Thursday, January 3, 2013

Review: Elemental Herbology Purify & Soothe Facial Cleansing Balm

Ever since my brief love affair with the eve lom cleansing balm (which I have since purchased for a steal off spacenk), I have been on the hunt for other cleansing balms. Using these oily balms has made my skin feel so good and they are often awesome cleansers to boot. With the help of a muslin cloth, they gently exfoliate and cleanse without irritating sensitive skin. When I saw the Elemental Herbology Purify & Soothe Cleansing Balm on sale, I jumped at it. The normal price of the product is quite high at $46 for 2.5floz/75ml. While it's a bit cheaper than the eve lom, it's definitely not in line with my normal skincare prices. Nonetheless, on sale I quickly picked it up.

Elemental Herbology's description indicates the balm "gently dissolves impurities and melts every trace of makeup. Infused with anti-oxidants and harmonizing botanicals, [it] will purify and soothe dry skin to reveal a clear and radiant complexion". The product is free of mineral oil, synthetic fragrance, color, sulphates and parabens. Elemental Herbology also does not test on animals.

I have so enjoyed using this cleansing balm. Now, while it promises it melts off makeup, I have had some issues getting off extreme long-wearing mascaras; however, it gets off everything else including long-wearing foundations, powders and more standard eye makeup. Also, it doesn't burn, sting or otherwise irritate my eye area and because it's so moisturizing, it hydrates the area even after removal. In fact, after cleansing, my whole face has never felt so plump, radiant or soft. Holy cow. Generally, if I wash my face, my face afterwards feels tight and lifeless and it isn't unusual for me to have flaking. Not with this. After I wash my face, I have this desire to touch it (although I probably shouldn't).

Packaging is a pretty standard matte tube. I definitely prefer the tube delivery system even though it requires a firm squeeze since the product is quite thick. I tried to take pictures of the product, but the ones below show the product beginning to melt. I wasn't successful in getting it in its original slightly hardened balmy state.
it's already starting to melt here
extra melty
The one thing I'm not crazy of is the scent. It's great that there are no synthetic fragrances and it's not offensive, but it's slightly herbal and not my favorite.

Scents aside, I am quite pleased with this purchase. I highly recommend this cleansing balm and urge other dry skinned ladies (and gents) to hop on the cleansing balm train. While I still have my trouble areas, my skin absolutely loves these types of cleansers and has never looked better. I will certainly enjoy using this balm during the winter months and in the future, I would definitely consider repurchasing.

Ingredients: Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil*, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride*, Hydrogenated Vegetable (Soya Bean) Oil*, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter*, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax*, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil*, Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Peel Powder*, Plukenetia Volubilis (Sacha Inchi) Oil*, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate*, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract*, Canola Oil*, Fragaria Vesca (Strawberry) Fruit Extract*, Narcissus Poeticus Flower Wax*, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Althaea Officinalis Root Extract*, Angelica Archangelica Root Oil*, Boswellia Carterii Oil*, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil*, Maltodextrin*, Citronellol*, Geraniol*, Limonene*, Linalool*. *Ingredients Derived From 100% Natural Source.