Review: Korres White Tea 3 in 1 Cleansing Water

After all the hype of the Bioderma Crealine H20 cleansing solution (of which I did a blog review here and also a Youtube review), I was (and am) determined to find a cruelty free, ideally chemically-minimalist and inexpensive alternative.

Cleansing waters (primarily used to remove makeup before 'proper' cleansing takes place) are surprisingly lacking, particularly on the highstreet/drugstore, and so I had to take to the internet to source my next product to roadtest in this particular category. 

I actually sourced today's product - the Korres White Tea 3 in 1 Cleansing Water - almost by accident on Ebay of all places, when I happened to search for cleansing water on a whim. 

Elsewhere, Korres is stocked in store (in the UK) at Fenwick (Newcastle and London), Liberty (London), Harvey Nicols (London, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol) and House of Fraser (London and Glasgow), and also online from the likes of Asos and Feel Unique, with an RRP of £16.00 for 200ml.

I've also recently came across some Korres products in TKMaxx - such as their shower washes - so it's worth keeping an eye out.

A full list of Korres stockists (both UK and international) can be found here.

For the Korres virgins out there (I was one), the brand originates from the oldest homeopathic pharmacy in Athens, Greece, and was founded in 1996 by George Korres, who draws on his rich heritage to produce an organic skin and hair care range. 

The brand seeks inspiration from the natural environment, sourcing their herbal, fruit and floral infusions used in their products locally. 

You can find more in-dept information about the Korres brand on their website.

This cleansing water is a soap and alcohol free, three-in-one product with 84.6% natural ingredients that removes everyday impurities, face and eye makeup and tones the skin in one step and is suitable for all skin types and even contact lens wearers, due to the use of natural cleansing agents which ensure excellent compatibility with the eyes and skin.

As the name suggests, the key ingredient of this product is Organic White Tea extract (15%); a rich source of polyphenols which demonstrate rich antioxidant action and improve skin microcirculation.

Hamamelis extract, due to its astringent action, tightens skin pores, while soothing and calming the skin. 

Other ingredients:

Aqua/water/eau

Polyglyceryl-4 Caprate

Cocoyl Proline

Radish Root Ferment Filtrate

Pentylene Glycol 

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Glycerin

Witch Hazel

Parfum (fragrance)

Sodium Coco-Glucoside Tartrate 

I also love and have been impressed by the 'formula facts' of this particular product:

To use, you apply the product with cotton wool pads to the face, neck and eyes, and can either be used as a leave-on product (i.e. just using the cotton wool pads) or can be rinsed off. 

I personally have been using this just as an eye makeup remover, as I found that I was going through it incredibly fast when I tried to use it as an all-over facial makeup remover and hence decided it wasn't very economical when you consider it costs £16 for 200ml - which is where the Bioderma product wins considering it can be found for around £12 for 500ml online.

I do occasionally use it as a skin pick me up on days I haven't been wearing makeup, or in the morning before applying moisturiser however. 

It is incredibly gentle, and has not irritated my eyes (or indeed the rest of my skin) at all, and has a very mild, pleasant scent that isn't really noticeable on the skin. 

Like the Bioderma, it is not a miracle one-swipe-removes-all product, but like I said in my Bioderma review, for a product to do that it often has to be very heavily oil-based, which this isn't, and so it has to work twice as hard to remove make-up gently yet effectively. 

In terms of the packaging, the plastic bottle comes in a box, and although they both receive green plus points as they can be recycled, I feel it is a bit of a waste of a tree to have the bottle in a box - why not just do without?

The flip-top lid is quite handy if you plan on keeping the product in one place, but for travelling I would imagine it would be a nightmare, as mine flips open very easily and would allow product to spill everywhere - maybe a screw top would have been better?

I have really liked this product and I am now very keen to try other products from Korres - I would love to hear from you if you have any you would recommend.

Review: NSpa Melting Cleansing Gel

As you may have noticed, I am very into my skincare of late, and have been trying out various products in the hope they will be my skin's saviour and do miraculous things for me. 

Whilst I do not claim to be a Caroline Hirons (aka skincare boffin) by any means, I feel it is my blogger duty to report back my findings (...goodness i'm coming across all 007 on you) as I go along!

This time it is the turn of the Melting Cleansing Gel by NSpa, a brand for which I have already reviewed their Hot Cloth Polish, and as such I won't ramble on too much about them, other than to say this particular range is an affordable line of skincare produced by Nirvana Spa for Asda.

