Review - Elemental Herbology Cool & Clear Cleanser

This is the poshest cleanser I have ever owned. It is so posh that it actually comes in a cardboard box with a corrugated insert, like perfume does. So posh that it has a glass bottle with a cool lower-casey font design and brushed-aluminium lid. So posh that it costs £25 for 100ml.

Admittedly compared to the £460 Natura Bisse face cream used by Alex Box (as she tells us in her recent interview with Stylist magazine) it's pretty small beans. But for a person who gets angsty about spending more than £10 on a haircut, this was a significant outlay.

I know that the main buzz around Elemental Herbology is focused on their Cell Food serum, and I'm sure that's very good too. But I don't really use serum - there just doesn't seem to be time in my manic morning regime. And while I like oil cleansers, I really needed something I could use on a wet face in the shower while waiting for my conditioner to do its thing.

Cool & Clear was recommended to me for this very purpose by a Space NK sales assistant, and it fits the bill nicely. It's a foaming wash with a blend of essential oils, predominantly lavender (a scent disliked by the metrosexual BF who shares my bathroom, good good).

The pump action on the bottle ensures that I don't waste too much when I'm dispensing it, which is definitely a plus. However I've found that I do actually need about 3 or 4 squirts of this stuff to get a proper "clean" feeling on my face. It doesn't foam very readily. That's fine though, because I'd rather have that than heaps of SLS-based froth.

It's designed to regulate oily complexions, so it's not really a fit for my skin type (dry/combination with an occasional side-order of hormonal blemishes). I haven't found it at all drying though, even in this current chilly weather. It does seem to minimise congested pores, but not in any dramatically amazing way.

Overall, I'd say that this is a luxurious, enjoyable and effective product, but that for the price, I'd expect something with a little more of a "wow" factor. I'll enjoy using it, but I think once it's gone I might revert to the £15 Origins Perfect World I was using before.