muji

Cleansing oils have become terribly fashionable in recent years.  Personally, I reckon it's partly to do with the rise of long wear makeup products - stubborn mascaras, lip products, and foundations are often best removed with oil.  Oils are also a great way of cleansing the skin without stripping it of moisture, which marks a welcome departure from high alcohol, harsh cleansers which I know I used a lot in the not too distant past.

Anyway, I digress.  I've been a cleansing oil fan for a few years now - not least because I love a long wear eye product - and so when Muji released their skincare line, and I discovered that one of the products was an oil, I had to have it.  With a base of olive and jojoba oils, it contains no mineral oil, and is relatively inexpensive - £9.95 for a 200ml bottle.  Compared to more expensive oils from Shu Uemura and Nude, this is a bit of a bargain.

A couple of pumps massaged into the face effectively loosens stubborn makeup and leaves the skin feeling clean and soft; the oil emulsifies with water a little bit, but not as much as other oils I've used in the past.  It rinses away cleanly, and although the skin is left mostly clean, one application of this isn't really enough for a proper cleanse, as some makeup residue is left behind.  Two applications is absolutely fine, however, removing all the visible makeup and dirt from the skin.

I really like the packaging, which is simple and clean, as you'd expect from Muji, and comes with a neat little clip that prevents the pump from operating, which makes the bottle very portable.  One thing I'm not quite so keen on is the taste.  That might sound a bit weird, and I promise I've not been eating it - but a tiny amount might have strayed between my lips when I've been removing lip products, or some residue might have been left behind on my lips post cleanse.  The taste is very bitter and horrible, which isn't exactly strange for a beauty product (it's hardly a drink!), but it was very noticeable - and this isn't something I've found with any other oil in the past.  Conversely, there's absolutely no scent; it smells mildly oily, but has no perfume.

All in oil (hee hee) this is a very serviceable and effective cleansing oil at a pretty decent price.  I'll be buying it again (and keeping my mouth tightly shut whilst using it).  If you'd like to try it for yourself, you can pick it up from Muji stores, or online, at the cost of £9.95 for 200ml.

A few bits of news garnered from the online beautyscape today;

Liz Earle is to be sold to Avon in a bid to bring the brand international exposure. Founders Liz Earle and Kim Buckland will remain in the driving seat of the brand, which will operate as a "stand alone" line within Avon. This has to be one of the unlikeliest pairings I've ever heard of - independent UK niche brand joining up with multi-national conglomerate? I can only imagine the price must have been very very right! (Source - Evening Standard). Sparklz & Shine has provided this link to Liz Earle's blog, which gives us the skinny from her perspective.

Lime Crime lipsticks, which will be launched in Space NK next month, will be retailing at £14. This is still more expensive dollar-for-dollar than the US RRP of $16, but is less of a mark-up than most people seem to have been expecting. We in the UK are getting only the lipstick to start with, (not the eye colours) in 10 shades. (Source - press info from SpaceNK)

Muji skincare will be launching at the end of this month (so not long to wait!) - and will be available from muji.co.uk. We get two skincare regimes for different skin types, and three sorts of cleanser - oil, milk and gel. The oil looks particularly tempting. Source - Beauty Woo Me.