LUSH Skincare Round-up: Ultrabland Cleanser

Hello! 
(please be warned this is a bit of long post, but I feel skin care needs to be discussed a bit more)

Those that have been reading for a while, will know that I've been suffering with my skin since the end of last year- things have definitely calmed down since coming off my pill, but I'm still not happy with it. I really wanted to keep things as simple as possible and of course I decided to turn to LUSH. I initially went in to pick up Ocean Salt scrub and a new moisturiser and while I was there I got chatting to the lovely sales assistant Claire, who reads blogs/youtube so we had a little natter about that, and I gave her my blog details. A week or so later she contacted me and asked if I would like to come in and try out some stuff to review. I obviously jumped at the chance, LUSH is one of my favourite places to shop and I love the whole ethos behind them- recycle, mostly vegan, keeping things as natural and fresh as possible.

Claire took me through the shop and asked me a lot of stuff about skin care, and what I'm looking for and gave me a couple items to complement the LUSH bits I'd bought a couple weeks before. I've now been using them for a good 3 weeks or so, and they deserve a review! I've decided to do these in separate posts, as I think skin care deserves a full and detailed review and I didn't want to turn it into an essay. (The remainder of the posts won't have such a long intro... sorry!)

ULTRABLAND(*)

This is a thick, very rich oil based cream cleanser which as you rub and it melts into your skin, it takes on more of an oil consistency. It's made primarily of almond oil and beeswax; so it really works well at getting every trace of make up off (including waterproof mascara).  Although it's not paraben free, it's a pretty simple cleanser with no unnecessary chemicals in, and LUSH claim it's perfect for rebalancing your skin- it also contains honey which has natural antiseptic properties and rose water to help reduce redness and calms skin. I  have enjoyed using it, but that might be because I'm quite used to using an oil cleanser, if you don't enjoy them, or have very oily skin you might not feel comfortable using Ultrabland (although its specially formulated to be suitable for ALL skin types). It also has a very weird smell, I personally don't think it's offensive but I can understand why some might not enjoy it, it's hard to describe though. You're better off going into the store and giving it a whiff yourself!

 I found it to actually be quite hydrating, and its really helped my drier patches. I'm sure this is down to the glycerol which is supposed to draw moisture up to the top layers of your skin, and reduce overdrying. It does need to be removed with a cloth, I used a muslin cloth, otherwise you will be left with the uncomfortable feeling of wax over your face after rinsing. Another thing I feel I should highlight, it doesn't quite feel like you've removed everything at first, but after a few more uses I came to the realisation that I think it's actually just the cleanser helping to rehydrate and balance, my skin was feeling softer and smoother. Dehydration be gone.

Suitable for? All skin types; it's designed especially to be super gentle yet effective for everyone. Those that don't enjoy removing with a cloth, or want something a little easier and quicker to use might not enjoy it as much. I used this only at night when removing my make up, it's a bit too heavy for morning use.

Price: from £6.45/ 45 grams. (Believe me, a little goes a long way!)

Available from LUSH stockists and online.

Nic xxx

(*) given to me for consideration purposes, but that in no way influences my opinion. as usual this review is 100% honest.