Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser review...

Hey lovelies!

HAPPY SUNDAY! I hope you're all suitably relaxed & ready for this super long blog post :)

I've been using Liz Earle's infamous hot cloth cleanser twice a day for over a month now and I think it's reached the time where I can review the product honestly & truthfully.

I bought the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Starter Kit from John Lewis for £13.75 (link!). I also bought OPI's Nail Envy (Original) at the same time so that I was eligible for the free delivery when you spend £30 :)It came with 2 muslin cloths, which are an essential element of the Cleanse & Polish routine. The product itself contains natural ingredients including rosemary, chamomile, cocoa butter and eucalyptus oil to cleanse and gently exfoliate skin, and is a fave of celebrities including Lily Allen.

Liz Earle describe it as a "rich, concentrated cream that gently removes daily grime and make-up, even stubborn mascara, to leave skin clear, smooth and exceptionally clean. Used with the pure muslin cloth it lifts away dead skin cells, revealing fresh, radiant skin"

After a couple of times of bringing the instructions to the sink with me, I learnt how to do it properly. You soak the cleanser in hot water, gently massage the cream cleanser around your face (doing your eyes last so you don't spread eye make-up all over your face!) before removing the cream (and your make-up) with the hot cloth... hence the term... "hot cloth cleanser" ;)

FYI at the time of starting to use this cleanser, my skin was at breaking point. I'd been using the Body Shop's Tea Tree foaming cleanser for a while and it was just doing nothing for my skin. It was cracked and sore and prone to break-outs. I was tempted to not show you guys the picture below because it clearly is so disgusting, but I thought I had to to so you could see the results of the Cleanse & Polish.

Before:

After:

Like I said, my skin really was at its worst. The Cleanse & Polish was a MIRACLE at clearing up my skin. After about a week's use, all my spots had pretty much disappeared and it was just looking so much healthier.

However...

After using the product for about a month now, my skin is slowly going back to how it used to be. I think the effects of the Cleanse & Polish have started to fade and it's time to change up my routine again :(

Positives

• The smell - it's a lovely, fresh scent that just smells delightfully natural. It's not overpowering but is enough to wake you up in the morning.
• The pump - It does pump out the exact amount you need which is very money-saving.
• Ease of use - It really does take just 2 minutes to effectively cleanse your face, including removing all eye make-up. Being short of time in the mornings, this product really does come in handy.

Negatives

• The bottle - You can't see how much product you have left, so you don't know when it's about to run out and you need to get some more cleanser! Annoying...
• The price - Like I say, I don't know how much product I have left but forking out 14 odd quid for a cleanser is slightly out of my price range.
• Availability - I don't live in London so I can't just nip into Liz Earle to get my next fix. The cheapest I could find it was on John Lewis but I had to buy something else to get the free delivery.
• Practicality of the muslin cloths - I don't do 2 wash loads a week so mine are starting to get dirty. I need more!

To round it all up...

I think my skin will always be problematic for me. The Cleanse & Polish was a godsend in terms of clearing up my skin, but using it over time, it has certainly lost its effectiveness. I think I will continue to use a hot cloth cleanser at the end of the day to remove all my make-up as it's just so quick and easy, at a time when I'm usually so tired. I want to try the Sanctuary Polishing hot cloth cleanser and the No7 Radiance Boosting hot cloth cleanser next and I'll see how they compare to Liz Earle's.

But, I'm going to use a different cleanser in the mornings I think - something that really works to clear up my skin on a daily basis. I've got my eye on Neal's Yard Power Berry facial wash or I might try Neutrogena's Pink Grapefruit face wash. I'll let you know how I get on...

Do you have troublesome skin too? What do you use?

Love,

Sophia

xo