Ceansers do much more than remove make-up; they improve the efficacy of your moistuiser, and the new ones come in a variety of formulations to suit all skins, writes Phyl Clarke.
SUDDENLY, IT'S TIME. Each week the sun gets a little higher in the sky and exposes those corners in the house that lay safely in shadow all winter. The lateness of spring's arrival this year has meant - ahem - things have been let slide a little too long.
There I was, feet up, last Friday night, watching Dirty Sexy Money, and all was right with the world, when a featherlight ball of dust bounced its way across the room, completely distracting me from the Darling family in their Manhattan palace. A tumbleweed no less, which would have added a certain atmosphere if I'd been watching a Western, but succeeded in ruining the last 20 minutes of the programme. Suddenly, all bets were off for the weekend - the house had to be spring cleaned.
The term has a nice, old-fashioned air to it, and also has the boon of putting winter back in its box and sorting out the house for summer. Who doesn't sit back and admire sparkling clean windows and shiny brasses? Smug contentment all round.
To say that cleansers merely remove make-up underplays their role in keeping your skin healthy. Cleansing improves texture and stimulates circulation, and prepares skin for moisture. After cleansing, your moisturiser will nourish more efficiently. Cleansing also removes dirt, dust and surface cells, oil, bacteria - oh - and make-up. If all that isn't enough to put you off ever going to bed with a full face of slap on, investing in a new cleanser may just do the trick.
Find the right cleanser for you, and by that I mean one that you love the feel of on your skin. If you are unsure, a good place to start is with a cleanser designed for sensitive skin, which will be both effective but gentle.
La Roche-Posey's new Physiological Cleansing range includes five cleansers which are unbelievably soft and very well priced, from €13.50 at pharmacies. L'Occitane's Ultra Comforting Shea and Organic Cotton Cleanser (€17.95) hydrates and soothes with liquorice extract. If you are prone to redness, you will be used to searching out products that don't aggravate the situation. Clinique's new Redness Solutions Soothing Cleanser (€24) is extra-gentle and can be removed with cotton wool or rinsed off.
There is a new trend with cleansers that transform texture when applied to the skin, and Baume Éclat from Lancôme (€24) is described as a make-up removing "massage". It starts as a cream, which becomes a fluid oil on the skin, and finally an ultra-light milk on contact with water. Those with oily skins often prefer a gel, and Shiseido's Rinse Off Cleansing Gel (€34) effectively absorbs make up and oils without clogging pores.
I love cleansing oils, and Nadur hits the right buttons. The company is both organic and Irish, and its Pure Cleanse Face Oil (€28.99) is suitable for all skin types and contains one of my favourite ingredients, bergamot. (See www.nadurorganics.ie.)
Now, two at opposite ends of the price scale. Fruit of the Earth's Daily Defence Cleanser contains pure Vitamin E and is a great value all-rounder, removing all make-up, down to waterproof mascara. It costs €10.40, from Clerys, and selected pharmacies nationwide.
If money is no object and you fancy your cleanser presented to you encased in a satin-lined box, look no further than Menard's Embellir Refresh Massage, which is a massage and cleansing cream in one. Designed for mature skin, this is is haute couture for the face. It costs €172 from Arnotts, Henry Street, Dublin 2.