An average cleanser with an above average price (Philosophy Purity Made Simple)

Member Name: pink_glitter

Product:	Philosophy Purity Made Simple
Date:	25/08/08 (174 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gets rid of most make-up, smells nice, only a tiny bit needed

Disadvantages: Doesnt get rid of waterproof mascara, nothing special considering the price

About a month or so ago, I bought a set of Philosophy products from QVC as part of a special offer they were doing. I only really wanted one product from the selection - the Hope in a Jar moisturiser - but looked at the other things as a bonus, and a great way of trying products I wouldn't normally be able to convince myself to spend that much money on!

One of the products included was the Purity Made Simple cleanser, described by Philosophy as a 'one-step facial cleanser.' It has a 4-in-1 formula and states that it 'can be used in place of your make-up remover, eye make-up remover, facial cleanser and toner'. It promises to melt away make-up and deep clean your pores, all of which sounds great. Philosophy say that they believe separate make-up removers and toners are not required to complete the cleansing process and they wanted to create a product that cleanses the pores and not 'create a lot of foam, without creating a lot of clean.'

The bottle I have is a small size (4 fl.oz. / 118.3ml) and looks a little different to the one pictured, which is the full size bottle. It is a sort of frosted bottle, through which you can see the product, which is actually a creamy pale yellow colour. The one pictured looks as though it may have a screw top, whereas mine has a flip-top cap, and a very small hole, through which you dispense the product. I actually find that the small hole is very beneficial, as the cleanser is quite a runny consistency, and this way, it's easy to dispense just the amount you need and no more. If I was having to pour it out onto my hand, there would most certainly be a lot of wastage.

I've been using this for just over a month now, and was going to write this review a couple of weeks ago, but left it, as I wanted to be absolutely sure of what effects this was having on my skin before I told the world! I started using a Burt's Bees toner around the same time as I started using this (even though you're not supposed to need a separate toner with this) and found it was bringing my skin out in little lumps, so stopped using it. I have now been using the cleanser alone for around 3 weeks.

The directions for use state that this can be applied to either wet or dry skin. The first time I used it, I applied it to dry skin and found it very strange - it felt odd, and didn't spread across my skin very easily, so I have since been applying it to wet skin, which I think makes using it a much nicer experience!

The cleanser contains countless different oils - rosewood oil, meadowfoam oil, sandalwood oil and geranium oil to name just a few. I do think it's a bit strange that a product with the words 'purity' and 'simple' in its name has such a long list of ingredients. Anyway, the extensive list of ingredients combine to give an overall scent that is almost like a very faint lemony smell -quite fresh, but almost a little bit woody too.

Considering Philosophy's comments on cleansers that 'create a lot of foam, without a lot of clean.' I had not expected this to foam - thinking it would be more of a creamy cleanser - so was surprised that there is a fair bit of lather with this product. It tells you to massage this into the skin for 60 seconds before rinsing, but I must admit, I don't do that every time, as I'm often in a rush - especially in the mornings, and I don't have a full 60 seconds to spare!

The first time I used this, I could immediately tell that my skin felt different. I don't know if I would say it was a good different though. It's hard to describe, but it felt slightly chalky -although at the same time wasn't at all dry. After using it for a week or so that feeling seemed to stop, and now my skin just feels soft after using it.

So, first of all, its cleansing abilities. I find that it does remove most make-up, but when it comes to waterproof mascara, it didn't budge it one bit, and I had to use a separate eye make up remover anyway. And as a toner I don't think it worked either as I still have enlarged pores around my nose.

This promises to deep clean, but to be honest I didn't particularly think that this was particularly any different to any other cleanser I have used in terms of cleansing abilities. The main difference I found with this was that it made my skin feel very soft and smooth. I have dry skin anyway, so was glad that this wasn't at all drying - a big bonus point for me, as I've found that to be the biggest problem I have when switching cleansers.

In terms of appearance, I don't think this has made my skin look any better or worse. It looks clean, but that's about it - I can't claim that it has suddenly made my skin glow with a luminous radiance unfortunately!

Now for the price, and grab the edge of your seats, because this is slightly shocking. The 236ml bottle is £17.00 and the 473ml bottle is a whopping £30. Mind you, my 118ml bottle (the sizes are so strange because the products are American, therefore converted from fluid ounces, if you were wondering) has lasted around a month and there is just under half left, so the 473ml bottle would last you ages. It can be bought from www.hqhair.com

In conclusion, I wasn't overly impressed with this. It did have some good points - the smell is quite nice, and only a small amount is needed and it does leave my skin feeling soft, but I would certainly not pay £17 for it, when, quite frankly there is nothing that makes it stand out as being any better than the No.7 Soft and Soothed cleanser I favour, which costs around the £7 mark.

Summary: Purity made Simple Cleanser