Sonya Dakar Buriti Purifying Cleanser

What is it?
'Effortlessly dissolves make up, dirt and impurities to leave your face feeling like velvet.'

Who is it for?
All skin types - particularly dry, mature or sensitive.

What’s in it?
Capric/Caprylic Triglyceride (Coconut Oil), Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, PEG-40 Sorbitan Peroleate, Triisostearyl Citrate, Diisostearyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Mauritia Flexuosa Fruit Oil, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Retinyl Palmitate, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Guaiazulene, Natural Essential Oil Blend

What's not in it?
mineral oil
parabens

Possibly acne/allergy/troubling for some ingredients?
essential oils

Natural? Organic? Man made? Vegan?
'synthetic-free' aka natural

Tested on animals/sold in territories that advocate testing?
No/No

How does it smell?
It doesn't really 'have' a smell to me.

How does it feel on the skin?/Absorption rate?
Soft oil, not greasy.

How do you use it?/Where to use in your routine?
This is great for either first or second cleanse - or morning cleanse.
Apply to dry skin with dry fingers, massage into skin and remove with warm flannel. You can emulsify if you wish. The oil is water soluble. I don't.

How long before you should see results?
Immediately.

How long did I test it for?
I've had this for a few months.

How much is it? /Size/Approximate cost per usage?
It's 113ml for £50.00/$67.00.

What’s good about it?
I love this cleanser. This and the Sonya Dakar Eye Wash are my favourite oil-based liquid (as opposed to balm) cleansers at the moment. They're completely gentle, yet destroy makeup in seconds. A joy to use. Neither cause any further irritation and skin is left completely comfortable.
This washes off clean enough to use your prescription retinoids on the clean skin straight afterwards (as you always should) without needing to tone. No residue.

What’s not so good about it?
Actually not so sure if it's a negative but this is fragrance free, yet contains essential oils. Unsure why or which ones, but bear that in mind if they are an issue for you. Otherwise, crack on.

Works well with?
The Eye Wash is great before this, and all acids are obviously good afterwards. 

What’s the website like?
Great with the exception of no full ingredient listing, which lets it down. Otherwise all good.

Would I repurchase?
Yes. And back up. 

Similar products?
DHC Deep Cleansing Oil
Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil (only Ultime8)


Sonya Dakar Buriti Purifying Cleanser is £50.00 from CultBeauty.co.uk and $67.00 from sonyadakarskinclinic.com

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Intensive Recovery Ampoules

Heads up ANR devotees - and I know there's a lot of you out there. These are new and coming your way soon. They are designed to be used as a 'super serum' on designated areas of concern underneath your usual Advanced Night Repair.

That's literally as much info as I have - I'm off to test them and will report back with further info as and when it happens.

BloGlossary

As the blog continues to grow in readership (thank you!) I am fielding a lot of similar questions on a regular basis, the majority of which are usually very kindly answered by long-time readers in the comments section.
However, I thought a brief overview may prove helpful - and if you think of anything I say regularly and have forgotten, please let me know and I'll update.


Flannels (face cloths)
You will need a lot of these before you get started on anything that follows.

Double Cleanse
Done in the evening, double cleansing is the foundation of a good routine. Whatever you use first, whether it's a micellar water on your eyes, an eye makeup remover or just a greasy cleansing balm. That's your first cleanse.
The 'double' part comes in when you follow it up either with a repeat of the first product, or preferably with a cleanser that does slightly more than removes product, and contains nicer ingredients that you want on your skin, or dedicated ingredients to address the issues of your particular skin type/condition.
More info here: carolinehirons.com/cheat-sheet-double-cleansing

First Cleanse/Removal Cleanse
The product that is primarily going to remove makeup/dirt/spf.
Example:
Clinique Take The Day Off Balm - fabulous as a first cleanse, or your only cleanse if you're too exhausted to do it more than once or aren't wearing too much spf/makeup.
More info here: carolinehirons.com/clinique-take-day-off-cleansing-balm

Second Cleanse/Skin Contact Cleanse
The product that will address your skin, not just remove your makeup.
Example:
Pixi Glow Mud Cleanser - great second cleanse for problematic skins/dull skins, but you wouldn't use it to remove your makeup.
More info here: carolinehirons.com/pixi-glow-mud-cleanser

Acid Toning
Bringing the traditional toners up to date and starting your anti-ageing routine as soon as you've finished your cleanse, acid toning is exactly that, an acid product either applied via a pre-soaked pad or onto a cotton pad. Usually done twice a day, morning and evening, containing various acids. 'Acid toning' will be my skincare epitaph.
Examples:
Biologique Recherche P50 (liquid) and NeoStrata Smooth Surface Pads (pads - obvs)

