Super Facialist by Una Brennan - Rose Hydrate facial oil and creamy cleanser

I have been dying to post a review on this product since I first bought it...but as my little sister reminded me, with any skincare product it is always advisable to give it a couple of weeks before you can truly judge the effects.

I purchased this at the beginning of March and have been using it every night since, so I’ve decided I am now totally within the acceptable time scale to review it!

I came across this range on a blog (I can’t remember which one, sorry!)  I had seen it in Boots before, but had been quite uninterested and dismissive about it.  I’m not sure why.  I think it may be because it hasn’t been readily advertised or mentioned much in the general beauty press (or at least the beauty press that reaches me).  It just makes me realise how much this kind of advertising does sneak into your unconscious when you’re shopping...

Anyway.

The range I used was the ‘Rose Hydrate’ range, which is meant for dry and sensitive skin (tick).  The range works on the basis of ‘double cleansing’ (which basically means cleansing twice). Again, I was new to this concept, but once I started googling it I realised it was quite a well known, and raved about, concept.  Double cleansing to me just sounds like ‘double stripping’ of the skin.  I’ve always had a bit of a dodgy relationship with cleansers as I’ve often found they do more harm than good when it comes to my skin.  I regularly revert back to just cleaning my foundation off with my Simple Eye Make-up Remover (oh the shame of it).

The ‘double cleansing’ routine however starts with facial oil.  To most people, the mention of oil would send them running for the hills armed with a stringent toner, but for me it was a comfort.  Oil doesn’t strip, surely?  I’ve dabbled with Mac’s facial oil cleanser before, but our relationship was short lived and ended in some rather fetching sore red lumps on my face.  For some reason though, I felt I was ready to let facial oil back into my life, and after reading a particularly glowing review on a blog, I found myself purchasing the Una Brennan ‘double cleansing’ range.

Facial oil

The facial oil was the most expensive at £14.99, with the creamy cleanser priced at £7.99.  Quite expensive in my opinion for an ‘everyday’ product, but not so expensive I wouldn’t give it a chance in case it was amazing.

And amazing it is.  Okay, maybe amazing is a strong word, but I do love this range. 

You apply the facial oil first, rubbing it between your palms to heat it up. You don’t need much – I only use two squirts for my whole face.  You then massage the oil all over your face (eyes, lips, the whole shebang) leave it a few seconds, then wipe it off with a warm, damp flannel.  The oil is a pleasure to use.  It is light, soft and not at all heavy or unpleasantly greasy.  The next step is the creamy cleanser. 

Creamy cleanser

Again, massage it over your skin and then wipe clean with a warm, damp flannel (I’m not sure if the flannel has to be warm, but in this weather it feels amazing, so I say go warm). My flannel always wipes clean, regardless of how much foundation I am wearing, and this is a really good feature of this product as I normally go through a lot of cotton wool and facial cleanser to get my skin clean!

The first thing I noticed was that my face felt CLEAN.  The cleanest it has probably felt in a long time.  But it was a soft clean.  My skin didn’t feel stripped or sore, and the oil felt so luxurious on application that I really did feel I had given my skin a pamper treat.  I’ll be honest, the creamy cleanser did sting a bit around my nose, but it hasn’t resulted in any skin issues.  The smell is also quite potent – a very strong floral ‘rose’ smell which is a bit reminiscent of old English cottage-type products.  The potent smell put me off at first as I associate strong smells with sore skin..but this wasn’t the case.  The smell has actually grown on me.  I wouldn’t say I love it, but it is better than a lot of sensitive skincare scents.

After a month of using it, I’m about halfway through the oil.  I was a bit surprised at the speed it was ‘going down’ but I’m keeping an eye on it for ‘value for money’ purposes.  My skin feels very clean, it is definitely clearer and I would even say my pores have reduced slightly (regular followers of my blog will know my pores are stubborn and large and totally unresponsive normally to pore-reducing treatments).

I do love how my skin feels, both whilst using the product and after.  It is a pleasure to cleanse as it feels I’m actually looking after my skin.  I would go as far as to say it is the best my skin has looked in a long time.  I do still need a thick moisturiser as my skin does start tightening a few minutes after using double cleansing.  I pile on my Body Shop Hemp Face Protector, and my skin does feel a tad tight when I wake up in the mornings, but my water intake has been poor lately so my skin is probably very dehydrated.

I definitely think the wonder product in this duo is the facial oil. The consistency is just the right balance between soft and moisturising, but still clean and light.  I’ve also noticed my eyelashes are a bit thicker and longer.  I’ve heard before about using Vaseline on your eyelashes to help them grow and I do wonder if the facial oil is doing a similar thing.  I may consider dropping the creamy cleanser and using a cheaper one from Simple.

My only issue with this product is the price, but that’s because I am always on the hunt for cheap alternatives!  Other than that, I would strongly recommend this duo of products to anyone with sensitive, dry skin who still wants to be able to clean their make-up off properly.  The range is on 3 for 2 at Boots at the moment, and I am definitely stocking up.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------UPDATE

 

So, 19 days after posting my glowing review above, I felt the need to give a little update as I have now stopped using the creamy cleanser.

 

I said in my review above that the creamy cleanser did sting a little when I used it.  I started to notice that I was getting dry, itchy patches around my nose and some on my cheek in exactly the same places that I felt the stinging.  So I decided to drop using the creamy cleanser, especially seeing as it was the facial oil that most impressed me anyway.

 

I've carried on using the facial oil as I still love it, and the dry patches have quickly cleared up.  I'm a bit concerned as the facial oil is only meant to be a pre-cleanser, but having said that, it gets rid of all my make-up on its own.  I have sometimes been sweeping some of my Simple gentle cleansing milk over my face after using the oil, but most nights I just use the oil and then my normal moisturiser. 

 

I haven't noticed this makes my skin unnecessarily oily, and I do still think the facial oil is working wonders on my skin tone, texture and especially my pores.

 

I'm now about to purchase my second batch of the oil... but unfortunately the creamy cleanser hasn't made it to a second purchase :(