Ahhh, someone had to be the voice of dissent on this one. That's right, I don't like it. And I work at Sephora, people come in every day raving that it's the best stuff that's ever touched their faces.
I guess I'm one of the few for whom it caused HORRIBLE eye irritation. I mean my eyes were red and stinging for quite a while. But no wonder, check out the ingredient list below, all of those essential oils should not be used around the eyes at all. In fact black pepper oil, is so sensitizing, even in the smallest concentrations that it has been shown to cause contact dermatitis.
Now the majority of the ingredients are ok, the first 5 are cleansing and mild. But the bulk of the list ruins it. I'm sorry, I refuse to put this around my eyes anymore.
However on the rest of my face, it's pretty darn great. I can actually see it dissolve all the makeup I put on, my face immediately feels smoother and softer afterward. A lot of the EO's are potent antibacterials and therefore anti acne, such as the sandalwood and palmarosa, so yes I have noticed a fair bit of improvement on my horrible zit situation (but I HAVE been using it with Clarisonic so that's arguable). For me to feel dry and tight after something it would have to be like pure alcohol and witch hazel, but with most cleansers I do notice some discomfort in terms of how "stretchy" my skin is. None with this.
The only reason (besides the eye irritation) I won't repurchase is because it's not all that good at getting scrubby stuff off my face. I use aluminum oxide crystals every day to exfoliate (yes the microdermabrasion stuff) and always find them mingling with my skin oils and getting all over the place, in my eyebrows etc etc and they're very hard to wash off with just water, which is why it's important to me to have a cleanser that can help lift the suckers away. This does not.
Verdict, great as a makeup remover, awesome for acne, gentle on the face, feels hydrating but is NOT for the eyes.
The ingredient breakdown
Water, obvious
Disodium Lauroamphodiacetate - Mild surfactant
Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil - emollient
Coco-Glucoside - gentle detergent
PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate - thickener
Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil - looks good on the ingredient list, no skincare use
Geranium Maculatum Oil - balances sebum production
Guaiacum Officinale - fragrance, is VERY irritating to some, like myself
Cymbopogon Martini Oil - in other wordds palmarosa oil, sebum control
Rosa Damascena Extract - moisturizing
Amyris Balsamifera Bark Oil - is a slightly less irritating version of Sandalwood oil
Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Oil - drying, irritating
Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Oil - some healing properties
Cinnamomum Cassia Leaf Oil - rubifacient, potent irritant even at this concentration
Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil - chamomile oil, soothing
Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil - regenerative (though not in a cleanser and not this low on the list), sun sensitizing
Piper Nigrum (Black Pepper) Seed Extract - soooo should not be used around the eyes, potent rubifacient
Sodium Trideceth Sulfate - wetting agent
Hexylene Glycol - solvent, thins a formulation
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Alcohol - preservative
Polysorbate 20 - surfactant
Glycerin - humectant
Carbomer - solubilizer, emulsifier
Triethanolamine - emulsifier, PH stabilizer
Methylparaben - preservative
Propylparaben - preservative
Imidazolidinyl Urea - preservative
FD&C Yellow No.5 - color
Image courtesy of sephora.com
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