Not-so-secret confession: Cleansing oils are my abiding obsession, and they should be yours as well. Leery of the shine and stickiness? No sweat. This selection of featherweight formulas – all of which work by emulsifying the filth on your face so that it rinses right off – also comes “zhng-ed up” with brightening ingredients for an incomparably incandescent complexion.
Remember, first rule of beauty school: At the end of the day (and I use that phrase quite literally), you do need a little water and elbow grease to take it all off – a small price to pay, really, because cleanliness is right next to gorgeousness. Time to get into the gloss, guys!
OMG, officially obsessed with this oil, which for my money is the one to beat. For starters, any beauty buff worth her bathing salts will know that ceramides are the centrepiece of Elizabeth Arden’s suite of beloved beauty products, and this newly inducted baby of the family boasts that intriguing ingredient in spades, plus antioxidant actives and Omegas 3,6 and 9 thrown in for good measure.
Wait, what are ceramides again? Glad you asked. Essentially, this skincare superhero (a core constituent of your skin itself, BTW) promises to prevent pimples, ward off wrinkles and reduce rashes all at once. Talk about a perfect sales pitch, eh.
Bonus points must be bestowed for this sexy salve’s skin-tinglingly sensuous texture. Massaging this into your mien at the end of an exhausting day of back-to-back meetings will transform a tedious chore into a remarkably relaxing me-time ritual.
Tactile pleasure aside, the biggest plus has got to be the smooth-as-silk finish of your face once you’re done splashing off your face with warm water. Speaking as someone who has torpedoed through two tubes of this treatment oil and counting, I can attest to the amber ambrosia’s claim of melting away makeup and revving up the skin’s renewal process without rocking its natural pH balance. Ardent Arden aficionados, check this out, stat!
Support local! This exquisite elixir from Singapore beauty behemoth Skin Inc stands out from the piddling pack for its pretty triple-tiered presentation, made all the more covetable by its cool chrome casing (hey, don’t sue me for being picky about packaging!)
Besides boasting one hell of an Instagram-baiting bottle aside, this cleansing oil does an ace job of clarifying my complexion, thanks to a carefully calibrated cocktail of sludge-sloughing botanical brighteners the likes of cherry tree, artichoke and exotic saxifraga sarmentosa extracts. A quick note on application at this juncture may prove instructive: All you need to do is to shake the bottle to combine the three layers, sprinkle into your palms and press directly onto dry skin.
You’ll find that the salve will melt into your mien instantly and metamorphosise into a milky emulsion that gets straight to work, sweeping away dullness and blackheads without leaving your face agonisingly taut and tense in the way inferior products tend to do.
As for the results proper, this does a decent job of actually wiping out your warpaint. I’m happy to report that even the most waterproof of mascaras quiver in its wake: Spidery clumps come straight off without any tugging and toiling on my part.
Try this whitening wonder on for size and with some luck, your skin should be feeling supremely soft, pleasingly plump and pore-free. In short: It’s a crackin’ good choice if you’re looking for a deep clean and the sort of cough, “poreless porcelain princess” complexion yours truly has been blessed with. So yes, this is a repeat purchase-worthy, #DieDieMustTry “miracle” of a cleansing oil.
Quite possibly the best budget beauty buy for your money. For one, this nifty Neutrogena product doesn’t stinge on the good stuff, even though it’s exceedingly easy on the pursestrings. To wit, the formula comes complete with a carefully calibrated concoction of vitamins C and B, both of which promise to work in tandem to scour off surface spots and such for comfortably clean, incredibly incandescent skin.
And yes, it makes good on its promise of sopping up sebum, sunscreen and the day’s debris in one soapy swoop, although topping up with a conventional cleanser is probably par for the course for budge-proof eyeshadow.
Top tip: Maximise the mileage out of this oil by applying it with an equally inexpensive drugstore wipe. What I like to do when grappling with glitter-heavy makeup is to fold a wet wipe into quarters before sprinkling it with cleansing oil. Press the wipe over the glitter-festooned area for about five seconds to loosen the adhesives, then sweep off in one deft, decisive stroke. Less product, less waste.
All things considered, if this is good enough for model of the moment Aimee Cheng-Bradshaw, it’s more than good enough for me.
Right, then. Keep a mascaraed eye out for these liquid lovers the next time you’re browsing the beauty aisles – and do me a favour by bookmarking this page for easy reference. Sending you good skin vibes!