Lancome Energie De Vie Cleansing Oil

Packaging/Pricing:

42$ for 200ml (6.7fl.oz). Picture above shows deluxe sample size. Full size bottle has a pump style dispenser.

Ingredients:

Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Isopropile Myristate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Polyglyceryl-6 Dicaprate, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Polyglyceryl-10 Dioleate, Dicaprylyl Ether, Tocopherol, Phenoxyethanol, Polybutene, Polyglyceryl-2 Oleate, Menthoxypropanediol, Capryloyl Salicylic Acid, Fragrance, B165033/2. 

Excellent (only beneficial ingredients, proven research)

Good (mostly beneficial, not extensive research or just not quite outstanding properties)

OK (mostly thickeners, emulsifiers, mild preservatives, pH adjusters, all that is necessary, but not a skincare per se)

Bad (irritants and anything bad that shouldn't be in a skincare, usually fragrance)

Avalon Organics Essential lift Smoothing Cleanser

Anti-aging cleanser?............ No.

Cleanser cannot do anything, except cleanse your skin or remove make-up. Do not believe any "firming, lifting, repairing" claims any company issues with their cleansing products. It is just a sad example of feeding on women's fears......

NOW solutions Vitamin C and Manuka Honey Gel Cleanser

"NOW foods" is an amazing company on organic/natural care market. They make vitamins, supplements, essential and basic oils, body, hair and skin care.  I believe they do not get as much love as they deserve. Their skin care is wonderfully formulated by someone who really knows his/her cosmetics chemistry. Their products are never in a jar packaging, never have essential oils that irritate skin, always have blend of antioxidants, skin identical ingredients and cell-communicating ingredients. What a joy! Few minor complaints I have though: they do not have sunscreens and some of their products do have fragrance (which is not necessary in skincare and can be irritating).

Product I would like to review today is a cleanser from their Vitamin C range. I am on a look out for gentle non-striping face wash. My skin is normal to dry and I find most of cleansers I've tried too harsh. I do not have a lot of requirements regarding my face wash. I would like it to gently clean my face. Since cleanser stays on my face for 30 seconds only and then goes down the drain, I am not looking for antioxidants and such. Most of good ingredients will not have time to work!  I usually take off my make-up with cleansing oils, but I still like to follow with face wash to remove traces of make-up as well as traces of cleansing oil. So anything not mild enough is not OK for double cleansing. And in the morning I don't really need anything striping as well.

I used Cetaphil and CeraVe gentle cleansers for years, but I got bored (to be honest =))) So I switched to this one. A do not like fragrance in anything that stays on my face. But I little bit of aroma therapy with face wash is good! It foams lightly, doesn't dry out my skin and smells like orange juice/fanta. The scent may be a bit cheap, but not offensive in any way. The consistency is very liquidy, not really a gel, so be careful when pouring product out!

Packaging/Pricing: 

237ml (8fl.oz) I realize that packaging may not be everyone's cup of tea. Again, it is an affordable product. But label doesn't come off in the shower, and I do find simple white bottle quite appealing. The price is good as well: 7-9$ US. You can find this brand in lots of whole food stores or IHERB.com

Ingredients:

Water, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, lauryl glucoside, sodium coco-sulfate, glycerin, chondrus crispus (carrageenan), glucose & lactoperoxidase & glucose oxidase, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (Vit C), manuka honey, allantoin, panthenol, niacinamide (Vit B3), tocopherol (Vit E) (soy), olea europaea (olive) oil (extra virgin), orange-grapefruit aroma, citric acid.

Discussion:

As I mentioned above, I am not as picky when it comes to face washes. But still