I have wanted to review the No7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser and the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser for a while now, so I thought it would be a good start to do this for my first proper beauty related post. You will see I have put the two cleansers against each other in the title (vs) and as you read on you will know why.
You may be surprised to hear which is my favourite of these two cleansers, but I will start at the beginning...
If you are subscribed to me on YouTube, you will see in my QVC haul here that I purchased a set from the Liz Earle range. The set consisted of a 100ml bottle of the Cleanse and Polish, a 200ml bottle of the Instant Boost Skin Tonic, 2 Muslin Cloths and a Waterproof Bag. This set cost me £25 from the QVC website, which you can buy here.
I was really excited about using this cleanser as I used to be one of those people that used 4 in 1 make-up remover wipes to get my make-up off every evening and then I used a face mask once a week for a deep cleanse. So I was looking forward to trying something new and seeing how it improved my skin. I don't have the worst skin in the world, I am lucky that I don't have acne prone skin, but there are little things that bother me like I have dry patches in places, large pores (or they seem large to me) and sometimes I feel like my skin tone is slightly uneven without make-up.
I have heard so many good reviews about this cleanser-I had seen it being sold on QVC so many times before I decided to buy it. I saw it being tried and tested by the models/testers/customers on QVC and I saw how good the results were from it. When I started making video's for YouTube I saw many reviews for the cleanser from other beauty guru's and it just seemed anywhere or everywhere that I saw or read a review it was a good one. So after all this I decided to treat myself and go ahead and buy the set, especially as it was made from naturally active ingredients which I am really big on.
When I started to use the cleanser, don't get me wrong it is extremely luxurious and feels amazing when applied. It also smells great and you feel really special using it, like you are using a really high quality product. However, overall I was quite disappointed with the cleanser, because it just didn't seem to be working for my skin. I would say I have combination; normal to dry skin and the skin on my face can be slightly sensitive but these were not the issues for my disappointment in the product. I just thought I would mention it so you know I haven't got that much of a different skin type than a lot of people out there who have used this product and loved it.
I was using this cleanser every evening to remove my make-up and following the correct method of removing all traces of make-up and then splashing my face with cold water, but after just a week (it may have been even less) I started to break out. It wasn't big massive break outs but small ones in different areas of my face and I knew this wasn't normal as I never have this problem (and I don't have the problem now I have stopped using it). I also found I was feeling breakouts underneath my skin. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't stop using the cleanser straight away because I thought well it's a new product that I am using, my skin is just getting used to it and probably just giving me a deep cleanse. This cleanser lasted about two months with a double pump of the cleanser every night (one for my face make-up and another for my eye make-up) and all the way throughout using it I had the same problem. There were no other benefits to my skin from using this to outweigh the fact that it was causing me breakouts and to be honest this wasn't something that I wanted to keep re-purchasing if it was doing this to my skin.
Bring on the No7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser. I came across this cleanser by chance really just browsing the shelves in Boots, you can buy it here and for £9 I was keen to try it out and collect the points of course he, he.
I didn't have any expectations for this cleanser simply because I hadn't read any reviews on it previous to buying it, so I really didn't know what to expect. However, I liked that it was the same concept as the Liz Earle with the hot cloth (then splashing your face with cold water afterwards to close the pores) and I didn't really want to revert back to using make-up remover wipes, so I decided to give it a go...and how glad I am that I did!!
This cleanser has worked an absolute wonder. It has the same consistency as the Liz Earle, it is a thick white cream and feels really really luxurious when applied. It doesn't disintegrate when you are applying it, it really is a lovely thick, creamy product. It smells very fresh and you feel like you are in a spa when using it (only applying it yourself).
This is what the cream looks like - really thick, creamy and luxurious.
