Sub-standard cleanser - buy something else (Philosophy Purity Made Simple)

Member Name: rampancy

Product:	Philosophy Purity Made Simple
Date:	27/01/09 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cleans make - up off

Disadvantages: Dries skin, scent not appealing, very expensive

Well, when going through my friends list and reading REAL reviews I came upon GrownUpGirlie's review of philosophy's (the company spells it with a lowercase P!) Purity Made Simple face cleanser. That made me want to try it out. Check out her other makeup reviews, I enjoy reading them.

Now, I have only been a fan of philosophy's product line for a couple months now. I started out with their "The Present" clear make-up, and was thoroughly impressed.
After hearing nothing but glowing reviews from friends and family who have tried this face cleanser, I decided I'd give it a try. I paid 6.99 on eBay for a 2 oz bottle, but I know that it retails for 20.00 for an 8 oz bottle. For a 16 oz bottle, it's 32.00, and for a 20 oz bottle, it's 40.00. So, as you can see, this is a very expensive cleanser. I surmise my purchase is a sample size. I just couldn't commit to spending that much money on something I had no clue about.

The product is a milky white color packaged in a smooth, plastic bottle. It has a black flip-top from which you can dispense the product by squeezing the bottle. It comes out very easily and you can quickly dispense too much into your hand, so use some discretion when putting product on your hands!
The scent isn't very appealing to me. It reminds me of oatmeal and chemicals. I don't know of a better way to put it, but it really doesn't smell all that fantastic. I wet my face and patted on a dime size amount. It doesn't lather, but it's not really supposed to. They sell a separate line of the cleanser if you're looking for foam. It feels so soft, almost like lotion, being rubbed into the skin. It does thoroughly cleanse the skin of makeup (I had been wearing eyeshadow and foundation), and I did notice my skin being considerably less greasy after using the product. Rinsing was very easy, though I did feel a bit of residue left on my skin despite rinsing for a good few minutes. My face still felt a little bit soapy afterward.

When I FIRST rinsed my face off, I was completely satisfied. My face was soft and smooth as a baby's bottom! However, as a few minutes passed, my skin did start to feel tight and dry. I even noticed that there were some pimples cropping up. I have also felt like my skin is ten times itchier than it would have normally been. Now, my skin has been excessively dry lately so this could be a factor but I have been following up with a ton of moisturizing lotions. What a useless cleanser, if it's going to give me acne! My face felt dry and strange the rest of the day.
I want to compare it to any mild oatmeal wash you may have used in the past. It feels like artificial soap. Very strange after you have rinsed it off. Maybe I would have better results using the foaming cleanser?

I get a better experience simply using Neutrogena Blackhead Cleansing Pads. I really did not enjoy using Purity at all. I sorely wanted to, because I was excited to receive the product in the mail. I'm hoping that future philosophy products that I order are better than Purity, because the foundation I use is so fantastic!
Pass on this cleanser, unless you want dried out skin (and possibly acne!) I really wanted to like Purity! Maybe the next product will be the charm!

Summary: DO not Recommend