Like the other products in the range, this is very reasonably priced at £6.00 for a 125ml super-squeezy tube of product - far more practical than some of the packaging types on the market!

When it comes to skincare, it's can be quite surprising how 'influential' textures are (for example super-thick creams sometimes make me think that they are instantly going to be too heavy for me, and likewise watery consistences can be as equally off putting), and as a gel consistency, whilst feeling undoubtedly luxurious(main ingredients include essential oil of Neroli, grapeseed oil, vitamin E and Ginsing), the oiler/combination skinned of you out there might find this a bit much (and so might want to opt for something more astringent), despite being marketed as suitable for all skin types (including sensitive).

I like the fact that being gel-based in consistency makes the oils contained in this cleanser more 'practical' for use (i.e. you can easily massage them into your face without them running everywhere!), and as a little goes a long way, you can afford to use this quite sparingly (I used a ten-pence piece sized amount).

I also quite like the scent, which I would struggle to say exactly what it is (I'm rubbish at describing smells!), but if I had to pick one i'd probably say orange-scented baby shampoo (yes I do know there's no such thing - smell it  yourself and you'll see!) very mild and subtle, yet with a hint of citrus.

  

The unique properties of this cleanser mean that when the gel is combined with warm water (after massaging onto a dry face) it emulsifies and turns into a cleansing milk to remove make-up and other impurities.

I have tried to use this on it's own (using a ten-pence sized blob of cleanser as shown above) to remove my standard everyday facial makeup (foundation, concealer, blusher), but despite massaging my face for several minutes, the gel does struggle to break down heavier makeup such as foundation, and therefore using it alongside a face/muslin cloth (or even a facial cleansing brush, for those of you with Clarisonics out there) is recommended, especially if you struggle to get away with wearing more than just a spot  of concealer here and there!

Another alternative is also to use it as a pre-cleanse product, or a post-makeup removal cleansing product (i.e. after Bioderma, for example). 

A big plus however is that it does not dry out my skin despite containing alcohol (something which is a big factor for me in choosing skincare) or leave a residue (when used with a facial cloth), nor has it irritated it thus far (unlike the Hot Cloth Polish from this range which I found could sting my skin occasionally). 

A quick breakdown of the ingredients (none of which are parabens, hooray):

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride: oily liquid made from coconut oil.

Glycerin: present in all natural fats (whether animal or vegetable).

Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil: Grapeseed oil.

Aqua: Water

Sucrose Laurate: fatty acid esterified form of sucrose and lauric acid widely used as an emulsifier in the cosmetics industry.

Sucrose Palmitate: skin conditioning agent used as an emollient and emulsifying agent.

Parfum: fragrance.

Citrus Aurantium Flower Oil: Neroli oil

Panax Ginseng Root Extract: Ginseng extract used to rejuvenate and invigorate.

Prunus Armeniaca Kernal Oil: apricot oil.

Persea Gratissima Oil: avocado oil.

Tocopheryl Acetate: vitamin E acetate.

Alcohol

Sucrose Myristate: natural origin food grade emulsifier used to create gel that washes off easily.

Isopropyl Myristate: otherwise known as liquid paraffin. Synthetic oil.

Phenoxyethanol: preservative - new alternative to parabens.

Ethylhexylglycerin: weak preservative - another alternative to parabens.

Linalool: naturally occuring alcohol chemical found in many essential oils including lavendar, rose and orange.

Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone: fragrance ingredient.

Limonene: naturally occuring hydrocarbon which smells strongly like oranges. 

CL 16035: colouring                    

CL 19140: colouring.

Did you know that on a product label, the ingredients are listed in order of predominance, with the ingredients used in the greatest amounts listed first, followed in descending order by other ingredients?

That means that although this cleaning gel does contain some synthetic ingredients, the great majority of ingredients are natural goodies, and in the greatest amounts.

Overall this cleanser gets a thumbs up from me. 

Just like the Hot Cloth Polish is a good (obvious) dupe for the Liz Earl product, this would be a good alternative for the much more expensive Elemis Melting Cleansing Gel, and suggest you pop one in your basket next time you're in Asda!

Have you tried anything from NSpa?

Review: NSpa Hot Cloth Polish

Like my hair, my skin has become rather tempremental of late,and skincare is something I am really struggling to 'nail down' in terms of products that suit my skin and actually work.

I am genuinely interested in skincare and researching various products and ingredients, but generally I just tend to buy products that take my fancy (the less fuss the better) and hope for the best!

