Today’s advent calendar post is going to be a short one as it’s a duplicate from last year so I think I’ll be doing a second post later. Today’s a bit busy though as I’m going away for the weekend so I’m hoping to get all scheduled posts ready, it always feels a bit odd opening advent things early when I do this though!

The Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm is one that I got last year in the Marks and Spencer’s beauty advent calendar so I’m going to link to that post here so you can see my original first impressions. It’s a cleansing balm that you apply and then wipe off with a damp cloth. I’ve not tried many cleansing balms but they don’t really agree with my skin when I have so I’ll do a mini review if you want to read more on what I remember about this one. This is a 15ml jar but the standard 100ml jar costs £39 and comes with a cleansing cloth. It’s not exactly cheap but given how long this mini jar lasted last year I’d say it’s good value for money.

The jar itself for these I like, it’s small and I’ve actually kept last year’s as the lid stays on well and it’s a great size for travel for face moisturisers. The product itself is a balm, it’s a lot like Lush’s Ultrabland if you’ve tried that, with a bit of a gritty texture to it which I’m not that keen on. The scent is fairly strong, it smells of orange blossom flowers to me, and reminds me more of a perfume than a skin care product.

As far as using it this product is nice to use, it spreads on evenly and a little goes a long way. It’s easy to remove with hot water and a wash cloth of some kind, I just used a normal flannel, and you don’t need to scrub to remove it all. I think if you have drier skin, or at least less acne prone skin, this may be a good one to try if it’s in your budget. As far as balm cleansers go, of the three I’ve tried anyway, this has the least greasy feeling afterwards and I didn’t have the overly moisturised plump skin feeling I’ve had with others that makes my skin greasy even after using it for over a month.

That is the main problem for me and, to be honest, it may be due to my awkward skin type. My skin is dry, sensitive and acne prone and a lot of moisturising products cause breakouts, both large and small spots. This balm caused quite a few of the deeper painful spots for me so I’d say it’s not one for acne prone skin. In the past I’ve stayed away from balm cleansers as I was worried about that but was convinced by some blogs I’ve read who’ve said that oil and balm cleansers actually helped their skin. I don’t think I’ll be giving any more a go given how much these others have failed.

Breakouts aside it did leave my skin feeling nice and fresh and I definitely didn’t need a moisturiser afterwards. My skin felt soft and smooth and not overly greasy so it’s a good balm cleanser to em, just not for my skin, which is a pity as I liked the feel of my skin afterwards. This will be passed on to someone else who might get on with it more.