Your skin is not static: it is living, it is breathing and it changes with age, weather, hormones, stress levels, etc. So rotating your cleanser every now and then makes all the difference. If I’ve overdone it on a liquid exfoliator or a retinol, I go for a gentle oil or balmy cleanser (Elemis gives a good glow) as they feel less brusque. They are also excellent for drier or more mature skin. Gel cleansers, especially those that incorporate AHAs, work well for oilier skin (Tatcha, one of my latest discoveries, is so good). Gels are also generally great for congested skin. Thanks to our cortisol levels being through the roof (the gift of modern life), breakouts are no longer limited to adolescents. If you want a range – cleanser included – created with makeup-wearing in mind, MAC’s new Hyper Real skincare range will improve your skin while also enhancing your makeup. Ah, if only you had one cleanser that could do everything for everyone. Chance would be a fine thing. That said, U Beauty’s Mantle comes very close. It is a sublime gel oil texture that gets rid of everything – makeup, excess oil, grime – without destabilising the skin’s PH balance. It is not a snip, but you don’t need much and it is easily one of the best cleansers I’ve used in a long time.
1. Tatcha The Deep Cleanse £41, tatcha.co.uk
2. MAC Hyper Real Fresh Canvas Cleansing Oil £36, maccosmetics.co.uk
3. Pixi EOD Cleansing Oil £24, pixibeauty.co.uk
4. Ameliorate Clarifying Facial Cleanser £10.50, ameliorate.com
5. Tula Skincare The Cult Classic Purifying Face Cleanser £29, spacenk.com
6. Mantle The Magic Milk Creamy CBD Cleanser £30, hellomantle.co.uk
7. The Ordinary Glucoside Foaming Cleanser £11.10, theordinary.com
8. TwentyNine Palms £29, twentyninepalms.com
9. Elemis Superfood AHA Glow Cleansing Butter £30, elemis.com
10. U Beauty The Mantle Skin Conditioning Wash £74, theubeauty.co.uk
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