Shu Uemura Skin Purifier Cleansing Oil Review

I always thought using an oil based cleanser was a somewhat ridiculous idea, especially for someone like me with oily skin, but dirt and makeup is naturally drawn to oils, and it was this cleanser that made me seriously rethink the way I wash my face.

Shu Uemura’s purifying cleansing oil (the pink bottle) is a lightweight cleanser catered to combination and oily skin types, it minimises pores by eliminating excess sebum and visibly smooths and refines the skins surface. It contains cherry blossom extracts and claims to help exfoliate the skin as well as speed up the cell renewal process.

The oil itself has a lovely, soft floral scent that reminds me a lot of YSL’s Touché Éclat foundation (smells exactly like it actually) and feels very luxurious to massage into the skin. It melts away make up, leaving nothing behind, and is even gentle enough to use on your eyes. I just don’t recommend having your eyes open when you do this haha. The closest thing to this cleanser I've used was Lush's Ultra Bland, but it was quite a thick paste, and was nowhere as near easy to remove like this oil. The oil breaks up and dissolves quickly when it comes in contact with water, leaving behind silky smooth skin. 

I love this cleanser because I wear fairly heavy foundation regularly, and need something more than just a foam cleanser to remove my makeup. My skin feels so good afterwards, clean, moisturised, and most importantly, un-stripped. It is an expensive product, the small and large bottles are priced at around $33 and $74 respectively at Sasa, and that’s at least 35% off the regular retail price in Australia (gulp). Okay, so it’s basically liquid gold, but a little does go a long way. I've had my bottle for five months now and it's only just past the halfway mark. Let's hope I can make it last another five!