Sunday Facial/Three Step Facial
This is your way of saying sorry to your skin for the busy week you've had and giving yourself the extra time to actually pay attention to it.
There are a multitude of ways to do it but it usually involves an exfoliating product, a clay product, then a hydrating product to follow.
Example here: carolinehirons.com/SundayFacial

Therapist's swipe
A way to apply products, mainly cleansers, but also works very well for oils. Use as an alternative to 'rubbing hands together'. Add small amount of product to the palm of one hand, put your other hand over it at a right angle, turn to the prayer position and continue around until hands are lying palms together, then swipe them away from each other maintaining contact. (video coming!)

Fannies, flights and festivals
The appropriate times/places to use wipes. I would add 'emergencies/hospitals' but that doesn't flow. ;)

Take it to the tits
How far down you need to go when applying your facial skincare products. Your face doesn't end at your chin in skincare.
#takeittothetits

Meet The Beauty Experts - M&S Westfield White City

Not sure whose idea this was, or if it's safe, but Amanda and I are at M&S Westfield tomorrow afternoon talking all things Pixi. The info is here: westfield.com/entertainment/meet-the-beauty-experts-pixi

They've put us in the 'Entertainment' section which, if you have ever seen us together, is apt.

See you tomorrow between 12 and 4pm in the Beauty Dept. And if your memory needs refreshing - this may help.

Skip to 16:09 - that will be us tomorrow. :)

Juice Beauty Cleansing Milk

It's organic so I put it in my hyacinths.

What is it?
'This creamy formula deeply cleanses and removes makeup...'

Who is it for?
...'while soothing normal, aging, or sensitive skin.'

What’s in it?
Organic juices of vitis vinifera (organic white grape juice)*, rubus idaeus (organic red raspberry juice)*, aloe barbadensis (organic aloe juice)*, vegetable glycerin, caprylic/capric triglyceride, organic plant oils of carthamus tinctorius (organic safflower seed oil)*, helianthus annuus (organic sunflower seed oil)*, sesamum indicum (organic sesame seed oil)*, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond oil), vitis vinifera (grape seed oil), cetearyl alcohol, gluconolactone, cetearyl glucoside, sorbitan stearate, sodium benzoate, botanical extracts of calendula officinalis (marigold flower extract), chamomilla recutita (chamomile extract), tilia cordata (linden flower extract), boswellia carterii (frankincense extract), tocopherol (Vitamin E), ascorbyl palmitate (Vitamin C), panthenol (Vitamin B5), xanthan gum, tetrasodium glutamate diacetate, allantoin, sodium hydroxide, citrus aurantium dulcis (organic sweet orange & sweet neroli)* , chamomilla recutita (chamomile) and boswellia carterii (organic frankincense) pure essential oils

What's not in it?
parabens, petroleum, propylene or butylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfates, pesticides, phthalates, artificial dyes or synthetic fragrances

Possibly acne/allergy/troubling for some ingredients?
essential oils

Natural? Organic? Man made? Vegan?
organic/vegan

Tested on animals/sold in territories that advocate testing?
No/No

How does it smell?
Nice actually, fresh, like citrus milk, if that was a thing.

How does it feel on the skin?/Absorption rate?
It's a runny lotion, gets to work quickly.

How do you use it?/Where to use in your routine?
First or second cleanse in the evening, only cleanse in the morning.
I apply to dry skin, massage, remove with hot facecloth/flannel.

How long before you should see results?
Immediately - 'tis a cleanser after all.

How long did I test it for?
I've had this for 3 months. 

How much is it? /Size/Approximate cost per usage?
200ml - it should last a good few months.

What’s good about it?
As much as I disliked the pads, I like this. It's gentle, soothing, gets the job done with no irritation or dryness. It removes makeup perfectly well, but I would still use it only as a skin-contact cleanser as opposed to a removal cleanse.

What’s not so good about it?
Not much - it's good.
It is very runny, so once it's in your palm you need to get it onto your face stat. But that's about it - on the plus side, it means that if you immediately go red with friction that this would quite possibly suit you better than some cleansers as you don't have to 'work' it in.

Works well with?
Acids after! :)

What’s the website like?
As I mentioned in the first review of Juice Beauty that I did, the website is great.

Would I repurchase?
Yes. It's nice. It's affordable. It does no further harm.

Similar products?
Cleansing milks/lotions of old such as Clarins Alpine/Gentian.


Juice Beauty Cleansing Milk is £20.00 for 200ml from Naturisimo.com  in the UK and
$22.00 directly from JuiceBeauty.com