Review: My current cleansers of choice! - Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish & Bravura Purifying Gel Cleanser

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and Bravura London Purifying Gel Cleanser

I have come across the most spectacular cleanser I have ever tried! I have tried quite a few over the years, some were good, some did absolutely nothing to my skin. This one however, I look forward to using it every morning and evening - yes, it is the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. This cleanser receives so much praise and hype in the beauty world, and well deserved! I bought it having read various raves and reviews, and I wasn't disappointed. I've been using it for a good few months now, and it has already become THE staple item in my skincare routine (skincare routine post soon).

My second cleanser of choice at the moment is by a company called Bravura, based in london, and it is their Purifying Gel Cleanser for oily/problem skin. Now, I wouldn't say my skin is 'problem', however I have inherited my Mum's oiliness (Thanks Mum!), and am quite prone to oiliness in my T-zone and stubborn blackheads in my nose (Ew!) This cleanser is perfect for deep-cleansing as it uses topical exfoliants such as various acids and enzymes, which have really helped my skin. 

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish - 100ml

The Liz Earle Cleanser is nothing short of miraculous, this cleanser is so moisturising and although I have combination/oily skin, I hate the tight, dry feeling that some cleansers give the skin but this makes my face feel supple and smooth when I use it. 

The main active ingredients in the cleanser are Rosemary, Chamomile, Cocoa Butter and Eucalyptus essential oil. The Chamomile soothes and calms the skin, so it is perfect to use if you want to strip your skincare back to basics through those breakout periods (Hormones!). The Cocoa Butter provides the moisturised feeling after cleansing without clogging pores and the Eucalyptus essential oil provides skincare benefits as well as a gorgeous aroma that is slightly addictive!

The bottle comes with this really convenient pump that allows you to control how much product you pump out. This pump format is available with the 100ml bottle, the 200ml comes in a squeezy tube. ( I prefer the pump!)

You don't need tons of this cleanser because it is very thick and creamy as you can see from the photos above. You massage it onto dry skin, working it into your skin for a deep cleanse, it feels really smooth and silky on the skin. Then comes the amazing part - the muslin cloth! Now, I'd never used a muslin cloth before this, but ohhhh man my life will never be the same again! The muslin cloth is thin and provides just the right amount of exfoliation for every day use - I don't want to be scrubbing my face within an inch of it's life every day! By using the cloth with hot water after massaging in the cleanser, it scruffs away any dead skin and leaves your face smooth and radiant. I don't think I could ever go back to using anything else!

Now for the Bravura cleanser...

Not the greatest of photo's as it was hard to get a non-shiny one due to the packaging!! - Sorry

After watching a video by Wayne Goss (gossmakeupartist on YouTube - and if you haven't watched his videos, you need him in your life!) about how to get rid of black heads (Video link here) where he mentioned a cleanser by Paula's Choice containing BHA Salicylic acid. 

A little lesson on BHA's (Beta-hydroxy acids) if you don't want to watch the video - Salicylic is the only acid of this type, it is perfect for the elimination of blackheads because it goes INTO the pore and 'pops the plug', as it were, cleansing deeply into the pore and flushing out the blackhead completely. They also have an anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory action if you are particularly prone to breakouts. Amazing right? Well, I went to purchase the Paula's Choice Exfoliant which comes in a gel (2% BHA for Combination/Oily Skin) and a lotion (1% for Normal/Dry/Very Dry Skin). At £21.50 for 100ml, the price point wasn't too sad, however when I got to the checkout, the postage was almost £5! - for a bottle of cleanser, really?! So I decided to look around some more, possibly for a product that was cheaper and that did the same thing. 

That is when I stumbled across the Bravura cleanser - a cleanser containing not only BHA Salicylic acid for those pesky blackheads, but AHA Glycolic acid for exfoliating the skin's surface, perfect for sun-damaged/dry/sensitive skins as they aren't as harsh and they improve moisture content. The cleanser also contains Lactic acid, another AHA (Alpha-hydroxy acid), these acids are derived from fruit and milk. It also contains 'Papain' - an enzyme present in Papaya, don't even get me started on Papaya! This magical fruit exfoliates the skin by eating away at all the dead skin on the surface, leaving you with a smooth complexion. So, this cleanser has MORE active ingredients than the Paula's Choice one, and at less than half the price, it does the job very well!

The active ingredients speak for themselves and leave my skin feeling smooth, renewed and very, very clean! The BHA ingredient has done wonders for my blackheads as well as making the pores on my nose look much smaller and less 'wide'. 

The cleanser is a clear gel (made from Aloe Vera) and I will be honest and say the smell is quite strong and "chemically", nevertheless the smell isn't off-putting and doesn't linger on the skin. When applied to the face (dry!), it becomes less gel-like and more like a lotion, becoming white before sinking into the skin. Use it fast and efficiently to get the best results! Again, I use my muslin cloth to remove the cleanser and I use it in conjunction with the Liz Earle (either before or after) as I always double-cleanse!

Overall, I am very happy with these cleansers and what they have done for my skin, I would definitely recommend the Liz Earle for anyone with any skin type, and the Bravura for anyone with combination/oily/congested skin that needs a good clear out!

The Liz Earle (100ml pump and 2 muslin cloths retail at £14.25) can be purchased from the official UK site or at QVC and the Bravura (100ml retails at £8.39) can be purchased from the Bravura site.