I picked up the Sephora Favorites The Great Cleanse Set ($48 for 12 items) while I was in store the last week of 2014. I went in for one hand cream and of course left with more than I intended. I’ve been putting several new cleansers to the test and when I saw this set had some that I had been wanting to try for a long time I decided to give it a try. This set has deluxe sizes of 11 cleansers, I like that they are larger than the usual freebies you can occasionally find which means you can give each one a serious test drive to see whether or not you like it. There are two items in the set that I’ve already tried, purchased and loved which include the Caudalie Cleansing Water and Ole Henriksen Foaming Cleanser. The remaining items are new to me and in the past couple of weeks I’ve given each item a test 2-3 times.
I have some initial thoughts to share although I will have to do more testing to give a thorough review. Since it does take time for skincare to show how effective it is, how long do you test a face cleanser before deciding whether or not it works for you? For me if there is irritation on the skin or if the scent is unpleasant, I usually don’t go past the first use. In addition to these cleansers, I’m currently testing a few others, I think by the end of the month I’ll be able to have a good idea of how they all work and I’ll have a roundup post on what worked and what didn’t.
Back to the Sephora Favorites Great Cleanse set. Sephora has created a set that has a variety of cleansers to try. They’ve split the items into categories like Remove Makeup, Cleanse Skin and Cleanse and Treat. Some overlap with each other. I’ll list the sizes of each item and my initial thoughts. If you have tried any of these I’d love to hear about your testing experience as well. There are a couple that I know I don’t like – if you love them tell me what you loved so I can figure out what it is that I’m doing wrong. For reference Sephora.com has the ingredients listed for each item in their set in the set product listing.
- Caudalie Make-Up Remover Cleansing Water 3.38 oz is a long-time favorite. It’s gentle but effective at removing face makeup without stripping the skin. I love the soft scent and soothing feel that leaves my skin refreshed and soft. It won’t remove waterproof eye makeup but for the face and lips it’s reached holy grail status for me.
- Boscia Makeup-Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil 1.7 oz is new to me but has been on my list to try for ages. I was thrilled to see a mini in this set. I found it went on the skin smoothly and emulsified nicely. It removed all traces of makeup (although I did remove eye makeup with a cotton pad and eye makeup remover first because I don’t like oil getting in my eyes). It left the skin feeling residue-free without stripping.
- Nude Skincare Perfect Cleanse Nourishing Cleansing Oil 0.5 oz is another one I was really excited to try. I have almost bought the full size on numerous occasions because of all the raves. After trying this one I am glad that I did not. This one didn’t work for me. Several customer reviews indicated this one just sat on the skin and didn’t emulsify. This was what I experienced. I applied it on dry skin and then tried to rinse off with warm water. The oil just thickened and my face was covered with a thick paste of foundation, powder and oil and just sat there. I had to use cleansing water and a second cleanser to remove everything.
- Ole Henriksen African Red Tea Foaming Cleanser 1.5 fl oz is a long-time favorite. It cleans the skin really well and has a lightweight feel. (A more detailed review here).
- Origins Checks and Balances™ Frothy Face Wash 1 oz is a foaming cleanser. It has a super lightweight texture and foams up really nicely. It smells minty like toothpaste which I wasn’t a huge fan of. I found it a bit too strong for my skin, it left my face feeling super clean but there was a tight almost dry feeling afterwards. It didn’t make my skin peel, but I suspect for right now with the dry winter weather this will be too strong. If you have oily skin and need something that does a super cleanse, this one is worth looking into. I’ll be putting this to the test a few more times before deciding for sure, but the scent alone is making me not love this.
- Glamglow Powermud Dualcleanse Treatment 0.5 oz is one of the newest masks from Glamglow. I tried a sample packet before and it left my face feeling a bit irritated. It didn’t burn, it just felt like there were tiny areas of slight irritation around my face after use. I gave it another try twice (the small tube will last about two, maybe three uses if you use it sparingly). This time there was no irritation, but I found it didn’t really do much for my skin. I prefer the Youthmud and Supermud to this one.
- Sephora Collection Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover 1.69 oz is a dual-phase eye makeup remover. It is very gentle and does remove regular eye makeup, but I found that it wasn’t really effective with waterproof or long-wearing cream shadows and mascara. For example it didn’t take off the NARS Velvet Shadow Sticks, By Terry Ombre Blackstar or Guerlain Maxi Lash Waterproof with two swipes of a soaked cotton pad. I’ll keep testing this with other brands of makeup.
- Algenist GENIUS Ultimate Anti-Aging Melting Cleanser 1.5 oz is a unique cleanser that turns into an oil when you massage it into the skin. It is on the thicker side and there is a scent to it that smells almost like almonds. If you have super dry skin this might be a good one to try. I found it a bit too moisturizing and rich for me, but it did take off all traces of makeup and left the skin feeling moisturized after rinsing with water.
- Fresh Soy Face Cleanser 1.7 oz has been a miss for me in the past. It was a miss again. If you love this please tell me what I’m doing wrong. I find it is a lightweight cleanser in texture but I don’t find it effective in cleansing and it leaves a film on my skin.
- Philosophy Purity Made Simple 2 oz is another popular cleanser that I always thought was over-hyped. I tried it for the first time and think it works ok, but I will have to test it more to see how I really feel about it. It left the skin clean without stripping, irritating or leaving any film. So far it seems to be a good one but I’ll have to test it a few more times.
- Boscia Tsubaki Oil-Infused Exfoliating Powder 0.36 oz is water-activated powder cleanser. It foams up nicely and lathers well, but as many others have noted, the packaging makes it quite messy. It comes in a jar with a lid, but unlike Tatcha’s Enzyme powders, there is no dispenser or small opening to help control how much powder you pour out. I’ve tried this with bare hands and also tried pouring this over the Boscia cleansing sponge. Either way, it does take a bit of work and I found that it was hard to get just the right amount and I ended up wasting product because of over pour. That being said, it does clean the skin really well. For right now it’s too stripping for morning use (probably because of dry weather) but I do like this in the evening. I’ve tried this as a single cleanser and it does take off all the makeup.
- Boscia Mini Konjac Cleansing Sponge is an interesting item. Dry it is quite stiff, but it softens when you rinse it with warm water. I was worried it would be too rough for my sensitive skin but it really is just the right texture to exfoliate the skin. It’s not as harsh or rough as a washcloth but not too soft to feel like your bare hands. The one that comes in the set is small, I’m not sure if the one sold individually is larger but if it is, it’s something I would seriously consider purchasing.
Have you tried any of the Sephora Favorites sets? This is the first one I’ve tried although I always find them tempting when I see them in stores. The sampler minis are so appealing but I try not to buy unless I think I’m going to try 75% or more of it. I’ll have a more detailed review with thoughts on all the cleansers I’ve been testing recently at the end of the month. For now, I hope you find this introductory post helpful. As always I’d love to hear what you think or if you’ve tried any of these.
The Sephora Favorites Great Cleanse Set retails for $48. Online and in stores now, it is listed as limited-edition.
