Review: Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel

As one of my many Xmas presents last year I was given this:

This is the Clarins Gorgeous Getaways Coffret (or gift set to you and me).  I found out after Xmas that it retails for £40 as it was in the John Lewis sale for £20 (I got another one, naturally).

I've never really been attracted towards Clarins as a brand before and I always associate it with skincare for older ladies and for some reason air hostesses (it must be all that red).  However, I'm all about opening my mind and this is the second Clarins product I've used (the first being this little gem).

The first product I decided to use from the gift was the Pure Melt Cleansing Gel. Please do note that my tube is not full sized, it's the travel size version.

I was meant to post this review up last night but I got waylaid watching Family Guy and then Pulp Fiction.  I woke up this morning and checked some blog posts out and saw that Sirvinya had recently got the gel as a gift with purchase (GWP).

Anyway, onto the review..

Clarins say  it is "a quick, efficient, deeply comforting rinse-off cleanser with a unique texture that changes from a gel, to an oil, to a milk. At its heart, the ultra-effective yet gentle Marula plant oil."

How did it fare with me? 
I've added the boldness (?) to the bits of the description which I was testing but before I get to that, here's my personal tube:

Is the "unique texture" just a clever marketing ploy?

Have a look at the hands and decide..

Step 1:

Clarins say: "it starts out as a refreshing honey-coloured gel that adheres to surface impurities and make-up.. 

The gel formula as it comes out of the tube.  It's pretty thick and feels like a heavy duty cleanser.  It does have a smell but it's not one which is offensive.  It feels like honey but a fraction less sticky.

Step 2 (featuring Ginormo-claw):

Once you rub the product around your face, it should "melt into a sheer deep-cleansing oil."

I feel it transforms into an oil pretty well, it's not your conventional oil in that you feel super greasy but it's like a semi oil?  You can feel that it is making you clean but it doesn't feel intrusive in the way that some foaming cleansers do.

Step 3:

After rubbing it in you should "add a splash of water and it transforms into a deliciously light rinse-off cleansing milk."

The transformation is complete.  Now you just wash it off.

It's ticked all the boxes so far.

According the Clarins, the end result should be as follows: "skin is left scrupulously clean, velvety-soft and supple so it's perfect for even the most delicate skin types. And because it's packaged in a tube, it's ideal for travelling. (I remember it mentioning something about it being "deeply comforting" so we will add that in too).


Does it do this?
Was my skin left feeling clean and velvety soft? Yes.
Did it feel supple? My skin is pretty supple anyway so I can't comment on this.

Unique texture? Yes, it's the first cleanser/makeup remover I've ever used which goes through three stages.

Deeply comforting? At first I wasn't too sure as my skin felt a bit tight about 20 minutes after using it but I kept up with it and now, after having used it a good few times, I feel that is deeply comforting in that it makes your skin feel nice and clean (as promised).

I should point out that I didn't use this on my eyes because my eyes + liquid removers = hell.  However, I did use it when I was wearing a sheer foundation alone, a thicker foundation and blusher and it cleaned my skin at all times.

Is it really as great as the words suggest?
This product isn't without its problems.

• Firstly, you have to use a fair bit each time, I've only used mine about 4/5 times and the times it's worked best are when I've been generous with it.  However, this also means that there isn't a lot left.
  
• Secondly, you need to build up the usage to get really clean skin, apply a thin layer first and then go to Step 2, apply some more and then go to Step 3.  This will of course vary with how much makeup you're wearing.
• If you need to apply a fair bit, it takes a fair while getting the milk off your face.  When I wash my face I have it in the sink and I hate looking in the mirror because the water trickles down my chin and throat.  You have to be quite consistent in getting the milk off.
  

Purchase?
No.  Despite it having all the good points mentioned above, I wouldn't purchase this for the following reasons:

• The full sized version doesn't look to be cost effective to me, you need to use a fair bit and the full sized version isn't cheap if you take this into consideration.  If the price was reduced, I'd consider it.
  
• I'm a lazy mare and the process of getting the "milk" off your faces takes a while ,especially as it seems to jam on the sides of your nose and under your eyes.
• The fact that you have to apply a fair bit in order to get truly clean doesn't sit well with me.

I'm not saying the actual product itself is bad, it's a very good product and it does what it sets out to do but it could be better, both in how much you need to apply and how much it costs.