Submit to the Cult! (Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser)

Member Name: kittybuttons

Product:	Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser
Date:	02/06/09 (193 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic skin

Disadvantages: Internet order only (unless you're in London)

I'm always up for trying new beauty products and when I returned from travelling budget-style 5 years ago I felt that my skin certainly needed a treat or even just some basic skincare! Being away from both Christmas & my Birthday I had a big pile of presents waiting for me and one of these was a pretty little blue paper bag. When I opened it I discovered the Liz Earle Introductory Set.

This comprised of a 100ml pump of Cleanse & Polish with 2 white muslin clothes, a 200ml bottle of Instant Boost Skin Tonic Toner and a 50ml pot of Skin Repair Moisturiser.

My mum told me that she had bought it from QVC and I have to admit I was highly sceptical! Buying something from a shopping channel sounded a bit dodgy and a big no no to me. However after having it explained to me that this Liz Earle was a successful beauty journalist who had presented programmes from both the BBC & GMTV and had written more than 30 books on health & beauty, (and has now since been awarded an MBE for her services to the beauty industry), the doubt started to fade!

Liz Earle is a range of skincare products for both women and men created by beauty editor and columnist Liz Earle and her business partner Kim Buckland in 1995. The premise was to use 'naturally active ingredients' which led to the name Naturally Active Skincare and to not use ingredients derived form animals or test on animals. Their products are sold at a rate of more than 1 every minute in 82 different countries!

Cleanse & Polish is probably the most popular and well known out of all the products in the range and a cult product in it's own right - it has had numerous write ups in magazines and recommendations in books over the years and repeatedly wins an Red Best of Beauty award.

This Cleanse & Polish comes in a pump but it is also available in a tube. I have to admit I do prefer the tube as I know I can get every last bit of it out! The pump is pale green in colour and claims that it 'Cleanses and gently exfoliates for smoother, clearer skin.' The active ingredients listed on it are -

- Rosemary (Antibacterial)
- Chamomile (Soothes the skin)
- Cocoa Butter (Moisturises)
- Eucalyptus Essential Oil (Decongests the skin)

You press the pump once and you get enough for one application. The product itself is a thick, white cream. You can smell the eucalyptus quite easily and it's very nice. To apply it you massage it onto your skin which not only gives a deeper clean but facial massage is also beneficial - it improves blood circulation and is known to tighten certain skin tissues. Plus it feels very luxurious!

You can leave it on for a few minutes so that it doubles up as a relaxing face mask or if you're in a hurry, soak the white muslin cloth in hand hot water for 30 seconds and then rub it off. The beauty of using the muslin cloth means that you really do get off all traces of make up as opposed to splashing water on your face and it really does polish your face. It gives it a mini exfoliating session that isn't too rough for your skin.

My skin was left with a definite glow and felt noticeably soft. I am also prone to both spots and dry skin and my skin has calmed down since using it. After doing the 3 step routine twice a day for 2 weeks I had a person comment that my skin looked better after using it, that may not be many but it makes me feel much better about my skin and myself and I think that's all that matters!

There are disadvantages to this product as with all and these are that the muslin cloth has to be regularly cleaned as it with get really dirty and harbour bacteria if you don't. It's easy enough, just shove it in the washing machine, but they can get a bit grubby over time. Saying that you get 2 new cloths with every pump/tube so maybe I should stop hoarding and throw those old ones out!

You also can't tell how much is left if you're using the pump until it's too late and you have to wait 4 days for one to come in the post.

Liz Earle can be bought from the QVC website and I would recommend that you watch out for her show on this channel if you are interested in finding out more about this product. I wouldn't recommend however buying from the website unless you are getting a special deal as it is cheaper to buy direct from the Liz Earle website.

Of course, if you are a first time user of Liz Earle, if you buy from QVC they will refund it if you return if within 30 days, even if you have used it so this might be an option for you.

A 100ml pump with 2 muslin cloths costs £12.50 and lasts me a month. Yes you can get cheaper products but to me they don't do the job as well. I have been known in my student days to eek it out by using it every other day (of course using another cleanser in its place) and didn't notice any negative effects.

I also love Liz Earle as a company as I feel they care about you as the customer, as an individual. All their products come beautifully packaged in white tissue paper and I always receive a free trial size of a product. Last time I even received a full size product too.

I think the best thing I have to say about this product is that I have now been using it for 5 years and so is my mother, I don't think I have ever been constantly loyal to a brand for so long (unless you count Haribo) and in my mind that says it all.

Summary: Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish