One of my hobbies is entering competitions and most weeks I'll have at least one small win (currently I seem to be very 'lucky' when it comes to winning Spanish subtitled DVDs) - it is all usually small fry prizes for me, but occasionally the postman will bring me something a bit more exciting. Which is exactly what happened at the end of July, when I opened a dull looking jiffy envelope to discover a selection of Skin Ceuticals products - including this Foaming Cleanser.

I have several cleansers 'on the go' at the moment but as this is my weakness I decided to open this new bottle, to see what all the fuss (and very high price!) was about. The Foaming Cleanser comes in a slim cylindrical bottle which has a pump dispenser at the top, the pump seems to have been designed to dispense the correct amount of product each time and this is fab as it means there is zero waste - unlike a certain Clinique product which actually pumps out at least double what you need, which is both costly and wasteful when you consider the prices of these so-called 'premium' cosmetics. The pump is effective with a smooth mechanism; I'm a bit suspicious that it's not going to catch the last bit at the bottom of the bottle, but this is a usual problem with pump action bottles of any sort so I can't particularly hold it against this one. Anyway, I'm only halfway through this bottle so don't know if there's a problem at all yet!

The cleanser isn't as thick as I thought it would be, it has a slightly gel-like consistency but is still very thin. I hope this isn't too confusing, but I'd describe it as having the texture of a lotion even though it has the appearance of water or thin gel. To use it you simply dispense the cleanser into your hand and massage across your skin in a gentle circular motion - you don't need to even bother wetting your face as this cleanser is designed to be used on dry skin. It's that easy, no special equipment needed and the consistency of the cleanser means not only does a little go a long way, but it also feels lovely upon application.

For a 'Foaming Cleanser' it doesn't actually foam much, you will experience a light lather on your skin but I definitely didn't get anything like the level of actual foam I had been expecting. The lather produced is pleasant enough, but for the price tag on this cleanser I must admit I expected something a bit more luxurious! Another thing, for a fragrance-free product it doesn't half pong! The smell is really hard to describe actually, it has a tang that reminds me of tea tree (although it smells nothing like tea tree in itself) and has an overall slightly 'chemical' aroma - it's not particularly nice, but it's not a vile stench either. It doesn't linger on my skin though, which is a good thing in this instance as I'm not too keen on the very synthetic smell.

I vividly recall the first time I used this cleanser, it was immediately after finishing a tube of non-impressive Clinique cleanser and I remember the amazingly clean feeling my skin had after changing to Skin Ceuticals. It felt smooth and spotless, actually I remember a comment I made to (a completely oblivious) Mark where I said that despite this having absolutely no exfoliating properties my skin felt as good as if I'd given it a full on pampering treatment. Of course Mark was delighted to get this information, I could tell from his grunt. It's true though, and every time I use it I have the same feelings.

Here's the problem though. Even though I get such fab results from this cleanser I can't use it as religiously as I'd like to because it leaves my skin feeling very dry. This is quite weird as on the blurb it promises that this cleanser will not cause dry skin (it actually uses those words) and also promises to nourish my skin. Neither of these claims are true for me; I found the cleanser to be extremely drying and experienced no nourishment at all from it, having to slap on a layer of greasy moisturiser after means my skin quickly loses that 'just washed' feeling that the cleanser provides so well - but really I have no option as if I use it regularly (as in every morning and night) my skin gets so dry that it almost feels chalky.

The cleanser rinses off easily in hot, cold or warm water and never leaves a residue - I personally rinse in cold water as it naturally tightens up your skin, but have tried using warmer water to see if this would combat the drying sensation. It doesn't, whichever temperature water I use to rinse I'll still have to apply a creamy moisturiser after cleansing and undo all the clean feelings that the cleanser has provided.

So, for me this isn't an ideal product. It's a shame because as a cleanser it's brilliant and you know something, I'm not sure I can recommend it in all honesty because of this horrible drying I've experienced. I don't usually react to cosmetic products, and it's extremely rare that I'll react in a bad way to one of the more top-end brands, so I think this product is just harsher than it really needs to be. If it's affected me like this I dread to think what would happen if someone with more sensitive skin used it, and if you suffer with dry skin anyway don't even bother picking this one up to look at the bottle! At around £25 for 150ml it's not a cheap mistake to make, I'm not sure if Skin Ceuticals supply testers or samples in Boots but it's worth seeing if you can get hold of a little freebie before splashing out on the full sized product.