Posts with tag facial cleansers

This will likely be the last of the facial cleansing cloths I am going to try for a bit. Several weeks ago, I did a whole Drugstore Beauty Queen series on these convenient little things to clean your face, whether it's easier to take along when travelling, or easier for a lazy person to remove makeup at the end of the night. Let's just say that it's Sarah taking control of her addiction. I've just sort of become lazy about skin care because these things are too easy!

I was a little reluctant to buy Noxzema Wet Cleansing Cloths because, like Clearasil, it made me feel like I was thrown back to high school, treating an acne-ridden face. I couldn't resist the price tag, though. Since the brand is marketed at the younger crowd (read: teens), the price point is lower. At Drugstore.com, the Noxzema wipes are only $3.99! I paid slightly more at a local drugstore, but not much.

I am making my way through the shelf of wet facial cleansing cloths at the drugstore. Yesterday I reported on my experience with the Pond's Clean Sweep Cleansing Towelettes, which I found pretty good for my purposes. Olay Daily Facials might be the one that actually started the whole thing for me way back when. It actually started with their original cleansing cloths, which are dry, but lather when you add water (which were perfect when air travel rules were such that we couldn't carry any liquid on board).

Olay's Daily Facials Express work to get most makeup off, but like some reviewers at Drugstore.com, I found that the cloths didn't do a very good job with my waterproof mascara. I always ended up having to scrub pretty hard with the cloths around my eyes, which left them red and slightly sore.

I have a horrible confession, y'all.

I got this really expensive skincare gadget for Christmas from my sister, the Clarisonic Cleansing Brush that comes with its own cleansing cream. It costs $195. The cleanser is hard to find and is expensive, too. Supposedly it does wonders for cleaning, brightening and tightening skin. Shouldn't it? It costs almost $200!

But after two months, I am back to using drugstore facial cleansers. I don't know. Maybe I don't think my skin deserves such a fancy tool. Maybe it was too much trouble to charge the brush and use it.

Or maybe I just love Clean & Clear Morning Burst Facial Cleanser. There's something about the tiny little blue and yellow "bursting" beads suspended in a light, but bright green goo that makes me smile every morning. I love that it foams and though I know that the feeling of literally "squeaky clean"' is supposedly bad for your skin, I can't help but feel gross and residue-y if it's not squeaky clean. The cleanser is fast and convenient because it shoots out of a pump and of course, it's only $5.99.

And my skin looks the same as it did during the two months I used the $200 Clarisonic system.

As much as I'd love to have all of our Styledash readers thinking that I'm whirl-a-girl-ing about town from dawn 'til dusk 'til dawn again, meaning I always have a fresh made-up face 24 hours a day, it simply is not true. Blogging and working from home has afforded me the luxury of putting off until much later in the day things like washing my face, moisturizing, putting on makeup, and "doing" my hair. When I do have to go out, I also get to take my time. In the last year or so, I have sort of taken a rather lackadaisical approach to my "morning beauty routine." In fact, I can't really remember the last time I had a "regular" morning beauty routine.

However, the time has come for me to return to a regular schedule, and I think the last year of freedom has completely erased my ability to "get ready" -- not how-to get ready, but rather how to do it quickly and efficiently. I have discovered that I luxuriate in the shower, take my sweet old time to moisturize all over, blow-dry my hair, put it into rollers, put on my makeup, and finally get dressed.

Because the experience of getting dressed deserves a whole post on its own, I'll simply stick to the face for today. I think I have gotten my routine down in the last week, able to go from turning on the tap to made-up face to 45 minutes. Still, that seems rather long to me.

How long does it take you?

I remember using Sea Breeze oh, about 20 years ago. It was back when I actually did not need to do anything to my face, but I did anyway because all my girlfriends were using things like Noxzema cream, Stridex pads, and of course, Sea Breeze. I loved the Sea Breeze astringent, despite warnings about the "alcohol sting."

But while drugstore products like Neutrogena became more and more popular over the years (even with more mature girls like me now), Sea Breeze seemed to disappear off the radar.

Until a few weeks ago.

Sea Breeze must have always been around; I just never noticed it. Perhaps it was the new look of the line, perhaps it was the placement on the shelves at the drugstore. Whatever the reason, I bought the tube of Sea Breeze facial cleanser and tried it.

I love it. I had been previously using a Dove foaming cleanser which was okay, but I never felt squeaky clean after rinsing. The Sea Breeze rinses completely off, along with every last scrap of dirt and makeup on my face. I found the cleanser available online at Walgreens.com for $5.99, but I bought it at Long's on sale for a few dollars cheaper.

Sorry, girls, I might not have any more drugstore facial cleanser reviews since I might have found "the one."

So, before I started the one-week trial of the Chan Chi yoga-inspired skincare, I used every manner of drugstore brand facial cleanser. No joke. It was some strange brainwashing that must have occurred at a very young age - department store brands of facial skincare is the same, and only costs five times more. With that, I only tried the Clinique 3-step skincare "program" once. It was a waste of money.

And yet, here I am, still trying a new facial cleanser every time I run out. Aveeno, Cetaphil, Oil of Olay, St. Ives...Currently, I am on with Dove, using their Deep Moisture creamy facial cleanser, and I think, once again, after it runs out, I will move on to another product.

The Dove cleanser isn't bad - it works fine, especially since the tube costs less than $10, but it doesn't "feel clean" after rinsing off. I think I need a foaming cleanser and rinse with hard water.

Products reviews from around the web:
On sale at drugstore.com for under $5, with customer reviews
On sale at CVS online for $4.99 with 15 positive reviews
No review, but available at CosmeticMall