I have a new goodie from The Body Shop but before I get to that I need to backtrack a bit. When I personally experienced the Emma Hardie cleansing balm nearly every UK skincare enthusiast was raving about last year my complaint was in our tropical weather the balm just wouldn’t hold its consistency. You had to keep it refrigerated and to be honest unless you had warm running tap water (which not everyone does here) it wouldn’t emulsify super well and just flanneling it off with a damp face towel without rinsing is a total turn-off for overt rinse maniacs like us Filipinas. It made my skin feel great though and I agreed that natural cleansing oils or balms were the way forward in facial skincare especially for people like me who do have lazy nights where I just want to take my made-up face off and cleanse with one product. I still like my Andalou Apricot Pro Biotic Cream Cleanser but that doesn’t remove makeup. I was hoping for a less expensive alternative that 1. Acted like a cleansing balm but didn’t come in a jar 2. Be mostly based on natural, fairly sourced ingredients without mineral oil, and 3. Retain its consistency locally. I got my checklist ticked off when I found Body Shop’s Nutriganics Softening Cleansing Gel Oil which contains fair trade Babassu oil extracted from the nuts of the wild babassu palm tree, found on the outskirts of the Amazon rainforest….and by the way,yes, it does emulsify with water, very well.
Contains Fair Trade Babassu Oil, 99% of Total Ingredients are from natural origin, 45% of ingredients are from organic farming, natural and organic certified by ECOCERT, NO PARABENS and NO SILICONES
INGREDIENTS:
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil , Aqua (Solvent/Diluent), Glycerin, Sucrose Laurate , Sucrose Palmitate, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Salicylic Acid, Limonene, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Citral, Linalool , Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil , Citronellol , Arginine, Buddleja Davidii Extract , Thymus Vulgaris Extract, Malva Sylvestris Flower Extract, Foeniculum Vulgare Oil, Citrus Nobilis Peel Oil, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Litsea Cubeba Fruit Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil, Sodium Benzoate, Thymus Vulgaris Oil, Potassium Sorbate, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil.
Price: about Php795 for 100ml at Body Shop boutiques
HOW TO USE: Apply a pea sized amount to dry makeup-free skin, or a peso coin sized amount if you have makeup on. Yes, don’t wet your face first or else it will emulsify instantly, when that happens you miss out on the oil treatment which removes makeup while treating skin and provides the opportunity for a good facial massage.
When you’ve spread the product all over your face and have the oil consistency on, a circular facial massage is highly recommended before rinsing to remove makeup, dead skin and dirt. Then apply water to the face to have it emusify, do circular motions again to properly cleanse and rinse. Repeat if necessary.
What I like about this product is for a mid-ranged price you’re getting something that is well sourced, nearly 100% organic and on lazy nights it moves makeup when you massage it in and yes really does feel like an oil-based cleanser or balm that you can store well even in a tropical climate since it comes in a tube. On the nights when I do have the energy to use makeup remover first and then finish with this I get an exceptionally thorough cleansing experience. It’s just good to know something like this also has your back on lazy days if you want to skip makeup remover. You can also try Lisa Eldridge’s facial massage routine before rinsing with water, you don’t have to do the whole 20mins, you can cut it down if you like.
I also have a bonus favorite for this post, the only drawback for me on it is it’s highly scented, it didn’t break me out but I would prefer it unscented. From the Body Shop as well I also like this Vitamin Aqua Boost Sorbet cooling facial moisturizer with Vitamin E and Soybean Oil.
24-Hour moisture quench, aqua light texture
The cooling effect isn’t weird, not like menthol at all, it feels very fresh, sort of like the comfort that after sun products provide on the skin. It hydrates the way Clinique’s Moisture Surge gel moisturizer seems to do and with a zero greasy feel and matte finish. It does contain some silicone but that makes it a great thin moisturizer beneath makeup because it also acts as a primer. Most likely great for girls with normal to oily skin…though I would recommend patch testing it on an area of the face for the day from the Body Shop boutique first before purchasing since it is scented, just to be sure you don’t react. If you don’t it’s a good one to have if you’re not into greasy or cream moisturizers. It comes in a frosted glass jar at 50ml. Err, I’m forgetting the price at the moment but I think it was around Php1200 or a bit more. Yes a bit pricy, I think the packaging has something to do with that.
I’m glad The Body Shop has ventured out with their Nutriganics range for example to bring us fairly sourced more natural skincare options, and I also like that they’re developing new formulas and textures in skincare like with the Aqua Boost sorbet. Stop by your nearest Body Shop boutique at anytime to spot the new items they have to offer, I didn’t think they’d stepped up in many ways and offered many new things beyond their usual until I dropped in for a proper visit.