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| Shu Uemura Oil Cleanser |
Post One of my Shu Uemura* themed week - I'm reviewing all Shu's iconic products. Some of which I love, and some of which I think are Beyond Meh. But those are just my opinions! The first of my posts is actually from a guest contributor, the lovely @montyc :-) a dear friend of mine, who has a very differing impression of the Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil than I. Today, her review. Tomorrow, mine!
* PS I've been asked this more than once! Pronounce it "shoe-you-em-moore-ah".
Before the Internet, HD TV, and phones that could locate satellites, cleaning your face involved three things - soap, warm water and a flannel face cloth. The brand of soap, the supplier of your water and the thread count of your face cloth, simply didn't occur to most people. But cleaning - or cleansing - your face has caught up with the advances in the science, technology and jumping from the edge of space for the fun of it.
Cleansers now come in a wide variety of makes and textures - water based, cream based, oil based, balm based and cater for every skin type you can think of. Cleansers that clean in different ways. Cleansers that can cost anything from one to three figures. Cleansers have made it onto the balance sheets of the major cosmetic companies of this planet. Working out which cleanser is right for you depends on a few things; your skin type, how hard you need your cleanser to work and the depth of your wallet.
I have really dry skin and use two cleansers (Not at the same time. That would be silly). Both are oil based and suit my skin to a tee. I use two different cleansers because they do two different things for me; when I want to take off my makeup off in the evening, I use the absolutely brilliant balm cleanser by Emma Hardie. In the morning, after sleep walking to the bathroom, I use an oil-based cleanser by Chanel (Sublimage). This helps brighten and freshen up my skin to peachy perfection and helps me look way more awake than I might actually be. It's like a mini facial every morning.
Now, I'm devoted to my cleansers and I sincerely hope we grow old together but I still like to keep my eye on the cleanser menu. So when I got the chance to try the legendary, iconic and quite posh Shu Uemura oil cleanser, my dear and lovely friend heard just four words from me: "oh go on then". She gave me a very generous amount and I looked forward to getting to know it better.
(Incidentally, I used this one: the Cleansing Beauty Oil (with Green Tea) - designed for early anti-aging concerns).
The oil itself, in terms of texture, is quite runny (in comparison to the Chanel Sublimage, which is a good deal thicker). You pour some oil onto your hands, rub them together and then use your oily hands to clean your face. Then I used a muslin cloth to wash everything off. This is great to use in the morning, especially if you're moving at about two miles an hour and don't have the energy to do much. Quick, easy, done, skin feels nice. But for me, the real test for this cleanser is whether it not it can take my makeup off completely.
When it comes to the war paint, I'm definitely not a "full coverage, water-proof, bomb-proof" makeup kind of gal. I wear the "natural, healthy, dewy" look. Either way, my cleanser should be able to get either look off my face completely. And initially, this didn't for me. I assumed I wasn't using enough oil (there is a knack to knowing how much you need to use) so I used some more. And then some more. In the end, I needed to use a separate eye makeup remover and then the Shu Uemura oil cleanser afterwards to take off the rest. I was disappointed with this, because with both of the cleansers I already had in the bathroom cabinet, I didn't need to use a separate eye make up remover with either.
Sometimes something becomes The One because it's The First and the Shu Uemura oil cleanser was one of the the First Global Cleanser Superstars :-). I get why this is so loved; no doubt about it, it's a beautiful cleanser and it worked a treat for me when all it had to do was clean my face and not remove any makeup. It probably works even better on more normal and combination skins (mine is quite dry, as I mentioned). This cleanser is a "try before you buy" one; it ain't cheap but if it does work for you, one large bottle of this stuff will see you through for a very long time. It just wasn't for me.
Many thanks again to the lovely @MontyC for this post! Look here for a very different opinion (my review) of this cleanser!