Elemis Pro Radiance Cream Cleanser v Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish

Elemis Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser

I've been using and loving the Elemis Pro Radiance Cream Cleanser for a few years now, along with my Shu Uemura oil cleanser, these form the basis of my go-to makeup removers.  Either-or removes "pretty much most" of the makeup I wear on a daily basis, with a little bit of help for more heavy-duty eye makeup on occasion (mainly these days via Lancôme Bi-Facil).

A pre-Christmas trip away saw me forgetting to pack a makeup remover, so when I noticed the Liz Earle on sale in an in-flight deal (cleanser+moisturiser+toner+two muslin cloths+hand cream) I thought I'd give it a whirl, having heard so much about it in the past.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish

First impressions of the Liz Earle were good.  My skin, post-flight, and with makeup still fairly intact (more like "fairly impacted") at 1am (having been applied at 5:30am, and topped-up for my evening out), felt lovely and clean, rested, relaxed and very comfortable, having used the Cleanse & Polish to remove my makeup.  So much so that I actually commented on it to my OH (who likely doesn't care, but pretends that this stuff is remotely interesting).

Ditto on day two.  Day three, and subsequent days, however, saw my skin starting to dry out a little, and starting to sting.  Now, I have sensitive-ish-enough skin, and it was getting a lot of abuse (shopping + sightseeing = hot + cold.  Long days + late nights = early application + lots of it.  Catching up friends = far too much eating & drinking)... so I thought I'd give it a rest when I got home, go back to what I'm used to, and try it out again a few weeks later.

Fast forward a few weeks later.  Almost the same trial (this time using my standard (ie non-Liz-Earle) moisturiser), but with the same result;  a few days of relaxed-feeling skin, followed swiftly by stinging, dry, patchy skin.

This never happens with my Elemis, which is a workhorse - it just cleanses my skin, no mess no fuss, and has never once caused me a problem.  No stinging, no patchy skin, no breakouts.

For comparison, the Elemis Pro Radiance Cream Cleanser will set you back €27 from feelunique.co.uk for 150ml.  The Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish is cheaper, at €17 from ie.lizearle.com for 100ml (so 18¢ versus 17¢ per ml, not much in the difference really).  They are both cream-based cleansers, both intended to be used to remove makeup and as a cleanser by massaging into the skin, and then removing afterwards with a warm damp mitt (Elemis) / muslin cloth (Liz Earle).  Both are more or less the same texture.  Both have almost the exact same smell.  Both work more or less the same amount to remove makeup.  When you read the ingredients list for either, they're similar enough, especially the higher-quantity ingredients (always listed first).  Both brands frequently offer purchase incentives (e.g. Elemis very often has special offer full-size freebies with purchase, and purchasing multiples or larger quantities of Liz Earle tends to work out cheaper).

For me though, the Liz Earle is a no-no.  I am aware that it works for a lot of people, and at very slightly cheaper than Elemis, I can see why it's as popular as it is.  For me, if you like the idea behind Liz Earle but it doesn't work for your skin, I recommend giving Elemis a whirl.  That's what I'll be sticking to.