As soon as I started to use this cleanser I noticed results straight away. It made me feel really clean without my skin being tight (it felt really moisturising) and it really does do what it says on the bottle - it is extremely radiance boosting. After I use this it seems like it stimulates the blood under my skin and really makes it glow. I couldn't believe that I saw results like this after using it for the FIRST time! It is not very often that I re-purchase skin care products, simply because if I don't think that something is doing anything for my skin then I would just prefer to try something else until I find something I am completely satisfied with. I have now re-purchased my second bottle of this cleanser, even though I have a fair few pumps left in my first bottle, but with this, I just don't want to be in the situation where I run out because I love it that much!
This is my first bottle which still has quite a bit left. (I love how you can see through the bottle (with Liz Earle you can't) and how the pump is designed to reach the top when there is no product left-it's good to see that no product is being wasted).
This is my second bottle ready and waiting to be used :-)
and you also get a muslin cloth in the box aswell - bonus!When you start getting compliments that your skin is glowing and that your eyes sparkle (which can often be the case when using some skin products, even with makeup sometimes), then you know you have found a winner in whichever product it is you're using.
I am just so glad I came across this, as I was really really disappointed with the Liz Earle. I bought my first bottle of the No7 cleanser in the middle of April and it is now the middle of June, so I have had it for 2 months and it is still going. I have been using two pumps in the evening (one for face makeup and one for eye makeup) and then at times I have even been using it in the morning, simply because of how it uplifts your skins radiance and makes you look fresh, dewy and wide awake. It is a great base to prepare your face for makeup aswell. After using it for this long I can see long term results already - it has minimised my pores massively and it doesn't even claim to do this, so this is a big bonus. I have also noticed an improvement in my dry patches (this may be because of my new moisturiser though-review to come), they are awkward on my face as it isn't all over it is just in certain places so if I don't moisturise properly before I apply makeup, these dry patches can sometimes show up. Lastly I have seen a huge improvement in my skin tone, it is now more even and again this is something it doesn't claim to do, so I have obviously been really lucky in finding a really good product here that suits my skin perfectly.
I will definitely be purchasing this cleanser over and over again...
The great thing about this cleanser aswell is that it is such good value for money. I said that it was £9 but it is also 200ml, where as the Liz Earle I got was 100ml (on the Liz Earle website this is £11.75), so I got more for less but definitely not less in quality.
You might be worried that the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish is made from naturally active ingredients and thinking: what is in the No7 cleanser? Well the product packaging makes a point of saying that the cleanser is hypo-allergenic (which means the product is relatively unlikely to cause an allergic reaction) and has been created using only ingredients they know and trust. It also says that the cleanser has been tried and tested by customers with even the most sensitive skin, so you know it will be good for yours. I for one can vouch for that as an individual with sensitive facial skin.
You can of course buy different sizes of the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish and you can find these here. Just in case you want to compare prices as I did purchase a set rather than just the Cleanse and Polish on it's own. However, the No7 Radiance Boosting cleanser is still cheaper at £9 and in my eyes better because it has worked better for my skin.
I really wanted to do this post because of how impressed I was with the No7 cleanser and how much I love it. Also, I thought it would be good to give you guys a little heads up about it, because as I said I only came across it whilst browsing the shelves in Boots, so some of you may know about it but some of you may not. If you feel like you have the same kind of skin as me from what I have said (and please feel free to ask me any questions) then I would really recommend this product. It has worked wonders for me and if you are looking for a cleanser or would like to try a cleanser then this is the one I would go for. You get value for money aswell as quality - like a spa facial in the comfort of your own home!
I just want to point out that I have not been paid or sponsored in any way by Boots or No7 to promote this cleanser. If I am reviewing a product that a company has sent me, then if you know me from YouTube, you know that I will say so :-) I just love this cleanser so much and think it has so much to offer I wanted to let you all know.
Have any of you had any similar problems with the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish?
Have any of you tried the No7 Radiance Boosting Cleanser? If so, what do you think of it?
It would be lovely to hear what you all think and whether any of you have had the same experiences as me.
Thank-you all so much for reading!
Feel free to ask me anything :-).
Much Love
Gem xxoo
Pictures: All pictures are my own. If you wish to use them, please credit my name by them-Gemma Tranter.
