Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm - Yep, even for oily skin!

No. Seriously.

Cleansing balms have been around for a while. Lisa Eldridge is a huge fan, particularly of Clinique's Take The Day Off balm, and anything she loves is pretty much guaranteed to be a really lovely product. I'd agree - to an extent. if you are dry - normal skinned - I bet at least one of these are in your lengthy Holy Grail product list.

However. If you are an oily-skinned person like myself, chances are you've maybe tried a cleansing balm, thought "ooooh this is LOVELY" at the time, and if you're not too amazing at getting rid of any left over balm residue (residue is a horrible word, isn't it?!) ended up with a pretty greasy complexion, and even a breakout or six, afterwards. Gutted. I am definitely in this camp, and tend to find a lot of balm cleansers are just too heavy and balmy for my poor pores to cope with. I do, however, love how amazingly they just dissolve even the smokiest of eyes, and how gloriously un-stripped my skin feels afterwards.


It's a first world problem.


Enter Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm. I picked up a little 3-set of small pots that I found on Cult Beauty - the beauty of this is that if it doesn't work for you, you've got two pots to give to people that you really like; and if it doesnt, you've got travel-sized joys to accompany you wherever you go - so please bring this set back, Emma Hardie/Cult Beauty!

The packaging is pretty - but it DOES NOT BOUNCE if you drop it. You have been warned. Shattered plastic ahoy. I find the pots to travel just fine as long as they're well protected, and they do look pretty on the bathroom shelf.

The cleanser is, well, a balm. No surprises there. The smell is quite weird - a little old-lady-soap, a little citrusy to my nose. Not offensive, but I wouldn't pick it for the scent. But I'll forgive this any scent discrepancies for just how gloriously effective it is. Makeup literally just melts away - it's quite a soft-textured balm, though it looks quite solid in the pot (and if you go somewhere hot and take your pot, it'll be liquid when you arrive, word to the wise) and melts to a smooth oil texture on skin contact. the very best thing is though - this doesn't break me out. I wash it off with a warm flannel, and find it really easy to remove, with no greasy residue (cringe again) left behind. It doesn't strip the skin to within an inch of its poor oily life either - none of that tight, uncomfortable nonsense post-cleanse.

Whatever magic this is, Ms. Hardie has indeed bottled it and sold it. Hats off.


This post contains affiliate links. Products were bought with my own hard-earned pennies.