Chanel Sublimage Essential Comfort Cleanser - review

Chanel Sublimage Essential Comfort Cleanser

OK so... when I say I'm about to review an €80 cleanser (a cleanser, what the eff?!) some people will feel that I've lost the run of myself.  But read on, because expensive and all as it is, it's a beaut...

Today's post very kindly provided by my occasional guest writer, the lovely Ms MontyC, who has the same regard for Chanel's skincare as I have traditionally had for Crème de la Mer (but she's slowly converting me!)  Thanks so much C!

When you hear the name Chanel, what do you think about?  Clothes, perfume, makeup, sure... but skincare?  For a lot of people, skincare doesn't spring to mind when they think about Chanel.  In my opinion, it's high time it did.  For me, their skincare ranges are quiet, unsung hero products, that deserve the limelight.

I've been trying out different Chanel skincare products for several years now - it has become my weapon of choice for looking after my dry, dehydrated, sensitive skin.  I use their Hydra Beauty range (and its previous incarnation - Hydramax).  I swear, hands-down by their Hydra Beauty Serum.  If they ever discontinue it, I. Will. Cry.  Some other standout products that I love and use on a weekly basis are Chanel's Hydramax+ Active moisture mask and Maximum Radiance Exfoliator Gel twice a week, and their alcohol-free toner twice a day.  Recently, I've added Chanel's La Nuit to my routine and the difference that this one product has made has been unbelievable (Le Weekend will be joining the routine shortly too - after using some samples of it, I'm in love with its effects).  So as you can see, it's an established  and incredibly happy relationship.  But as I fast approach the big 4-0, I feel it's time to explore the possibility of changing my skincare products.  With that in mind, I've started paying attention to Chanel's gold standard skin care range, Sublimage.

Sublimage is Chanel's ultimate anti-ageing, regeneration skin care range.  Thus far, I've tried out some of the Sublimage products via samples.  After trying a few samples from the range, one product stood out to me - the Essential Comfort Cleanser.  This is a gel-balm cleanser and can be used as both a regular cleanser or as a makeup removing cleanser.  Personally, I only use this at night to remove my makeup as I found it too rich to use twice a day (I prefer a lighter cleansing routine in the morning, I use Bioderma).

Chanel Sublimage Essential Comfort Cleanser... perfect sized splodge

Similar to most balm-type cleansers, you squeeze out a small amount of the clear gel from the tube (a small pea-sized blob is fine), warm it up between your hands and massage it into your (dry) skin until it turns into an oil.  Then you emulsify with warm water, and use your facecloth to wash it off (incidentally, it ships with a cotton facecloth).  It takes off every scrap of makeup (including my waterproof eye makeup) with ease and leaves my skin feeling deep cleansed, without feeling raw or stripped.  I'm a huge fan of balm cleansers and have tried many over the years (and many a price point) and this one, for me, is the best (in fact, I'm on my second tube of it).

Speaking of price points - let's talk about the elephant in the room - the cost.  This is both the explanation and the justification part of the post :-)  The Sublimage range is expensive, and this cleanser is not cheap at €80 (Editor's note: you can purchase it for €74 online from Nordstrom and €83 from Boots online).  That said, I re-purchased... Tube #2 arrived immediately after I had finished-off Tube #1.  Is that a lot for a cleanser?  Hell yes.  You can also pay a lot more (eg Eve Lom) or a lot less (eg Clinique).  Do I think this cleanser is worth the money?  Absolutely yes.  If I didn't, I wouldn't have repurchased it.  In addition, a tube of this will last me around nine months, so it works out at just over €8 a month.  That's not a ridiculous outlay in my book.

This cleanser is a keeper as far as my skincare routine is concerned and it bodes well for the rest of the collection.  My Chanel SA has recently given me a very generous sample of the Sublimage Texture Supreme moisturiser - I have only been using it for a short while but I can already hear angels sing when I look in the mirror after using it - they may have to sing for a while longer mind, as it weighs-in at hefty €285 a pot.  Worth spending?  Watch this space...