Cleansers/makeup removers are a big thing for me, and I think the vast majority of people have tried the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. Me being me, I'm always looking for beauty products on a budget (i.e. products that perform the same as the 'big boys' but at highstreet prices!) and so when I saw this NSpa Hot Cloth Polish in Asda for a very reasonable £5.00 (for 150ml) I snapped it up.

NSpa is a range of high quality, yet low-cost products designed by the experts at the Nirvana Spa and exclusively available at Asda stores.

The products in the range (of which I have the majority of - including serums, night creams and face masks) have very purse-friendly prices from £3 to £7.

Like many of the hot-cloth cleansers now out there on the market, NSpa's offering is very similar to that of Liz Earle's, both in the packaging design and the actual product itself.

Main ingredients in this include Ginseng, Vitamin E, Cocoa Butter, Sweet Almond Oil and essential Oil of Neroli, and is dermatologically approved, suitable for sensitive skin and paraben free. It's also not tested on animals which gets it a big thumbs up!

The cleanser doesn't really have any scent to speak off, and is very thick in texture (not dissimilar to the LE), almost like an intensive moisturiser.

I find that the pump dispenser provides enough product in one pump to cover my whole face (and part of my neck) easily, and feels very luxurious and quite 'comforting' as you massage it in.

It's then easily washed off using the muslin cloth wrung out in hot water (although I personally prefer an actual wash-cloth. Possibly a tad harsh on your face, but what can I say, i'm hardcore).

Initally when I started using this I did find it stung the skin around my nose slightly, but I think my skin was going through a particularly awkward phase, as I can now now it with no problems at all.

I also use this product on my eyes (although it does state not to) and find that it doesn't irriate them. I tend to think of these hot cloth cleansers as multi-purpose products that you should be able to be used on your eyes (for convenience more than anything), therefore the fact they state you shouldn't put it near your eyes is a bit annoying - just be rebellious like me!

This cleanser is not at all drying, and combied with the cloth it does effectively remove makeup and cleanse. Because it is so thick, I personally wouldn't use it in the morning, but that's just my personal preference - I could imagine in the winter it would be a nice treat in the morning.

I would definitely recommend you try this if you're thinking of trying the Liz Earle product but don't want the price tag (at least double that of this NSpa cleanser) or if you just want to dip your toe (not literally) into the world of hot cloth cleansers.

Melanie x

Review: DHC Deep Cleansing Oil

As much as I love the intrinsic details of skincare; trying out different types; going through the whole 'process', sometimes (like if i'm really tired or, ahem, tipsy) I can be tempted to go down the 'fast food for your face' route and use facewipes or, shock horror, not take my makeup off at all (although that is a VERY rare occurance nowadays).

Therefore I was so excited when I tried this out: a cleansing oil that literally washes off your makeup!



I received this sample as part of a Glossybox a few months back (i've since unsubscribed), but prior to this I knew very little of DHC.

In a nutshell, DHC are Japan's No.1 online skincare company, and base the foundations of their skincare range on the natural benefits of olive oil. Their products are also free from parabens and unncessary colourings and fragrances.

* Their animal testing policy is unclear - states that No animal testing
DHC skincare products are never tested on animals. Not definite...? *

The Deep Cleansing Oil is one of their original/earliest products, and is a water-soluable cleansing oil that contains a rich blend of skin-loving vitamin E and hydrating olive oil to unclog pores by clearing away impurities and makeup.

Now the first time I used this, I used it with a damp muslin cloth, simply because I presumed I would have to  - surely a wash off cleanser used by itself would fail to remove all my foundation? Wrong.

With this oil, you massage a little (I would take about 6 drops worth) amount into your dry face (AVOIDING your eyes - it will sting!), making sure to really work it in for a couple of minutes. You then rinse off with warm water (as you can see from the photo below, when water is added the solution turns quite milky), and it literally washes off your foundation - I couldn't believe it when I used my toner afterwards that there was hardly any traces of leftover foundation on the cotton pad!

I sometimes find facial washes to be a tad drying, but not this one- it must be the olive oil.

Full ingredients are as follows:

olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, sorbeth-30 tetraoleate, pentylene glycol, phenoxyethanol, tocopherol, stearyl glycyrrhetinate, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil

As it was a Glossybox sample, I only had a little bottle of this (and yet it lasted me over a week, easily), but it is available to buy in 30ml (£3.50), 70ml (£9.50) and 200ml (£18.50) sizes, from the DHC website.

I've really enjoyed using this as it has helped make my night-time cleansing routine so much more quicker - and far better for my skin than wipes!

Have you tried any products recently that have surpassed your expectations?