, humectant and slip former
beeswax, thickener, film former
propylene glycol, humectant
hops extract, natural preservative, mild strength
panthenol, moisturizer
rosemary extract, some cleansing and toning properties
chamomile extract, soothing properties
eucalyptus oil, warming, astringent
limonene, citrusy fragrance (is VERY mild in the product because there's so little, it's just there to mask the industrial smell)
citric acid, to help adjust PH balance, natural preservative
sodium hydroxide, lye, caustic soda...yeppp
phenoxyethanol, broad spectrum preservative
benzoic acid, preservative
ethylhexylglycerin, disinfectant
dehydroacetic acid, preservative
polyaminopropyl biguanide, preservative


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