Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish review.

I received this product as a sample with the Botanical shine shampoo and conditioner that my sister got me as a present.

At first I was apprehensive about using a creme cleanser as I'm used to foaming products so for the first few times I used it in conjunction with my clinique face soap to get the squeaky clean feeling i'm used to.

Now I use the cleanse and polish on it's own unless i'm wearing my full makeup (As a nursery teacher I always wear natural looking but waterproof and budgeproof makeup when at work) in which case I remove it with my makeup remover and face wash before using the cleanse and polish, to make sure that the lovely ingredients in the Liz Earle manage to make their way into my pores and do their job as effectively as possible. 

Introduction to Liz Earle

If you aren't already familiar with the Liz Earle brand they are a British company, based on the beautiful Isle of Wight. Being British myself I always feel a little bit happier purchasing a product from a British brand, the products haven't traveled as far and as much as I love beauty products, I love the earth too! Along this vein Liz Earle's green credentials are incredible. The website Liz Earle   details this in full and I really recommend you go and have a look to marvel at how dedicated this brand is to keeping their impact on mother earth as delicate as possible. All too often brands seem to be paying not much more than lip service to the Green ethos but that is not the case here. Many of the ingredients are natural, properly natural, not merely tiny extracts drowned in a plethora of unpronounceable chemical substitutes, but real ingredients, well researched and applied with care and thought.

Taking all this into account it should come as no surprise that the products are not tested on animals and all of them proudly bear the leaping bunny symbol to evidence this. Given that the EU ban on cosmetic animal testing has been moved back to 2017! It's nice to know that some companies *actually* find better ways to produce a safe and high quality product instead of wittering about how important the issue is to them while busily not actually doing anything about it.

The product

The cleanser is a thick white cream that smells amazing. The smell is quite strong and after reading reviews some people find it takes time to get used to. Being a little OCD the incredibly strong and clean scent of this fills me with satisfaction and joy from the get go and I had no reservations about rubbing it right into my skin, all the while imagining those lovely butters and oils soaking into and cleansing my pores.

After this I soak the muslin cloth in hot hot water, wring it out and polish off the cleanser. I usually use the cloth wet at the end because I don't like residue on my skin but if you suffer from dry skin on the face I can see that feeling comforting.

Results

I've only been using this for about a week now but my skin feels softer, and looks brighter. I've not had to exfoliate every day which I previously felt the need to do, as the polishing action of the muslin cloth gently exfoliates for me. The eczema patches around my hairline have reduced but I've been saving the best bit for last...

THIS STUFF HAS SHRUNK MY PORES

Oh yes it's true. After years and years of suffering from enlarged pores on my nose and cheek bones that made me feel miserable and unattractive without carefully blended face base, In just one week I now feel comfortable with only a light dusting of translucent powder.

I don't think I could love this stuff any more than I do. Liz Earle is now firmly on my christmas list and I can't wait to try more products from the line. As a lipstick lover I've got my eye on the pink lip shimmer as I'm always on the lookout for more lovely lip products and I prefer to buy them from companies that hold the same values I do.

In Summary

Everything I have tried from this range so far has delighted me and I'm already excited about the brand's first steps into colour with their upcoming face base launch (details on the website).

Finally, to prove that my pores are indeed better off, here is a picture of me, taken today (while suffering heavily with allergies at that), NOT wearing my usual full face of makeup thanks to Liz Earle.

Taken on iPhone

Soap and Glory Fab Pore review

I bought this on my boots points the other day. I haven't had chance to take a picture yet.

The 15 minute facial peel comes in a small white pot and you get 50g for £7.00. Not a high price for a face mask really, but the amount they tell you to use (grape sized) and the size of the pot makes me wish it came in a bigger pot for more money.

Never one to follow instructions properly I applied it in my usual way in thin layers until It was opaque all over my face and found I used significantly less than the amount they recommend. It spreads easily as a white cream and is "wet" enough that it didn't drag on my skin and ball up on my fingers as drier masks can do. As it sits on your face it feels damp and cooling and not at all burny as the "peel" makes me think. It doesn't dry on the skin, so doesn't have the tightness usually associated with masks containing clay, but there's something about it that makes you think it's doing *something*.

Next I washed my hair and hoped that it didn't melt off in the humidity, which pleasingly it did not. Nor did I get patches where it splashed off, so hurrah there. After 5 mins I caved and wanted to see if it had any effect. The pot says to leave it on for 15 mins or 5 for a "quick refresh". This isn't a splash off mask, I rubbed it off under the shower head and then rinsed my skin with my normal clinque face soap before I felt it was really "off".

Looking in the mirror afterwards I nearly fell over! The pores on my nose and cheeks cause me misery daily. To me they seem vast and cavernous and they are all I see when I first look in the mirror. After just 5 mins in this they looked small, greatly reduced in colour, scrubbed out and not at all flaky and dry as I had feared.

3 days later the initial super tightening (which I assume is from the magical mushroom qualities of the product) has worn off somewhat, but my pores are still on the smaller side of "normal" which for me is simply astounding. Make up goes on smoother and doesn't sink into my skin towards the end of the day. This is simply the best facial product I have ever used and I don't think I'm alone.

This little pot of magic has clocked up 69 rave reviews on boots.com where it can be purchased, often on 3 for 2 (score!!!) in fact, you should probably just get some now, right away before I buy it all.